History of St. Catherine’s Hospital

Now to St. Catherine’s hospital. McCook also had several “hospitals” over the years, the first noted to be in the space now occupied by the new art park next to the Keystone.

In the early 1900s, there was a surgical hospital and a general hospital. At the same time that the Keystone Hotel was being proposed, the McCook Commercial Club (soon to be come the McCook Chamber of Commerce) was instrumental in launching both projects, though the hospital was supposedly taking a back seat to the new hotel!

Enter the Dominican sisters who offered a $37,500 start to a hospital fund payable only if the Commercial Club was able to raise a match. The first architectural drawing was let and no bids were accepted because all went well over the approximate $ 75,000 available for building. During the fund raising, many citizens actually went door to door seeking donations and as one article put it, people contributed “till it hurt”. Contributions ranged from $ 5 on up with most door knockers successfully bringing in pledges between $ 10 to $ 25.

As the pledges came in, the sisters took over the operation of McCook’s general hospital in anticipation of becoming the full-fledge managers of the new hospital.

In April of 1922, bids were again opened and by May the footings of the new hospital were finished with foundation work coming next. A new financial committee was appointed and charged with securing pledges or cash to finish raising the final $ 10,000 needed to close the financing of the hospital.

I might note that the same J. E. Kelley after which Kelley Park is named, donated the land upon which the hospital is located. That land had originally been used to raise buffalo and there are pictures of same at the museum.

Anyway, the names of the final committee, Walsh, Kelley, Real, Suess, Watkins, Cordeal, Strunk, Waite, Kimmell, etc., along with Drs. J. M. Willis, Z.L. Kay, L. B. Swaggart, Elizabeth Holh, G.A. DeMay and W. E. Knox meant that quick work was made in raising the money. The Elks band donated music for a benefit dance to be held on the street south of the city park to get the fund raising started.

Now to clear up one thing, the original hospital building was the center building, with the north and south wings added at later dates as business required. As I have mentioned repeatedly, McCook has a history of being a very benevolent community, proven here with another of our historical buildings having come into existence only through the giving of money to build it. Our present Community Hospital original beginnings came from the same benevolence and again, people gave as much as they could afford and every gift was appreciated. As to St. Catherine’s, I am excited to see what the future brings and appreciative of the fact the lots are clean now.

Last but not least, I found an article in the McCook Daily Gazette, October 5, 1929, stating the the “World Series to be on Playograph Here”. The Playograph was a large board mounted on the front of the Gazette building and “ bearing a miniature diamond on which markers indicating the players move about and over which a little white ball travels to follow out every play as it is completed by the players on the field.” The Gazette hosted a free baseball party as the wire service by United Press told the plays going on at the actual game. Wouldn’t it be fun to see that board again?