Stories of Mesquite’s first hospital

By CHERYL JENSEN

The Progress

The first hospital in Mesquite was the old rock structure that now houses the Virgin Valley Heritage Museum.

At that time, Bertha Howe was the town nurse. Howe was always busy delivering babies and caring for the sick. She delivered 35 babies born at the facility between 1944 to 1947.

An iron baby bed, with its handmade quilt, is still on display at the museum. The basket lifts off so it can be carried. Nowadays, the bed holds only a doll named Orillia Amelia, both popular names at the time.

The doll is wearing a baby dress worn by Maurine Abbott Hughes in 1914. She has hand knitted booties and diaper with safety pins and a knitted soaker on top of that.

Bertha made a baby book and dutifully recorded the names and dates of each precious infant she delivered.

Local women volunteered their efforts to keep the hospital facility supplied with the linen that newborn babies normally needed at the facility.
“We’d buy 30 yards of fabric for 5 cents a yard,” wrote Margaret Hardy, one of these women. “It was bleached by washing and laying it out in the alfalfa field; it would make 36 hemmed diapers.”

When babies were born, a scorched small square of cloth was folded over, placed on the navel and held in place with a band. Another small square of cloth had a pinch of sugar in it and was used as a “sugar tit” to keep baby from crying.

In the olden days a new baby would have their eyes washed with a weak solution of boric acid water. Whiskey was used as an antiseptic rub and olive oil soothed on the skin to keep it soft.

The first baby delivered in the facility was Robert Tommy Hughes; born May 9, 1944. Unfortunately, the youngster died in an accident when he was one year old.
Bill Lee was born on June 22, 1944, followed by 33 other babies until 1947.

A birthday party celebration was held at the museum on September 29, 2018. All of those born at the hospital, and their families, were invited. A book of their memories and pictures is now on display at the museum.

Lorraine Hughes Plaistead was born on September 23. “My cousin Tim Shaner was born that same day!” Hughes said. “Bertha was always available 24 hours a day. When you were too sick to go to her she would come to your house. My father was serving in the Navy in WWII at the time I was born and thus not with my mother when she gave birth.”

Lowell Potter wrote about Bertha saying, “Old fuss budget didn’t take no crap, but she was a good old gal!”

Maxine Thurston Ware wrote about Bertha, “She was very compassionate, professional and more like a doctor than a nurse. She took car of me when I had pneumonia.”

Bruce Gentry was born there on January 23, 1946. His parents, John and Carolyn Perkins Gentry came from Moapa Valley to give birth in the Mesquite facility. Gentry was a pole vaulter, football player and later a coach at Moapa Valley High School where he taught for 30 years.

Some of the kids who received care from Bertha were a little afraid of her. “If you got a shot, she would get a run on it to make sure it went all the way!” said Dan Frehner.

The Jensen brothers were afraid of Bertha too. When their mother was in St. George having a new baby brother, Bertha went to their house to give them a measles vaccination.
“We had heard a rumor about Bertha giving a girl a shot and the needle broke off when the girl jerked!” said Andrew Jensen. “We weren’t going to get any shot! We ran and hid, some in the attic, one in the bathroom and one made the mistake of running out the door to the front yard instead of hiding in the haystack!”

All the brothers now laugh heartily when they retell the story of being chased by Bertha.
Many residents said Bertha had “a pleasant personality, was a good cook and kept everything clean and comfortable. She was one of the dearly loved heroines of Mesquite.”

The Virgin Valley Heritage Museum is located at 35 W. Mesquite Blvd and is open Tuesday – Saturday from 10 am – 4:00 pm.