Madeline Abbott (l.) and Irene Bills , two of Grace Cottage's original nurses, in a photo taken at Hospital Fair Day for the Brattleboro Reformer on the occasion of their tenth anniversary of employment at the hospital. The photo, which has been cropped, was taken by Arlo Monroe on August 8, 1959; Arlo is currently a resident at Stratton House Nursing Home.

With the passing of Irene Bills at Stratton House Nursing Home this past winter, Grace Cottage has said farewell to its last surviving original nurse. In an April, 2000, interview, Irene noted that, in the early days of the hospital, nurses "did it all. We worked 12-hour shifts, and we served meals, made beds, and cleaned floors, in addition to patient care. It wasn't until later that anyone was hired for housekeeping and then my daughter, Marilyn Chapin, became the head of housekeeping here for many years." Irene also observed that she greatly enjoyed working with Dr. Otis, who was well known for the jokes he played. "You'd find your sweater with the arms tied in knots, but he didn't mind if you pulled a joke on him to tease him back - he'd get a big kick out of it."
Irene assisted in the delivery of the first baby born at Grace Cottage, and proudly helped with 422 additional deliveries until she retired in 1975.

Madeline Abbott , who died in March, 2000, holds the record for the nurse with the longest length of service at Grace Cottage: Madeline was here 33 years. According to her daughter, Edna Denton, Madeline usually worked the night shift which, in the early days, was 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. At the same time, she and her husband raised three children. "When we'd get up, she'd have just gotten home from work," recalls Edna. "She'd make us breakfast and send us off to school and, at the end of the day, she'd serve dinner and head to Grace Cottage for the night. I don't know how she did it, but she never skipped a beat!" Just before she retired, in 1982, the last baby she delivered was her own cousin, Autumn Brown.

Irene summed it all up very succinctly in 2000 when she said, "You have to love people to be a good nurse." The truth of this statement is evident every hour of every day at Grace Cottage, reflected in the actions of all of our nurses, then and now.

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