1950s
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Sunnyslope and the desert north
of the mountains as they
appeared in the mid- 1950s.
As former servicemen who trained
in Arizona in the 1940s returned
after the war, the North Phoenix
area boomed with young families.
These children carried on the
patriotic tradition of their parents
as they recited the Pledge of
Allegiance at the Helen C. Lincoln
Day Nursery.
Marguerite Colley continued
providing food, clothing and
social services to area
residents and patients through
the welfare office of Desert
Mission.
Many children swam in local
irrigation canals to cool off in the
hot Arizona summer until 1947,
when Desert Mission built a
community pool that served the
Sunnyslope community until 1958.
Helen C. Lincoln presented
projections for the growth of the
Desert Mission Day Nursery and
the John C. Lincoln Hospital to
the Desert Mission Board in the
early 1950s.
Recognizing that both patients
and family members needed
their spirits uplifted during long
recuperations, Desert Mission
created a "Character Building"
program in the 1930s. In the
1950s, Desert Mission built a
baseball park and formed a
baseball team as part of this
program.
Desert Mission, as concerned for
the well-being of ailing patients
as for their medical care,
provided many activities for
patients and their families,
including lawn checkers.
In 1954, construction at Desert
Mission was a community effort.
Local construction workers and
community members, along with
Desert Mission board member
Chester Hansen, chief of staff Dr.
Bertram Snyder and administrator
Herbert Hancox, lay the
foundation for an addition to
the Desert Mission Convalescent
Hospital.
1950s - The widespread use of air-conditioning swept Arizona in the 1950s, dramatically increasing its attractiveness and fueling an unprecedented building boom. Young families continued to flock to Arizona and Sunnyslope.
1950 - The United Nations declared war on Korea.
1950 - The Helen C. Lincoln Day Nursery was constructed to replace the old Desert Mission nursery building, which the Mission had outgrown. The nursery was built through the generosity of Mrs. Lincoln.
1951 - Sunnyslope Chamber of Commerce was established.
1951 - Originally, the Desert Mission Convalescent Home was intended to care only for ambulatory cases of arthritis, asthma, diabetes and similar non-contagious diseases. However, there were no hospitals nearer than eight miles, and the existing Phoenix hospitals were already overcrowded. It was clear to the Desert Mission board of directors that the health care needs of the community had outgrown Desert Mission's modest organization.
The Roy Brooks Outpatient Clinic, the Emergency Station and the Desert Mission Convalescent Home were organized and licensed by the Arizona Department of Health as the Desert Mission Convalescent Hospital. It was the 62nd hospital to be licensed in Arizona and had 16 beds for inpatient care along with a pharmacy, X-ray facilities and an outpatient department. During its first year of operation, the new hospital admitted 79 patients. The hospital was accepted as a member of the Arizona Hospital Association and the American Hospital Association.
1952 - The John C. Lincoln Hospital – North Mountain Auxiliary was founded.
1953 - Dwight Eisenhower was inaugurated as President of the United States.
1953 - The Korean War ended.
1953 - Discovery of the double helix structure of DNA by Rosalind Elsie Franklin, F.H. Crick and James D. Watson.
1953 - Sunnyslope High School was completed, and students began attending classes.
1953 - Dr. Jonas Salk began inoculating children against polio.
1954 - The U.S. Supreme Court declared that segregated schools violate the 14th Amendment.
1954 - Additions to the Desert Mission Convalescent Hospital were completed.
1954 - Phoenix continued its rapid growth, and acute care hospital facilities became more and more over crowded. In 1954, the Desert Mission Board of Directors moved to expand the hospital's services, allowing it to become a general acute care hospital. The hospital was officially licensed as an acute care facility, and a medical staff was organized.
1954 - In a move designed to recognize the staunch and generous support of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Lincoln in both finances and personal services, the Desert Mission Board of Directors voted to change the name of the hospital to honor them. On Dec. 20, 1954, the hospital was incorporated as an independent entity separate from the Desert Mission. Its new name was the John C. Lincoln Hospital.
1955 - Civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., lead a boycott of the Montgomery, Ala. bus system after Rosa Parks refused to sit in the segregated section of a bus.
1955 - Johnson & Johnson introduced Tylenol.
1955 - A $200,000 wing to the new hospital was completed and included major surgical facilities. Much of the funding for the construction came from the Lincolns. On Oct. 25, 1955, the first surgery was performed. At this time, the hospital had 40 inpatient beds, 65 employees and 200 medical doctors on staff.
1956 - Phoenix Osteopathic Hospital leased the McDowell Osteopathic Hospital, thereafter operating both facilities.
1958 - Coronary angiography was invented, making it possible to visualize coronary artery blockages.
1958 - Phoenix Osteopathic Hospital began building a new facility on land bordering Indian School Road, renaming the facility Phoenix General Hospital.
1959 - After several failed attempts at incorporation, Sunnyslope was annexed by the City of Phoenix.
1959 - An eight-bed pediatric ward was added to the hospital, bringing the total number of beds to 50. The hospital had a staff of 100 and provided all services except obstetrics.
1959 - On May 24, 1959, John Cromwell Lincoln died at the age of 92. Before his death, he had envisioned a modern, multi-storied hospital facility, a vision firmly implanted in the minds and hearts of his widow, Helen C. Lincoln, hospital administrator Herbert Hancox and board president E. Ray Cowden. Shortly after Lincoln's death, they agreed to begin a fund raising effort for the construction of a new hospital.
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