Viola C. Drake (Class of 1928) nursing scrapbook
Biographical / Historical
Viola Elizabeth Clark Drake was born on January 14, 1894, in Irondequoit, Monroe County, New York. Drake was the daughter of Arthur James Clark and Sarah Christina Hallauer Clark and had six siblings. She graduated from the University of Rochester School of Nursing in 1928. After attending nursing school, Drake worked at Teachers College at Columbia University and worked in the field of public health at Syracuse University. In 1931, she took a course in orthopedic nursing in West Havenstraw, New York. In 1948, she received further training at D.T. Watson School of Physiatrics in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania. She later worked as a supervising physical therapist for the New York State Public Health Department. Her interests included watercolor painting and china painting. Drake died on March 14, 1963.
Scope and Contents
The School of Nursing provided volumes with blank pages that students could use to create albums or scrapbooks. The volume Drake used to create this scrapbook has a blue binding and “U of R School of Nursing Class of 1928” printed on the front. The following paragraphs illustrate the two types of material that are interspersed throughout the scrapbook.
Photographs
Many of the photographs in the scrapbook are accompanied by handwritten captions. Administrators and faculty such as Helen Wood and Grace Reid and staff members are among those pictured. The Class of 1928 are pictured individually, along with captions detailing their names, where they are from, the name of a flower, and a quotation or description. Group photographs show Section I and Section II nursing students as well as students enjoying free time with each other. Drake also included photographs of historical moments such as the laying of the cornerstone of Strong Memorial Hospital and the construction of the nurses’ dormitory. There are a few uncaptioned photographs placed, loose, in the last few pages of the scrapbook. Other photographs show, for example, nurses in the Queen Alexandra's Nurse Corps, changes to the nursing uniforms, and Dr. Birkhaug and a donkey named Jeannette.
Text
Handwritten texts within the scrapbook include captions as well as a class song by Vera Higham. Inserted in the front is a program from the graduating exercises of the School of Nursing for Highland Hospital, Rochester General Hospital, Strong Memorial Hospital, and Genesee Hospital (1929). Drake included a typed story about her and her friend Gussie (Frances Gustafson) called "Class Prophecy – 1928," set in 1938, as well as a "Class History" for the Class of 1928. The scrapbook also includes Drake's state board examination results from September 1928. There is a newspaper clipping, dated June 14, 1929, about the first graduating class in medicine at University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. A letter to Drake from her friend Iola (probably Iola Aab, also of the Class of 1928) can also be found.
Creator
Dates
- Creation: 1924-1929
Language of Materials
English
Extent
1 volume(s)
Conditions Governing Access
For access to this collection, please contact the University of Rochester Archives (archives@library.rochester.edu) at least two business days prior to your planned visit.
Please note: Some materials may be restricted or require permission for use.
Conditions Governing Use
To request reproductions or permission to publish materials from the collection, please contact the University of Rochester Archives (archives@library.rochester.edu). Researchers may be responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased in 2018.
Preferred Citation
[Item title, item date], Viola C. Drake (Class of 1928) Nursing Scrapbook, UA33, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Subject
- Drake, Viola Elizabeth Clark, 1894-1963 (Person)
- University of Rochester. School of Nursing (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to Viola C. Drake (Class of 1928) nursing scrapbook
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Tyler Stiggers (Class of 2021)
- Date
- 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Library Details
Part of the University of Rochester Archives Library
Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation
River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
500 Joseph C. Wilson Blvd.
Rochester New York 14627-0055 USA
archives@library.rochester.edu
