Norwood Hospital Women’s Aid Celebrates Twenty-Fifth Anniversary With Meeting at Day House-This Day in Norwood History-June 10, 1944

Reception and Tea for Past And Present Members

When the Norwood Hospital Women’s Aid gathered for its twenty‑fifth anniversary celebration, the organization paused to reflect on a quarter‑century of service that had grown alongside the hospital itself. The commemorative meeting, held at the Day House, would be followed by a reception and tea from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., with invitations extended to all past and present members — including non‑members who had worked faithfully in the cutting and sewing groups. It was a moment to honor the women whose labor had quietly sustained the hospital since 1919.

In its earliest years, the Aid supported the old hospital building, where in 1919 it supplied linens for 500 patients. By contrast, the modern hospital of the 1940s — with 163 beds and bassinets, plus 50 beds in the nurses’ homes — required vastly more material. In 1943, the Aid issued supplies for 1,500 patients, a testament to both the hospital’s growth and the Aid’s expanding responsibilities.

Founding and Leadership

The organization began when the Trustees of Norwood Hospital, meeting in April 1919, voted to form an auxiliary composed of women from Norwood, Walpole, and Westwood. In June, the Norwood Hospital Women’s Aid was officially established, with Alice Maude Shattuck elected as its first president.

Over the next twenty‑five years, the presidency passed to a distinguished line of women: Mrs. George Gay, Mrs. George Wolfe, Mrs. Chester Foster, Mrs. W. Clifford Brown (Mrs. Florence Reardon), Mrs. Vern Richards, Mrs. Louis Orent, Mrs. Edmund Murphy, and Mrs. J. Robie Elliott.

Membership grew steadily thanks to the efforts of Mrs. Kenneth McKenzie, the first membership chair, who launched the memorable “Under the Umbrella Campaign.”

Fundraising and Early Gifts

During its self‑supporting years, the Aid raised funds through bazaars, garden parties, and charity balls. These efforts financed substantial gifts to the hospital, including:

• $800 (1928) to equip a sewing room in the new administration building
• $2,000 (1929) toward the purchase of a new X‑ray machine

By 1937, the Aid became part of the hospital budget, receiving an annual allotment to supplement membership dues and cover supply expenses.

The Sewing Rooms: Heart of the Operation

The sewing groups were the backbone of the organization. In 1943, volunteers produced 1,128 handmade articles, representing 1,800 work hours. The Aid purchased and maintained fourteen electric sewing machines, used at every session.

The sewing program began under Mrs. Harriet Lane, who directed the work for its first ten years. Later leaders included Mrs. Chester Foster, Mrs. Charles Britton, Mrs. John McCarthy, Mrs. William Rathbun, Mrs. Harold Alden, Mrs. Robert Steele, Mrs. Howard Readel, Mrs. Leon Johnson, and Mrs. Herbert Works.

A regular sewing day was established in November 1920, held on the second Thursday of each month. A cutting committee met the Monday prior to prepare materials.

Managing Supplies: A Massive Undertaking

In 1943, the Aid placed 6,160 articles into the hospital’s linen closet:

• 2,032 factory‑made items
• 4,128 handmade items

The supply closet held 120 different items, including bed linens, towels, blankets, binders, johnnies, and baby clothes.

In 1933, a supply chairman was appointed to manage purchasing, inventory, and distribution. Wartime shortages made procurement difficult, requiring orders to be placed months in advance.

Extra Services

The Aid also provided two additional services:

Entertainment Committee The committee provided monthly tray favors, Christmas decorations, and holiday parties for nurses and staff. Since World War II, this work was led by Mrs. Alfred Mann and Mrs. Charles McDavitt.

Donation Drives Beginning in 1910, the group held an annual Jam and Jelly Drive, later renamed Donation Day, and eventually transformed into a Potato Drive, supplying the hospital with much‑needed produce.

Serving Every Ward

The Aid supplied linens to every part of the hospital:

• Women’s Ward
• Maternity Ward
• Children’s Ward
• Men’s Ward
• Private Rooms
• Delivery Room
• Operating Room
• X‑ray and Emergency Departments

The Children’s Ward, with its cheerful walls and colorful blankets, was a particular point of pride.

Regional Participation

The Aid included members from Walpole, East Walpole, Canton, Sharon, Islington, Westwood, Foxboro, and Medfield. Wartime gasoline rationing led many groups to hold sewing sessions in their own towns, while others worked from home.

Laundry: Then and Now

The hospital processed 550,000 pounds of linens in the previous year — a staggering increase from the single wooden washer used twenty‑five years earlier. The modern laundry now operated two Monel metal washing machines and two extractors.

Membership and Volunteerism

The Aid encouraged all women to attend sewing days, with the hospital providing coffee for those who brought lunch. Volunteers could come for the full day or as their schedules allowed.

Membership was open to any woman willing to support the cause, with dues of one dollar, payable to Mrs. Howard Mattson, membership chair, at 132 Prospect Street.

The trustees repeatedly expressed their gratitude, noting that as the hospital expanded, the Aid’s work became ever more essential — and the need for volunteers ever greater.

Norwood Messenger