Pioneering Spirit: The Sisters of Providence in Alaska

Holy Cross Hospital at Nome
of living in Nome, the Sisters considered these
charges reasonable, though they had to justify
them the following year w hen a new mayor tried
to rescind the city's contract with the Sisters. The
Holy Cross chronicler reported that his proposal
drew wide criticism, even from those individuals
in the city who had appeared indifferent to the
Sisters during their first sum m er there.
The Sisters' new hospital generated favorable
press in both Nome newspapers. A Nome News
headline proclaimed that the "Sisters of Providence
Have Given Nom e the Best Hospital in
Alaska." The text of the story informed readers
that the Sisters had "fitted up at a very great
expense one of the completest and m ost convenient
hospitals of the N orth." The Nome Gold Digger
entitled its story "A Model H ospital." Its
readers learned that "on the lower floor are two
general wards which will accommodate a dozen
people w ithout crowding. The culinary department
is also located on this floor as well as a comfortable
reception room. O n the second floor are
six private rooms, and here is also located the
operating room which is a model of its kind."
The chronicles of the Sisters provide additional
details about the new hospital. The chapel and
the Sisters' living room were located on the
second floor, while the third floor (more properly
speaking an attic) provided space for laundry drying
in winter and for dormitory accommodations
for the Sisters. The hospital was equipped with
two outbuildings, one a shed for coal storage and
the other a laundry room and a special ward for
Eskimos. In establishing this special facility, the
Sisters followed prevailing American social standards
that resisted racial integration.
Nome's Period of Prosperity
For almost a decade, the city of Nome laid claim
to a bright future as a mining capital in the North.
The city had grown rapidly since its origin as a
mining camp in 1899. Its residents came from all
over the world, represented all nations, and spoke
almost every language. By 1902 Nom e boasted
multistoried w ood-fram ed buildings and a
population of fifteen to twenty thousand. It was
this hastily erected, rough-hewn, but established
urban environm ent that greeted the Sisters of
Providence in 1902.
The Sisters exercised their mission to Nome's
residents in m any ways. Their m ost prom inent
contribution to the welfare of the city was providing
a hospital for the relief of anyone in need,
regardless of ability to pay. In addition to treating
patients in the hospital, the Sisters also cared for
patients in their homes, m ade visits to the poor
and to prisoners, and supplied free meals and
medical prescriptions to the needy. The Sisters
also kept night vigils in the hospital over patients
whose medical condition was most precarious.
Such attention to patients provided its own
rewards to the Sisters, w hose inspiration for service
came from the life of M other Gamelin.
In their chronicles the Sisters noted evidence
of appreciation on the part of patients. In
This photograph of the
first Holy Cross
Hospital in Nome was
taken in 1903. The
Sisters erected a new
structure in 1906.
Photo courtesy of the Sisters of
Providence Archives, Seattle.
21