Dedication to the Job
By Stephanie Elliott, Curator

Old City Hospital

One of the most exciting parts of my job is the opportunities I have to learn about the history of Gaston County and meet the people who are a part of that history. In preparation for our upcoming exhibit on the history of Gaston Memorial Hospital, we have had the chance to speak with several past and current employees. No matter how boring people think their lives are, I always find them fascinating!

It was definitely a different time during the early years as a hospital than it is today. We talked to one gentleman who was a student in high school and worked over the summer in the Operating Room. Part of his job was to discard of the amputated limbs after surgery! I can’t see a high school student being allowed to do that now.

We also talk to several employees who moved from working in the mills to jobs in the lab and radiology. That would be unheard of now, where it takes years of schooling to be prepared to do a job like that. But back then it was just on-the-job training.

Looking Good in Hospital Garb!

Regan (our registrar) and I also had the opportunity to visit the current site of the hospital and get a few behind the scenes tours of the departments. It’s hard to truly appreciate the size and scope of what is done there just by looking at the outside. There are so many people that have to work together to make it work as a whole. It has definitely changed from the ten room hospital it started out as.

So I guess the point of all this is that no matter how boring you think your story is, it is always fascinating to someone. And I love that my job allows me to encounter and learn new things every day, even if it means putting on a bunny suit! But it was worth it to get to see open heart surgery taking place.