photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Pegman this week takes us to Baltimore, home of the John Hopkins Hospital and School of Medicine. Here is my 150 word story.
John Hopkins’ Vision and Ada
John Hopkins Board of Trustees meeting 1893.
‘Let us begin with the critical issue of funding. Our hopes for the new John Hopkins School of Medicine will be dashed – our funds have run out. As our patron said, patient care goes hand in hand with teaching and research. Yes Miss Ada ? ‘
‘I speak for the four daughters of the original Trustees. We have a proposal. We offer to pay for the new school….’
‘Marvellous news…’
‘….on condition that the school accepts women to train as doctors.’
‘Yes Dr Welch ?’
‘Preposterous ! Unthinkable ! The fairer sex will disturb our valiant men students. Ladies faint at the sight of blood, their dainty minds would be overwhelmed by medical science, it’s unseemly..’
‘Moving on Dr Welch. Yes Miss Ada ?’
‘Put simply, no women, no funding sirs. “Equality is the Sacred Law of Humanity”, as I’m sure you would agree sirs.’
Note : I based this re-creation of such a meeting on historical facts. I chose the name Ada.
July 17, 2018 at 3:42 pm
Yay! Good for the four women! And I loved your comment that Dr Welch became a supporter.
Setting your story in a meeting of the Trustees was an ingenious idea.
July 17, 2018 at 7:23 pm
Glad you liked the spirit and achievements of the 4 women. The meeting idea seemed to fit the scenario I imagined for the story. Also I have sat through many committee meetings in my time, so lots of experience to draw from !!
July 17, 2018 at 2:51 pm
Oh, Francine! This story proves that women will always rise to the occasion and then some. Well done.
July 17, 2018 at 7:27 pm
Thanks very much Alicia. Yes, it was great to find real events which celebrated women’s determination. In my singing group we learnt a song that went : ‘Nana was a Suffragette, maybe the last alive…’ you can imagine the tune.
July 16, 2018 at 5:16 pm
In modern history, it seems that each generation creates a broader definition of the term “equality.” Nice use of the purse to pave the way toward women’s equality. I wonder where the quote came from. Is it the motto of the school?
July 16, 2018 at 5:26 pm
The quote is Suffragette slogan I thought was apt for the story.
July 16, 2018 at 4:43 am
Bravo, Francine!
This was a wonderfully told bit of history…
One would think we would be further ahead by now, no?
July 16, 2018 at 2:11 pm
Thank you Dale, so glad you liked the bit of history. I’m sure we have moved on with equality, and there’s more to achieve as well.
July 15, 2018 at 6:52 pm
I didn’t know this history and I’m so delighted you brought it to my attention. What a marvelous story! Bravo!
July 16, 2018 at 2:21 pm
Thank you Karen – so pleased you liked this little piece of history. I was delighted to find out that the four woman struck a deal ! And Dr Welch is a real character, who became a supporter- how good is that ?
July 15, 2018 at 4:41 pm
Dear Francine,
Josh beat me to the punch. I was going to say that we took similar paths this week. 😉 Well done bit of history.
Shalom,
Rochelle
July 15, 2018 at 6:23 pm
Thanks Rochelle, glad you liked the story. I always write my story before I read any-one else’s, because its hard not to be swayed by all those ingenious ideas !
July 15, 2018 at 4:27 pm
Good story. Rochelle did a similar one this week. This is a bit of history new to me. Thanks for sharing.
July 15, 2018 at 6:24 pm
Thanks Josh, glad you liked it.
July 15, 2018 at 3:07 pm
What a poignant story, Francine, from the pages of history, for sure, a telling reminder, which unfortunately sounds as though it could be from a meeting near me. Love your About btw.
July 15, 2018 at 6:26 pm
Thanks Kelvin, pleased you liked the story. Agree with you that equality has a way to go yet.