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could “dissect things without throwing up
and was good at math,” she earned a nurs-
ing diploma from Methodist-Kahler School
of Nursing in Rochester, Minn. She then
received bachelor’s and master’s degrees
from the University of Washington, where
she met Gary, a nuclear physicist.
Melodie worked as a nurse for several
years as she followed her husband’s career.
In 1982, she was asked to create a nursing
program at Clatsop Community College.
It was during that year she decided her
love of the Pacific Ocean was real, and she
vowed to return to the North Coast.
Her love for writing also was real, so
Melodie eventually pursued a master’s de-
gree in journalism and began writing books
for nurses who wanted more from their
careers. Her books segued into speaking
engagements throughout the U.S. and in
several countries.
Throughout her travels, Melodie always
found time to scour antique stores, flea
markets and garage sales, searching for
mementos that depicted nurses and encour-
aged pride and productivity in nursing.
After she and Gary decided to make
Cannon Beach their permanent home five
years ago, she started the museum. It’s
open 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays during the
summer and by appointment during the rest
of the year (Contact information is on the
website, pronurse.com). Admission is free.
PHOTOS BY NANCY McCARTHY
LEFT: Melodie Chenevert points to a photo of Irene English Countryman, who directed the Methodist-Kahler School of Nursing in Rochester,
Minn. from 1923-1938. Countryman eventually moved to Arch Cape. Chenevert, who also received her nursing diploma from Methodist-Kahler,
displays Countryman’s nursing cape and caps. RIGHT: A painting showing a compassionate nurse bandaging a dog also involved in medical
services is among the abundant artwork found in the Lost Art of Nursing Museum on South Hemlock Street.
In addition
to writing
books for
nurses seek-
ing to further
their careers,
Melodie
Chenevert
also created
coloring
books for
students
interested in
being nurses.
The book
has Spanish
and French
translations.
‘A joy-filled, magical journey’
The South Hemlock Street house, once
owned and operated as a gift shop by
Cannon Beach resident Marlene Laws, was
already in a commercial zone. Melodie, in
her often contrary way of thinking, decided
that since those interested in tourism were
always trying to put “heads in beds,” she
might have something unusual to attract
tourists.
“Nurses are always trying to get heads
out of beds,” she said, laughing.
Museum visitors include current nurses,
retired nurses relatives or friends of nurses
and those who never considered being a
nurse. She has had as many as 25 people
come through on a Saturday and as many
during midweek; they stay from 10 minutes
to three hours, sharing memories, glancing
at the nursing kitsch, browsing the nursing
books, or buying specially made nursing
stickers and necklaces.
Comments in the guest book include the
words “amazing,” “awesome” and “fas-
cinating.” One visitor called the museum
a “joy-filled, magical journey through
nursing.”
Eventually, Melodie wants to share
her museum with a larger community, by
housing it in a university or even creating
a national nursing museum, possibly in
Portland. “I would like to see the collection
stay in the Northwest,” she said.
She worries that people will forget the
time when nurses, like those in the his-
toric posters and magazine covers, were
celebrated and considered bold, noble and
patriotic. She also worries that the memen-
tos she has rescued over the years will once
again be discarded.
Nursing arts
Most of all, Melodie, whose first
class in nursing school was called
“nursing arts,” is concerned that the
emphasis on nursing as an art as well as
a science has been overlooked. That’s
why a nursing museum is important, she
added.
“I think there’s not much interest in
history in general in this country,” she
said. “With nurses, they’re so con-
sumed by the here and now, they don’t
think about their history or their future.
They’re just trying to get through their
shift.” CW
A summer uniform for nursing cadets hangs
in the Lost Art of Nursing. The U.S. Cadet
Nurse Corps was established by Congress in
1943 to train women between the ages of 17
and 35 to be nurses and to ensure there were
enough nurses in the nation during World
War II. The program ended in 1948.