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Witte, Rose (audio interview #1 of 2)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the first of two interviews with Rose Witte. It was conducted by a CSULB student who was also a pharmacist and who worked with Witte at Long Beach Community Hospital at the time of the interview. The audio quality of this interview is good. 3/3/1984
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- 2020-12-01
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- *** File: cbrwitte1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-5:06)... Witte was born in Minnesota. When she was nine months old, her mother died and Witte moved in with her grandmother and aunt until her father remarried. After she graduated from high school, she applied for admission to nursing school run by Catholic nuns in Mankato, Minnesota. Her application was denied because she was so young. She then applied to a nursing school at a hospital in Monticello, Iowa where she was given an opportunity to get her nursing license if she agreed to join the military and serve in WWI when she graduated. She graduated in 1919 and by that time, the war had ended. So when she graduated, she took a position as assistant to the superintendent in a 40 bed hospital where she worked for 2 years. (5:06-12:16)... Witte decided to move to California after her aunt and uncle moved here and settled in Long Beach. She came to Los Angeles with 3 friends and found a nursing job at Los Angeles County Hospital around 1924. Her aunt and uncle encouraged her to moved to Long Beach and here she found a job at the newly opened Long Beach Community Hospital in 1925. She began as a maternity nurse and stayed in that position throughout her nursing career. At the time, the maternity ward had about 20 beds and that increased to 25 during WWII. All of the administrators at the hospital were women nurses. Fillmore Condit, a former mayor of Long Beach, gathered the support to get the hospital built in east Long Beach. The only other hospitals in Long Beach at that time were Seaside and St. Mary's and they were closer to downtown. (12:16-17:06)... Witte and the other single, female nurses lived in the nurses' residence on the hospital grounds. The residence was located in the area that was, at the time of the interview, the emergency room parking lot. She lived there until the residence was closed. When she first moved in, there were no sidewalks on Anaheim leading up to the hospital and public transportation did not reach the hospital. Although there were a few houses near the hospital, much of the area was vacant. In the 1920s, one could buy a lot for about $150 but that much money was difficult to come by during the Depression. (17:06-20:21)... Witte worked 10 hours a day, 6 days a week when she began supervising the maternity ward at Long Beach Community Hospital, . It was quite a transition for her when her hours was cut to 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Her starting salary $40 a month, which included room, board, and laundry service. During the Depression, her salary increased to $80 a month. She was better off than most people because she had a steady job and a place to sleep and eat. The changes that have occurred in the nursing field since she began nursing are astonishing. At the time of the interview, nurses were no longer providing bedside care to patients but acting as supervisors and secretaries. The bedside care of patients was transferred to nursing students and LVNs. (20:21-28:26)... Witte was in a dress shop on Anaheim and Obispo when the 1933 earthquake occurred. The front facade of Long Beach Community Hospital cracked and fell down during the quake. The hospital did not suffer any other serious damage and remained open. The patients in the maternity ward were moved to tents in a vacant lot across the street from the hospital for 2 days. A set of twins was delivered during the earthquake. When the shaking stooped, a soup kitchen was opened at the back of the hospital. Many people came to the hospital to volunteer to help with injured patients. A bank on Redondo and a large bakery on Anaheim fell down as a result of the earthquake. St. Mary's Hospital was damaged and had to be demolished and rebuilt. Seaside Hospital did not suffer any serious damage. The nursing residence at Long Beach Community Hospital was not damaged. Witte, at the time of the interview, still had fond memories of living there. (28:26-33:03)... During WWII, the number of beds in the maternity ward increased. A few of the doctors left to serve in the military. Few nurses left the hospital during the war and the hospital continued to operate normally. During that time, Witte was the head nurse of the maternity ward and supervised the patients, the delivery room, and the nursery. (33:03-37:32)... Witte preferred working in the delivery room to the nursery. When the new wing of the maternity department was built, she moved to the 4th floor, which was, at the time of the interview, known as the 3rd floor. The delivery room and the nursery were in the same area. Early in her career, new mothers and their babies stayed at the hospital for 10 days and nurses encouraged mothers to breast feed their babies. When the "trend" changed and mothers were encouraged to bottle feed newborn babies, nurses made formula by diluting water and milk in a "formula room." This was changed again when artificial baby formulas, such as Simulac, were developed. (37:32-41:01)... Witte requested transfers to surgery on several occasions, but her requests were never granted because people could never understand why she wanted to change. People said they could not believe she would rather work as a surgery nurse than a maternity/obstetrics nurse. She became interested in surgery while working as an assistant to surgeons in Iowa. She has assisted in the delivery of more than 37,000 babies. She occasionally sees the children that she delivered when they stop by and see her at the hospital. She never hated going to work. Her career was her life. (41:01-45:35)... There is an interruption in the tape during this segment. Witte never thought about leaving California and returning to the Midwest. She visited Iowa on a regular basis to visit her sister when she lived in Des Moines. She enjoyed going there in the fall because of the weather and beautiful foliage. The nurses at Long Beach Community Hospital got a vacation every year. Witte never felt the need to buy a car. She once started to learn how to drive but gave up the idea when she got in an accident with a friend. She travels by bus or friends drive her where ever she wants to go. Many of the women who started working at the hospital with her are still there. Most of the turn over among nurses involves younger people who can move around because there are so many job for nurses. End of tape. *** File: cbrwitte2.mp3 (0:00-2:15)... Witte enjoys living in Long Beach where she has wonderful friends. Certain members of her family have tried to and entice her to live near them, she believes that while family members tire of each other, friends never do. When Witte was nine months old, her mother died. She had a brother who was 2 years older, but he died of whooping cough when he was about a year old. End of tape.
- SUBJECT BIO - Rose Witte was a nurse in the maternity ward of Long Beach Community Hospital for many years. She observed changed in the hospital and in the community around it. Witte came to Long Beach after she graduated from nurse's training and, after working briefly at the Los Angeles hospital, she came to Long Beach and found position at Community Hospital. She applied for a surgical position, but the one that was open was in the maternity ward. When she first arrived, she lived in a nurse's residence run by the hospital. Witte was interviewed by a CSULB oral history student who was also a pharmacist at Long Beach Community Hospital. TOPICS - family background; nursing training and career; Los Angeles County Hospital; Long Beach Community Hospital; nurses' residence; the Depression; the 1933 Long Beach earthquake; nursing salary and hours; WWII; and manursing career and family history;
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| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
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6907533813092374-cbrwitte1.mp3 | 2023-10-20 | Public | Download |
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1965898217742839-cbrwitte2.mp3 | 2023-10-20 | Public | Download |