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Posts Tagged ‘high school class of 1917’

George Paak’s Legacy, Part III: Theresa’s Professional Education

Posted in Alice Paak DeKorn, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Paak, Peek, Richard DeKorn, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 2, 2014| 20 Comments »

In Part II, I described Theresa Pake’s high school and college education, but although she was 25 years old and had had a great deal of education for a young woman of her time, she wasn’t satisfied.

Her next step was to attend nursing school at the Kalamazoo State Hospital. I’ve written here about how my great-great-grandfather Richard DeKorn built the historic landmark water tower at the state hospital.

 

Here is an engraving of the hospital circa 1863:

Kalamazoo State Hospital

Kalamazoo State Hospital

The Michigan Asylum for the Insane was built in 1859, the water tower in 1895, and, in 1911, was renamed the Kalamazoo State Hospital. According to internet sources, nurse’s training was a pioneering program (perhaps started in 1906? I’m not certain), and Theresa would have been there during a vibrant period for the program. After Theresa left Asbury College, she began training as a nurse and graduated in 1925. On May 15, 1925, Theresa was registered by the state.

Notice the pin she wears in this graduation portrait. She actually received two pins. One says “Kalamazoo State Hospital” and the other has the initials KSTS for Kalamazoo State Nursing School.

Theresa Pake Graduate nursing school

Theresa Pake
Graduate nursing school

Here is Theresa with a classmate or coworker sitting outside the hospital. The caps they wear do not yet have the black stripe that is on Theresa’s graduation cap. Also, I wonder if the pinafore style uniform is an example of a student nurse costume.

And here Theresa sits alone:

Theresa’s career as a nurse meant that she worked hard her whole life. She was employed as a private duty nurse for many years. She also worked at Beloit Memorial Hospital in Wisconsin:

 

After graduating with a nursing degree, Theresa was free to begin her life with a career, quite a feat for a young woman in 1925.

A Series of Disasters

The Children After the Fire, 1902

Paak-a-boo

Saved from the Fire

Who is George Paake, Sr.?

Curious about George

George Paake’s Legacy, Part I

George Paake’s Legacy, Part II: Theresa’s Pre-Professional Education

 

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George Paak’s Legacy, Part II: Theresa’s Pre-Professional Education

Posted in Alice Paak DeKorn, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Paak, Peek, Richard DeKorn, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 24, 2014| 10 Comments »

In Part I, I introduced George’s middle child, Theresa Pake, who was born in 1893.

 

Professor Lawrence has put much effort into piecing together his mother’s educational history.

At some point Theresa lived with foster parents, Una Orline and Oliver Oratio Pickard.  Prof. Lawrence thinks she maybe have gone to live with them as early as age six, which would mean she wasn’t under the care of her older sister. However, the newspaper article about the fire in 1902 would show that she was still living at home at the time of the fire (nearly 8 years old). Regardless, at some point, the Pickards became the caregivers of Theresa. None of the other children in the family seem to have gone to live with the Pickards.

The Pickards sent Theresa to Jennings Seminary, a private Methodist school in Aurora, Illinois, from 1911 – 1913.  Here  is a link to the history of Jennings Seminary, but to give you an idea, it was a school for young ladies and once considered one of the finest private high schools in the middle west.

Jennings Seminary

Jennings Seminary

From there, Theresa went to Chicago Evangelistic Institute. After studying at CEI from 1913-1915, she graduated from the missionary course.

Theresa moved on to Western State Normal School’s High School Department.  She attended the program for at least the school year of 1916-17, participating in a play (where she played “mother-in-law”) and gave a speech advocating Republican Charles Evans Hughes (who was supported by Teddy Roosevelt) as the next President of the United States. She took classes such as anatomy, chemistry, French, and children’s literature.  Western was a teaching college, and the high school department was designed to not only give an excellent education to its students, but to provide a sort of student teaching experience for the college teaching students who planned to teach in high schools. Theresa graduated, at the age of 24, in June 1917 with 27 other graduates. At this time, it is possible that Theresa planned to become a teacher.

Here is a description in the yearbook about the high school program at the teaching college:

Here is Theresa’s yearbook photo. Note that in the above portrait, Theresa is not wearing glasses, but in the yearbook photograph she is wearing them. I think it’s likely she began to wear them in her early 20s.

In 1919, Theresa went to Wilmore, Kentucky, to attend Asbury College. At that time, Mrs. O. O. Pickard, at 1846 Oakland Drive, Kalamazoo, Michigan, was listed as her parent, so Theresa still was being educated under the guidance of the Pickards. Theresa had matriculated at age 25 with the intention of becoming a missionary. She attended Asbury for four semesters, from 1919-1921.

But Theresa’s education was far from over!

A Series of Disasters

The Children After the Fire, 1902

Paak-a-boo

Saved from the Fire

Who is George Paake, Sr.?

Curious about George

George Paake’s Legacy, Part I

 

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