Switchboard operator in the Administration Building (ca. 1944)
Description:
This photograph shows the switchboard operator in the US Naval Convalescent Hospital on the campus of Springfield College. It is believed that the room was in the Administration Building. The operator is sitting in front of the switchboard. A fireplace is next to her. The photo was taken in 1944. During the start of World War II, Springfield College served as training grounds for the Army Air Corps, which allotted the college $90,000 for upgrading facilities. In the spring of 1944, the training program was canceled; in order to conserve its assets for expanded postwar operations in the face of decreasing student enrollment, Springfield College negotiated a contract with the U.S. Navy to serve as a Naval Special Hospital. The Navy allotted $75,000 to bring the college up to the mark of a naval hospital, and the first contingent of one hundred and fifty patients arrived on September 22, 1944, and it was estimated that five hundred patients could be served. Alumni Hall was used as the hospital, and the old dormitory (now called the Administration Building) became administrative offices and housing for nurses and WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Handwritten on back of photographic print is "Switchboard";
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