Making a pitch for nursing More on the Woodruffs and Candlers Where was Ada Fort?

dith Honeycutt is certainly a lovely lady, and I enjoyed very much reading about her legacy [Emory Nursing, Spring 1998]. I cannot wait for the groundbreaking of the nursing school; please invite me so I can be there to help pitch a shovel of dirt for you. J. David Allen, 66C, 70D, 75D Dr. Allen is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University.

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was particularly interested in Edith Honeycutt's history of caring for the Woodruffs, since I was one of the nurses who cared for Mrs. Emily Woodruff when she died on the fourth floor of Emory University Hospital. I also helped initiate the dances at Asa Candler's house on Briarcliff Road. His zoo was also of great interest to us. The animals came by train and were unloaded at the Emory station. Pearl Walker Murphy, 33N Editor's Note: In his later years, Asa Candler Jr., the eccentric second son of the Coca-Cola co-founder, collected exotic birds and animals, which he housed on the grounds of his Druid Hills estate in Atlanta. As noted in Secret Formula, by Frederick Allen, Candler's "menagerie eventually included four fully grown adult elephants, which he named Coca, Cola, Pause, and Refreshes, and which he used in harness on one occasion to plow the ground for his kitchen garden. When the neighbors finally succeeded in forcing him to get rid of his personal zoo - one of the many lawsuits he faced was filed by a neighbor who was bitten by a fugitive baboon - he gave the entire collection to the city, thereby founding the Atlanta Zoo."

Robert and Nell Woodruff

he recent issue of Emory Nursing brought back memories of my time as a nurse on the fourth floor of Emory University Hospital caring for Mrs. Emily Woodruff. Almost every night, her son Robert and his lovely wife, Nell, would come by to visit with her, often in their finest evening wear. I recall one event that illustrates Emily and Robert Woodruff's personalities. The hospital wasn't air-conditioned in those days, and Robert wanted to have it installed in his mother's wing so she could be as comfortable as possible. His mother wouldn't allow it, saying she didn't want preferential treatment, that it wouldn't be fair to the other patients. Robert, of course, would have only the best for his mother, so he came up with a typical Woodruff solution: He paid to have the entire hospital air-conditioned! Alice Horton McCurdy, 34N

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t is always a joy to receive a new edition of Emory Nursing. I've appreciated the variety of articles and the emphases on aspects of nursing. The current issue with its tribute to Edith Honeycutt is no exception. However, I could hardly believe that nowhere in the entire article is there a reference to Dean Ada Fort and her immeasurable contribution to the development of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing from a diploma school to one of the most outstanding academic schools of nursing in the nation. With Ada's recent death, I do hope that your next issue of Emory Nursing will give as much space and detail to Ada's contributions to nursing at Emory and worldwide through the initiation of INSA (International Nursing Services Association) - now Global Health Action. Betty J. Letzig Ms. Letzig is affiliated with the General Board of Global Ministries, the United Methodist Church. Editor's Note: The cover story of the Spring 1998 issue was intended to look at the relationship between Mrs. Edith Honeycutt and the Woodruff family - and how the legacy of that relationship extends to the nursing school today - and not to paint a comprehensive portrait of the school's history. Regrettably, when we learned of Dr. Ada Fort's death on April 28, the spring magazine was already at press. In this issue, however, we profile Dr. Fort and her important career (see article). An obituary is included in Class Notes.

Dr. Ada Fort, 1914-1998