A Student Nurse's Escapade at University of Alberta Hospital, early 1950s, by Bess Marshall

Bess Marshall loses a bet and ends up covered in raw egg in the early 1950's.

In the early 1950’s, I was a student nurse at the University Hospital. Student nurses were always hungry, just short of feeling starved.

During the first year of the nursing training program, we had a rotation through the diet kitchen, where we learned to cook for the poor diabetic patients. It was a challenge for whoever was in the diet kitchen to bring food back to the residence for your classmates, who were congregated in the lounge for treats.

Well, when my turn came, I bet I could bring back a dozen raw eggs. The eggs were stored in the big walk-in cooler in a larger container. How would I swipe them without being caught? A flash came like lightening to bring them back suspended between my legs camouflaged under the stiff, starched apron. I hear that someone else accomplished this before.

I slipped into the cooler at the end of the shift and carefully pinned a pillowcase to my under blue uniform. Carefully, the wrapped eggs were placed in the pillowcase. Than I very carefully walked a block back to the nursing residence. I made it there to the first floor lounge where I tripped on a classmate’s shoe, and was suddenly covered with egg; not egg on my face.
Fortunately, the dietician or House Mother didn’t catch me, but I lost that bet.