ST. FRANCIS CELEBRATES 150-YEAR HISTORY IN CITY

~Correction: Hospital is 120 years old.

In 1957, Emma Bachman gave birth to her daughter at St. Francis Hospital. Last month her husband paid the remaining portion of the $30 bill.

"She stayed eight days, and he paid $25 of the bill," said Edythe Davis with the St. Francis Foundation. "Over the years he forgot about the last $5."

But last week, Bachman drove from St. Louis and paid the remainder of the bill. He included a donation. His story was included in the hospital's Heritage Memory Day Sunday afternoon.

About 50 former patients and employees shared similar memories of the hospital during its early years at a reception at the Health and Education Center.

The celebration was part of the 120th anniversary of St. Francis Medical Center and the annual Feast of St. Francis.

The Sisters of St. Francis founded the hospital in 1875. During its 120 years, the hospital has moved six times.

Its last move was in 1976, when it became St. Francis Medical Center at Route K and Mt. Auburn Road.

During the 1930s, Irma Lappe worked as a nurse aide at the hospital. Her monthly salary was $24, which included room and board in the hospital basement.

"We lived as one big family," she said, adding that she lived with five roommates next door to the morgue.

When Lappe got married in 1940, she quit the job.

"I got a toaster from all the girls at the hospital and a Bible from the nuns," she said, adding that she visited the sisters after the ceremony so they could see her wedding gown.

Imelda Nenninger had a different view of the hospital. She has worked in the business office as a patient account representative for 42 years.

Computers have changed the hospital business, she said.

"When I first started, it was a big deal that we were getting a 32 total posting machine," she said.

The hospital didn't affect only its employees. When the hospital was at 825 Good Hope, a bell rang three times a day at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m.

All the children in the neighborhood went home for dinner when the bell rang, Nenninger said.

Many of the stories about the hospital were videotaped during individual interviews.

"After a time, you lose the stories of the past," Davis said, adding that scrapbooks contained some of the early history.