Ora Kress Mason

Ora Kress Mason
Ora Kress, from the 1911 yearbook of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania
Born	(1888-11-07)November 7, 1888 Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Died	September 20, 1970(1970-09-20) (aged 81) Murray, Kentucky, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Physician, politician, hospital administrator, nursing educator

Ora H. Kress Mason (November 7, 1888 – September 20, 1970) was an American physician, nursing educator, and hospital administrator in Murray, Kentucky, who ran for Congress in 1926.

Early life and education

Ora H. Kress was born in Flint, Michigan, and raised in various places, including Australia, France, and England. Her parents Daniel H. Kress and Lauretta E. Kress were both physicians (an internist and an obstetrician, respectively)^[1] and Seventh-Day Adventist missionaries.^[2][3][4] Her older sister Eva died in England in 1899.^[5] She completed nurse's training at Sydney Sanitarium in Sydney, while her parents were working there. She earned her medical degree at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, graduating summa cum laude in 1911.^[6]

Career

Mason moved to Murray, Kentucky with her new husband in 1917, and became superintendent of the nursing school there, while maintaining a private medical practice. Both Masons, who were white, treated Black patients in their work, and the couple assisted several promising local Black students to attend college and medical school, including T. R. M. Howard.^[3][7]

Mason, her husband, and her brother-in-law owned and operated the Mason Memorial Hospital in Murray, opened in 1921.^[8] The hospital burned down in 1935, but all patients and staff escaped the fire.^[9] A new structure resumed the hospital's work in 1937, and survived the death of William Herbert Mason in 1941. Ora Mason was director of nursing and continued to run the hospital's nursing school for a few years, until it stopped admitting new students in 1945. She and other board members sold the hospital in 1947.^[10] She retired from medical work in 1957. The nursing education building at Murray State University was named for her in 1967.^[11][12]

Mason was a delegate to the 1924 Republican National Convention, and ran unsuccessfully for an open House seat in 1926, under the name "Mrs. William H. Mason".^[13][14] In 1934 she spoke at a conference on "Citizenship, Government, and the Handicapped Person."^[15] She was president of the Murray Woman's Club. She served on the board of regents at Murray State University.^[11]

Personal life

Ora Kress married fellow physician and Seventh-Day Adventist WIlliam Herbert Mason in 1917. They had a daughter together, Patricia.^[16][17] William Mason died in 1941. Ora Mason died in 1970, aged 81 years.^[11] In 1988, a memorial stone dedicated to Mason, her husband, and his brother was erected on the grounds of Murray-Calloway County Hospital.^[18] In 1994 and 1995, Karen Edwards-Hunter presented a one-woman show about Ora Kress Mason at the University of Louisville.^[19][20]

References

1. Bavar, Emily (July 18, 1954). "They Lived Happily Ever After". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 30. Retrieved March 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Lauretta Kress (1863-1955)" Montgomery County Commission for Women.
3. Beito, David T.; Beito, Linda Royster (2009). Black Maverick: T.R.M. Howard's Fight for Civil Rights and Economic Power. University of Illinois Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-252-03420-6.
4. Kohn, Diana. "Adventist Doctors Daniel and Lauretta Kress" Historic Takoma.
5. "Dr. Kress Rites Set Tomorrow". The Orlando Sentinel. June 29, 1955. p. 4. Retrieved March 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, The Scalpel (1911 yearbook): 64. via Internet Archive.
7. Gutman, Heather (January 3, 2012). "Adventists and Social Justice—More Historical Evidence". Adventist Today. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
8. "Round About Town". News-Democrat. May 13, 1927. p. 9. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Hospital Staff's Heroism Saves 42 from Blaze". Detroit Free Press. February 18, 1935. p. 1. Retrieved March 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Andrus, Martha (February 26, 2021). "A history of the Murray Hospital taken from Ruth Cole's book, "Memories, Stories, Places"". Murray Ledger and Times. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
11. Andrus, Martha (March 14, 2020). "This and That". Murray Ledger and Times. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
12. "The First Women of Murray State University". Murray State University Libraries. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
13. "Mrs. William H. Mason (political advertisement)". The Paducah Sun-Democrat. November 1, 1926. p. 13. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Ora K. Mason Campaign Poster". H-Kentucky, on H-Net. 1926. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
15. "Conference of Educators of District Ends". The Paducah Sun-Democrat. January 10, 1934. p. 3. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Former Doctors Here Retire". Battle Creek Enquirer. September 19, 1939. p. 7. Retrieved March 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Woman Obstetrician Attends 4149 Births". The Spokesman-Review. February 12, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved March 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
18. Craig, Berry (November 3, 1988). "Murray Hospital Honors Founders". The Paducah Sun. p. 21. Retrieved March 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
19. Bartlett, Beverly (March 19, 1994). "Black female doctor was actually white, but show at U of L will go on". The Courier-Journal. p. 6. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Will the Real Ora Kress Mason Please Stand Up?". The Courier-Journal. March 17, 1995. p. 22. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.