Sometimes connection starts with something as simple as a conversation.
For Cedar Community residents Bonnie Falk, June Schroeder, Verna Thompson, and Sandy Blumenberg, casual introductions eventually revealed an unexpected shared history: all four had attended the Columbia Hospital School of Nursing in Milwaukee.
Across three different decades, they trained in the same profession, built careers caring for others, and accumulated a combined 138 years of nursing experience.
Now, those shared experiences are bringing them together again at Cedar Community.
A Chance Meeting Reveals a Shared History
Bonnie and June both live in Cedar Community’s independent living homes.
They met by chance on the Cedar Lake Campus and, while getting to know one another, discovered they were both retired nurses who had attended the Columbia Hospital School of Nursing.
Two years later, Bonnie met Verna Thompson at a resident Coffee Hour.
The conversation led to another discovery: Verna was also a nurse and had attended the same nursing program.
Then, after their story appeared in Live More magazine, another connection surfaced.
Sandy Blumenberg, also a registered nurse living at Cedar Community, had attended Columbia Hospital School of Nursing as well.
Three Decades of Nursing Education
Together, the four women represent three different decades of Columbia Hospital School of Nursing graduates.
- Verna attended in 1950
- Bonnie attended in 1961
- June attended in 1964 and later earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Sandy attended in 1969 and later earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Combined, their nursing careers spanned 138 years.
Verna worked as a nurse for 29 years, Bonnie for 52, June for 25, and Sandy for 32.
Remembering How Nursing Has Changed
When the four women get together, there is plenty to talk about.
Their conversations often turn to how dramatically nursing and healthcare have changed since they first entered the profession.
At Columbia Hospital School of Nursing, students lived in dormitories at the hospital and attended the three-year program year-round.
The first year focused largely on classroom learning. The second included extensive clinical work in the hospital, while senior-year students could complete rotations across different shifts and specialty hospitals.
Their experiences reflect a very different era of nursing education and healthcare.
Choosing a Profession in a Different Era
For all four women, nursing also represented one of a relatively limited number of career paths available to women at the time.
“There weren’t a lot of options for women back in the day. You were either a nurse, teacher, secretary, or housewife,” Bonnie says. “My mother said I needed a profession to be able to take care of myself.”
Sandy remembers a similarly direct message from her family.
“My parents told me I was going to be a nurse.”
Despite the circumstances that first pointed them toward the profession, nursing ultimately became meaningful work for all four women.
The Importance of Reminiscing
For Bonnie, June, Verna, and Sandy, reconnecting through their shared nursing history has created an opportunity to revisit experiences that shaped their lives.
“Reminiscing is such an important part of who we are today,” Sandy says.
“We all have different personalities and backgrounds, but share one common bond of caring and nurturing,” June adds.
“There is a lot we can talk about when you get a bunch of nurses together,” Verna laughs.
Those conversations are not only about the past. They have also inspired the women to think about how their experiences could connect other people at Cedar Community today.
Bringing More Nurses Together
The group hopes to find other current and retired nursing professionals throughout Cedar Community.
“We look forward to bringing other nurses together on campus and sharing our stories,” Bonnie says.
Their idea includes both residents and team members, creating opportunities for people from different generations of nursing to connect, reminisce, and learn from one another.
They also hope their experiences might encourage others to consider the nursing profession.
Even in retirement, their shared commitment to caring for others continues to create connection and purpose.
Finding Connection in the Everyday
Bonnie, June, Verna, and Sandy did not move to Cedar Community because they expected to find former classmates or people with nearly identical professional backgrounds.
Those connections emerged naturally through conversations, Coffee Hours, and everyday community life.
Their story is a reminder that new friendships can begin with discovering something familiar in someone new.
At Cedar Community, sometimes all it takes is a conversation to uncover decades of shared experience.Originally published in the Spring 2024 issue of Live More magazine.
