SYLACAUGA, Ala. — Graduates of the former Sylacauga Hospital School of Nursing gathered Wednesday, June 17, for their annual reunion luncheon at Good Ole Boys BBQ in Sylacauga, reconnecting with former classmates and reflecting on careers that began through the historic nursing program.
The event was organized by 1976 graduate Alberta Cook with assistance from the Coosa Valley Medical Center Foundation. Eleven graduates attended, representing classes from 1955 to 1986.
The largest group came from the 1970s, including Carol Patterson (1970), George Mizzell (1975), Judy Bearden (1976), Alberta Cook (1976), Camille Foshee (1976), and Jennan Phillips (1976). The four members of the Class of 1976 were celebrating the 50th anniversary of their graduation. Also attending were Darlene Mathis (1980), Joan Morris (1984), Sid Gambrell (1986), Phyllis Cooper (1961), and Mary Culberson (1955).
The Sylacauga Hospital School of Nursing traces its roots to 1921, when it was established as a hospital diploma program at Sylacauga Infirmary on Calhoun St. under the leadership of Dr. F.H. Craddock.
The program was reorganized in 1951 and continued as a diploma program. That same year, nursing dormitories were constructed alongside the new Sylacauga Hospital on Spring St. Academic coursework later became available through Alex City State Junior College in 1972.
The program evolved into the Coosa Valley School of Nursing associate degree program in 1994 and relocated to the Jim Pruitt Nursing and Allied Health Building in Childersburg in 2001.
Throughout the luncheon, graduates shared memories of their time at the school and discussed how the program helped launch their careers in healthcare.
Mizzell, a military veteran, said the VA helped pay for his education. Mathis said she immediately began working at Sylacauga Hospital after graduation, spending her first year in the emergency room working alongside licensed practical nurses.
Cook said she also transitioned quickly from student to nurse.
“I graduated on a Friday and went to work on a Monday,” she said.
Cook spent many years in the hospital’s intensive care unit before moving to outpatient surgery and later becoming a case manager. After 25 years with the hospital, she continued her career with the Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement and later the Alabama Department of Public Health.
“This reunion is a great chance to connect with old faces, and it gives me a sense of pride because we all came from the same school,” Cook said.
Cook noted that reunion attendance varies from year to year. She and other graduates encourage alumni who completed nursing education through Central Alabama Community College’s Jim Pruitt Nursing and Allied Health program to attend future reunions, viewing it as a continuation of the original Sylacauga Hospital School of Nursing.
Rosa Butts, Director of the Coosa Valley Medical Center Foundation, addressed the graduates and noted that the foundation’s administrative offices are now located in the area once occupied by the School of Nursing.
“When I think about this group, I think about your legacy,” Butts said. “Not just what you’ve done with your respective jobs and careers, but what you’re doing in the community.”
Following the remarks, graduates reminisced about their student days, sharing stories that included dormitory pranks, shooting fireworks from dorm windows, and memories of the school’s legendary “Sunbathers of 1960.”
