In the early years of the 20th century, nurses were trained in hospitals by nurses. Around 1920 my father's sister wanted to get her nursing training in a particular hospital in Malden, but (so the family story goes) was not accepted because the Matron was from Nova Scotia and had a strong preference for Nova Scotia girls. It's interesting that so many studio pictures of nurses (almost all taken in the Boston area) turn up in the collection, and it suggests that nursing was a common ticket out of Nova Scotia.
