The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1891-11-27
Notes From Battle Creek sanitar.una.

BATTLE CREEK, Nov 20, 1891.
The graduation of class of trained nurses
always marks an epoch in Sanitarium life.
The class of '9l numbers twenty-One, OF
which number two were young men. In
both sanitarium and hospital, male nurses
are exclusively employed in nursing men
and the present class OF undergraduates
contains twelve young men. Besides these,
a number of the alumni are employed.
Commencement evening, the graduating
class, the juniors and the alumni retained
marched into the audience loom in body
about ninety in all. Physical culture in all
its branches is specially emphasized for
nurses as well as patients, and one would
go far to find like number of symmetrically
developed, finely poised and healthful young
men and women. When will our public
educators and school boards come to the
knowledge that physical development should
never be divorced from mental training,
that the one is as necessary as the other for
the highest usefulness and happiness? How
long will it be before well equipped gym
nasium will be part of OwOsSO's public
school system? Free gymnastics, which
could be SO easily performed i'm any school
room, would do great deal TO correct habits
of STOPPING and round shoulders now pain
fully common.
But to- return to commencement exercises.
They consisted of meritOriOus addresses by
Drs. j. II. Kellogg and Kate Lindsay,
music, and a series of interesting tableaux
illustrative of the practical working drill by
which the classes are trained to deal with
accidents and emergencies, also massage
and nSweedsh movements and scientific
bread making without yeast or chemicals.
During the presentation of the tableaux, the
lights were turned off from the audience
and tha cta taH NJ al al
| trio light, toned to fit the different scenes by
being passed through cOlOred glass. Speak
| ing of practical drill, l hope | may be
| pardoned personal allusiOn, for there was
one exhibition of it which few of the
audience witnessed but which | am sure
they would have applauded as heartily as
anything set down on the program. After
| the crowd began to pass out, word was
brought me that there were thirty wheel
chairs i'm line ahead of mine beside great
many people who were unable to climb the
stairs, all depending on the elevator for
transportation. 1t would he more than an
hour before my turn could come and so /
resigned myself to patient waiting. Just
then two young women who had been train
ed as nurses i'm earlier classes, and who pos
sessed strong muscle as well as kind hearts,
came to my rescue. They knew how tired
l must be after an evenings reporting, so
they made "char" of their hands, school
girl fashion, and carried me up the two
flights of stairs to my room on the third floor
without pausing to rest or take breath. L
would like to tell you that it was DIR. Addie
G. johnson, recent graduate of the Michi-
gan University, and Miss Amelia Webster,
the head of the department of massage, who
performed this feat, but hardly dare to do
it. for fear they will not like to see their
in, int fnr la
which they could do any day, and which
almost any one of the trained nurses could
have done just as easily. There is great
deal i'm knowing how To conserve strength
and vital energy and how to eXpend it.
The evening following commencement,
the alumni society rendered reception to
the graduates, the members Of the faculty
and others Immediately connected with the
institution. After the formal reception, a
musical and literary program was carried
out, and altogether it was an occasion long
to be remembered The class motto, "All
true work is sacred" was among the artistic
decorations of the hospital parlor.
, On Thursday evening, Prof. &. nj. Ritchie,
!. of Lansing, furnished us with delightful
, Delsartean and elOcutionary entertainment.
He is certainly a perfect master of the sys-
TEN of aesthetic gymnastics devised by Del
sarte. Every movement ard gesture was
line of grace and beauty and his pantomime
represented wonderful display Of every
; human emotion possible to conceive of, enc
following another i'm rapid succession. His
! elocutionary powers seem better adapted to
, the tragic than the humorous, although his
, humorous selections were much applauded.
: AS rule, the American would rather be
} amused than instructed. The week finished
up with a spelling match. One of the
, patients is now preparing an entertainment
. for the benefit of the Orphans Home, to bt
+ given Thanksgiving evening.
| HELEN l.. MANNING