Interview with Thruston Ballard Morton, Sr., October 24, 1978

Interview Summary

Thruston Morton's grandmother, Sunshine Harris Ballard, was very interested in the FNS and knew Mary Breckinridge. His grandparents contributed funds to help establish the organization. After the death of Morton's mother in 1927, his grandmother funded a wing in the Hyden hospital that was completed and dedicated in 1928. To attend the ceremony, a party of about twenty took the train to Hazard and went the rest of the way by buckboard or horses and mules. Morton lived with his grandparents in Louisville, and on occasion Mary Breckinridge would come to visit. He served as a trustee for the FNS for a time after the death of his grandmother but was never able to be very active. He gives a short history of his family and also describes his grandmother's philanthropy. At one time the national chairperson of the FNS, Sunshine Ballard, died in 1938. Morton speaks of his grandmother's tragedy in losing three children and that of Mary Breckinridge in losing both of hers as the probable factor that drew the two women together. Morton advised Breckinridge even after he went to Congress. He characterizes her as one who wished to preserve the simplicity of the region.

Interview Keyword

Morton was trustee for FNS Morton's grandmother Sunshine Harris Ballard Thruston Ballard Morton, 1907-1982

Interview LC Subject

Children--Health and hygiene--Kentucky Medical care Nursing

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.