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At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to come work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.

Jane Hope was a Courier in the 1950s. She enjoyed her experiences so much that she returned to Wendover on several different occasions as a senior Courier. Her last visit to Wendover was in 1959. Her mother was a Courier in the 1920s, which largely influenced Jane to participate in the Courier Program as well.

In her first year as a Courier, Jane observed three births, one of which was a birth by cesarean section.  Jane often thinks back to these deliveries and compares them with her experiences giving birth to her own children at her local hospital. She wishes she would have been able to have a midwife during her pregnancies.

Jane has many fond memories of this first year she spent in Wendover and the people she encountered. Jane remembers fixing tea every afternoon and visiting with the other Couriers, a couple of whom were from England. They thoroughly enjoyed the time they spent together at Wendover.

One of the first years Jane returned, she was asked, along with a fellow Courier, to transport a young girl and her mother to the Cincinnati children’s hospital. On the way, the young girl’s mother began to grow anxious so they decided to stop at St. Joe’s in Lexington, which was much closer. Unfortunately, the little girl passed away prior to their arrival. Jane and the fellow courier had to transport the young girl’s body back to the hospital in Hyden, where one of the Frontier doctors was waiting with comforting words. Jane remembers being bothered by this occurrence for some time afterwards but was consoled by the love and comfort of those at Wendover.

The next time Jane was asked to transport someone to another hospital, she insisted that a nurse come along for the trip. They arrived safely in Cincinnati but never made it to the hospital. Jane had a friend who lived in the area so they were able to deliver the baby at her friend’s home. She remembers this trip going much more smoothly than the previous one.

In her free time during her Courier service, Jane took a bus to Richmond, KY. She remembers Richmond as “a wild and crazy place—the entryway into the mountains.”

Her experiences as a Courier made Jane a stronger person. She grew personally as her skills improved. Her love and fascination with the gift of midwifery and her respect for the mountain people were sparked during her time in Wendover. “Doing it made me love mountain people and care about that part of Kentucky… I did not think of mountain people as less. I admired that they were living in their own culture.”

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to come work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.

Jean Gilcrest was a Courier between her sophomore and junior years of college, in the summer of 1957 . She learned about the program through family members. According to family legend, Jean and Mary Breckinridge were double cousins. It was a combination of family history, an interest in medicine, an interest in riding, and an interest to see what being a Courier was like that inspired her to participate in the Courier Program. She grew up outside of Lexington, Kentucky and was interested to see how living in the bluegrass was completely different than living in the mountains.

Jean has many memories of her time as a Courier, mostly of driving to home visits with the nurses. Jean recalls one visit in particular to a home in which they had to drive the FNS jeep at 20-30 miles per hour to prevent the neighbor’s vicious dogs from jumping in their car. At this home, there was a young girl who was not potty trained—there had been accidents, and messes were everywhere in the home. However, the next time Jean and the nurse returned to the home, it was clean and the young girl was well put-together. Jean wondered if the nurse returning to visit made her mother feel cared for, inspiring the mother to clean up her homestead.

Jean remembers that one of the doctors at Frontier, Dr. Beasley, would bring pregnant women who were going to be having their first babies to the hospitals before they went into labor (to ensure that they would not have any problems at the time of delivery). Around women’s due dates, Jean and the nurses would drive the women in the FNS jeeps up and down the bumpy roads in an attempt to speed up the labor process.

Another one of Jean’s memorable experiences was when she accompanied a nurse to take a child in a brace to Shriner’s Hospital in Lexington. On the day they were to take the child, it was pouring down rain and they could not get the jeep across the creek to pick him up. Jean remembers the father carrying the child across a swinging bridge in the rain so he could be taken to the hospital.

Jean remembers having tea with Mary Breckinridge in the afternoon, although she does not recall whether this was something all the Couriers did or whether it was due to their relation.

Jean not only had several significant experiences while at Wendover, she learned a lot about the culture of the region, as well. Something that significantly stood out to Jean was the lack of education in the area. Kentucky was ranked 47th in the nation for education at that time. After graduating eighth grade, many of the former students became the teachers themselves, instructing first grade through seventh grade. Many of these eighth grade graduates did not continue to high school; if they wanted to go to high school, they would have had to move into town, leaving their brothers and sisters to take over their chores.

She remembers learning about Kate Ireland’s views on the impact of governmental welfare programs that started in the region at this time.  Kate told her she believed they had a negative impact on the people in the area because they started using food stamps for white bread and sugar—foods that were more detrimental to their health than the way they used to eat. Their diets were healthier before when they grew their own wheat and made their own bread from whole grain flour.

The things Jean learned about the culture of the area, coupled with her experiences while serving as a Courier, not only had a personal impact on her but she believes her assistance truly impacted the community as well. She was confident that her service made a difference.

After finishing the Courier Program, Jean continued her college education and graduated with a teaching degree. She worked as a teacher until she had children of her own. After her divorce, she made the decision to pursue a nursing degree. She worked as a rehabilitation nurse until she retired. Both her experiences at Frontier as well as a personal experience with injury inspired this secondary career choice.

She enjoyed her time in Wendover as a Courier and stayed on a committee for Frontier in Cleveland for some time.

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to come work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.

Jean White Byrne learned of the Courier Program from a professor at Maryville College. Her professor encouraged her to travel to Frontier in her junior year to assist with bookkeeping. However, it was not until just prior to her graduation in 1941 that she made the decision to come to Frontier Nursing Service.

Jean remembers her first night in Wendover. She arrived during a going away party where Mary Breckinridge was playing Bridge, one of her favorite games. She remembers fooling Mary Breckinridge by betting on her hand in a way that she had not expected Jean to do. Jean remembers that Mary Breckinridge was not particularly thrilled about this.

Jean remembers a few “unspoken” rules that the Couriers abided by while in Wendover. First, they were not allowed to speak about religion or politics. Second, they always had to stay on the path. If they traveled off of the path they could have crossed into moonshiner’s territory which was forbidden. Jean says they all stuck by these rules while they were there.

As a Courier, Jean worked in the hospital every Monday. She rode by horseback through rain, wind, or sleet to be there every week. She remembers riding horses with two fellow Couriers up Camp Creek one day. They were riding along a narrow path approaching the mountain when the horses were startled by a loud sound, from what they later found to be a fallen tree in the forest. The horses turned the other direction and took off running. Somehow all three of the Couriers managed to remain in their saddles, and they were able to pull the horses back onto the path.

One of Jean’s most significant memories at Wendover occurred in 1942 when the Garden House caught fire. She was the last one in the Garden House that day. While they were eating in the Big House, they heard someone yell “Fire!” and everyone rushed out to the Garden House to see smoke billowing out. The bookkeeper at the time was able to grab a typewriter and some records through a window, but all other records as well as personal items left inside were destroyed by the fire.

Mary Breckinridge was away when the fire occurred so Agnes Louis had to find a way to communicate the events to her. Mary Breckenridge instructed Agnes to begin re-building the Garden House immediately.

Celia Coyte and Jean were the only two who were able to do architectural drawing as they both had taken mechanical drawing in high school so they took the lead on the re-design project. Jean and Cecilia agreed that the old Garden House did not have enough wash basins, toilets, or tubs so they created the new design with 3 tubs and 4 basins. They decided the bathroom should take on a dormitory style. The Garden House was rebuilt exactly as they designed it.

Jean stayed at Wendover until September of 1942 when she got married. She was working for various attorney’s offices in the Maryville area. In 1943, Mary Breckinridge called her to ask for her assistance in Wendover. Jean returned from 1943 to 1946 while her husband was in the service.  

During her return, she remembers having her appendix out at the hospital in Hyden. She was directly across from a birthing room and remembers hearing a woman giving birth, assisted by one of the Frontier midwives. It was a nerve-racking experience for both the new midwife and the new mother. However, when Brownie from Frontier arrived, she was able to calm down both parties and the rest of the delivery went smoothly.

Jean returned home to Maryville in 1946 but will always remember her experiences as a Courier and hold them dear to her heart.

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to come work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.

Jess Rice learned about the Courier Program from a friend who had been a Courier the year before. She was just out of high school and was looking for an opportunity to explore an area outside of her hometown.  She was interested in the program, and so she traveled to Wendover in 1994 to serve as a Courier.

As a Courier, Jess drove lab samples and other medical supplies between three hospitals. She shadowed a home health aide on home visits as well as many nurse practitioners. She also had the opportunity to observe a surgery. The surgeon was playing Pink Floyd throughout the operation. “I thought—oh my god, they are rock and rolling while doing surgery, how scandalous!” That surgery was an experience that Jess will never forget!

Jess lived in the Garden House while she was a Courier. She would sit on the front porch, play guitar, and spend time with other Couriers. Jess came from a sheltered, fundamentalist background, and one of the most life changing experiences for her was meeting college students from all over the country. They were seniors in college and Jess was just out of high school. She was awestruck, and she learned a lot from spending time with them.

She also learned to drive stick-shift while she was in Wendover. She remembers it was particularly difficult because of all of the hills in the area. She was determined to learn to drive stick-shift after she was invited to a religious service by a Minnesota woman. Jess did not want to stand her up so she decided to just do her best driving one of the FNS jeeps.

Jess spent a lot of her time getting involved in the community, but she enjoyed spending time by herself as well. She also spent time with Sherman Wooten. They made a stool together, she attended a fish fry at his house, and she remembers one time when he killed a copperhead with a shovel. After she left Wendover, Sherman would send her postcards every once in awhile that said, “Sherman Wooten, since 1910.”

Some of her most memorable experiences were the Fourth of July games—coon on a log and the green pig contest in which some 8-year-old boys wrestled a giant pig to the ground. It was amazing to her.

“It was a good place for someone like me to get exposure to a lot of things in a safe place.  At the end of the summer, I was emotional about leaving. I did bond with that group,” Jess reflected.

After finishing the Courier Program, Jess did end up returning home and attending school in her hometown. However, she believes all of the different experiences as a Courier stayed with her. Inspired by her adventures in Wendover, she spent some of her summers as a hiking guide in Colorado.  Her experiences as a Courier made Jess more willing to experiment, be adventurous, and take risks.

Jess ended up working at the American Red Cross for a year before pursuing a biology degree. However, she ended up steering more towards outdoor education, and she worked in the school system for a little while. A little later, she worked in the solar industry.

“It’s been a winding road, and I have not had a direct career path.”

Just recently, Jess finished her Certified Nursing Assistant program and is now working on her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She believes that her experiences in the Courier Program, shadowing clinicians have stuck with her. Even if she doesn’t have distinct memory of it, these experiences inspired her to follow this healthcare path.

Not only did the Courier Program impact Jess’s ultimate career decision, it enhanced her life in many other areas as well.

“The biggest impact of the Courier Program is that I got my mind expanded in general. Not necessarily in healthcare or particular pieces of information. It was kind of a mind expanding experience for me in general.”

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to come work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.

Upon her return from a volunteer trip in Lima, Peru, during which Elia Cole spent time observing in a hospital, she was inspired to explore public health issues in her own country—particularly in areas with limited resources. When she came across the Courier Program, she realized this internship was the perfect combination of education and adventure.

In the Summer of 2009, this junior in college traveled to Wendover to participate in the Frontier Nursing Service Courier Program. She remembers exploring the area with other Couriers and immersing herself in the Appalachian culture.  

Her experiences as a Courier affected her deeply in a variety of ways. Elia wrote in her journal in July of 2009:

“As I sit here on Mrs. Breckinridge’s front porch, listening to the rippling of the river below, I am filled with a sense of inspiration: to challenge my own expectations of comfort and to offer service to those around me. I am moved by energy of Mrs. Breckinridge and will leave Kentucky with a small piece of the spirit Appalachia stitched into my heart”

As a Courier, Elia spent much of her time shadowing doctors, nurses, and midwives.  She also had the opportunity to observe part of a birth while at Wendover. When Elia was not at the clinics or hospitals, she assisted with dinners at Wendover, volunteered at the Leslie County Health Fair as well as the Leslie County Food Pantry, and assisted with the local summer reading club.

During her time in the Courier Program, Elia conducted research on social determinants of healthy lifestyle choices in Leslie County. This was Elia’s first exposure to illiteracy in the United States, as well as her first encounter with public health research. Her experiences inspired her to focus on the importance of non-communicable diseases, something different from her previous public health volunteer experience. The Courier Program marked a turning point in shifting Elia’s interests from therapeutic care to preventative and primary care.

Elia’s time spent as a Courier influenced her career path; she took a position in Washington, DC working with a low-resource Ethiopian and Salvadoran community. She found that this community reminded her of Leslie County, particularly in regards to their health care issues. The experiences and knowledge that she gained as a Courier aided her greatly in serving in that Washington, DC community.

Today, Elia holds a Master of Public Health degree from Boston University and is currently a medical student at the Pacific Northwest University in Yakima, WA , where she hopes to study primary care—a decision again impacted by her service as a Courier.

Elia describes the Courier Program as an opportunity for individuals to explore their own understanding of the health care system within the United States and health issues particular to rural communities.

Elia continues to be involved at FNU and with the Courier Program. “By staying involved, I am reminded of the importance of service and connection through relationships, the aspects of caring for others that make the work rewarding.”

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to come work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.

Ruth Venable spent time as a Courier in the Summer of 1955. She spent time at both Red Bird Clinic and at Mary Breckinridge Hospital, but the majority of her time was spent at Wendover. As a Courier, Ruth served tea, took care of horses, and enjoyed the company of other Couriers and Wendover staff.

Ruth recalls sleeping on the porch with bats roosted in the shutters while at Wendover. This did not bother her because she knew that the bats kept to themselves.

At the end of Ruth’s eight weeks in Wendover, Frontier Nursing Service wanted her to stay and study radiology. However, at that point in time, Ruth was not interested in staying in the area, and so she returned home.

Ruth enjoyed her time as a Courier very much, but did not end up going into the medical field. Her sister, Edith Conyers, on the other hand, who was also a Courier in the early 1960’s, went on to attend nursing school and become a nurse in Lexington.

Ruth has made a return visit to Wendover and enjoyed “Wide Neighborhoods” so much that she would love to read it again! She remains a supporter of FNU to this day.

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to come work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.

In 1963, Leslie Olivas went to Wendover to serve as a Courier. She learned of the Courier Program from a classmate at her high school who had been to Frontier. Leslie enjoyed riding horses and wanted to learn more about nursing, so the Courier Program seemed like a great opportunity. Leslie took a year off from college and traveled to Wendover .

As a Courier, Leslie exercised horses and a mule, ran errands for the midwives, fed malnourished infants at the hospital, and even painted the whole Beechfork Clinic. Leslie also occasionally attended home births with the midwives, holding a flashlight so the midwives could see to catch the babies!

She was particularly interested in the spirituality of the Appalachian people in Eastern Kentucky. Community members held prayer groups in their homes, and Leslie remembers taking the jeeps across the river to go to church services.

On one home visit with a midwife from New Zealand, Leslie was riding a horse and the midwife was riding a mule. She heard the midwife call out her name; when she turned around she saw that the midwife’s saddle was slipping and she was about to fall off. All turned out well, but Leslie and the midwife laughed about this until their stomachs hurt!

Leslie had the opportunity to assist one nurse in traveling from home to home to give the community members a vaccine for Polio. She learned a lot about the atmosphere and environment of the resident’s homes in Hyden. “The closeness and caring of neighbors was so beautiful and I always kept that with me,” she remembers.

Leslie remembers helping fix tea for Mary Breckinridge. She enjoyed talking with Mrs. Breckinridge and listening to her stories. She gained valuable advice from their talks that Leslie still carries with her today, particularly about public speaking. Leslie describes Mrs. Breckinridge as a very sweet, humble, and kind woman whose faith was the basis of her work.

Unfortunately, towards the end of her time in the Courier Program, Leslie was in a terrible car accident. She suffered from a concussion and a broken back. After this accident, Leslie was not able to return to Wendover. She stayed close to home during her recovery and started nursing school that same fall.

As a result of her experiences as a Courier, Leslie was inspired to become a nurse midwife. It took her ten years, but she graduated from Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. In her career, Leslie has attended the births of 125 babies and has had 5 babies of her own. She has worked in obstetrics for 30 years, and currently works with Native American mothers with the Indian Health Service in Phoenix, Arizona, where she has encounters with many Frontier Nursing University students.

“I feel the main tracks of my life had roots in my experience at Frontier Nursing Service. Being a Courier there was an invaluable experience for me… I am very grateful to FNS for the experiences I had in my youth.  How wonderful that many young women will have this same opportunity!”

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.

In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to come work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.

Rebecca Stanevich learned of Frontier Nursing Service as she was flipping through an old book about different occupations, one of which was nursing. The Courier Program at FNS interested Rebecca because she wanted to learn more about the profession of nurse-midwifery. With the help of her mother and a neighbor, she had the opportunity to travel to Wendover in 1970 to serve as a FNS Courier alongside 4 or 5 other young people her age for six weeks.

As a Courier, Rebecca remembers driving for a district nurse, who had recently been injured in a car wreck, in the Wendover area.  She accompanied the nurse on visits and was able to see everything that a district nurse did in the community. She remembers walking into log homes or shanties on visits with the nurse, many of which had dirt floors, which was something very different than what Rebecca was used to seeing.

One of Rebecca’s most memorable experiences is a driving test that the Couriers did with Kate Ireland, a staff member at FNS who worked with the Courier Program. Rebecca had prepared herself prior to traveling to Wendover by learning how to drive stick shift, something she had a feeling would be useful in Wendover.  Kate Ireland had the Couriers drive down a very steep hill and engage the emergency brake upon her command. It was an nerve-racking experience that Rebecca will never forget.

Before coming to Kentucky, Rebecca was under the impression that the area would be similar to that of Western Maryland, where her parents were both from and where she spent much of her childhood. However, after spending time in Eastern Kentucky, Rebecca was amazed at the differences. During her six weeks in Wendover, something that really stuck out to Rebecca was the community’s need for social services.

“The people were strong overall, but too weak to get out of the spiral. I don’t know how they would have survived without social services.”

Although she did not become a nurse-midwife, Rebecca did pursue a career in the field of nursing. Her summer as a Courier provided her with a personal growth opportunity that she still carries with her today. It impacted her political views, career choice, and has provided her with personal strength during difficult times.  In fact, one of the most valuable things that has stuck with her is the strength of people she met there.

“Seeing the people in Leslie County be so positive with so little makes me feel like people are really strong. We can do a lot of things.”

Rebecca is still involved with the Courier Program and serves as a member of the Courier Advisory Committee.