Mary Hallenbeck was born in 1930 to Margaret and Harry Shepard. Her mother worked at Bell Telephone and later at the New York Training School for Girls. Her grandfather owned the Iron Horse Bar on 7th Street in Hudson. She grew up in Claverack, and commuted by bus to Hudson to attend Montgomery C. Smith High School. She was in 8th grade when WWII broke out in 1944.
Mary was a nursing student at Hudson City Hospital, which is now called Columbia Memorial Hospital. In this interview, Mary goes into great detail about her experiences while in Nursing School, as well as living as a student in the Cavell House, which is now the NYOH [New York Oncology Hematology] Hudson Cancer Center. Mary talks about the history of the Cavell House and its prior owners before it was given to the government to be used as a temporary rest home for returning military, and later for nurse residents. About 22 minutes into the interview, Mary discusses how Columbia Memorial Hospital has changed since the 1930s.
Approximately 25-30 minutes into the interview, Mary recounts working in a few affiliate locations in December 1949, in order to meet the state requirements for nursing. She trained at Bellevue Hospital for pediatrics and adult outpatient treatment. She describes training at Willard Parker Hospital for Communicable Diseases in New York City and The Hudson River State Hospital, a former New York State psychiatric hospital. Roughly 35 minutes into the interview, Mary describes in detail what it was like training at the psychiatric hospital at a time when there were no tranquilizers, and when electroshock therapy, insulin shock therapy and prefrontal lobotomies were still in practice.