The members of the King's Daughters Circle of Greenwood are doubtless the happiest lot of people in Mississippi. The action of the board of Supervisors and the City Council last Tuesday in appropriating $5,000 and $2,000 respectively to aid the Circle in purchasing and converting the Bew residence on River Front into a hospital is just cause for the ladies to be proud of the success which has crowned their noble efforts to provide the public an up-to-date hospital in Greenwood, and the Commonwealth most heartily congratulates them upon the accomplishment of this good work.
A large number of the members of the Circle, accompanied by several interested gentlemen, went in a body before the Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning to ask for the appropriation. Hons. R.V. Pollard, J.A. Tyson and several others present made splendid talks to the Board explanatory of the aims and the objects of the King's Daughters in their hospital work, after which a motion prevailed to appropriate $5,000 to aid the ladies in the purchase of the Bew residence.
The matter was presented to the City Council Tuesday evening, Hon. J.A. Tyson being spokesman for the King's Daughters. After giving the request consideration a motion prevailed to appropriate $2,000 to assist the Circle in repairing and converting the Bew residence into a hospital.
The King's Daughters bought the Bew property for $7,000 and the price paid is very reasonable considering the location, and the size of the residence and the lots. When properly arranged for hospital purposes ( which will be done promptly ) it will be an ideal place for all who may have cause to require the accommodation and convenience of hospital treatment.
Everybody is delighted with the location of the hospital, and everybody endorses the action of the Board of Supervisors and the City Council in making the appropriations to assist the Kings' Daughters in purchasing the Bew property to use in the good work they are so nobly engaged in.
From the Greenwood Commonwealth, April 10,1908
The King's Daughters Hospital is now in it's handsome new home on River Front, having moved there the first of the week. It will be remembered that the Circle recently purchased the Bew residence, which has been enlarged and converted into an up-to-date Hospital building, of which our people have just cause to be proud. The different rooms are being voluntarily furnished by different individuals and societies. We congratulate the Circle upon the completion of the repairs on their building, as well as upon getting into their Hospital Home, where they are in better position than ever to alleviate the sufferings of all who may find it necessary to go there for treatment.
From the Greenwood Commonwealth, September 25,1908
At the last regular meeting of the King's Daughters Circle, it was resolved to build a magnificent addition to their River Front Hospital. The new addition will be erected in front of and adjoining the present building. The structure will be of brick, elegantly finished throughout, and it will be large enough to accommodate the demands of the Hospital for several years to come. Committees have been appointed to secure the necessary funds-from $15,000 to $20,000-to pay for the new building, and there will be no difficulty in getting the money from the good people of Greenwood and Leflore County.
From The Commonwealth, November 8, 1912
The King's Daughters Circle bought at auction last Saturday the magnificent plot of land fronting on the Yazoo River and on Strong Avenue, located between the Coleman and Taylor residences on West River Front, paying $2150.00 for same, and will build their proposed new Hospital on this lot. A prettier location could not have been selected, according to our idea, and we congratulate the ladies upon acquiring this desirable property.
From the Greenwood Commonwealth, April 28,1916
It is ordered by the Council of the City of Greenwood, Mississippi, that a special election be held on the 19th day of May, 1916, for the purpose of submitting to the qualified electors of the City of Greenwood, the ordinance in relation to the issuance of $10,000.00 of bonds of said City for the purpose of raising money to make an appropriation to the King's Daughters and Sons Circle of the City of Greenwood for the purpose of erecting and constructing a hospital for the sick and destitute of said County of Leflore.
It is further ordered that said election be held in the Mayor and Marshal's office in City Hall in said City, and the Littleton Upshur, Warner Wells and M.B. Grace be and they are hereby appointed Commissioners to hold said election.
It is further order that Commissioner M.B. Grace be and he is hereby appointed the Commissioner to have the ballots printed for said election.
Approved this the 18th day of April, 1916.
G.L. Ray, Mayor.
Attest: S. H. Montgomery, Clerk.
From the Greenwood Commonwealth, May 5, 1916
Actual brick laying on the new forty thousand dollar King's Daughters Hospital being built on River Front began today. The forms and excavation have been completed and everything is in readiness to rush the work to an early completion.
The King's Daughters have accomplished much in Leflore County and the erection of the handsome new hospital is the crowning success of their work so far. It is a monument to their unceasing efforts and a milepost in the strides which the organization hopes to take in this county in the future.
The work of the King's Daughters has been given the support of the business people and citizenship of Greenwood and Leflore County in the past and will continue to be supported liberally in everything that organization attempts.
From the Greenwood Commonwealth, May 23,1917
The King's Daughters Hospital, being built at a cost of forty thousand dollars on River Front, is rapidly showing signs of what it will look like when completed. Contractor W. E. Rubush of Meridian, who is erecting the handsome building, this morning showed a representative of The Daily Commonwealth over the structure.
The second story is almost ready to be put on. The first is completed and the concrete floor has been laid. Just as soon as the concrete floor is run on the second floor the walls will be built and put in readiness for the third floor which will be occupied exclusively by the operating room.
When completed the building will have a two story front on the River and a basement and three stories at the rear. It will be fire proof throughout. The partitions will be erected of hollow tile, the floors of concrete and the walls of stone and brick.
The hospital will have it's own laundry in the basement adjoining the engine room. It will be steam heated throughout. An electric elevator and dumb waiter are among the conveniences that feature the new structure.
In the operating room on the third floor, every modern convenience will be used. The room is on the west side of the building and a large steel bay window will extend over the rest of the house. A separate room is close at hand for the administration of anesthetic and a recovery room adjoins on the east side of the building. It is without doubt one of the best arranged operating rooms in the South.
A wide porch will ornament the front of the building. The porch upstairs will be screened and will be a great benefit to patients. On the first and second floors on the southeast corner will be sun porches. The side of the corner rooms on these floors will be solid glass windows, which will admit all of the morning sun. Patients needing the sun can thus get the full benefit of the rays when the windows are opened.
The hospital will have three entrances. The main entrance at the front, the driveway entrance on the east side of the building and a smaller door on the west side.
The lot on which the hospital is located is one of the prettiest in Greenwood and when the building is completed and the grounds are fixed up, the entire outfit will be one of the features of the city.
The hospital is being built jointly by the County of Leflore, the City of Greenwood and the King's Daughters.
From the Greenwood Commonwealth, September 18, 1917
The third floor of the new King's Daughters Hospital being erected on West River Road has been run. The pouring of the concrete was begun yesterday afternoon at one o'clock and if Contractor Rubush has good luck it will be completed by five this afternoon.
The running of a concrete floor required continued work from the time the first bucket is emptied until the last ounce of concrete is smoothed over. This is the third and last floor that is to be run with the exception of a smaller floor in the basement.
The laying of a concrete floor in a fir-proof building is a very interesting sight to witness. The city editor of The Daily Commonwealth was the guest of Mr. Rubush last night and watched the work progress.
One interesting feature of the night work is the lunch hour when the contractor gives a "spread" for his employees. Last night twenty two Negroes drank three and a half gallons of black coffee and ate eighteen loaves of light bread and a quantity of meat and cheese.
When the present floor has hardened, the walls on part of the building will be raised about four feet higher and the roof put on. At the rear, over about half of the building the walls go to the full height of a story and will enclose the operating room, which will be one of the most modern in the South.
Contractor Rubush stated this morning that it probably will take two or two and a half months to complete the work, the time necessary being due almost entirely now to the weather.
From the Greenwood Commonwealth, August 22, 1917
The new King's Daughters Hospital is to have it's formal opening on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 3rd at 3 o'clock.
This occasion, anxiously awaited and long-looked forward to affair, is to be one of the red letter days in the history of Leflore County. The opening of this beautiful and worthy institution marks, probably more so than does any other single thing-the progress of the city and section in community welfare cooperation.
A dedication service will be held and an enjoyable short programme will be arranged, when the hospital will be turned over to the King's Daughters.
After these services, the guests are cordially invited to go through this magnificent structure and see with their own eyes what has been brought to their own dear town for their own dear people by the King's Daughters. Admirable eyes will proclaim it the most beautiful and most intensively needed institution of it's kind in the Magnolia State. Favorable comment will describe it as the greatest movement ever successfully terminated here and others will stand by as they tour the entire building, and silently thank these wonderful ladies, who are doing so very, very much for the country and will be thankful for the fact that they are residing within the boundary of old Greenwood, that they too, may have the opportunity of enjoying such a luxurious and modern establishment as this, when they need it's services.
During the expeditions through the new hospital by request of many interested citizens, the opportunity to give this honorable cause has been extended. These will present themselves in the form of a shower for the new sanitarium. Then again, it has been arranged for all who do not want to take the responsibility of making the several purchases for the shower, that these might drop a silver offering into the plate at the door and the sum of this collection will be administered in a very efficient way toward the furnishing of the hospital.
From the Greenwood Commonwealth, April 3, 1918
A home in which to give living quarters for nurses of the King's Daughters Hospital has been a long felt want and a necessity in properly taking care of those individuals who are devoting their lives, day and night, in the vigil watch and attention to mankind who are afflicted. There can be no greater cause than taking care of those who care for us when their lives are hanging on their weakest threads. The King's Daughters Hospital is fortunate in being able to supply this demand.
Mr. Jacob Aron of New York City disposed of his real estate holdings in Leflore County in November, 1919. At that time, he requested his counsel, Mr. R. V. Pollard of this city, to suggest some object to which he might contribute, some object of general interest to the people of the City of Greenwood and Leflore County, to which he might contribute a sum of money in _expression of his appreciation of the fact that his Father and Mother had resided here and that he had been reared in Leflore County. After some delay, Mr. Pollard wrote Mr. Aron that it had occurred to him that the building of a home for the nurses at the Hospital would meet the requirements. Mr. Aron then requested further details, and while this investigation was being made, little Lois Aron, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Aron, passed away. Mr. Aron then instructed Mr. Pollard to get plans and specifications for the home to cost $25,000.00, which Mr. Pollard did, and, as a result of Mr. Aron's beneficence, Mr. Pollard ia authorized as the special representative of Mr. Aron to have erected for the King's Daughters Hospital a residence for the nurses that will be modern in every appointment, and will be called the Lois Aron Memorial Home for Nurses.
Mr. Aron is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Aron, who once owned Roebuck Plantation on the Yazoo River just below Greenwood. The Father and Mother now reside in New Orleans, but Mr. Aron, some years ago, moved to New York City and he is now the head of the brokerage firm of J. Aron & Company, Inc., having offices in New York City and New Orleans. Mr. Aron is recognized as a leader in his line of business, and the City of Greenwood and Leflore County are indeed fortunate in having had Mr. Aron for a former citizen, and we all join in gratitude and thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Aron for their generosity they have so graciously shown to a worthy cause.
The plans and specifications for the new building were drawn by Mr. Frank R. McGeoy, our well known local architect. The building will have twelve bedrooms, living room, porches and several baths. All the floors in the building will be white maple polished, and all the woodwork will be white enamel, ivory finish, and mahogany doors. It will be heated by hot water, and the exterior will be of brick veneer and stone trimming. With large projecting eaves, and will be one of the handsomest residence buildings in the City. It will face the South on Strong Avenue, which is being paved. A picture of the building in water colors can be seen in Fountain's window, and bids are now being received for the erection of the building and the contract will be awarded at once and the actual construction under way in a few days.
From the Greenwood Commonwealth Weekly Edition, February 16, 1921
The Lois Aron Memorial Home for Nurses received a more useful and necessary Christmas present in the nature of a strictly modern bathroom, a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Aron of New York City. This bathroom was added to the upstairs rooms and will be completely furnished by Mr. and Mrs. Aron. It is modern in every way, and was presented to the Nurses' Home through Hon. R. V. Pollard.
It will be remembered that Mr. and Mrs. Aron built the Nurses' Home a number of years ago, leaving it as a memorial to their departed daughter, Lois Aron, and no more appropriate gift has ever been made to Greenwood.
Mr. and Mrs. Aron continue to watch after its needs and are ever ready to add to its comforts.
From The Greenwood Commonwealth, January 9, 1929
