Artifact of the Month: April 2023

History on Wheels

Wheelchairs are among the most widely used medical support devices and their use dates back hundreds of years. They can be manual or motorized, and with advances in artificial intelligence technology, users may one day be able to control them with their minds.

This month's featured artifact is a wooden wheelchair made by the Gendron Wheel Company, a leading medical supplier based in Ohio. A metal tag on the back of the chair indicates that it was property of the Ketchikan Graduate Nurses Association in 1941, though its design is similar to earlier models. The chair was no doubt state-of-the-art equipment for its time. The high back wooden chair came with woven cane work on the seat and leg rests, had a reclining chair back, and adjustable leg and foot rests that could be customized to each patient and their particular needs. All four wheels had rubber tires and spokes, which helped cushion impact for a smoother ride. There is also a set of push rims, which were designed specifically for those with reduced hand function to enable pushing. The wheelchair was found in an abandoned home in Wrangell and barged back to Ketchikan in 2012 when it was donated to Ketchikan Museums.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace opened the Little Flower Hospital on Bawden Street on February 23, 1923. The facility would become Ketchikan General Hospital, and eventually expanded to its current location on Tongass Avenue where it is now known as PeaceHealth Medical Center. This wheelchair was likely used at the hospital at its Bawden Street location and by its condition, may have seen a lot of use. There are numerous repairs to the rubber tires, no doubt to extend their usefulness.

Object ID #: KM 2012.2.16.1

Photograph caption: A similar wooden and cane wheelchair was in use during the 1953 polio outbreak. Image by Paulu Saari, KM 2003.2.63.703.