Voices of the Past
Matt: He helped open up, umm, the health facility in Pulaski?
Nancy: Yes. Yeah. Well, first he had his office here in the house. And then he and Dr. Bollinger - then he went up to the medical center. Then he and Doctor Bollinger, who was a dentist, built the office. That was our property.
Matt: Ohh okay.
Nancy: We owned it up to the road.
Matt: But did the medical - what about the other medical, isn’t there another medical facility?
Nancy: Yeah. There. Yeah.
Matt: Across town?
Nancy: That came after. After. Yeah.
Matt: And he?
Nancy: And then he went up there and practiced.
Matt: Did he - so that was for all the doctors in town?
Nancy: Yea. There was only two or three. And I think the dentist was up there.
Matt: Was he - did he have a big role in getting that set up?
Nancy: Yes. Very big. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think it would have been done.
Matt: Really?
Nancy: Yup.
Matt: So he pushed it.
Nancy: He was that type of person.
Matt: Mmhmm. I remember they put the memorial of him in there.
Nancy: Yes. Yeah. And he was responsible.
Matt: And how did you think that impacted the community?
Nancy: Ohh greatly. He was so busy. Night and day.
Matt: Did that ever slow down? Did it ever slow down from when he was at the house through his whole life?
Nancy: No, I don’t think so.
Matt: He was just always busy?
Nancy: Always busy. Constant. Every night but Thursday.
Matt: Did that frustrate you?
Nancy: Hmm?
Matt: Did that ever frustrate you because you didn’t have as much time with him as you wanted?
Nancy: No, because I was busy with four kids and trying to keep the office in the house.
Matt: Do you think that maybe another doctor in town would have helped?
Nancy: Yes. And that is what happened - then others came.
Nancy: Once he had Mary Balkum. She lived down at the end of the street. She was a little girl and she had her pants off. He was checking something. And she ran out of the house and down the street without any underpants. He went chasing after her. She escaped.
Matt: So did he ever complain about anything?
Nancy: Oh yes.
Matt: A lot?
Nancy: There were times. Well it was very frustrating.
Matt: What kinds of things did he complain about?
Nancy: Well he was so tired for one thing. You know. Up in the night. Working hard all day. He loved his older patients especially.
Matt: Really?
Nancy: And he never refused anybody.
Matt: Really? Even if he knew they couldn’t pay?
Nancy: Yeah. And he liked the little kids too. He liked everyone but especially the older ones. And they had loved him.
Matt: Like people who he has been with for a long time or older age?
Nancy: Well people he had been with but new people too.
Matt: I guess one last question I have is, did you know his parents?
Nancy: I knew his mother. I never knew his father but I guess he was a wonderful man.
Matt: Do you think he was sort of like Grandpa?
Nancy: Yes. He owned The Pulaski Democrat, the newspaper.
Matt: Oh really?
Nancy: Yup. As his dad did. And I never knew him. Because he died, ohh let’s see...
Matt: He died early I think.
Nancy: Dad and I. Dad asked me to go to the junior prom when I was in eighth grade. And Dad was president of the junior class. And I came home one day and my father said, “Well you won’t be going to the prom.” And I said “Why?” And he said because Stewey, that was his - his father just died. But we did go.
Matt: Do you know how he died?
Nancy: He had an operation for appendicitis and something - they didn’t get him up in time and he had a blood clot. Now they get them up, you know that day. They left him laying there and a blood clot formed and went right to his heart.
Matt: I wonder if that had anything to do with him wanting to practice medicine.
Nancy: It might have. He never said that.
Matt: Because that must have been hard.
Nancy: Yeah. Yeah he was a junior in high school. It was a bad time. Especially he had four older sisters and an older mother. It made it very hard.
