INTERNET! I have a question:
What did the abbreviation "VSP" mean back in, say, the 1930s?
@cathygellis Maybe that's an archaic version of "VIP"?
@LouisIngenthron I was thinking maybe "visiting service practitioner" or something like that?
@cathygellis Or maybe "veterinary" or "volunteer" as well?
@LouisIngenthron Not veterinary.
I also don't think volunteer, but that makes more sense in this context.
@cathygellis Or "veteran" maybe? Could be like a VFW nurse? Lots of ugly injuries from WWI.
@LouisIngenthron This person ran a nursing registry that did home visits.
@cathygellis @LouisIngenthron
Someone suggested Vermont State Police, could it possibly be Virginia State Police. Was it a visit to a guest of the state? Your guess of Visiting Service Provider sounds good, but not very 1930’s.
@Csosorchid @LouisIngenthron I would not expect any police connection. But she was, at some point, in Virginia, where she gave birth to at least one kid.
@cathygellis @Csosorchid Could she have worked in a medical ward of a Virginia State Penitentiary?
@LouisIngenthron @Csosorchid I don't think so. But even if she did I don't know why she'd have this box with this label.
@cathygellis @Csosorchid A box with a label? Could it be the personal effects of an individual with those initials? A recently deceased patient, maybe?
@LouisIngenthron @Csosorchid No, it has her name on it, followed by VSP, so it looks like a credential for her.
@cathygellis @LouisIngenthron Virginia Society of P(?). I took a look at the state nursing board website and didn’t see anything. The visiting nurse angle looks the most promising. In the 1960’s visiting nurse services were advertised on television in metro NYC.
@Csosorchid @LouisIngenthron The visiting nurse situation happened in NYC during the 30s.
But she may have had a credential earlier, when she was in Virginia.
@cathygellis Also, I don't think women were typically allowed to be doctors before like the 60s/70s, so "practitioner" seems unlikely...
Missouri currently has a program called the "Veteran Service Program" that offers mental health assistance... maybe it's something similar?