One of the most beloved figures in the early years on campus was Octavia Scarborough Norwood (1858-1937), the school nurse. While Mrs. Norwood was sometimes the subject of teasing in various campus publications, the tone was good-natured and familiar - and as often, there were tributes to her care for her charges. Norwood referred to all students as "Son" - and this became her nickname in return. One senses that despite her stern admonitions when she caught students without the proper footwear or clothing for the season, the young women recognized her sincere intentions. Mrs. Norwood and Dr. Delia Dixon-Carroll were credited with keeping the campus healthy through several health scares and quarentines, including the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic. Mrs. Norwood was the school nurse at Meredith College from 1902 to 1932.
Norwood in her staff photograph in the 1906 Oak Leaves.
Octavia Scarborough Norwood was hired in 1902. In A History of Meredith College, Mary Lynch Johnson quotes President Vann as to Norwood's qualifications, "She has not been trained in schools but is a woman of experience, energy, good judgment, and fine spirit." She was conditionally employed at $15.00 a month for the spring term, but stayed for thirty years .
Johnson continues, "That it was highly satisfactory on both sides was evidenced by two incidents. Once when she asked for a raise in her microscopic salary, she explained that if she did not get it she would stay on anyway. (She received the raise.) And in 1913 the senior class petitioned the faculty to give Mrs. Norwood, who could do little more than write her name, a place in the academic procession Sunday morning and evening of commencement."
Poem "Sonny-Boy" praising Norwood in the 1911 Oak Leaves. The third verse gives us a sense of her presence on campus:
And all, our dear lady
Broods over with love.
Keeps watch at her window
And calls from above
If the grass is too wet
Or the air is too chill,
Then in you must go and
Perhaps take a pill.
Nurse Norwood in the infirmary with her students. These images are from a scrapbook of snapshots by Lucy Sanders Hood, who graduated from Meredith in 1913.
The Acorn was the student literary magazine and as such printed student's writing exercises - poems, essays and short stories. This 1914 short observational piece by "J.R." and titled "Our Nurse" clearly describes Norwood's appearance and influence.
In the 1919 Oak Leaves, published following the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic and quarantine, a quartet of students with their belongings pose as part of the "Movers' Club," a "club" that likely only existed for this photograph.
The caption to the photo explains the joke - sort of:
Time - When the "flu" was flying
Place - From Main to Faircloth (*A dorm-to-dorm move.)
Motto - Flee from the Wrath of "Son"
A loving parody of the 23rd Psalm appeared in the 1920 Oak Leaves, substituting "Son" as the protector of the Meredith College students.
The October 9, 1925 Twig reported on "Son's Infirmary" on the new campus - to be located, yet again, on the top floor of a dorm building - despite her dreams of a separate building with more light and fewer stairs. Unfortunately, Meredith College would not have a free-standing infirmary until 1962.
Mrs. Norwood is one of the "Campus Favorites" in the 1927 Oak Leaves. Here she stands on the balcony, probably near the fourth floor infirmary in Faircloth where she literally watched over the students and enforced Dr. Dixon-Carroll's rules regarding proper seasonal clothing.
The students had dedicated the 1921 Oak Leaves to Mrs. Norwood "as a measure of our love and gratitude." They repeated the gesture in 1932, they year that she retired after 30 years. Two years earlier Mary Tillery, of the art department, painted her portrait, which was then hung in the faculty lounge - and near Faircloth, where she spent so many years, a cedar tree - the "Octavia tree" was planted in her honor.
Carlyle Campbell Library
Meredith College
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Raleigh, NC 27607
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