MS 1157 - Wood County Hospital Guild
MLA Citation
“MS 1157 - Wood County Hospital Guild.” Finding Aids. BGSU University Libraries, 29 May 2014, lib.bgsu.edu/finding_aids/items/show/1425. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.
Tags
| Title | MS 1157 - Wood County Hospital Guild |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The records of the Wood County Hospital Guild were donated to the Center for Archival Collections beginning in 1982 through the cooperation of various Guild Officers including Lolita Guthrie and Laurie Newlove, with an instrument of gift signed in September 2011. The collection chronicles events, programs, meetings, and correspondence of the organization from 1953-2010, including various pamphlets, meeting minutes, news clippings, photos, volunteer schedules, and work guides. Literary and property rights have been dedicated to the public and duplication is permitted for the purposes of preservation and scholarly research. The collection was partially processed by BGSU student John Bentley, and Stephen Sonnenberg, with additions and revisions by Marilyn Levinson, Curator of Manuscripts, who compiled the consolidated register in 2011. |
| Agency History | Wood County Hospital opened in 1951. The hospital’s website states that it had tremendous support from the community to begin its operations. The support came in the form of door-to-door fundraising, holding rummage sales, auctions and even more unique ways of raising money such as the sale of blankets and even a heifer at one point. Early labors for a hospital came in the form of petitions for the city of Bowling Green in 1928. The issue of a hospital would arise for a vote again in 1940. Both early votes were struck down by a marginal deficit, discouraging supporters. After World War II and the end of the Depression however, the Hill-Burton Act provided13 million dollars of funding to the state of Ohio for hospital construction. The citizens of Ohio, through bonds and other initiatives, raised around 50 million dollars for the same cause. The Wood County Hospital would costs 750,000 dollars, $250,000 which would be covered by federal funding and $250,000 would be donated by local business man Fred W. Uhlman. The other ways of funding came from donations and previously mentioned forms of fundraising. The Hospital officially opened its doors on the 14th of August 1951. There were 54 beds and 36 doctors originally. The community showed its support by having 6000 citizens show up for dedication day. Since that day, the hospital has survived a 1953 tornado, a blizzard in 1978, and the Y2K computer scare. Perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the history of the hospital is that of the Wood County Hospital Guild. Founded in 1954, it began as a female service organization. The first meeting was March 27, 1954. Members could help in several areas such as “sewing, housekeeping, gardening, public relations, secretarial, hostess-social, and Gray Ladies…” Not only did the guild provide their services, but they also provided financial support in the form of fundraisers and community events. Some of these events included fall festivals, a horse and pony show, and even a showing of Clark Gable’s last film, The Misfits. The Guild ended up donating over half a million dollars from the 1960s to 2000. The Guild also ran the gift shop in the hospital, which profits went to the hospital. The hospital guild also supported programs such as Wood County’s Wheeled Meals and the Candy Stripers, or auxiliary volunteers from the community. More information about the Hospital and the Guild can be found in this collection, Roger Chapman’s It Started With Doctors On Horseback (available at BGSU’s Center for Archival Collections) and the Wood County Hospital website. |
| Scope and Content | The Wood County Hospital Guild collection includes news clippings, photographs, meeting minutes, financial reports, volunteer lists, work schedules, guidelines for individual programs within the guild, newsletters, and volunteer award information. The volunteer services in the collection include the Candy Striper program (later called the Teen Volunteers), the Gray Ladies, wheeled meals, puppet therapy, the grandparent program, and the welcome wagon. The collection also includes personal correspondence from guild heads, notes on Red Cross lectures, and other handwritten notes. |
| Series Description | Untitled Document
PROCEEDINGS MINUTES SUBJECT FILES GIFT SHOP HANDBOOKS, MANUALS, GUIDES VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION VOLUNTEER LISTS AND MEMBER LISTS FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS TREASURER’S REPORTS ESTATE GIFT SHOP FINANCIAL REPORTS/SERVICE CART/FLOWER SALES SCRAPBOOKS AND SCRAPBOOK MATERIALS SCRAPBOOKS PRINTED MATERIAL NEWSLETTER - WOOD COUNTY HOSPITAL GUILD NEWSLETTER -(WOOD COUNTY HOSPITAL) MESSENGER LOOSE CLIPPINGS BROCHURES/BOOKLETS PROGRAM GUIDES (Yearbooks) PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS SLIDES CD |
| Inventory | Box 1 Folders
Box 2 Folders
Box 3 Folders
Box 4 Folders
Box 5 Folders
Box 6 Folders
Box 7 Folders
Box 8 Folders
Box 9 Folders
Box 10 Folders
Box 11 Folders
Box 12 Folders
Box 13 Folders
Box 14 Folders
Box 15 Folders
Oversize wrapped materials Items
Membership Card Boxes Items
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