Pin, Membership
Object number2023.104.5
Date1942
MediumMetal; Enamel
Credit LineGift of Presbyterian-University Hospital Alumnae Association
DescriptionCircular gold metal and enamel membership pin. Front has white enamel background with gold border. Front center has red, black, and gold enamel details including a gold-framed red Greek cross at center surmounted by gold text across center and gold banners at top and bottom; banners have black Latin text. Reverse is shiny gold, has locking pinback horizontal across center, has fixed ring at 7:00, and has engraved name and date.DimensionsDiameter x Depth: 0.875 x 0.188 in. (2.2 x 0.5 cm)InscriptionsFront has black text on banners at top and bottom "SEMPER / PARATUS" and gold text across center "PH".
Reverse has engraved text "PATRICIA / WONDERLING / 1942".
Historical NotesPin that belonged to Patricia J. Wonderling. Part of a collection related to nurses that worked for Presbyterian University Hospital. The institution was named Presbyterian Hospital from 1893-1961. It is now part of the UPMC health system. Patricia Jean Wonderling Zinsser was in the graduating class of 1942, she passed away on April 2, 2005. Presbyterian Hospital was founded on the North Side of Pittsburgh in 1893 by Dr. Louise Wotring Lyle, the widow of a Presbyterian minister. Lyle had dreamed of opening a hospital to serve the needy and a school to train nurses. She helped found the Women’s Medical College in Cincinnati and graduated from it at the age of 50 in 1892. The next year, she returned to Pittsburgh, the place where she had nursed the wounded during the Civil War, and opened a five-room hospital out of her home. Dr. Jane Vincent, the first female physician in Allegheny County, aided Lyle in her efforts. Within two years she was able to open a school of nursing, and by 1968, it had graduated 2,950 nurses. Presbyterian Hospital eventually merged with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine to become Presbyterian-University Hospital. Although the School of Nursing closed, they maintain an active alumnae organization.
Related institution
Presbyterian University Hospital
Related institution
Presbyterian Hospital
Previous owner
Patricia Jean Wonderling Zinsser
(died 2005)
On View
Not on viewRobbins Company
1960-1992
J.A. Wylie and Company
V.H. Blackinton and Company, Inc.
V.H. Blackinton and Company, Inc.