The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-06-15
NURSE
CONTINUED from Page One)

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longer than any of her predeces-
sors, Miss Draper says, II enjoy
working with the people here. ]
have always found them very CO.
operative" She says that she new
! er considers leaving her job for
another because she is perfectly
happy with the one she has here.
Duties
Due to the shortage of doctors
and the absence of hospitals in
the county, the public health nurse
has far greater demands for her
service than nurses in similar jobs
elsewhere. Among her regular du-
ties are home-visiting of infants;
giving instructions for proper pre-
natal care; instructing on problems
of child-feeding and family feed
ing problems; carrying out inspec-
tions of school children; giving inn
munizations-mostly in the homes,
for only Manteo and Wanchese
children are brought to the Health
Office to be immunized for dipther-
ia, whooping cough, small pox and
typhoid as the law requires; CIV
ing tests and X-Rays for all pos
sible tuberculosis patients; inspect
ing and issuing food handlers
health cards; following-up on cases
communicable diseases; con-
Quoting prenatal and infant
climb once each month.
Driving in Dare CounGy in 1910
and the years following soon ac-
customed Miss Draper to the prac-
ticality of the blue jeans she wears
on her trips. Digging out of the
sand, tinkering with the motor or
changing tires on the old Model A
or the tired command car she used
for her trips, were not the sort of
thing health nurse, or anyone
else, finds dresses the proper wear
for. She also got accustomed to
walking four or five miles, usually
TO the Coast Guard stations, to get
someone to help her get her car
unstuck. Although she seldom has
trouble of that sort any longer,
since she has been plotting her
Jcep through sand and mud, she
learned a lot about tinkering with
engines and changing tires and
how to keep from getting stuck in
the sand in the early years.
She had no transportation dur
ing the war years. She remembers
that the Coast Guard sent down
jeep for eight weeks after the
hurricane of 1914, to take her down
10 the Lower Banks to give treat
ment to the sick, inspect drinking
water supplies, etc. Before the
road from Manns Harbor to Stun
ply Point was paved, she says she
drove "Crossways half the time"
when she went from one place to
the other.
AS result of all her practice
at the wheel, Miss Draper is prob
ably one of the top experts at sand
driving in the county. She figures
she can tackle any road anyone
else can and a lot of roads most
people would do well to stay off of.
Recently, driving to Colington, she
pulled her car to the side of the
road to allow another auto, filled
with young men, to stay in the
track and avoid getting stuck. At
ter the car had gone by, it stopped
and the boys came back. eve want
ed to be sure you didn't get stuck"
they said. Don't you worry about
mel" said the lady, and she drove
her car back into the track and
went on her way.
If Bessie Draper ever should
decide to leave Dare County, we
would lose an efficient, hard work
er and one of our pleasantest per-
sonalities. It's hard to think how
the Health Department could find
suitable replacement for the jeep-
riding Florence Nightingale who
likes it here so much because, as
she says, "I've learned how to
rough it and like it."