“I was lucky to live in Lewistown in the 1960s,” he added. The younger Blose graduated from Lewistown High School in 1965 and eventually ended up teaching history for 42 years at Warwick High School in Lititz, Lancaster County.īlose had nothing but praise for Black’s Hospital as “Doc Black saved my life, taking out my appendix in an emergency. Black at his mansion during the Great Depression in exchange for tires,” the 76-year-old Blose said. Maurice Blose, who was born in Lewistown but now lives in Erie, recalled a unique story about his father, also named Maurice, and Dr. James Xanthopoulos of Lewistown, who served the local community over the course of a 44-year career in family medicine, was the Chief of Staff at Black’s Hospital for several years. The Mifflin County Pennsylvania Memories group page on Facebook featured the late Dr. After returning to the United States, she later become director of the Black Hospital until retiring in 1970. It’s believed she is the only woman from Mifflin County to have received the decoration. For this she was decorated with the Bronze Star. Less the ivy, the building maintained its general appearance until being razed.įisher also wrote about Esther Miller Ellcock, who lived in London and worked with the Harvard Unit of the American Red Cross during World War II, establishing service clubs in London, Paris and Wiesbaden. The area Amish community utilized the services at Black Hospital until the facility closed. The hospital incorporated as a non-profit institution in 1940, finally consolidating with Lewistown Hospital in 1972. That first building held apartments in recent years.īy June 1930, the new Black’s Hospital on Buena Vista Circle extended an open house to the public. for four years prior to breaking ground for this building in 1928. Settling in Lewistown after the war, he opened a private hospital at 112 S. Born in Lenox, Iowa in 1882, Black served as a battlefield surgeon in Europe during the World War I, advancing the concept of an Army mobile hospital located near the front-line fighting, later better known as a MASH unit. Black Community Hospital was named after Frederick Wallace Black. Sipe, was also a patient for a brief time, as she had her tonsils removed at the hospital.Īccording to “Mifflin County Then & Now” and “It Happened in Mifflin County: American History with a Central Pennsylvania Connection” Book 2 by Forest Fisher of the Mifflin County Historical Society, F.W. We earned enough money to get the kids uniforms, so they’d look like us.” “We had a Battle of Bands out at the youth park. “One time, we decided to get uniforms for the kids who came in but couldn’t afford them,” Sipe remembered. She also usually spent all day there on weekends. Sipe often stayed there until 8 or 9 o’clock at night, when her father would pick her up. “I’d get away from it, when they needed help serving (food) trays and feeding the babies.” “I’d take my homework in and sit in the back of the snack shop when it wasn’t open,” she recalled. The candy stripers wore iconic pink- and white-striped pinafores with matching caps that quickly identified them as volunteers.Ī student at Lewistown High School, Sipe walked to the hospital after school. John Lawler was the administrator then and had such good things to say about the dedicated teenagers.” “At one time, I remember there were about 12 of us,” said Sipe, who started as a candy striper in 1965 at age 14 and volunteered until 1969. While Black’s Hospital is gone, it’s not forgotten as Sipe and others still cling to sentimental memories. The site might be used for housing in the future.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |