“No room at the inn” and a stable figure into the narrative of the first birth at St. Francis Hospital on March 10, 1903. In that era, births were usually handled at home, often with a practical nurse. Francis May Baldwin, the daughter of the Christian Church minister at Skidmore, was the firstborn at the hospital but did not attend the 1922 event.
On March 12, 1922, St. Francis invited everybody who had ever been born at the hospital (by their count, 200 people) to visit the hospital on the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of Florence Nightingale. 99 children born at St. Francis attended.
The Forum on March 11, 1922, had this story about the first birth
“No Room in the Inn’ for First Baby Born at the St. Francis Hospital. The oldest person eligible to attend, as a hospital “baby” at the reception at the St. Francis Hospital, to be held May 12 in celebration of the birthday of Miss Florence Nightingale, is Frances May Baldwin, daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. H. Baldwin. She was born at the hospital on March, 10, 1903. Dr. F. M. Martin was the attending physician and told the following story regarding the birth of the first baby. “I had been to Elmo to see the children of Prof. T. H. Cook of the State Teachers College, who at that time lived at Elmo. Mr. Cook’s children had scarlet fever. On my way back to Maryville, I was at Burlington Jct. and helped a woman on the train with a heavy valise. I thought nothing more of the incident, although I noticed that she got off at Maryville. I went to my home and went to bed. “Later in the night, I got a call from the Culverson boarding house, which stood at the e corner of Fourth and Buchanan streets, where the Standard Oil filling station now is. The boarding house was run by Mrs. James Pixler. Upon arriving at the boarding house, I found Mrs. Pixler and the woman whom I had assisted with the valise. I learned that the woman was the wife of the Rev. Mr. Baldwin, who had, for the past two or three years, been the pastor of the Christian Church at Skidmore. The parson was moving to Kingston and had already gone there himself. His wife was on her way there and had come to Maryville so she could take the train the following day to St. Joseph, where her husband was to meet her. Upon arriving in Maryville, she found that she could not stay at the hotel. It was court week, and there was “no room in the Inn.” The best thing that she could find was a bed in the sitting room at Mrs. Pixler’s boarding. house. “When I saw the condition that she was in. I told Mrs. Pixler that she must have a room. Mrs. Pixler said this was impossible because her house was filled. I then called the hospital and got Mother Augustine. I explained the situation to her. She said the hospital did not take such cases, that the nurses were not trained to care for them, but that Mrs. Baldwin could be sent there if there was no other way. “I called the Rev. C. M. Chilton, who was pastor of the Christian Church in Maryville, and he went out and got a Mrs. Popham, who was a practical nurse here at that time. I then went to the livery barn, where the Sewell garage now is, got a cab, and sent Mrs. Baldwin to the hospital. Later in the night, the baby was born.
This was the formal report on March 12, 1903 (baby announcements at newspapers are no longer done).
Born in the Hospital, Mrs. Harold Baldwin, on Monday afternoon, gave birth to the first baby ever born in that building. The sisters are quite proud of the little one. Elder Harold Baldwin, who formerly preached for the Christian church at Skidmore, has lately accepted a call to Kingston, Mo., and has entered upon his duties. Mrs. Baldwin left Skidmore on Monday, intending to join her husband in Kingston. But when she reached this city, she became ill and was taken to St. Francis Hospital, where she gave birth to a child.
THOSE BORN AT HOSPITAL GUESTS ST. FRANCIS ‘ BABIES’ INVITED IN MAY 12. SOME ARE 14 YEARS OLD. Two hundred have come into the world at the institution — a high-ranking institution. The young people who were born at St. Francis Hospital will be the special guests at the hospital from 2 to 5 o’clock on Friday evening, May 12. The occasion will be held in connection with the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. The parents and friends of these young people are also invited to attend. The St. Francis Hospital was established twenty-eight years ago, but over the past fourteen years, most maternity cases have been handled. So most of those who will be there as the special guests will not be over fourteen. More than 200 children have been born i in the hospital. This is the second time the birth of Miss Nightingale has been celebrated in the country’s hospitals. Last year, however, it was not celebrated in Maryville. Each hospital in the country is expected to observe the day this year. Some 4.000 institutions will carry out a program. No national program for the day has been decided on as yet. Last year, some hospitals celebrated in one way, and others in another. It will be the same this year. It is thought, however, that the plan to invite in all the children who were born at the hospital will be the only form of celebration decided on in the end. The St. Francis Hospital has made one of the most remarkable records of any in the country in a town of this size. It is the only organized staff hospital in Northwest Missouri, not excluding St. Joseph. Nurses are trained here for the Wabash railroad for the company hospitals as far east as Pennsylvania. They are also trained for the big St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City, Okla. The addition, completed recently, cost $165.000, and there are now 175 beds. A thousand patients are accommodated each year.