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Solving History’s Mysteries: Nurses Edition

Do you recognize any of these people? These are all historic photos of Wheeling people, places, and things that need to be identified. Weelunk, Archiving Wheeling, and the Ohio County Public Library Archives have teamed up to reach out to Wheeling area residents or people that have lived in the Wheeling area at any time—we need your help identifying the individuals in these photos!

This is an ongoing monthly project to connect today’s Wheeling community to its historical resources and stories. In honor of National Nurses Month, our May History Mystery selections feature nurses from the Ohio Valley Medical Center and Wheeling Hospital. The more we know about the people in these photos, the more we can uncover important and sometimes forgotten histories of Wheeling. To learn more about crowdsourced history and unlocking history’s mysteries, check out Archiving Wheeling’s partner article here!

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Nurses in front of Blood Bank at the Ohio Valley General Hospital, 1950s (OCPL Archives - Ohio Valley Medical Center collection)
Between 1892, when the City Hospital Training School of Nurses first accepted applicants, and 1988 when the OVMC School of Nursing closed its doors, the program graduated 2,781 nurses.  Throughout its long history, nurses were at the forefront of medical innovation in the Ohio Valley. Do you recognize these nurses demonstrating the hospital’s blood bank operation?
Nurses and nursing students in front of bulletin board featuring the Nightingale Pledge, Ohio Valley General Hospital, 1960s (OCPL Archives - Ohio Valley Medical Center School of Nursing collection)
The Ohio Valley Medical Center School of Nursing collection includes artifacts and documents that were used in the historical displays at the hospital, such as brochures, photographs, medical equipment, yearbooks, awards and other material. Many of the photographs correspond to those featured in the yearbooks, but many are unidentified. Can you help us identify these students?
Three Ohio Valley Medical Center School of Nursing students, 1980s (OCPL Archives - Ohio Valley Medical Center School of Nursing collection)
This photograph features three more Ohio Valley Medical Center School of Nursing students, most likely taken in the 1980s. Do you recognize any of these students?
Nurses assist physician with test demonstration, Ohio Valley General Hospital, 1962 (OCPL Archives - Ohio Valley Medical Center collection)
This photograph is part of the Ohio Valley Medical Center Collection, which includes business records as well as many photographs used for publicity in the 1960s-1990s. In this photograph, which may have appeared in the Wheeling Intelligencer or the Wheeling News-Register, according to the stamp on the back, several nurses assist and take notes while a physician demonstrates a chemical test. Can you identify any of these individuals?
Staff gathering in the cafeteria? Wheeling Hospital, 1980s (photograph courtesy of the Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston)
In 1975, Wheeling Hospital moved from its historic North Wheeling location to the present facility along Interstate 70 in the Clator neighborhood of Wheeling. In 1978, the region’s first cardiac catheterization laboratory was opened, and a second was added in 1996. This made possible the area’s first open-heart surgery in 1994. Over its long history in the region, Wheeling Hospital has employed thousands of Ohio Valley residents. This photograph depicts a staff celebration of some sort with a variety of employees, such as nurses, aids, doctors and administration. Did you work at the hospital during this time? Do you recognize anyone or the setting of the gathering?

If you can identify anyone in any of these photos, please fill out the information underneath the photograph!

All photos are courtesy of the Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling, WV (unless noted otherwise). For more historic photos of the Wheeling area, events, and residents, check out OCPL’s Flickr page, here.

For more information or questions about this project, please email ewiley9@gmail.com.

This project is a partnership between Weelunk, Archiving Wheeling, and the Ohio County Public Library with additional support from Preserve WV AmeriCorps.

• Emma Wiley, originally from Falls Church, Virginia, was a former AmeriCorps member with Wheeling Heritage. Emma has a B.A. in history from Vassar College and is passionate about connecting communities, history, and social justice.

  • Emma Wiley

    Emma Wiley, originally from Falls Church, Virginia, was a former AmeriCorps member with Wheeling Heritage. Emma has a B.A. in history from Vassar College and is passionate about connecting communities, history, and social justice.

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