BRATTLEBORO — The documentary “An American Nurse at War” will be screened on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 2:30 p.m., at the annual meeting and program of the Brattleboro Historical Society at the Brattleboro History Center.
The 1997 film chronicles the experience of Marion McCune Rice of Brattleboro, who went to France 100 years ago to care for injured soldiers during World War I.
Rice was born in Brattleboro in 1882 and graduated from Brattleboro High School in 1900 before attending Smith College and nursing school at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. She was the sister of Howard Crosby Rice, longtime publisher of the Brattleboro Reformer, and spent summers at her home on Chestnut Hill.
McCune Rice also was an accomplished photographer. Her collection of World War I materials included more than 300 negatives, 500 photos, and 200 photo postcards.
Her great-nephew, Steve Hooper, a photographer for The Keene Sentinel, was instrumental in producing the 34-minute film using Rice's photos to document her four years in France.
Professor Thomas Durnford of Keene State College will share comments on the nurse/soldier relationship, drawing on the photos and some of Rice's letters. Poignant exhibition-quality photographs taken by Rice will be on display at the History Center.
The program is free. All are welcome. The Masonic Center, 196 Main St., is handicapped accessible through the back door. A brief business meeting of Brattleboro Historical Society members to elect trustees precedes the screening.