Librarian
UK Libraries
Lexington, KY 40506
About the Materials
The Frontier Nursing Service was founded by Mary Breckinridge in 1925, in Leslie County, Kentucky. Concerned with the plight of poor Appalachian families who had little access to healthcare, Frontier Nursing Service volunteers traveled on horseback in order to provide medical care, predominantly to pregnant women, babies, and children, to families who had no access to doctors or hospitals. These materials include pamphlets and other related items that explain the mission of the organization and its impact on rural healthcare throughout the 20th century.
Questions:
- Record relevant information about the materials you looked at as a group. Include details like people, places, names, events, activities, etc.
- What knowledge do these materials provide about identity, community, and population, as well as how they are constructed? What is one thing you can conclude about these communities from the materials?
- Do you think these materials are important? Why were they kept or preserved?
- Take a few minutes to search online about the Frontier Nursing Service. How has the organization evolved, and is it still around?
Frontier Nursing Service Materials
- Frontier Nursing Service - Oral History InterviewThis clip is an interview with Mary Marvin Breckenridge, who was the second cousin of the FNS founder, and was the organization's first courier. She discusses the relationships between FNS volunteers and patients.
- Frontier Nursing Service - Pamphlet 1Information about the Frontier Nursing Service, photographs, and other information.
- Frontier Nursing Service - Pamphlet 2Information about the Frontier Nursing Service, photographs, and other information.
- Frontier Nursing Service PhotographsPhotographs of FNS volunteers treating patients.