CARNEY HOSPITAL

·         Very few families on the street that I lived (West Fifth St.) had a family doctor. What we did have was the Carney Hospital on Old Harbor St. run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul. If you broke a bone or needed stitches to close a wound the emergency room was minutes away. If you had the flu or a runny nose then the morning clinic was available. However before you saw the doctor you had to pass the muster of Mother Superior who ran a one person Triage. As a young boy I never feared anyone more than the Nun with the winged white hat. Only years later when a First Sergeant barked at me during basic training at Fort Dix, NJ did I experience a similar fear. Had the Mother Superior been involved in WWII I am sure it would have ended 2 years earlier.