From the Archives - May 25, 2023

Veryl Gloria Moore went to school at BFHS and graduated in 1949. She attended Whitworth College to take courses for nursing school at Deaconess Hospital, earning her RN cap on June 18, 1952. She married Don Lindsay in August of that year. Veryl worked in the University of Idaho Infirmary while Don finished his business coursework. For a short time, Veryl worked as a registered nurse in Junction City, Kan. When Don reported to Japan for duty in the Army, Veryl lived in a trailer house; and in 1954 went to work for the Boundary Community Hospital, working into the 1980s.

“The former Bonners Ferry Community Hospital was located where the present Restorium stands. My arrival to become part of the nursing staff was in 1954. Drs. R.M. Bowell and F.W. Durose were the only physicians at the time. They were ingenious doing procedures with minimal equipment.”

“The whole hospital was of wood construction, including the floors — much easier to work on than concrete. The elevator was run by water pressure. Upon entering the elevator you hand-pulled the cables to get to the second floor (medical-surgical ward), or to the basement where the kitchen had a large wood stove for cooking meals. The X-ray was also in the basement. The fruit room was directly behind the wall into which the X-ray machine was directed. The walls were unleaded. The nursing staff would stoke the wood furnace on evenings and nights. It was difficult to keep the two-story building warm in the coldest of winter. We would chart with a blanket around our shoulders.”

“Our obstetrical delivery room was on the main Floor, near the back door…. The surgery was located near the front door. We used it as a thoroughfare to enter the emergency and supply rooms. The doors were always open except during an operation…. Much has changed through the years, and I have enjoyed being a part of it into the 1980s.” — Veryl Lindsay, History of Boundary County, Idaho Vol. 1

Ground breaking for the current hospital was in 1954. Among the many treasures Veryl collected from her time as a nurse at Boundary Community Hospital was this band aid case; donated by her family to the museum.

The Boundary County Historical Society and Museum, 7229 Main, Bonners Ferry, sponsors this column.

Visit the museum Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and you can visit the website at www.boundarycountymuseum.org or the museum’s Facebook page for historical photos and stories, and to see upcoming events. Or we can be reached at doyouremember@meadowcrk.com or by telephone at 208-267-7720. Thank you for your continued support.