Finding tea in unexpected places …

On Monday, I was at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta where my husband had some (non-life-threatening) surgery on his leg. After he was in recovery, he asked if I would go find him some cheese crackers. As I was on my way to the gift shop, I noticed many vintage items attractively displayed in cases along a hallway, and all the vignettes had some connection to Piedmont Hospital history. I was speeding by this case when something made me hit the brakes.
(Who knew that I would ever have cause to picture a bedpan on this blog?) But I spotted this teapot and plate and had to know more. What did that small silver teapot have to do with Piedmont?
And then I read this: "From the hospital's founding in 1905, when Fannie Amster served as the first dietician, Piedmont has built a reputation for providing high-quality, nutritious food to help with a patient's recovery. Frances Wikle Whitaker headed the dietetics department from 1917 to 1926. This plate, pitcher and menu were used by Piedmont patients. Today more than 125 different patient menus are available at Piedmont." But the name "Frances Wikle Whitaker" got my attention because that is the woman who went on to open the Frances Virginia Tearoom, an Atlanta legend!
In fact, I've gotten to meet France's niece on a few occasions and have even written about the fabulous tea room cookbook she wrote using her aunt's recipes. So even though a hospital visit is never exactly fun, it was certainly nice to find a teatime connection in the hallway. (And happily, my husband is up and at 'em already and has recovered just fine!)