A HISTORY OF THE TULSA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY

 

An Account of Thirty-Seven Years of Medical Progress
By The Physicians of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Published by: THE TULSA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY

 

FOREWARD

 

Beginning in the March, 1944, issue of The Bulletin, official publication of the Tulsa County Medical Society, there appeared the first of a series of seventeen feature articles devoted to the progress of the Society since its inception in 1907. At the request of many interested physicians, these articles were collected and are reprinted herein in booklet form. Except for elimination of titles and certain minor editing, the articles are exactly as printed in The Bulletin.

 

The information contained in the series was taken from the Tulsa County Medical Society files. Any inaccuracy which may occur is unintentional and represents an original error in information sources. It is not the intention of this history to ignore the good work of any individual. Written in retrospect as it is, it is possible that some may have been slighted through failure to record their contributions to the Society’s progress. Such oversights and regretted, and apologies are respectfully offered.

 

A HISTORY OF THE TULSA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY

 

The year of 1907 was an important one to the small but fast-growing Oklahoma town of Tulsa. With the Indian Territory admitted that year into the Union as the State of Oklahoma, Tulsa was experiencing a substantial boom in prosperity brought about through the development of the famous Glenn Pool (discovered in 1905) and other nearby oil fields. That same year saw the Midland Valley Railroad come to Tulsa, the opening of Tulsa’s first hospital, and the beginning of the present Carnegie Library of Tulsa. Among other things, 1907 saw the organization of the Tulsa County Medical Society.

 

The Tulsa of 1907 is a far cry from the modern and progressive city which it is today. Although it had passed beyond recognition as a mere “cow town”, it had yet to attain the wealth, influence, and physical beauty which the discovery of oil eventually brought about. It was a town of frame buildings, many showing signs of hasty construction to accommodate a growing population, with but few substantial constructions. The downtown district was not entirely devoid of well-built business buildings, however, for a number of civic and commercial organizations were housed in structures which rose abruptly on the Tulsa skyline to distinguish it as a city of progress and accomplishment. Even so, the real progress for Tulsa lay ahead, not in its past history.

​

The history of medicine in Tulsa up to 1907 had little to distinguish it from the history of medicine in other American frontier towns. Perhaps the Oklahoma outlaws and renegade Indians had accounted for more bullet wounds among the early settlers, and perhaps Tulsa experienced a high ratio of broken heads resulting from personal grievances among the followers of the oil boom. In general, however, the capable and reputable doctors of the day practiced a type of medicine that went with rough life in the open, with a horse and buggy for transportation, with an unending fight against habit and superstition, with inadequate knowledge of ills, and their cures, with too limited supplies of drugs and surgical instruments, and with the bitter competition of the medical frauds who existed so well in the unregulated conditions of the state.

 

By 1907, however, Tulsa had begun to resolve itself into the leading city of Oklahoma. Its physicians and surgeons had already begun to attain reputations as men of skill and ability. It is not surprising, therefore, that leading Tulsa doctors had begun to feel the need of an organized medical society shortly after the run of the century. The Oklahoma State Medical Association had been in existence for some years, but it failed to create the desired fraternity among the local members of the medical profession.

 

Actually, the Tulsa County Medical Society had its beginnings as early as 1906 when informal discussions were held among professional men at irregular intervals in varied meeting places. An organization known as the Tulsa Medical Society came into being on the evening of November 9, 1906, when a dozen leading Tulsa physicians met in the offices of Dr. C. L. Reeder and Dr. C. Z. Wiley at the old Malcomb Building on East Second Street. A temporary organization was set up that night with the following charter members: Dr. Reeder, Dr. Wiley, Dr. W. Albert Cook, Dr. G. H. Butler, Dr. T. F. Dailey, Dr. S. D. Hawley, Dr. J. E. Webb, Dr. S. H. Kimmons, Dr, N. W. Mayginnes, Dr. C. T. Hendershot, Dr. R. S. Wagner, and Dr. W. H. Rogers.

 

The purpose of this original Tulsa Medical Society was set forth as the advancement of scientific study. For several months, the Society had fortnightly meetings in the offices or various members. “Some very interesting papers came before the Society,” an old record observes. Dr. Charles L. Reeder, a prominent general practitioner, served as Chairman of the group, Dr. N. W. Mayginnes as vice-chairman, and Dr. C.T. Hendershot as secretary-treasurer.

 

Of all the original members of the Society, death has overtaken almost all. Dr. W. Albert Cook remains an active practitioner and a recognized specialist in ophthalmology and otolaryngology. Dr. S. DeZell Hawley passed away only last month (March, 1944) and Dr. G. H. Butler a few months earlier.

 

At that time a number of Tulsa doctors belonged to a regional medical society known as the Indian Territory Medical Society, whose purpose was reportedly more social than scientific. It was rather closely tied in with the Oklahoma State Medical Association and had in fact been the actual predecessor of that organization as the representative medical society of the state. The Indian Territory Medical Society had entertained the Oklahoma State Medical Association at its annual convention of 1905 in Tulsa. Some opposition to the Tulsa Medical Society arose early in 1907, principally from the members of the regional Indian Territory Medical Society. The objection to the new organization was principally that it constituted a competitive organization.

 

Unfortunately for the sake of romanticism, this rivalry did not develop into open enmity among the Tulsa doctors. Rather, through the diplomacy and tact of several medical leaders, representatives of both units were brought together and it was decided to combine two organizations into a single society to be known as the Tulsa County Medical Society and to affiliate as a unit of the Oklahoma State Medical Association.

 

This affiliation was duly accomplished early in the spring of 1907 when Dr. James Vance of Checotah, a councilman for the state association, met with Tulsa doctors in a reorganization meeting. In this manner the Tulsa County Medical Society, as such, came into being. Dr. W. Albert Cook was selected as the first president and Dr. C. T. Hendershot as the first secretary-treasurer. The Society sent its first delegates, consisting of Dr. Cook, Dr. Hendershot, and Dr. J. C. Bland, to the state convention of 1907 held in May of that year at Shawnee, Oklahoma.

 

There was no standard meeting place in the early years of the Society. Many were held at the newly organized Oklahoma Hospital, others at the old Commercial Club, at the offices of various members, and in rooms provided at the First National Bank Building. Programs were primarily scientific, but were distinguished by occasional dinners, social meetings with the wives, and by certain extra treats. In the latter category were the free circulation of fruit, nuts, and candy.

 

Somewhere along the wayside, the financial records of the early years have been lost. Some veterans insist the initial annual dues were only $5.00, others remember them as $10.00, and some recall no dues at all. It appears likely that the figure of $10.00 is the more correct one, and that necessary additions to the treasury were made by assessment.

 

Much of the Society’s success during its first year was due to the energetic young physician who served as the first president, Dr. W. Albert Cook. A native of Charles City, Iowa, Dr. Cook had practiced there after his graduation from Rush Medical College of Chicago in 1897. He came to Tulsa in 1902 and attained a ready success, first as a general practitioner and subsequently as an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist. Dr. Cook and his wife, the late Irene Lowe Cook, were both prominent in Tulsa and Oklahoma civic and social circles.

 

Another early-day Tulsa physician, Dr. R. S. Wagner assumed the presidency in 1908, with Dr. Hendershot reelected as secretary. For some reason, possibly that the Society was growing financially, a separate office of treasurer was created with Dr. S. D. Hawley serving in that capacity. After an uneventful year, Dr. W. Q. Conway became president with Dr. Walter E. Wright as secretary, both serving through 1909. Both of these years, from available records, do not appear to be particularly important except that the Society met regularly and engaged in scientific discussion.

It is unfortunate that membership records of the Society’s first five years have been lost or poorly preserved. A history of Tulsa published in 1921 indicates that the Tulsa County Medical Society had over 50 members in 1909. This is probably substantially overestimated as the membership roll for the following year of 1910 reveals only thirty members.

 

The financial situation of the Society apparently improved during the first three years as it is recorded that over a thousand dollars were invested in furniture for a permanent meeting room at the old First National Bank Building. Like the membership record, this amount is probably overstated. One of the mysteries to a historian of the Tulsa County Medical Society is the eventual disposition of that furniture. No one seems to recall. It is likely that it grew worn and was disposed of when the Society abandoned the Bank Building to meet in various places from time to time.

 

Dr. G. H. Butler, Jr., who was named as president in 1910, was the son of an old-time country doctor of Adamsville, Tennessee. Inspired by his father’s devotion to medicine, young Butler studied at the University of Louisville, graduating in 1892. For several years he practiced in Missouri, coming to Tulsa in 1905 where he made a quick reputation as a competent surgeon.

 

Dr. Butler was extremely interested in the activities of organized medicine and was well fitted for his duties as President of the Tulsa County Medical Society. In the earlier days of organization in 1907, Dr. Butler had been a temporary chairman of the Society. He was denied office until his election as president in 1910. There appears to be little doubt but that Dr. Butler’s administration was capable and progressive.

The Oklahoma State Medical Association again came to Tulsa in 1910, meeting for the three days of May 10-12 Dr. Butler’s address of welcome apparently made a good impression on the visitors for he was later complimented at length at the annual banquet. Whether or not it may be attributed to the fact that Tulsa was the host and reticent to participate at length in the program or that the Tulsa doctors were not invited to appear is not known, but at any rate the pr ram was singularly devoid of Tulsa speakers. Dr. C. L. Reeder was accorded the honor of being elected first vice-president, and the chairmanship Of the Surgical Section went to Tulsa’s Dr. Ross Grosshart. Dr. Walter E. Wright was named a delegate to the AMA House of Delegates.

 

A feature of the 1910 convention in Tulsa was a resolution asking the Governor to permit the state association to name the physician to be appointed as a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma. The highpoint was the annual banquet with Tulsa’s Dr. Fred S. Clinton as toastmaster. The Tulsa County Medical Society received a resolution of thanks “for their efforts in procuring entertainment of a splendid character never before equaled in the State.

 

The 1910 roster of the Tulsa County Medical Society is interesting from a historical standpoint although most of the doctors listed have since passed away. Dr. P. H. Mayginnes, Dr. W. Albert Cook, and Dr. S. S. Mohrman are still active practitioners. Dr. Fred S. Clinton and Dr. C. 0. Hood are alive but in retirement. It may also be observed that Dr. Ross Grosshart was the father of Dr. Paul Grosshart, a prominent Tulsa surgeon of today, the same being true of Dr. C. Z. Wiley, father of Dr. A. Ray Wiley, and Dr. H. F. Zink, father of Dr. Roy A Zink.

 

Dr J. N. McCormick of Bowling Green, Kentucky, an official of the American Medical Association visited the Tulsa County Medical Society in 1910 to arrange for a course of postgraduate medical study. This course was to be provided by local physicians from material purchased from the AMA. Despite Dr. Butler’s interest in the project, it died a hurried death from a general lack of interest. Dr. McCormick’s visit of October 30, 1910, to the Society was an occasion of an elaborate dinner.

 

The Tulsa County Medical Society’s first four years were not particularly outstanding. Its members practiced a competent grade of medicine, but had not yet become the leaders of organized medicine in. the state. Oklahoma City physicians were the ramrods of the state organization with much additional support gained from Muskogee and Shawnee. Only a few Tulsa doctors, namely Dr. Fred S. Clinton, Dr. W. Albert Cook, Dr. N. W. Mayginnes, Dr. C. L Reeder, and Dr. G. W Butler took an active part in the Society affairs.

 

With the early unsettled years of organization behind, The Tulsa County Medical Society entered upon a new era at the close of Dr. G. H. Butler’s term of office in 1910. While the first four presidents of the Society had worked hard and efficiently in their posts, interest in organized medical affairs continued to center about the state association. After 1910, Tulsa doctors began to take more interest in local medical affairs and to foresee the advantages of local organization.

 

Coincident with the establishment of the Tulsa County Medical Society, Tulsa’s first real hospital was organized in 1906. Known as the Tulsa Hospital Association in corporate form and popularly as The Tulsa Hospital, it was the result of months of organization and planning by a group of doctors headed by Dr. Fred S. Clinton, Dr. C. L. Reeder, and Dr. C. Z. Wiley.

 

Dr. Fred Severs Clinton was a native Oklahoman, born near Okmulgee in 1874, the son of an early white settler of the Indian Territory. His mother was a cultured Southern woman of liberal education and refinement. Dr. Clinton graduated from University Medical College of Kansas City in 1897 and shortly thereafter located for practice in the Red Fork area. Subsequently, he moved to Tulsa and became a leader in civic and medical affairs, particularly in the activities of the Indian Territory Medical Association-and its successor, the Oklahoma State Medical Association.

 

The need for a hospital had been keenly felt in Tulsa for many years prior to 1906. A comparatively small and unstable population unsettled economic conditions, and lack of civic interest had forestalled the building of any properly organized hospital. Dr. Clinton, Dr. Wiley, and Dr. Reeder drew up the tentative plans in November, 1906, and shortly thereafter applied for and received a charter to operate. A ten-room unfinished residence located at the corner of West Fifth and Lawton streets was purchased by the group. Despite a lack of sidewalks, electricity, sewers, and water mains, the old house offered an excellent opportunity to the visionary doctors. Remodeling began at once, a hand-pump water system was installed, and a cesspool dug. While the work went on, the Tulsa Hospital operated in a small frame house on the North side of the town. Finally, in January, 1907, the old house at Fifth and Lawton was ready for occupancy as Tulsa’s first hospital. Dr. Fred S. Clinton was president, Dr. C. L. Reeder secretary, and Dr. C. Z. Wiley treasurer.

 

It was the hope of the organizers to include a school of nursing in the Tulsa Hospital. This hope became a reality almost immediately with Miss Henrietta Ziegler as Superintendent of Nurses. The hospital and training school was readily successful and expanded and grew from time to time. An advertisement appearing in the state journal of 1910 notes that it had “sunlight and air in every room, silent signal system, modernly planned and equipped.” Also that it had a private ambulance (a clapboard wagon drawn by two white horses), long distance telephone, and location on a car line. The capacity at that time (1910) was forty beds. Dr. Clinton remained as president until 1915 when other interests assumed control.

 

The Physicians and Surgeons Hospital, a two-story frame building located at Carson and Thirteenth Street, was organized in 1910 by Dr. G. H. Butler, Dr. S.

 

D. Hawley, Dr. W. Q. Conway and Dr. R. S. Wagner. It was moderately successful although an early attempt to establish a nurses training school was eventually abandoned.

 

In these two hospitals Tulsa physicians found adequate medical care facilities, as judged by the existing standards, for Tulsa’s sick and aged. To this was added the Oklahoma Hospital, a privately owned institution which Dr. Fred S. Clinton organized in 1915, and the Morningside Hospital, which came into being during the war years of the second decade. Of these two latter organizations, more will be said later.

 

The selection of Dr. Ross Grosshart as president of the Tulsa County Medical Society for the year of 1911 proved to be a happy choice. This energetic doctor had already proven his worth in the state association as chairman of the Surgery Section and had been highly complimented for his address and for the capable manner in which he conducted his section.

 

Dr. Ross Grosshart, born in Missouri in 1878, was the son of Dr. Joel E. Grosshart, an ambitious man whose untimely death in 1879 cut short a brief but promising career as a physician. Dr. Ross Grosshart lived in Kansas and New Mexico as a boy, later making the race into Indian Territory when it was opened to settlement by the whites. After a few years as a farmer and cattleman, he worked his way through medical college and graduated from the Kansas City Medical College in 1899. Practicing for a time in Missouri, he came to Tulsa in 1905. A specialist in surgery, he became recognized as a leading physician in his field and remained so until his death.

 

Dr. Grosshart insisted on a regular schedule of meetings throughout his term of office and many excellent programs were prepared. The president attempted to instill the interest of the members into the proceedings of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, but with one or two exceptions, few Tulsa physicians took part in the affairs of the state organization.

 

One of these exceptions was Dr. Charles L. Reeder, a pioneer Tulsa physician and civic leader. His election as President of the Oklahoma State Medical Association at the annual meeting in Muskogee in 1911 was a signal honor to the Tulsa group. An Iowan by birth, Dr. Reeder graduated from the Barnes Medical College of St. Louis in 1890. He came to Tulsa shortly thereafter and soon established a large practice. One of the founders of the Tulsa Hospital, he also labored along civic lines and brought a touch of Eastern culture to the cow-town with the establishment of the Tulsa Opera House Company.

 

Speaking at the annual meeting in Shawnee in 1912, Dr. Reeder made a forceful and eloquent speech urging uniform medical licensure acts among the various states, protesting against the sale of liquor in pharmacies, recommending the establishment of state tubercular sanitariums, and opposing a public movement against vaccination for contagious diseases.

 

Dr. Reeder led the state association through a profitable year. Many of the objectives embodied in his address were translated into resolutions and prosecuted as vigorously as possible.

 

Following the fine work of Dr. Ross Grosshart, the year of 1912 was considerably disappointing. For some unknown reason, the office of president was not filled until late in the year when Dr. Walter E. Wright became executive officer. Wright’s election came as a result of his fine work of several years as secretary-treasurer of the organization. Although belated in getting to work, Dr. Wright succeeded in reviving waning interest in the organization and the regular program of work was resumed. Dr. Paul R. Brown became secretary in that year.

 

A Missourian, Dr. Wright followed his father as a physician with his graduation from the University of Louisville in 1906. He came to Tulsa the same year and was almost immediately recognized as a leading pathologist and, later, an x-ray specialist. In later years he was to retire from the practice of medicine to devote his time to management of extensive investments and property holdings.

 

While a considerable number of Tulsa doctors belonged to the Tulsa County Medical Society in 1912, the number in the State Association was only 26. Unfortunately, membership in the local association did not necessarily mean membership in the state association. If any rule existed to govern this matter, it was not enforced to any great degree.

 

Of those who were members of the Society in 1912, the following are still alive and very much active: Dr. E. L. Cohenour, Dr. J. E. Wallace, Dr. W. Albert Cook, Dr. M. A. Houser, Dr. P. H, Mayginnes, and Dr. S. S. Mohrman. Dr. Fred S. Clinton and Dr. Paul R. Brown are alive but retired from active practice.

 

In the absence of the Medical Arts Building and others as strictly professional buildings, the bulk of the doctors of 1912 had their offices in the Bliss Building or the First National Bank Building.

 

As if to compensate for his shortened term of office, Dr. W. E. Wright continued to serve as president until March, 1913, when Dr. W. W. Brodie assumed office. Dr. Brodie was a likeable and capable physician who had served the Society as vice-president during Dr. Wright’s irregular term of office. Throughout the balance of 1913 he continued the effective work of the Society, concentrating upon improving the Society’s status in the state association. His success here was demonstrated to some extent by the appearance of a number of Tulsa doctors on the program of the annual state convention in Enid on May 14-15, 1913. Dr. W., Albert Cook, Dr. E. F. Hayden, Dr. Fred S. Clinton, and Dr. A. W. Roth delivered scientific papers. It is of interest to note that three other doctors residing in other cities but later to become prominent Tulsa physicians appeared on the program-Dr. P. P. Nesbitt of Muskogee, Dr. G. A. Wall of Oklahoma City, and the late Dr. Fred Y. Cronk of Guthrie. Mrs. P. H. Mayginnes of Tulsa was a leader in the Ladies Auxiliary program of that year.

 

The Tulsa County Medical Society entered its eighth year in January, 1914, with the election of Dr. N. W. Mayginnes as president. Tulsa was continuing to grow despite some unsettlement in business conditions occasioned by the threat of a general European war. Interest of the medical profession at that time was centered about improvements in obstetric science and methods of combating the dread spinal meningitis. In Oklahoma there was some grumbling among psychiatrists because the Oklahoma State Medical Association, failing to recognize the growing value of psychiatry to medicine, had moved to combine the Psychiatry and Neurology Section with the General Medicine Section. In problems of medical economics, the Oklahoma doctors were recognizing the defects of the existing pure foods act and were campaigning for amendment.

 

Dr. Niceus Walker Mayginnes was born in Missouri on April 29, 1856, the fourth of eight children. His father, Samuel Mayginnes, was a native Pennsylvanian who came to Missouri in young manhood, settling in Henry County. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the elder Mayginnes’ Union sympathies led him to Kansas where he organized and captained the Thirteenth Kansas Cavalry. After the close of hostilities, he returned to Missouri and later (1869) moved with his family to Kansas.

 

Dr. N. W. Mayginnes worked on his father’s farm as a boy, later attending University Medical College of Kansas City, from which he graduated in 1884 as a Doctor of Medicine. He practiced variously in Kansas, removing in 1891 to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he became a prominent civic leader as well as a leading physician. Dr. Mayginnes came to Tulsa in 1903 and had shortly established a busy practice in the area. He was an early member of the old Indian Territory Board of Medical Examiners. Later, in 1907, he assisted in the organization of the Oklahoma State Medical Association. Dr. Mayginnes was also a qualified business leader. His interest in banking led him to assist in the establishment of the First National Bank of Tulsa and later the old Liberty National Bank. His brother, Dr. P. H. Mayginnes, followed him to Tulsa in 1908 and soon enjoyed an equally large practice. Dr. N. W. Mayginnes died some years ago, but Dr. P. H. Mayginnes remains in active practice in Tulsa. The two brothers contributed much to Oklahoma medicine and to the progress of Tulsa’s civic and cultural achievement.

 

Unfortunately, the records of the Tulsa County Medical Society for the years of 1914 and 1915 have not been preserved. However, there are indications that interest in the local society and in medical organizations had picked up. The dues were $6.00 annually, most of the fund being expended in meeting the expenses of visiting speakers. The scientific programs continued regularly through the year and were well attended. Meetings were held in the old Commercial Club and in certain hotels and medical and health institutions of the city.

 

Dr. N. W. Mayginnes and his successor, Dr. Paul R. Brown, who served in 1915, were the first presidents to make full use of the committee method of prosecuting the work of the Society. The number of committees were small, the more important being Program, Public Health, Censor & Membership, and Legislative. Both Dr. Mayginnes and Dr. Brown attempted to foster interest in medical legislative affairs, and there is considerable indication that they succeeded very well.

 

Among the leaders in the Tulsa County Medical Society at that time were Dr. R. V. Smith, Dr. C. Z. Wiley, Dr. W. Albert Cook, Dr. W. H. Rogers, Dr. Fred S. Clinton, Dr. A. W. Emerson, Dr. C. L. Reeder, Dr. W. Forrest Dutton, and Dr. Ross Grosshart.

 

Dr. Paul R. Brown, who had served several terms as Secretary-Treasurer, was elevated to the presidency of the Tulsa County Medical Society in 1915. Through the cooperation of many interested members, he guided the Society through a profitable year, laying emphasis on scientific education but not neglecting other phases of activity. Born in 1876, Dr. Brown was graduated from the University of Maryland College of Medicine in 1901. Shortly thereafter he came to Tulsa and established himself as a leading physician. Since his retirement a few years ago, Dr. Brown has lived quietly at his Tulsa home.

 

The administration of Dr. Brown’s successor, Dr. William H. Rogers, in 1916, followed the patterns set by his predecessors. Dr. J. W. Rogers became Secretary-Treasurer that year. Dr. W. H. Rogers was a quiet, likeable fellow who was associated at one time with Drs. C. L. Reeder and C. Z. Wiley. In later years, he was bedded with a cancerous infection and died some years ago.

 

Throughout 1916 and the war years which followed, Dr. Rogers was interested to a considerable extent in improving conditions for intern training. He early advocated the establishment of a hospital in connection with the University of Oklahoma medical school, where students might gain first-hand information. To this end, he invited Dr. LeRoy Long, then dean of the medical department at Oklahoma University, to argue the case before the membership at the meeting of December 18, 1916. At that time, the membership approved resolutions recommending the appropriation of $200,000.00 by the State Legislature for the construction of what is now University Hospital in Oklahoma City. At the same time, Dr. Rogers forced through a resolution authorizing a special committee to contact the district legislators and present the Society views to them. For some reason, this idea received considerable opposition and was approved only by a margin of a few votes. The special committee met with the legislators on January 27, 1917, receiving their pledge of support in the project.

 

The year of 1916 also saw the establishment of another Tulsa hospital, The Oklahoma Hospital, by a group headed by Dr. Fred S. Clinton. The charter for this institution was granted December 11, 1915, and provided for the establishment of a training school of nurses. Dr. Clinton, who had withdrawn from the Tulsa Hospital Association, was president of the new unit. Miss Henrietta Ziegler was named Superintendent of Nurses. The new hospital was constructed at West 9th and Jackson in the Riverview Addition. Due to war conditions abroad and the demand for critical construction materials, there was some difficulty in securing the necessary materials. This was eventually accomplished and the structure was ready for patients in June, 1916.

 

Dr. Clinton was kind enough to invite the Tulsa County Medical Society to hold its meeting at the Oklahoma Hospital on several occasions. It was observed in the records that the nursing staff provided some excellent entertainment at a number of the meetings.

 

It is interesting to note that the Tulsa County Medical Society in those early years took cognizance of problems which were to be actually solved many years later. For instance, the members discussed the possibility of a group policy of malpractice insurance. More important, however, was their interest in amending the inadequate Medical Practice Law of Oklahoma. Passed in 1908, it was in dire need of amendment-a need which was not fulfilled until 1931. The need for a basic science act was likewise paramount, even as far back as 1916. The laxity of regulating laws at that time was encouraged by an equally lax legislature and governor.

​

In medical problems, the doctor of 1916 recognized the need for public education in the nature of syphilis and other venereal diseases. However, it was twenty years before a more sober-thinking generation was to publicize the dread details of these diseases. Dr. C. Z. Wiley, speaking at an early meeting of the Tulsa County Medical Society in 1917, condemned the existing codes of thought and modesty for permitting the public to go in ignorance of the nature of syphilis and gonorrhea.

​

Also in the early years there were foresighted doctors who saw the need of a community medical library where members of the Society could obtain the latest medical literature in all fields. Dr. W. H. Rogers is said to have encouraged an arrangement among members where free lending of available material was made possible. There is some indication that the Tulsa County Medical Society expended a portion of its funds in subscribing to medical journals. However, most of these publications were organs of medical organizations devoted to nonscientific purposes, and were taken for their value in obtaining a cross-section of medical opinion on mutual problems throughout the nation.

​

War clouds were ominous when the Tulsa County Medical Society met to select officers for the year of 1917. Dr. A. W. Roth, who had established himself as a leading otolaryngologist-ophthalmologist, was elected president. Dr. A. V. Emerson was named vice-president and Dr. W. Forrest Dutton elected as secretary-treasurer. Dr. Charles D. F. O’Hern was named censor, with Dr. W. H. Rogers, Dr. C. Z. Wiley, and Dr. N. W. Mayginnes as delegates.

​

Dr. Albert Walton Roth was a graduate of the Class of 1900 at the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago. He came to Tulsa in 1910 and soon became a leader in civic and medical circles. Born in Fairfield, Iowa, in 1873, Dr. Roth was backgrounded by the successful business career of his father, a merchant and bank official, and by his own postgraduate medical career in Detroit, New York City, and Texas. He has long been interested in the activities of the Tulsa YMCA and did much to further that organization. His wife, the former Anna Crawford, has been equally active in Tulsa’s civic life. Dr. Roth retired from practice in 1943, was subsequently elected to honorary membership in the Tulsa. County Medical Society, and now resides at his Tulsa home.

​

Dr. Roth was fortunate in having the assistance of Dr. W. Forest Dutton as secretary-treasurer. Dr. Dutton is recalled for his interest in the activities of the Society. Born in Ohio in 1876, Dr. Dutton returned from the Spanish-American War to study at Ohio Medical University at Columbus, from which he graduated in 1903. For ten years he practiced as a specialist in industrial medicine, one of a very few in that specialty at that time. Dr. Dutton came to Tulsa in 1914 and soon became a leader in various fraternal organizations and in the affairs of the local and state medical societies.

Early in Dr. Roth’s administration the Society took action to condemn and, if necessary, prosecute what the recording secretary termed “ambulance chasing and advertising specialists”. Another early feature of Dr. Roth’s year was the showing of scientific medical motion pictures to the Tulsa County Medical Society. While such activity is now commonplace, the motion picture of 1917 was still in a stage of development and not too well suited for the purpose of recording scientific data. Dr. Walter E. Wright presented the pictures at his laboratory on the night of March 19, 1917. They were devoted to blood transfusion and bone graft methods.

In the first few months of 1917 the Tulsa County Medical Society was asked to assist in gathering venereal disease statistics for the Bureau of Social Hygiene, New York City. It was felt at the time that this would be a difficult task. The matter was referred to the Committee on Public Health. Some statistics were obtained subsequently and forwarded to the Bureau.

The entrance of the United States into the general European war in April, 1917, brought new problems to American medicine and to the Tulsa County Medical Society, problems which were to reappear some twenty-five years later when the nation was plunged, again into a long war with Germany and her allies.

The war of 1917 was expected. For months the medical journals of the day had foreseen the struggle, crowding its pages with the issues of military medicine and warfare. Reserve fighting units had stepped up training schedules, bringing home the imminent possibility of war.

Looking back on the First World War from the midst of a second, it is almost impossible to believe the comparatively small scale on which it was constructed. When compared with the extents of today’s war, it seems small indeed. The journal of the American Medical Association in April, 1917, cried in alarm that 1,000 additional physicians were to be taken into the armed forces to care for an estimated army of 500,000 men. It viewed the possible enlistment of 2,000,000 men as improbable, commented on the fact that 10 per cent of the civilian medical personnel would be required to care for such a huge reserve of fighting men. Twenty-five years later, the nation was to put 11,000,000 men into uniform with prospects for an additional million before the war’s end. Civilian medical resources were to be cut 25 to 75 per cent in many areas to secure necessary physicians for the armed forces.

The coming of the war excited great interest among the members of the Tulsa County Medical Society. Whether or not they discussed its problems and progress at the regular Society meetings cannot be determined from the minutes of 1917 and 1918, but it is a safe bet that the war was the number one topic of conversation among the Tulsa medical men of the day.

There was an immediate call for physicians and surgeons by the armed forces. Advisory boards for recruiting of medical officers was set up in all states and within a few months the services had assigned procurement officers to supplant the civilian advisory boards. Procurement officers in Oklahoma were initially stationed in Oklahoma City and at Fort Sill. The response was quite good, especially among Tulsa doctors, and many commissions were placed in process the same month that war was declared.

​

Few medical officers, except those in active reserve units, were called to active duty in the first three months of the war. The army undertook to establish camps for training of medical officers. The first of these apparently got into operation in June, 1917. Each camp had accommodations for approximately 600 men. Although commissioned outright, medical officers while in camp trained as cadets with ranks accordingly. The twelve-hour schedules were quite thorough with refresher courses in medicine, briefing of military tactics, and physical exercises. Many camps, surprisingly enough, provided courses in riding and the care of animals.

​

In general, the Army of 1917 sought officers for the medical corps who had attained their 31st birthday, but were not over 45. Exceptions were made both ways, however, although officers over 45 were not sent to training camps as with the younger men. Men under 31 were subject to normal operation of the draft, but the Army preferred to commission these men in the Medical Corps. Curiously enough, a number of American physicians elected to serve in the ranks or as officers with fighting or supplemental units. This is in contrast with the recent war where almost no physicians are outside the commissioned personnel of the medical units of the Army and Navy.

​

From best available records, the Tulsa County Medical Society’s first man in service was Dr. Henry S. Browne, today a prominent Tulsa urologist. Dr. Browne was an enthusiastic young graduate of Tulane who had become readily popular with Tulsa medical men. He had served the Tulsa County Medical Society as secretary pro-tem on many occasions and had taken an equally prominent part in its scientific programs. Dr. Browne’s orders arrived in July, 1917. A notation in the journal of the American Medical Association for August 4, 1917, read as follows: “Army Orders: To report by telegraph to the commanding general, Southern Department, for assignment to duty, Lt. H. S. Browne, Tulsa.”

A great number of other Tulsa County doctors followed Dr. Browne into service. Many of the present members who were in medical schools and serving hospital internships were not placed in uniform, but were permitted to complete their schooling before assignment to service units.

​

It is impossible, of course, to list the names of all Tulsa doctors who saw service in World War I, and no attempt will be made to list them here. Needless to say, they served efficiently and courageously. Many saw service overseas and some were decorated for their gallantry under fire.

​

The journal of the American Medical Association made a practice through the war years of recording the activities of American medical officers. They make interesting reading for the names of many Tulsa County men appear from time to time. A few examples may be cited: Dr. George H. Clulow received identical orders to those of Dr. Browne in August, 1917. A photograph of medical training units at Fort Riley, Kansas, reveals Dr. S. J. Bradfield, complete with the G. I. hairstyle of the day. Dr. C. R. McDonald, of nearby Mannford, Oklahoma, was also in that picture. Lt. D. L. Garrett, notes the JAMA, was ordered to the Army Medical School at Philadelphia “for a course of instruction in orthopedic surgery”. And here is a notation that Lt. Joel S. Hooper is ordered to Washington University, St. Louis, “for a course of instruction in dermatology.” And so the orders for military service came for Tulsa County men. Eventually the young men were consumed as the army grew into fighting strength.

​

In Tulsa a medical advisory board was created to examine applicants for the services. Volunteer doctors worked long hours each week, at first two nights a week, then three, four, and finally five. Dr. N. W. Mayginnes was chairman of this advisory board with Dr. J. F. Gorrell as secretary. Their principal assistants were Dr. G. A. Wall, Dr. W. Forrest Dutton, the late Dr. Fred Y. Cronk, Dr. R. M. McVicker, Dr. A. W. Roth, Dr. W. Albert Cook, the late Dr. Horace T. Price, and a number of Tulsa dentists. Many of these men later left their post to enter the armed services. Chief medical examiners for the Tulsa draft boards were Dr. Fred S. Clinton, Dr. S. D. Hawley, and Dr. C. L. Reeder.

​

The Tulsa County Medical Society found it difficult to maintain interest in Society activities under the stress of the war excitement. For one thing, membership had fallen off to a considerable extent. Eventually it became necessary to solicit new members. Dr. G. A. Wall, Dr. W. W. Beesley, and Dr. J. F. Gorrell were appointed by President A. W. Roth at the September 17, 1917, meeting to constitute a committee to solicit new members. It was decided that any new member would not be charged any dues for the balance, of the year. The drive brought the following Tulsa doctors into the organization during the Fall of 1917: Dr. Charles H. Ball, Dr. R. A. Douglas, Dr. James B. Gilbert, Dr. H. B. Gwin, Dr. T. M. Haskins, Dr. R. S. Lynn, Dr. Berthe Margolin, Dr. D. U. Wadsworth, Dr. T. B. Coulter, Dr. F. M. Boso, Dr. Emile Roy, Dr. J. Walter Beyer, Dr. A. W. Pigford, Dr. W. E. Nichols, and Dr. W. D. McVicker. While some of these doctors had previously been members and had allowed their membership to lapse, most were newcomers to the Society. Apparently, the membership drive was a big success.

​

The Tulsa County Medical Society membership was considerably agitated in 1917 and in the years that immediately followed by the large number of illicit and irreputable doctors who were “practicing” medicine. An attorney was employed by the Society to institute legal proceedings against four such Tulsa practitioners. Eventually some satisfaction was obtained in the matter through the Society’s efforts and a number of medical frauds were forced to discontinue practice. Later in the year additional charges were made against certain other doctors and referred to the State Board of Medical Examiners for disposition.

​

The Society also devoted considerable attention to sanitary conditions in Tulsa, especially to those in places of public entertainment. A committee, consisting of Dr. W. Forrest Dutton, Dr. N. W. Mayginnes, and Dr. C. Z. Wiley met with the City Commissioners and secured approval of a valuable program to improve sanitary and health conditions in public institutions, schools, places of entertainment, etc. It was a noteworthy accomplishment. The efforts of the Society to this end led to the eventual appointment of a City Physician.

​

There was a strengthened respect for medical ethics and ideals as a result of this program of work. The fight against the medical fraud did not overshadow a recognition of certain conditions within the ranks of reputable physicians. Society leaders forced a showdown on many practices which were detrimental to the doctor and patient alike. For instance, the Society censored the practice of operating without the assistance of a physician as an anesthetist. This particular action was taken through the influence of Dr. G. A. Wall and Dr. S. D. Hawley.

​

Dr. Berthe Margolin was the first woman physician to be elected to the Society. Whatever opposition there might have been was quickly melted when Dr. Margolin made a charming speech of thanks for her election and expressed the hope that she might become a regular supporter of the Society.

​

Dr. N. W. Mayginnes brought additional credit to the Tulsa County Medical Society by the competent manner in which he served as District Councilor for the Oklahoma State Medical Association. He did a very excellent job and succeeded in knitting together the doctors of Northeastern Oklahoma. Through his efforts the Society entertained the North East Medical Society, a regional organization of physicians, in November, 1917.

​

Dr. A. W. Roth’s highly successful term of office as President of the Tulsa County Medical Society during the war year of 1917 was followed by another good year under the guidance of Dr. H. D. Murdock. Despite a constant drain on the membership to meet military needs, the second war year of 1918 saw a continuation of the activities and policies of the previous year.

​

Dr. Harry Dale Murdock was a graduate of the Rush Medical College of Chicago, Illinois, Class of 1905. Early in his medical career he developed a competent surgical technique which quickly won him recognition as a physician and surgeon of ability. Following his entry into the Tulsa medical profession in 1911, Dr. Murdock took an active part in the affairs of organized medicine and in beneficial civic projects. His quick friendliness and direct enthusiasm made him one of the most respected and popular of the Tulsa doctors, a respect and popularity which exists to this day.

​

Meeting December 3, 1917, at the Hotel Tulsa, the Tulsa County Medical Society named Dr. Murdock by unanimous vote. Not withstanding the fact that Dr. R. S. Wagner had served as president in 1908, that physician was selected as vice­president. Dr. W. J. Trainor, another rising Tulsa doctor, was installed as Secretary -Treasurer. Censors were Dr W. G. Lemmon and Dr. A. V. Emerson. Dr. A. W. Roth was named state delegate. The election was followed by a lecture on pericardial adhesions by Dr. J. Curtis Lyter, professor of internal medicine at St. Louis University, whom the Society had brought down from St. Louis for the event.

​

Dr. Murdock’s persistent interest in public health, which continues unabated in 1945, was probably responsible for the Tulsa County Medical Society’s first project of 1918-an open meeting to which the public was invited for the purposes of discussing public health problems. Although the public turnout was only moderate, the Society succeeded in fostering interest in certain public health projects. Dr. W. Forrest Dutton, Supt. R. J. Oberholzer of the public school system, and a Tulsa dentist were featured on the program.

Early in 1918 the Society again took up the cudgel against unethical medical practices. Dr. W. Albert Cook, Dr. G. A. Wall, and the late Dr. Fred Y. Cronk headed an investigating committee to consider charges brought against two members of the Society. To the credit of those members, it can be said they were exonerated. The incident served to curb irregular practices among a few non-conformists, however.

​

The Tulsa County Medical Society was again privileged to be host to the Oklahoma State Medical Association at the annual convention of May, 1918. It is interesting to note how the war conditions of 1918 were to be later duplicated in the Second World War some twenty-five years later. Hotel accommodations were at a premium and many of the visitors were quartered in private homes. The committee on arrangements found it difficult to provide a banquet for the doctors in attendance. Identification badges were considerably more expensive because of the advances in labor and materials costs. However, the difficulties were overcome and an excellent convention was staged. Much of its success was due to the efforts of Dr. Murdock. Dr. W. E. Wright, and Dr. G. A. Wall.

​

The financial situation of the Tulsa County Medical Society was comparatively sound in 1918. After the heavy expenses of the state convention, which was partially financed by a per member assessment of $10.00, the Society had over $800.00 to its credit in a Tulsa bank.

​

Old records indicate that the Society purchased a service flag containing a star for each member in the service from Tulsa County. The flag hung for a time in the clubrooms of the old Commercial Club. After that, it seems to have disappeared.

​

Among the speakers of 1918, interestingly enough, was Tulsa’s own Captain Paul R. Brown, who spoke at length on his experiences with the Medical Corps at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

​

Oklahoma’s Occupation Tax gave Tulsa doctors considerable annoyance that year. Despite some effort by Dr. Murdock and others, it became necessary for the local members to pay the objectionable tax.

​

For the first time, the Tulsa County Medical Society adopted its continuing policy of suspending scientific meetings for the summer. The action was prompted by the consistently poor attendance at meetings during the summer months.

​

With Dr. W. J. Trainor off to service, Dr. Paul N. Atkins assumed the position of Secretary-Treasurer in September, 1918. The Society condemned the state association for its active public participation in a private matter involving two Tulsa doctors. It passed a resolution guaranteeing the protection of service doctor’s private practices during their stay of duty with the Army and Navy. It devoted considerable attention to method of combating the dread influenza epidemic which swept Tulsa and almost all other parts of the nation. It sought to reduce or limit the basis for physical rejection of medical men by the armed forces, thereby enabling more doctors to enter the service. Some of the members elected that year (1918) were Dr. T. W. Stallings and Dr. 0. A. Flannagan. The year closed with a social meeting at the Hotel Ketchum on December 16, 1918, attended by members and their wives. After the banquet and business meeting, the Society adjourned to the old Empress Theater for a program of motion pictures and stage entertainment.

​

The interest of Tulsa County Medical Society members in the activities of the Oklahoma State Medical Association had become more pronounced through the years, culminating with the election of Tulsa’s Dr. W. Albert Cook as president of the state association for 1917-18. Dr. Cook led the association through a successful year made difficult by the war conditions. The Tulsa doctors were still reticent about contributing to the state association’s journal and in appearing on the program of the annual convention. Only a few participated-notably Dr. Ross Grosshart, Dr. A. W. Roth, Dr. G. A. Wall, Dr. M. P. Springer, Dr. W. Forrest Dutton, and Dr Peter Cope White. Even so, the interest was growing appreciably.

​

The membership stood officially at 60 when the Tulsa County Medical Society published its roster at the end of 1918. Of this number, about ten were practicing outside of Tulsa proper in the neighboring towns of Broken Arrow, Collinsville, Sand Springs, etc. There were considerably more doctors in Tulsa at the time. The fluctuations in the membership list, however, were most pronounced. Unfortunately, many members were continually being dropped and subsequently added because of their irregularity in paying annual membership dues.

​

The election of Dr. Gregory A. Wall as president for 1919 denoted a further continuation of the policies instigated by his two earlier predecessors in office. Dr. Wall was a foremost medical leader whose warm enthusiasm for his profession made him a valuable helmsman for organized medicine. Born in 1866, Dr. Wall graduated from Washington University School of Medicine only twenty years later. His competent surgery brought him a nationwide reputation. His removal to Tulsa from Oklahoma City gave the Tulsa County Medical Society an efficient and tireless leader. Just back from service with the Army, Dr. Wall plunged into his new job with his accustomed enthusiasm. He was assisted by a man of similar qualities, Dr. A. W. Pigford, in the office of Secretary­Treasurer.

​

Medical leaders, in cooperation with other civically minded men, were attempting at that time to secure the establishment of a city clinic and a city hospital. There was considerable opposition to the project from certain quarters despite a pronounced need for facilities of this type. Dr. Wall’s first problem was in connection with this project. Tulsa County doctors and dentists met early in February in an attempt to create a workable proposition. The late Dr. James B. Gilbert, Dr. W. W. Beesley, and the late Dr. C. Z. Wiley were the members of a committee which met with the Mayor of Tulsa several times relative to the project. Apparently nothing came of it.

​

In its scientific work, the Tulsa County Medical Society early in 1919 became quite interested in syphilis and gonorrhea. Too little attention had been given by medical literature to the subject of venereal disease. The general lay public was in almost complete ignorance of its nature, and ignorance which made more difficult its early discovery and proper treatment. Many Tulsa County members presented papers regarding venereal infections throughout 1919 and 1920. In April, 1919, Colonel Jean Lauteman, a Canadian physician, discussed the subject with the membership.

​

The Society was meeting at that time in the Chamber of Commerce headquarters, at the Ketchum Hotel, or occasionally in the old Municipal Hall. The attendance averaged twenty or twenty-five. Programs were primarily scientific but there continued to be considerable interest in local medical problems, particularly the violation of medical ethics. Programs were occasionally interrupted by some unusual circumstance or competitive attraction. The minutes for the meeting of April 28, 1919, observes sagely that “Dr. Murdock’s paper was postponed on account of the prize fight.” Dr. Murdock’s reactions to this rude reception to his paper were not recorded.

​

In June, 1919, the Tulsa County Medical Society brought Dr. S. S. Glasscock of Kansas City to Tulsa for a public lecture on health and medical problems. After an impressive luncheon meeting well attended by Tulsa civic leaders, the evening program saw “very few members and few visitors” present for what was otherwise an “excellent” talk by Dr. Glasscock. The minutes clearly reflected the officers’ disappointment at the poor turnout.

​

By the autumn of 1919, the Tulsa County Medical Society had regained its pre-war strength as in-service members were gradually returned to civilian life. Most of the medical officers serving in the United States were retired from active duty almost immediately. Others, particularly those overseas, remained in service for a longer period with some entering Germany with the Army of Occupation. Tulsa’s Dr. Henry S. Browne, who was the first in uniform, was also one of the last to be discharged after eight months with the occupational forces.

​

Normal conditions were beginning to prevail again and the interest of the doctors returned to non-military matters. A number of new faces made their appearance at this period-mostly discharged youngsters from the Medical Corps who were seeking promising locations for a permanent practice. There was some additional influx of doctors, from the smaller towns as the fast-growing Tulsa beckoned with new opportunities.

​

Dr. Gregory A. Wall, in the midst of his first year as President, endeavoured constantly to improve interest in the scientific study of medicine under Society auspices. With Dr. R. V. Smith and Dr. Charles H. Ball, he undertook to revive the almost defunct Northeast Oklahoma Medical Society, which had been so active before the war. Interest lagged outside of Tulsa and the regional society never regained its former prominence despite Dr. Wall’s work.

​

For the first time in several years there was marked improvement in the number of scientific articles contributed to various medical journals by Tulsa doctors. Dr. Fred S. Clinton, Dr. Ross Grosshart, Dr. G. A. Wall, Dr. Charles H. Ball, Dr. M. V. Stanley, Dr. J. F. Gorrell, Dr. A. W. Pigford, Dr. J. W. Rogers, Dr. T. W. Stallings, and Dr. T. B. Coulter were among the authors of 1919-20.

The year of 1919 also saw the beginnings of St. John’s Hospital, which was to become Tulsa’s largest hospital. The Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother obtained title to a tract of land at Utica and Twenty-First streets and in the same year conducted two public drives in Tulsa to obtain funds to finance construction of the original building. Representatives of the Order appeared before the Tulsa County Medical Society at the meeting of October 13, 1919, to explain the blueprints of the projected hospital. It was anticipated that some 18 to 24 months would be required to complete the structure. General John J. Pershing turned the first spade of dirt in February, 1920.

​

Tulsa doctors were considerably elated with the prospects for the new hospital. Facilities for the care of the sick in the county were limited and the need for new hospitals grew almost daily. A group of Oklahoma Baptists also made plans in 1919 for a $500,000.00 hospital in Tulsa, but for some reason the project did not progress beyond the discussion stage.

​

Throughout the post-war period the Tulsa County Medical Society maintained a strong interest in a continuing project against fraud and quackery in medicine. Dr. Wall and the secretary-treasurer, Dr. A. W. Pigford, were in constant communication with the State Board of Medical Examiners in efforts to secure legal action against the irregular practitioners. Some of these old records and letters, still preserved in the Society offices, reflect the strong determination of the leaders in the fight. Chiropractors and osteopaths came in for close scrutiny. The Society was upset when the telephone company failed to make any distinction between medical doctors, chiropractors, osteopaths, and other types of doctors in its classified listings. All were grouped simply as “Doctors”. A Society committee apparently rectified that error as subsequent editions of the telephone directory distinguished between the various types of medical groups. One edition, in fact, listed the Tulsa County Medical Society members separately and under such heading. It was a notable accomplishment which was not repeated in subsequent editions.