They remember when nurses wore starched white uniforms and caps - and the nuns in charge made sure you wore your white stockings. At their last reunion, they recalled how they used to sharpen spinal needles on a stone, and sterilize blood-soaked gauze for reuse.

About 40 nurses who graduated from Saint Francis Hospital's nursing school will have their reunion at the hospital today - probably for the last time, organizer June Jones said, because the alumnae are getting older. The nursing school closed in 1961.

There will be an open reception at 11 a.m. in the hospital's main lobby, followed by a luncheon in the dining room, Jones said. The keynote speaker is Sister Rita Marie von Berg, the last remaining nun from the school's faculty.

"Sister Rita Marie was someone we could always go to," said Jones, 76, who graduated in 1956. "If you had a problem, you never had to be afraid of her. She was a friend. Actually, she wasn't much older than the students - she was a very young nun."

Jones is a Methodist, but as a young woman from Ansted, in Fayette County, she was attracted to the nursing school run by the St. Joseph's order of nuns.

"I understood it was a real good place to train," she said. "They treated us well. We had excellent training there.

"I think there was more emphasis placed on patient care" by the nuns, as opposed to secular training programs, she said. "I think they taught really good morals, ethical practices.

"Always, if you wanted to go to church - we couldn't leave the building a lot of times, you know - there was a chapel in church. We could go there for Mass, even if we weren't Catholic. We always covered our head, even if it was just a Kleenex."

Jones became an anesthetist, and retired from Saint Francis after more than 40 years. She still lives on Charleston's West Side, but other graduates are coming from as far away as San Antonio to attend the reunion, said Saint Francis marketing director Mary Williams.

"I know we sent invitations to some in New Mexico," Williams said. "They're really all over the country now."

Saint Francis trained nurses from 1916 until 1961.

"At that time, all hospitals had a nursing school," Williams said. "Then, they just started to phase out in favor of four-year degrees. ... It was just kind of a trend for them to gradually fade away."

To contact staff writer Tara Tuckwiller, use e-mail or call 348-5189.

They remember when nurses wore starched white uniforms and caps - and the nuns in charge made sure you wore your white stockings. At their last reunion, they recalled how they used to sharpen spinal needles on a stone, and sterilize blood-soaked gauze for reuse.

About 40 nurses who graduated from Saint Francis Hospital's nursing school will have their reunion at the hospital today - probably for the last time, organizer June Jones said, because the alumnae are getting older. The nursing school closed in 1961.

There will be an open reception at 11 a.m. in the hospital's main lobby, followed by a luncheon in the dining room, Jones said. The keynote speaker is Sister Rita Marie von Berg, the last remaining nun from the school's faculty.

"Sister Rita Marie was someone we could always go to," said Jones, 76, who graduated in 1956. "If you had a problem, you never had to be afraid of her. She was a friend. Actually, she wasn't much older than the students - she was a very young nun."

Jones is a Methodist, but as a young woman from Ansted, in Fayette County, she was attracted to the nursing school run by the St. Joseph's order of nuns.

"I understood it was a real good place to train," she said. "They treated us well. We had excellent training there.

"I think there was more emphasis placed on patient care" by the nuns, as opposed to secular training programs, she said. "I think they taught really good morals, ethical practices.

"Always, if you wanted to go to church - we couldn't leave the building a lot of times, you know - there was a chapel in church. We could go there for Mass, even if we weren't Catholic. We always covered our head, even if it was just a Kleenex."

Jones became an anesthetist, and retired from Saint Francis after more than 40 years. She still lives on Charleston's West Side, but other graduates are coming from as far away as San Antonio to attend the reunion, said Saint Francis marketing director Mary Williams.

"I know we sent invitations to some in New Mexico," Williams said. "They're really all over the country now."

Saint Francis trained nurses from 1916 until 1961.

"At that time, all hospitals had a nursing school," Williams said. "Then, they just started to phase out in favor of four-year degrees. ... It was just kind of a trend for them to gradually fade away."

To contact staff writer Tara Tuckwiller, use e-mail or call 348-5189.