USA > Wisconsin > Eau Claire County > History of Eau Claire county, Wisconsin, past and present; including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county > Part 29
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Mr. Whitford was reared in his native county, coming to Wisconsin in 1869. He located at Milton. Ile took a classical course in Milton college, read law in the office of Bennett & Sale, at Janesville, and was admitted to the bar in November, 1878, after which he located at Menomonie January 1, 1880. He prac- ticed there until 1893, when he went to Superior, and on Septem- ber 1, 1899, located at Eau Claire. Ile married September 4, 1882, Miss Anna Shaw West, a niece of the late Daniel Shaw, and they have two children.
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George L. Blum, Judge of the County Court of Eau Claire county, was born October 6, 1869, at Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He received his education in the public schools of Eau Claire and at the University of Wisconsin, graduating from the law depart- ment in 1893, and was admitted to the bar the same year. In February, 1895, he formed a partnership in Eau Claire with John B. Fleming under the firm name of Fleming & Blum, which arrangement continued until January 1, 1908, since which time he has practiced alone. He was elected Judge of the County Court in April, 1901, and is now-1914-serving his fourth term of six years.
Judge Blum married Margaret D. McGillis, of Eau Claire, and they are the parents of three children: Genevieve F., Margaret G. and George L., Jr.
John Bernard Fleming, mayor of Eau Claire, was born in the village of this name, June 27, 1866, to Michael and Catherine Fleming, and is of Irish descent. Ilis father was born in Buffalo, New York, and his mother in Washington county, Wisconsin. They settled in Ean Claire in 1865.
Mayor Fleming was educated in the parochial and publie schools, entered the law office of Levi M. Vilas in 1884, and was graduated from the law department of the Minnesota State Uni- versity, and was admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Minnesota in 1889, and to the state and federal courts of Wisconsin in 1891. He became cashier of the Union Savings bank of Eau Claire, and secretary of the Union Mortgage & Loan Company in 1907, resigning when elected mayor in 1910 for a term of six years, and is the first mayor of Eau Claire and Wis- consin to serve under the new commission form of government. Ile was associated in practice with George L. Blum for ten years, was private secretary for Hon. William F. Vilas 1891 and 1892; register of the United States land office in Eau Claire 1895-1900. He is a member of the Elks, the Knights of Columbus and St. Patrick's church. Ile married Edith S. Robinson at Milwaukee, December 12, 1894, and has one daughter-Edith Marion.
Joseph C. Culver was born in Eau Claire, July 26, 1880, the son of Joseph C. and Emma (Kern) Culver. Ile was educated in St. John's Military Academy, Delafield, Wisconsin, and at the Cornell University at Ithaca, New York. He was married Novem- ber 8, 1905, to Miss Mary MeDonough, of Eau Claire.
Henry McBain, attorney-at-law and judge of the Municipal Court of Eau Claire, was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, September 3, 1857, the son of John and Mary (Fisher) McBain,
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and is of Scotch descent. He acquired an academical education at Canton, New York, and came to Eau Claire county in 1871, locating at Augusta, where for several years he was clerk in the postoffice. Associated with others he was for three years engaged in merchandising at Augusta. He was elected clerk of the Circuit Court and came to Eau Claire in 1885. For sixteen years he served as clerk of the court, during which time he studied law and was admitted to the bar September 3, 1898, and since 1910 has served as municipal judge. He married Emma B. Crawford, of Augusta, and has two children-Gladys and Mabel. Judge MeBain is a member of the A. F. and A. M., the R. A. M. and Knights Templar.
Burt E. Deyo was born in Peru, Huron county, Ohio, son of Erastus and Salome (Mauley) Deyo. The father was born in New York state and descended from the IIuguenots, while the mother was born in Ohio of English ancestry.
Burt E. was educated at Oberlin College and the law depart- ment of Harvard University ; read law in the office of Bartlett & Hayden, was admitted to the bar in 1882, and to practice in the Supreme Court of the state in 1900.
The foregoing list is not complete. We have endeavored to make it complete, but many who are now living at Eau Claire have neglected to furnish the proper data from which personal mention could be made, while some others have died, and still many others have moved away, and we have not been able with reasonable effort to reach them.
Among those omitted may be mentioned Texas Angel, Abel W. H. Frawley, Frank R. Farr, De Alton Thomas, A. C. Larson, A. H. Shoemaker, E. M. Bradford, Heman Day, T. F. Frawley, Jr., V. W. James.
In the early days the practice of law was not very remunera- tive, and the strict method of procedure and decorum was not always observed. It was within the province of the judge to admit applicants to membership of the bar. Judge Fuller was very accommodating in performing this part of his official duty. It was not by him deemed essential that the applicant should have even read or looked into a law book. All that he required was that some members of the bar move the admission of the applicant, and with one exception the motion was granted. Hence we had a number of members of the bar not mentioned in the foregoing statement who never read or practiced law, among which were R. F. Wilson, James Gray, Captain Seeley and
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some others whose names I do not now remember. The exeep- tion was Arthur Delaney, who edited a paper on the west side. His admission was moved by Alexander Meggett. Evidently the judge was not in a receptive mood, or else nourished a grievanee against Delaney. The judge promptly denied the application. When asked for a reason he replied that Delaney was drunk. The young Irishman's ire was aroused ; he felt he had not only been abused but grossly insulted. Quiek as a flash he came baek with the retort : "Judge Fuller, you are so drunk yourself you cannot get off the chair." The judge called upon the sheriff to put him out. Delaney, as he was being forced through the door by the obedient sheriff, turned and addressing the indignant judge, said: "Judge Fuller, I am going over to my office and I will write an article about you which will eut a wound so deep that even whiskey won't heal." And he did. It is not improb- able that the judge was somewhat under the influence of ardent spirits, which, if reports are true, he was addicted to their use in no slight degree.
Delaney was quite a character in some respects. He was able, even brilliant, and possessed a genuine Irish wit to a considerable degree. Ile was an ardent democrat and so was Dr. W. T. Gallo- way. Demoerats in those days were about as scarce as hens' teeth. The congressional district was very large, with seattered settlements here and there, and in the northwestern part of it Pepin and Prescott on the Mississippi river were the most promi- nent. Delaney and Galloway, with the latter's team, started to attend the convention at Pepin, some sixty miles west. They had an ample supply of democratic enthusiasm with them. Every- thing went along well until they reached a point somewhere near Fall City, when a dispute arose, and the doctor, being a powerful man, weighing over two hundred pounds, and Delaney rather slight in build, threw Delaney out of the buggy and started on without him. Delaney, not daunted by this little mishap, trudged on on foot, occasionally catehing a short ride, reached the con- vention just as it was about to adjourn. IIe was granted the privilege of addressing that body, and in the course of his remarks explained why it was that his arrival was so late. In eloquent words he stated how the doctor and himself had started out from Eau Claire full of enthusiasm and of mind soeially and politically ; how a disagreement ocenrred over some slight matter, how the doctor forcibly ejected him from the buggy; of his long and weary march to reach the convention, and added: "Gentlemen of the convention, that was a contest. It was a contest between
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stomach and brains, and stomach was ahead." Ever afterward, if you wanted to arouse the ire of the genial doctor, all that was necessary was to refer to the closing remarks of Delaney.
A special term for the whole district was provided by law to be held at Prescott, in the extreme northwest corner of the state, in the month of July. There was no railway then from Eau Claire, and the Eau Claire lawyers having business before the court were obliged to journey by team, usually a two days' drive. One morning Messrs. Meggett, Cousins, H. Clay Williams and the writer started for Prescott to attend the July term. We got started a little late owing to the fact that we had to wait a long time for Mr. Consins. His tardiness, however, was explained by a statement of the fact that the night before a baby boy had come to gladden his household, and thus Marshall, his first born, was ushered into the world. It is needless to state that his tardiness was excused. The first night we stopped at Brookville, near Hersey, a stage station on the road from Eau Claire to Hudson, if I remember right. It was about dusk, as we drove up; the keeper of the stable came out with a lantern and was engaged in assisting to unhitch the team, when Meggett asked him the ques- tion : "Say, how many votes did I get in this town for senator ? My name is Meggett." The stable keeper, thinking for a moment, replied : "I guess you got two." Meggett indignantly retorted : "Well, if that is the case, we will drive on to the next station." That he would not stay over night in a town where he got only two votes. This was met by the statement from the stable keeper: "If I was in your place I wouldn't mind. You didn't get any votes in that town."
It was Judge Humphrey's first year upon the bench. We returned by the way of Hudson and were the guests that evening of the judge and his estimable wife. She was a most devout Christian lady, and in the course of the evening, addressing her- self to Mr. Williams, inquired if he was a member of the church, and he, without even the slightest hesitation, replied: "Yes, of the Episcopal church." If he had ever been inside of the church no one ever had any recollection of it. She further inquired if he was a member of the Bible class, to which he replied that he was its leader. She was much interested and pursued her inquiries as to whether many of the prominent residents of Eau Claire belonged to the class, and, without even a smile, he replied, "Most of them," mentioning Cal Spafford, Jan Gray, Dick Wil- cox and several others. To fully appreciate the cheek of Williams under the circumstances a person would have to be acquainted
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with the habits of himself and those he mentioned as members of his Bible class. The judge was a great humorist and enjoyed a practical joke. It was amusing to observe his efforts to keep his face straight while Williams was thus responding to Mrs. Hum- phrey's inquiries.
Another incident then I have done, although there were many of a somewhat similar character that occurred in those days which would today shock the dignity of courts if indulged in.
At Judge Humphrey's first term at Chippewa Falls, Judge Wiltse, a long time justice of the peace, applied for admission to the bar. The judge appointed Mr. Cousins, Meggett and the writer as a committee to examine him in open court as to his qualifications. The court was held in Mitchell's Hall, if I recol- leet correctly ; at any rate it was in a hall over the corner drug store formerly kept by Harry Goddard. There was no court house then. The room was full to overflowing, as almost the entire population, as was usual, were present. Andrew Gregg, Jr., was district attorney and the only resident lawyer. Some farmer who owned a pair of mules had hitched them immediately in front of the hall. While the committee in the presence of the court was proceeding with great dignity in interrogating Mr. Wiltse one of the mules set up an unearthly bray. Mr. Gregg, who was in the back end of the hall, immediately addressed the court : "Hold on! Hold on! There is another jackass that wants to be admitted." It seems that Mr. Gregg had no liking for Mr. Wiltse.
CHAPTER XVII.
TIIE MEDICAL FRATERNITY.
As far back as history takes us we find that as soon as men began to dwell together in the primitive tribe there was one of this number who was known as the "Medicine Man." In Biblical times people lived to be much older than now, and were evidently not as much subject to sickness and disease, so our medicine man could serve many, but sooner or later sickness has overtaken all and then they seek the aid of one who knows something of the healing art. In those primitive times the healers sought to cure people by charms and by driving away the evil spirits through noises, and thins they beat on drums and sang songs. This primi- tive idea has not altogether disappeared to the present day, as witnessed by Dowieism and other cults, who maintain that disease is the work of the devil, who must first be driven out before the person can get well.
Following the idea of charming away disease came the dia- tetic idea, in which health was to be maintained only through the eating of certain foods and avoiding others. This was exem- plified by the Jewish race.
Next we come to the physiologie period, when the functions of the various organs were paramount, and the symptoms they produced were the sole thing to be regarded in treating disease. To a certain extent this is used to the present day, but we have added to it the etiologie period of medicine, in which we endeavor to discover the cause of the disordered function of any organ. This has been made possible only through the vast laboratory researches that have been carried out during the past fifty years, by the discovery of bacteria and by animal experiments to deter- mine the part the bacteria play in man's anatomy. Also in the discovery of the cell or unit of which our body is composed and observing the changes that occur in these cells as the result of disease. Thus it is that medicine has changed from an act to a science. It has not reached the pinnacle of an exact science, but it is approaching that goal. When we consider how we have con- quered many of the dread diseases, as diphtheria, typhoid fever, malaria, etc., and robbed them of their terror through the knowl- edge of their cause and the application of the one and the only
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thing that will destroy that particular cause, then we begin to realize what is being accomplished in modern medicine.
The Panama canal stands not only as a monument to the skill and energy of American engineers, but even more to the glory of American physicians. DeLesseps' failure was not due to a lack of skill or courage on his part, but to yellow fever and malaria. The medical profession has paved the way for this great undertaking by discovering and proving that certain mosquitos are responsible for the spread of both these dread disease, but not until two loyal and unselfish physicians, Carroll and Lazear, had given their lives to prove this. Today we know that if we destroy the mosquito we can stamp out yellow fever and malaria. As a result of the energies of the American physicians the Canal Zone, with its heterogeneous population, has been made more healthy than New York City.
When Eau Claire eounty was first organized and began to be settled the etiologie phase of medicine was unknown. All the diseases we now know were known then and were perfectly described except for their cause, and armed with this knowledge the pioneer doctors came into this wilderness and worked hard and faithfully in the endeavor to relieve the suffering of their fellow men. There being but few doetors in this section the mother of the family applied "home remedies" as long as she eould before sending for a doctor, who often eame too late. There was, therefore, great rejoicing when the first doctor came into the county and cast his lot with those early pioneers. The people were scattered and drives were long and hard, especially in the winter. In those days there were not the fine roads we have now. but one had to pick his way around stumps, over logs and through ereeks. Many times the doctor had to go afoot or on horseback because the roads would not permit the use of a buggy. Without the telephone a man had to drive for the doctor, and if he lived twenty or thirty miles away the doctor could not get there until the next day. Many trips were so long that it required two days to make the trip and return. The people were very poor and were unable to pay more than a very meager compensation or nothing at all for the services rendered. However, those carly mnen cared not for that, they went and did all they could to relieve the suffering. They often had to act as nurse as well as physician. They sat by the sick bed for long weary hours to see whether the spark of life was going to be snuffed out or would take on added vigor and begin to burn anew. They were the recipients of family secrets and their advice was sought in times of trouble. They
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healed and soothed the troubled mind, soul and body with their cheerful words, kindly advice, or some simple decoction. Is it any wonder that they gained a place in the hearts of the people that could not be supplanted, and as long as they were able to drag one foot were sought, and no one else would do but the old family doctor ?
As preachers and lawyers were equally scarce, the doctor was called upon to perform the services of both, and was held to be thoroughly competent. In those days there were no specialists, so the family doctor administered to all ailments. Today certain men specialize on different parts of the body, and become more expert in dealing with that part. They are thus enabled to give the people better service, but in order to do this they have sacri- ficed much in the love and esteem in which they were held in the hearts of the people. Who would think of going to an eye specialist or an abdominal surgeon with his family troubles and expect sympathy and advice? The days of the old-time family physician are past. To be sure we still have the general prac- titioner who looks after the general sickness in the family, and is ready to call the aid of some one especially skilled when needed. Indeed this must be so when we considered what is being done all around us. Some wealthy men, as John D. Rockefeller and McCormick, have given large sums of money to establish research laboratories, to equip them, and to pay men to devote their whole lives to the study of one disease, as infantile paralysis, etc.
Some men are devoting their lives and energies to performing and perfecting surgical operations, so that today there is not a single organ of the body that is not the subject of operation. And then there is the pathologist and physiologist, who works in the laboratory experimenting with animals to ascertain the cause of disease and its treatment before applying the same to man (yet there are those who would say do not experiment with animals in order to learn how to save a human life, but rather let men die). When we consider these and the many more departments of medicine, with all the accumulating knowledge, it is no wonder that one poor man cannot master them all.
About the only thing that keeps alive the old spark of grati- tude and love for the general practitioner is his obstetrics. He who stands beside a woman during her suffering and comforts her and encourages her in her great and holy, yet trying mission, of bringing a new soul into the world endears himself to her in a way that is not easily forgotten or cast aside. What a pleasure
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it is and what gratitude one receives only he who has had the experience knows.
The doctor's life must be an unselfish one, for how often is he aroused from a sound sleep or disturbed while at a meeting, a social gathering, to go and relieve the suffering. If he is fortu- nate enough to make a discovery or invent some new instrument he does not hurry to the patent office to protect himself and enrich his purse, but gladly gives his knowledge to his brothers for the good of mankind. This has been handed down to him from the days of Hippocrates that he is in honor bound to impart all good knowledge to his worthy brother practitioners. Neither does he go to the newspaper office that his fame may be heralded abroad, but rather spreads the glad tidings only among those who will be able to use them. And many is the doctor, whose epitaph has overtaken him, long before his good works are known. Grant, Sherman and Napoleon are household names, because they have commanded armies and lead many men to death, while Pasteur, Koch, Virchon, Senn, Billings, and hosts of others are hardly known, and yet for every life the generals have sacrificed these men have saved hundreds. Few people know what a debt they owe to Lord Lister, when he discovered that by the use of antiseptic, surgical operations could be performed without being followed by the dread hospital gangrene or snppuration. This, together with the use of anesthesia, has enabled the surgeon to go fearlessly at his task, and thus Darwin's law of the "survival of the fittest" no longer applies.
As there were no large cities in this county, hospitals were slow to make their appearance, and the doctors were compelled to perform many operations in private houses, which they did with the skill and success of their more fortunate brethren at the hospital in the cities.
A doctor not only devotes his time and energies to the study of cause and treatment of disease, but places before himself the higher ideal of preventive medicine. Thus, he goes about telling people how to live to avoid sickness. However, they are very slow to change their habits that they may enjoy better health. If you tell them to eat plainer food and masticate it more thor- oughly, so as to avoid dyspepsia, they think they are wasting too mueh time. If you tell him to live in the sunshine and exercise more they are afraid they will neglect their business. When you tell them to breathe plenty fresh air and sleep with windows open at night, they are greatly alarmed lest some dread monster
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will come in with the "night air," little thinking that after sun- down all air is "night air." People are no more ready to harken to our modern physicians than they were to the great physician when IIe said, "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft would I have gathered you under my wings as a hen gathers her chickens, and ye would not."
(The above excellent article is here supplemented with a short sketch of the hospitals and the lives of the physicians of the county, living and dead, as far as we have been able to obtain them.)
SACRED HEART HOSPITAL.
The Sacred Heart Hospital, of Eau Claire, was first started in 1889, by the Sisters of Saint Frances. The first building con- tained seventeen rooms and was under the charge of three sisters. Since this time the buildings have been three times enlarged, the last building being erected in 1912, is used as a convent for the sisters, while the entire upper floor is used as the operating room. The Sacred Heart Hospital is the oldest in the city, and the large three-story brick buildings are located on a large plat of ground high on the hill, which affords an abundance of fresh air for its patients. The hospital has now accommodation for one hundred and thirty patients, whose wants are looked after by thirty-four sisters. This institution is open for all classes regardless of their religious belief, and all doctors of good repute are admitted to practice. The mother hospital is located at the city of Spring- field, Ill.
LUTHER HOSPITAL.
Efforts to establish a Protestant hospital in Eau Claire were made as early as 1895. But no practical results from this or sub- sequent attempts were obtained until 1905, when it was decided by some ministers attending a United Church convention at Menomonie, Wis., to call a mass meeting to consider said matter.
At this mass meeting, which was held at Eau Claire, February 9, 1905, it was unanimously resolved to establish a Protestant hospital in Eau Claire to be called Luther Hospital. Thereupon two committees were elected, one for incorporation and one for soliciting funds.
On the first of May, 1905, the hospital association was incor- porated by John Gaustad, M. O. Waldal, Peder Tangjerd, Alfred Cypreansen and Peder B. Treltsad.
The Hoyme property, on which an option had previously been
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secured, was bought July 31, 1905, and an adjoining property secured later on. During the fall of 1906 the basement wall of the proposed hospital was built and the building proper erected during the summer and fall of 1907. On account of unavoidable delay cornerstone laying and dedication was deferred until Sun- day, August, 30, 1908, the main speeches being delivered by Con- gressman Lenroot and President J. N. Kindahl, of St. Olaf Col- lege. But five months earlier on March 30, 1908, Luther Hospital threw open its doors to receive the unfortunate sick of the com- munity and accomplish the glorious work for which it was estab- lished.
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