The Droplite Alumni Newsletters, 1983-1994

The Two Newsletters that you see before you are the May 1985 & 1987 Newsletters that from the Brokaw Hospital and it is aimed to inform the current and alumni students and members about current events that are happening both in and around the other alumni’s lives such as Notes of Interest, Weddings, Birthdays/births and deaths. These Newsletters were very in depth and informative about the events happening during the year with quotes, letters or snippets from the alumni themselves scattered throughout the newsletters fourteen pages.

The first Newsletter that you see is from May of 1985, Within this newsletter it starts by going over the many different points of interest that occurred over the prior semester/year. Some notable points that it covers is how Miss Lena Maxwell received the Troyer-Sloan Health Award for their hard work within the medical field with a quote saying “Her first job was private duty with a paycheck of $6.00 for 20 hrs of duty. No Overtime.” which shows that she was indeed a hard worker and is deserving of that award. This Newsletter also talks about how 1984 was the 25th anniversary of the training school being on Illinois Wesleyan’s Campus. This newsletter also informs us about the Executive officers for the upcoming year of 1985. Those being President: Mary Cotton, Vice-President: ***, Treasurer: Beatrice Olson, and Secretary: Bette Messamore. As you read through the Newsletter you notice more and more details along with snippets and sections called “Editors Notes” talking about the editors' processes and thinking throughout writing the Newsletter. In this Newsletter specifically at the end you will find a letter written by Miss, Ruth Hunter.

Then in the second Newsletter that you see in front of you is from May of 1987, and within this newsletter they cover many of the same topics of Notes of Interest, Weddings, Birthdays/births, and deaths. One of the biggest points of interest with-in this Newsletter was about the headline “IWU Buildings Named for Ex Staffers” which at the time was the headline in the Pantagraph and this was when the Health services on campus was named the “Velma J. Arnold Health Service” after a retired staff member by the same name. The one thing that drew my attention to this edition of the Newsletter was the letter from the class of 1947 which contains a very intriguing drawing of the different things that accrued on May second at Brokaw and what intrigued me the most was the wide array of items that were involved from drawings of “loved” ones dancing to different looks in uniform like the doctor on their first day of surgery. That is really the most notable part that intrigued me from this edition and is what is seen in the at the end of the Newsletter.