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Tuesday July 1, 2008 Edition
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Sharing Memories With Anita Church


photo by Rebecca K. Fay

Tuesday July 1, 2008

By Rebecca K. Fay

    Many people in Addison County will remember Anita Church as their school nurse. For over three decades Mrs. Church was the school nurse for Bridport, Shoreham, Weybridge, Cornwall, Salisbury and Ripton.

     In 1943, Anita Dufour, the soon to be Mrs. Church, attended St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing in Hartford, Connecticut. It was a three year program where the graduates would receive their RN. “We were cadet nurses,” Anita explained. “and that meant the government paid our tuition.” The program was in response to World War II. “We had a 120 going in and 112 graduated. I think we did pretty well.”

     Mrs. Church graduated in 1946 and married Lloyd Church II. Their first home was in Hancock, Connecticut. A family friend had converted a chicken coop into an apartment for us. We had a bathroom, a bedroom and a kitchen all on one floor with an outside porch. “They didn’t make it just the size of the chicken coop. It had glass windows in the kitchen on both sides. It was really quite pretty.”

     Anita never thought she would end up in Vermont, but remembers this as the best thing her husband ever did for her. “I love Vermont,” she told me. They purchased a home in Cornwall where she still resides. “This house was built in 1791 when George Washington was the president.”  The couple had three children: Lloyd III “Joe”, born in 1947, Claire born in 1949 and Monica born in 1964.

     Mrs. Church’s first nursing job in Vermont was at Porter Hospital. While working at Porter she decided to get a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. “I went once a week to get my B.S. because it was getting to the point that if you wanted a really good job you had to have a B.S. I decided to do it while I      was still young.”

     Working as a school nurse was something that had never crossed Mrs. Church’s mind until the opportunity presented itself. She was the first school nurse for Bridport, Shoreham, Weybridge, Cornwall, Salisbury and Ripton. “Periodically we had to have the doctor come in and do physicals on the kindergarten kids. I would give them shots while the doctor was doing the examinations. We checked their vision, hearing and backs. Things like that.” In addition to administering vaccinations, Mrs. Church would see kids with various cuts and bruises.

     Anita worked with children from kindergarten up to eighth grade. She said Bridport was her largest school and went from K-9. Shoreham had grades K-6, and Ripton was the smallest school with K-4. “It was the best job I ever had. I liked it because the kids were so nice. Even when they got shots.”

     As you may recall, getting shots as a child was not a pleasant experience. “I always started with the kindergarten kids. I tried to pick out a kid that wouldn’t cry.” She remembers one year where she picked a good size kid who seemed tough enough to endure the ordeal without crying. “He was fine when he had his shot, but when I brought him back he said to the rest of the class ‘You don’t want to go in there. She gives you shots.’”

     It’s always easier getting a shot from someone you know, Anita told me. “Getting a shot from a stranger is more traumatic, apparently. The doctor would always ask them if the shots hurt, and they usually answered “no” because I was the one giving it to them. They knew me, see…that made a big difference.”

     During the summer breaks, Mrs. Church would work for Home Health, but now, after 44 years of nursing, she is fully retired. Her home is filled with pictures of her three children, two grandchildren and one great grandchild. She also has a gray furry cat named O.J. and a little dog, Annie, who is happy to greet each visitor. Today Anita remains close to her children and volunteers at Porter Hospital monday afternoons. She also volunteers for RSVP: Retired Senior Citizens Volunteer Program.

 


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