The birth of a nurse - Alaskan Style

I had the opportunity to meet a lovely couple the other day.  They are both in their 70's and have a few health problems.  Not being familiar with the facility I work in, they came to see if we could help them.  We couldn't, but I had the great fortune to chat with them for quite awhile.  Eventually, Mrs. Marvin told me she was a retired nurse, and this is the story she told me of how she became a nurse.

Mrs. Marvin, I hope you don't mind my sharing your story.  Thank you for sharing it with me.

Kodiak, Alaska is an island off the Alaskan coast that comprises about 6.5 square miles.  The population is about 6,500 people, spread over 7 communities. Like most Alaskan communities, it is accessible by ferry or plane.  There are no bridges to the mainland.  It is a mecca for fisherman, tourists, and hunters.  This is where the legendary Kodiak Bear resides.  And eagles.  There are pictures in an earlier blog from Steve's trip to Kodiak with a tree full of eagles.

Originally, the land was settled by the Alutiiq people.  There is also a strong Russian presence in the area, like there is in so many of the coastal towns.  And this is where Mrs. Marvin was born, about 74 years ago, to a native family.  Her mother died in childbirth and her father gave her to her great-aunt and uncle to raise.  They could not have children of their own, so they took her and raised her for the first 6 years of her life.  Yupik was her first language.  Education was not a priority in her culture, nor was learning English, but about the time she turned 6, her great-aunt was diagnosed with cancer.  Her uncle, who must have been a man of great fore-thought and wisdom, told Mrs. Marvin that she needed to learn English and she needed an education. He told her that she didn't need to know English to learn how to mop the floors or wash dishes, but if she wanted to do anything else, she needed to learn to read and write. He told her how embarrassing it was for him to go to the neighbors to have something read to him.  He tried to impart to her that with an education she could go anywhere. You can imagine that at 6 years old, that isn't exactly what she wanted to do.

Girls Dormitory and Chapel, Kodiak Island

an unidentified Yupik girl, circa 1967

The only place to go and learn English and get the education her uncle desired for her, was at the Baptist orphanage.  (Mr. Marvin commented here that his wife still likes to see a cross on the wall of a room) So, Mrs. Marvin was sent by her great-uncle to the orphanage to learn English and get an education.  She said she resented it at first, but then she learned English, and then she learned to read and write and soon she realized she loved the process of learning.  She remained at the orphanage for about 4 years before heading to mainland Alaska and finishing her education.

I don't know where she went or what adventures she had during those years, but she said she finished nursing school and had a picture taken of herself in her new whites, cap and blue cape and sent the photo to her great-uncle.  She said he cried and cried. 

I don't think she ever went back to Kodiak.  Instead she moved to Sitka, where she married and raised her family.  Mr. and Mrs. Marvin still have a house in Sitka, but they also go back and forth to Anchorage.  Just like lots of other people.  In some ways, this is a pretty mobile state. Mrs. Marvin worked as an OB/GYN nurse for many years, and then as a school nurse.  She said her favorite job was working as a school nurse at the local UAS campus. She leaned over and confided to me "not everyone likes those young people, but I loved them".

So from being a child raised to originally speak a language spoken by about 10,000 people, to being an RN at a college campus - that's quite a story.  Thanks again for sharing it with me.