In 1887, two years after starting a hospital in Bismarck, North Dakota, St. John's Abbey gave the sisters the minor seminary which was part of the monks' St. Clement Priory building complex of church, rectory and school in Duluth. Encouraged by the success of their hospital in St. Cloud, the sisters converted the seminary to a hospital and named it St. Mary's Hospital (2nd building on the right ). The hospital was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Benedictine sisters in Duluth when they branched off from St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, MN, to form an independent convent in Duluth in 1892 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
A hospital insurance ticket from 1895 for St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth. These tickets were sold to lumbermen in northern Minnesota by sisters such as Sister Amata Mackett, who travelled to their camps and performed other home-y duties for the lumberjacks as well as selling tickets.
St. Mary's Hospital early insurance ticket. From 1892 until 1913, the Duluth Benedictine sisters sold an early form of hospital insurance in the form of "lumberjack tickets" which for a fee of from $1 to $5 (and later more), entitled the holder to admission to any of the Benedictine hospitals in Minnesota. This side of the ticket describes conditions under which the ticket cannot be used.
In 1935, children from the St. Mary's Hospital pediatrics unit take advantage of a sunny summer day on the roof. The chairs came from the Chicago World's Fair.
The staff of St. Mary's Hospital, Duluth, in 1925, including (front to back) student nurses, sister nurses and chaplain, physicians, sister staff, lay nurses and staff. The sister in black in the second row is the hospital administrator, Sister Olivia Gowan.
In 1908, St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth started its first school of nursing. Student nurses lived at St. Theresa's Hall nearby the hospital at Fourth Avenue East and Third street. Here, an early graduating class assembles in front of the residence.
Housing for sisters suffering from tuberculosis in 1910. In the early 20th Century, tuberculosis was rife in religious communities, and accounted for the deaths of many young sisters. Fresh air was regarded as the primary treatment. Duluth Benedictine sisters suffering from the disease lived in screened caravans on the grounds of the Kenwood property.
Round metal dispensing container, covered with a paper label for Northern Licorice Powder. Label reads, "An agreeable laxative combining the cathartic action of Senna with Sulphur and the aromatic of Licorice, Oil of Fennel with sugar, thus eliminating the griping effect. Dose, one-half to 2 teaspoonfuls, preferably at night or in the morning. Place the powder in a glass and gradually stir in the water."
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Wangensteen Historical Library