Devotion

The Florence Nightengale pledge is a statement of the ethics and principles of the nursing profession and a version is often recited at nursing graduation ceremonies. In the final line of the original 1893 oath, the nurse pledges that, "I shall be loyal to my work and devoted towards the welfare of those committed to my care." In these days of the coronavirus pandemic, nurses all over the world have proven their extraordinary loyalty and devotion to the high tenets of their calling. As part of our club's virtual doll meeting, this blog hopes in some small way to acknowledge and honor the the nurses on the front lines of the epidemic, working long hours, often scrounging for necessary supplies, and even putting themselves at risk in order to care for their patients.

This lovely lady of the lamp belongs to member Bette Birdsong. She is Gene Marshall, 15.5-inch tall fashion doll introduced by Mel Odom in 1995.  Gene's backstory is that she is an actress during Hollywood's golden age, and she comes with meticulously-created outfits, costumes, and accessories based on fashions from the 1930s through the 1950s.  This Gene doll is wearing a nursing outfit based on a picture featured in 1943 Coca-Cola calendar.

This trio of nurse dolls is from the collection of member Sylvia McDonald. The little girl in red is "Doll Hospital Nurse" by the famed company of Madame Alexander. The 8-inch tall doll was introduced in 2002 and holds her own tiny patient. The center nurse doll is from Poland and is made from wood. The final doll is "Gift of Life" Ginny introduced in 2001 by Vogue Dolls. Vogue made a donation for each doll purchased to the Gift of Life, a nonprofit organization that raises funds to bring children to the United States for heart surgery

Another Alexander doll, this "Nurse Wendy" belongs to member Ann Meier. In 1953, the company introduced an 8-inch tall hard plastic little girl doll called Wendy-Ann, named after Madame Alexander's granddaughter. This doll was renamed Wendy in 1954 and became a beloved staple of the Madame Alexander line.