by Raechel BarriosThe Extraordinary Contributions of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
There are commonly held stereotypes
that women in the early twentieth century were passive or unimportant in
affecting the development of the Western Frontier. However, women in Arizona
during this time period helped shape history in a multitude of ways.
One area impacted by the role of women during the early twentieth century
was medicine. An area greatly dominated by males, medicine may not
have advanced as successfully in Southern Arizona if it had not been for
the efforts of seven women from St. Joseph, Missouri. The Sisters
of St. Joseph of Carondelet made profound contributions to the Western
Frontier in many ways. They severely impacted both areas of
education and medicine in Arizona. By exploring the Sisters’
various contributions, this paper will uncover the significance of the
Carondelet Sisters’ role in the development of the Western Frontier.
In the early twentieth
century, pioneers began to inundate the area of Southern Arizona.
Among them were the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet; Emerentia Bonnefoy,
Monica Corrigan, Euphrasia Suchet, Hyacinth Blanc, Martha Peters, Ambrosia
Arnichaud, and Maxine Croisat (Bryne and Cammack). In 1870, these
seven women began the exhausting and rigorous journey from St. Louis to
Tucson, traveling by rail, sea and wagon. The Sisters came to Tucson on
a mission to help Jean Baptiste Salpointe, who was a Bishop in the area.
They were to teach in Tucson’s first school, which would transform the
ways of education in the Western Frontier.
Before the Carondelet sisters’
arrival, little had been done in the state of Arizona in the means of education.
The Sisters established education in the area and contributed to the demise
of the negative attitudes that parents had about raising their children
in the West. Before these contributions, many parents found it necessary
to move to a town or settlement where there would be more advantages for
their children. "Mother did not let any of the unusual life about
us interfere with our bringing up," a young Arizona girl recalled. "Except
for the desire of giving 
us
a more extended education than we could get in the state at that time,
I am sure my father and mother would have remained…instead of removing
to New Mexico" (Myres, pg. 182). After 1850, several orders of teaching
nuns came into the frontier area to establish both Indian and non-Indian
schools. Due to their hard work, education was established in the
area, and parents no longer had to move to other settlements so that their
children would have more advantages.
The Sisters soon began
to contribute to education in the area by opening school after school and
offering their knowledge to the Indian children and others in the Tucson
area. On May 26, 1870, the Bishop was pleased that the Sisters had
arrived safely. They quickly began their teaching duties. The
Sisters began at "Old Pueblo," an Indian school at San Xavier. Due to their
desire to gain the confidence of those that they served, the "Old
Pueblo" soon grew and divided into St. Joseph’s Academy, a secondary school,
and St. Augustine’s, which was an elementary school. Many of
the Sisters traveled to other areas of Arizona and established schools
there as well. Soon, Indian schools were founded in Komatke, near
Phoenix and at the Old Fort Yuma. Their efforts also impelled the
opening of a novitiate for Tucson girls that expressed an interest in joining
the Sisters of St. Joseph in serving the needs of the community and witnessing
to the great love of God. The Sisters had definitely established
a means of education for those in the area of Tucson. By 1880, it
was obvious that the Sisters of St. Joseph had proved themselves an important
factor in Arizona. However, their contributions had just begun.
The Carondolet
Sisters began to dramatically affect the area of medicine when the tracks
of the Southern Pacific railroad arrived in Tucson. Without their
work, organized healthcare may never have advanced in the city.
The railroad connected the state of Arizona to the rest of the nation and
brought the industrial revolution to the southwest. It
also brought various injuries to train crews and track gangs. For
the Sisters of St. Joseph, this new era would have a dramatic effect on
their mission in Tucson and in Arizona (Bryne and Cammack). Those
involved with the railroad company knew that Tucson needed a hospital,
and they took their concern to Bishop Salpointe. He felt that a hospital
was needed not only for the railroaders, but for the entire community.
Because they had made profound contributions to the area of education in
Tucson, the Bishop went to the Carondelet Sisters for their help, hoping
they could do the same for the practice of medicine in the area.
The Carondelet Sisters
were aware that in many frontier areas, there were not doctors or medical
aids. They were consequential to making sure that Tucson was not one of
these places. Before the Sisters began contributing to medicine
in the area, the practice of medicine in the Western Frontier was not practical
or safe. For the most part, it was superstitious and dangerous.
Many women worried about pregnancy and childbirth, which often ended in
the death of the mother, the infant or both. Those who survived infancy
dealt with the dangers of diseases and accidents. Epidemics of measles,
scarlet fever, influenza and others frequently killed entire families.
Concerned mothers often dealt with snake bites, broken bones and fever
relying on simple home remedies, watchful nursing and prayer. One
woman recalled that her home medicine chest included peppermint, which,
"would cure anything that ailed you-from colic in newborn babes-to aches
and pains accompanying old age" (Myres, pg. 157). The Sister’s
of St. Joseph were aware of the dangerous practices of medicine and agreed
with Bishop Salpointe that a hospital was needed in the city of Tucson.
Their mission would soon broaden and continue to affect the development
of the Western Frontier.
Bishop Salpointe founded
St. Mary’s Hospital in 1880 and sold it to the Sisters in 1882. The
Carondelet Sisters felt it necessary that the sick and injured be helped.
This belief helped shape history and was a gift to the people of the city.
The Sisters raised the
money, supported by cattlemen, miners, the clergy and the merchants and
citizens of Tucson. The Sisters took on the responsibility of running
the hospital along with the schools of Tucson. They were determined
to help the sick and injured and began to master how as quickly as possible.
Never before had women or men made such efforts to establish health
care in the Frontier.
Due to the Sisters
efforts, St. Mary’s Hospital was dedicated on April 24, 1880 and received
its first patients on May 1st. The Sisters were on the brink of bringing
health care to Tucson. Four Sisters dealt with bills, cooking, scrubbing
and supplying the hospital with equipment. The Sisters helped bring
two doctors to St. Mary’s Hospital. They would help the women take
on the twenty-four hour a day job of nursing, bathing, and feeding.
One of these doctors was Dr. John C. Handy, an army doctor, and the other
was his brother-in-law, Dr. William Holbrook. Broken bones, snake
bites, fever and pneumonia were treated at the hospital, as well as childhood
and epidemic diseases. The Sisters had contributed to the city
by beginning the establishment of organized health care.
The community began to grow,
as did St. Mary’s Hospital. In 1882, it doubled in capacity and a
second floor was opened. The Sisters had new doctors come from
Europe and eastern states, which left more opportunity for them to maintain
better record keeping, more consultation and diagnosis. The hospital
was beginning to flourish.
In 1893, Sister Fidelia
McMahon became Superior of the Hospital Sisters and Superintendent of the
hospital itself. She would dramatically transform St. Mary’s from
a frontier hospital to a locale of respectable health care.
Sister Fidelia made every effort possible to help the hospital expand.
She did this by immediately constructing a resident convent for the
hospital Sisters. In 1903, a surgical suite was added onto the hospital
based on Sis
ter
Fidelia’s visions. An ice storage area was also built and steam heating
was installed. Because of these contributions to the hospital,
it became known as a locale of respectable health care.
The health needs of
the community were growing and trained and efficient nurses were scarce.
Sister Fidelia felt it was an important issue, and decided that a nursing
school be built by the hospital. This enhancement would dramatically change
St. Mary’s Hospital and affect the Southwest tremendously.
Because much of the training for nurses was "on-the job," it was not always
beneficial for the nurse or the patient. Nursing schools during this
time period were scarce. Although, many were beginning to spring
up in the East and Midwest, few to none of their graduates dared
venture to the Southwest. Sister Fidelia felt that the only
solution was to build a nursing school attached to the Hospital.
Additional Sisters were transferred from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Missouri
to help with plans for a school of nursing. By December 1914, the
curriculum and faculty were ready and the St. Mary’s School of Nursing
admitted its first students. The Standard Curriculum for Nursing
was not established until 1917. However, the curriculum that the
Sisters developed
and
used in 1914 is still seen as impressive today. Once again,
the area of medicine in the Southwest had been expanded upon because of
the visions and contributions of these amazing women.
Another Sister that greatly
impacted the city of Tucson with her contributions was Sister Evangelista,
who was the Assistant Director of the Nursing School. She would greatly
impact the city with her legislative contributions. Because professional
organization became very important to her, she created the Arizona State
Nurses Association. She also campaigned to establish a statewide certifying
board. In 1921, the 5th Arizona State Legislature passed an act empowering
the governor to appoint a State Board of Nursing Examiners. The governor
then appointed Sister Evangelista as a charter member of the Board.
It was another tremendous step the Sisters had made in Tucson.
Due to each profound contribution of the Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Mary’s
Hospital grew into a modern site for the practice of medicine, and medicine
advanced successfully in the Southwest.
With their significant contributions,
the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet have expelled the commonly
held stereotypes that women in the early twentieth century were passive
or unimportant in affecting the development of the Western Frontier.
The efforts of the seven women from St. Joseph, Missouri dramatically impacted
education and medicine in Southern Arizona. These areas
might not have developed as successfully if it had not been for their efforts.
To this day, the institutions
that the Sisters of St. Joseph established flourish in the city of
Tucson. There are still Sisters today that serve in hospitals,
schools, and parishes. Their work includes Casa de los Ninos for
abused children and Pio Decimo Neighborhood Center for needed social programs.
As the institutions they built became modern, so too did the Sisters.
Many are now doctors, nurses, lawyers or social workers. As professionals,
they still hold true to their original mission in serving the needs of
others and witnessing to the love of God.
References Cited
Byrne, Leo G. and Cammack, Alberta, Sr. Heritage: The Story of St. Mary’s Hospital 1880-1980. <http:www.library.arizona.edu/images/caron/caronhom.html
Garza, Hedda. 1994. Women in Medicine. Franklin Watts, New York.
Myres, Sandra L. 1982. Westering Women and the Frontier Experience 1800-1915. University of New Mexico Press, Alberquerque.
Van Steenwyk, Elizabeth. 1995. Frontier
Fever: The Scary, Superstitious-And Sometimes Sensible-Medicine of the
Pioneers. Walker and Company, New York.
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