by Kristin L. Nelson

In 103 years, they’ve had time to accumulate a lot of stories. Nurse and physician alumni of Knoxville General Hospital will share memories at their annual luncheon at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, in the parish hall of St. James Episcopal Church, 1101 N. Broadway.

The former hospital’s School of Nursing was chartered in 1903, and the alumni association was organized in 1905, said former nurse Jean Morgan Rhyne, so “we’ve been active 103 years.”

Naturally, none of those who usually attend have been there quite that long. But alumni in their 90s do attend the luncheon, which usually draws 60 to 70 former doctors and nurses, Rhyne said. Former nurses Louise Dean and Jean Bates are being honored this year for keeping the alumni association together after the hospital closed.

Knoxville General Hospital, once the city’s only municipal hospital, opened in 1899. The city-owned hospital on Cleveland Place, west of Central Street, closed in 1956, when the city and county together opened University Memorial Hospital, now the University of Tennessee Medical Center. The Knox County Health Department sits on the former hospital site.

“We still have a close bond and meet to recall memories of yesteryear — and make plans for next year and many more years,” Rhyne said.

Knoxville News Sentinel (TN) – Monday, June 9, 2008 – Section: Health & Fitness Page: 36