Archives West Finding Aid

The Grace Phelps Papers houses the professional and public records of Grace Phelps, and includes materials relating to her time as head nurse at Base Hospitals 45 and 46 during WWI; head nurse at the Portland Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital; and Superintendent at Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children. This collection, which dates from 1889 to 2008, consists of textual records such as personnel logs, administrative memorandums and correspondence, professional and biographical essays, interview transcripts, newsletters, and newspaper articles, as well as photographs and artifacts. These records document the professional training, accomplishments, and accolades of Grace Phelps throughout her nursing career, focusing particularly on her administrative duties and experiences as Head Nurse at Base Hospitals 45 and 46, as well as her local and national recognition as a prominent Oregonian health advocate and professional.

This collection is unique in that it documents the professional accomplishments of a prominent woman in the armed services and with a lifelong career in health care during a time when few women were able to receive a formal education or maintain a long term career. One of the highlights of this collection is the glimpse into life on a U.S. encampment during World War I, particularly in regards to small details related to the duties of the Head Nurse and other nursing staff. While this collection has few examples of Phelps’s own professional writing, it does include many biographical articles, interview transcripts, and professional commendations. In addition, the many photographs and textual materials from her time at Base Hospital 46 and Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children provide insight into the role of nursing during WWI and the lasting impact of this woman’s work in various local health organizations, culminating in her longstanding career at what is now called OHSU.

The “Photographs” series, which dates from circa 1889 to 1937, includes photographs documenting the people of and landscapes surrounding Base Hospitals 45 and 46, as well as staff images at Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children. Two photographs of significance depict the nurses of the University of Oregon Medical School unit in formation at Base Hospital 45, as well as both the nursing staff and soldiers in uniform, both images circa 1918. Additional photographs of note include images of Grace Phelps and staff on location at Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children , particularly photographs which depict staff interacting with Doernbecher patients, circa 1926-1942. This series is arranged by location, with images from the Base Hospitals and those from Doernbecher grouped separately.

The “Papers” series, which dates from 1900 to 2008, includes documents ranging from correspondence from professional health agencies of the U.S. Armed Forces to personnel logs and inventories from Grace Phelps’s time at Base Hospitals 45 and 46. These also include various administrative documents such as receipts, inventories, lists of surgeries, and ordinances. Two letters of particular interest, dated 1918, were written to provide news and express sympathy to the families of ill or deceased base hospital nursing staff. Other papers of particular interest include various poems, circa 1918, presumably written while abroad during the war, as well as transcripts of interviews with Woman’s World and The Oregonian, dated 1941 and 1943 respectively. This series is arranged chronologically.

The “Artifacts” series, which dates from circa 1900 to 1982, includes artifacts such as wrist and hip pouches from Phelps’s time as Head Nurse at Base Hospitals 45 and 46, as well as professional and commendation medals and awards. Artifacts of note include a detailed personnel log of all nurses at Base Hospital 46, circa 1918, as well as a waist pouch circa 1918 that has been decorated with 11 medals, one of which is Phelps’s military identification tag. This series is arranged chronologically.