CALL THE DOCTOR! HOUSE CALLS WERE ONCE STANDARD PRACTICE

CAPE GIRARDEAU - "Call the Doctor!" This phrase has been a familiar one for centuries. In times of sickness or an accident, calling the doctor was the first thing a family thought to do. Long ago doctors made house calls, even late at night.

Today when someone becomes ill or there is an accident, an ambulance with paramedics and police are called, and patients are taken to a hospital where they are treated first in the emergency room before being admitted into the hospital, where a doctor sees them.

But for centuries it was different.

The family doctor came to the house or the place of the accident. There were no health care insurance policies, and often the doctor's call was late at night in the country. His fee was not large, and unfortunately the bill was not paid promptly if the family was poor.

As late as the middle of the present century seeing the doctor in his office or the hospital was not standard practice. But then Southeast Missouri was different, too. It wasn't the hustle-bustle area it is today, and Cape Girardeau wasn't a medical center.

Doctors did not have automobiles; they used horses, or a horse and buggy or surrey. Today they are referred to as "The Old Time Doctors" and they were dearly beloved by everyone.

Dr. George Washington Vinyard of Jackson and Dr. George Washington Tarlton of Cape Girardeau were two of these doctors. There were many others.

The sound of the doctor's horse and buggy coming down the dirt road, and the sight of the doctor carrying his black bag of miracle medicines had a soothing effect upon a family - not to mention a patient.

Dr. Vinyard gave strength and encouragement to his patients, and it was this strength that was destined to play an important role in the formation of the Medical Association of Southeast Missouri.

Dr. Vinyard and his wife, Imogene Amy Brown Vinyard, moved to Jackson from Longtown. They had nine children and resided at 315 N. High Street in a house built by Dr. Robert T. Henderson. Dr. Vinyard called the house, "The Bastille!" When Dr. Vinyard moved from Longtown in 1889, he and Dr. Henderson formed a partnership.

Sometime after his move, Dr. Vinyard was elected president of the Southeast Missouri Medical Association, an office he held twice. He had the habit of keeping meticulous records of the formation and early history of the organization. After his death his daughter, Miss Alice Vinyard, preserved the material and in 1966-67 made the records available to this writer.

Before the formation of Southeast Missouri Medical Association, the physicians of Southeast Missouri worked individually to combat the severe epidemics that plagued the residents of the area. Finally Dr. W.W. Watkins of Libertyville, in St. Francois County, had the inspiration for doctors to form a medical association and pool their knowledge and assist each other in finding solutions to their medical problems.

The result was the formation of one of the first medical associations in the United States called the Southeast Missouri Medical Association, established June 1, 1877 in Cape Girardeau.

In an address delivered before the 48th semi-annual meeting of the association held at Cape Girardeau, October 21, 1924, Dr. Vinyard recalled some of the events pertaining to the early years of the organization:

"Dr. Watkins issued the call for the first meeting, Dr. W.B. Wilson of Cape Girardeau was elected the first president, Dr. W.W. Watkins of Libertyville the secretary. The response was gratifying. Among the area physicians who attended were J.W. Cannon of Jackson; Patrick Gilroy, Cape Girardeau; W. A. Nunn, Gordonville; J.H. Rider, Cape Girardeau; C.G. Wilson and W.B. Wilson, Cape Girardeau; G.W. Tarlton, Cape Girardeau." Then he listed a long list of other physicians from area towns who attended and were charter members also.

Dr. Vinyard had an interesting and humorous way of making a speech. He ended the one that day, "There are many roses scattered along the pathway of the faithful doctor. I love the society of the true physician.

"He who see further than others, can give the world vision; he who is steadier than others gives it character; he who forgets himself for others gives it religion. It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Dr. Vinyard served as toastmaster for the convention of the Southeast Medical Association at the age of 82. He was a remarkable man with a sense of humor and deeply religious. His contributors to the community and the State of Missouri will be remembered for a long time. He died at the age of 91 at his home in Jackson on July 2, 1941.