Pioneering Spirit: The Sisters of Providence in Alaska

Holy Cross Hospital at Nome
the hospital. "The people here no longer have the
enthusiasm of before concerning our w ork," the
chronicler wrote. "At the price of great difficulty,
we managed to realize the sum of $500, which is
very little compared to the sum s previously
obtained during the early years of our foundation.
"
The start of sum m er 1918 marked the beginning
of the end of Holy Cross Hospital in Nome. In
accordance with a decision reached by the
General Council of the Sisters of Providence in
Montreal, the Nome mission closed its doors on
20 September 1918 after sixteen years' service.
Sister Robert, who at the time was Sister Superior
at Holy Cross Hospital, was appointed Sister
Superior at the Sisters of Providence hospital in
Fairbanks. The other Nome Sisters received
assignments in both Fairbanks and Seattle.
Only three patients remained as the Sisters
prepared for their departure. Two were sufficiently
well to return home, while a third,
paralyzed patient was transferred to a small
hospital that had recently opened in Nome. The
Sisters also had given shelter for the past four
years to two boarders, an old man w ithout family
or resources and a blind Eskimo. Sister Robert
invited both to accompany her to Fairbanks, an
act of kindness, according to the chronicler, that
"aroused the admiration of many people—even
the Protestants."
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