Some Personal News

After working on the History of Medicine in Maryland part time for the past ten years (I was Director of Development for the rest of the time), I will be doing History full time for the foreseeable future. 

Among the tasks I have set for myself are:

• Maintain, manage, and expand the Museum, including the Rare Book Room
• Source specific items relevant to MedChi and the Museum
• Seek funding sources specific to the Museum’s needs
• Establish a Museum Advisory Committee to meet twice a year, and on ad hoc basis
• Plan new exhibits
• Conduct scheduled and un-scheduled tours
• Curate MedChi’s art and ephemera collections
• Create additional videos for the Museum (original plan - 12 videos/eight finished)
• Source in-kind donations for the Museum
• Research and write regular posts for the MedChi Archives Blog, and maintain the site
• Provide information to the social media staff for history of medicine items.
• Submit history articles for Maryland Medicine magazine
• Research, write and publish biography of Marcia Crocker Noyes
• Continue the association with American Osler Society via membership and conferences.
• Staff the History of Medicine Committee 
• Meet with scholars and researchers who want access to our non-digitized items
• Respond to member and non-member requests for historical information
• Be a resource for outside historians.
• Adhere to the American Association of Museums’ gift acceptance guidelines
• Finish digitizing the 1930-1950 Medical Bulletins and post on-line
• Apply to the National Archives for a grant to preserve the archives, including climate control and security of the Krause and Rare Book Rooms
• Schedule Ghost Tours for outside groups, including the Halloween Tours, the BSO (we have donated a Ghost Tour to their 2024 Silent Auction) and others
• Create a resource file and master index to item locations.

It's an ambitious list and if there is anything you are interested in helping with, please let me know!

I also have a new office - it's Marcia Crocker Noyes' original office, just off the Krause Room. So maybe she will be sitting close to me as I work on her biography. 

Save the Date: 2024 Hunt History of Medicine Lecture

When we were considering topics for the 2024 Thomas E. Hunt, Jr., M.D. History of Medicine in Maryland, among the obvious ones was our 225th Anniversary this year. We have actually talked about this for a few years in anticipation, and now that it's finally here, this is the topic!

MedChi's 176th President, Benjamin H. Lowentritt, will present the lecture "From Leeches to Lasers" an overview of MedChi's history, and medicine in Maryland over the course of 225 years.

More details will be forthcoming as we move closer to the date of the event, but if you'd like to RSVP in the meantime, click here. 

What Happened to Osler Hall

For years, actually, ever since I started working at MedChi, I've wondered what happened to Osler Hall. The front hall, leading to Osler Hall is beautifully finished, with marble stairs, elaborate wood millwork and trim, and an overall elegant look. 

However, when one enters Osler Hall, all of that elegance falls away. We upgraded it a few years ago, re-hanging the portrait collection, and adding chair-rails, trim around the doors, and a new two-color paint job.

I wondered for years why the room, named for our most illustrious member, was so absolutely plain. In 1909, when the building was finished, Sir William Osler came from Oxford, England for its opening. He was so pleased that the large hall had been named for him. 

But what happened in the 50 years after the building opened to such fanfare, and why was Osler Hall the worst room in the place?

Finally, I found a clue. It was a bronze plaque that mentioned the "reconstruction" of the building and had a date of April 6, 1963 on it. 

So what was the reconstruction all about? Was there a fire? Something catastrophic that happened? I decided to see what I could find, so I started with the 1963 Maryland Medical Journal, which, naturally, only had its index on-line. After flipping through April, and then May, I didn't find anything.

So I went back a year and checked the 1962 Medical Journal, also not on-line! Finally, there it was! In the Transactions section, an entire article outlined what had happened. 

Once the building hit its 50th Anniversary in 1959, the members thought that the building might need some renovations. They added an elevator, refurbished the kitchen, reshaped some offices, and then "refreshed" Osler Hall. Obviously, this was when the architect decided to make the space mid-century modern by removing all of the classical details which made the room unique. 

Out went all of the trim. Out went the flooring. Out! Out! Out! But what they added were folding floor-to-ceiling room dividers capable of separating the room into smaller sections. However, I can't imaging that sitting in a room (with smokers) which didn't have any ventilation. 

The room had a drop ceiling, which we've since found out doesn't have ANY insulation, resulting in the room being chilly in the winter and hot during the summer. Additionally, all of the portraits were hung from black wires from the top of the walls.

The architect, Henry P. Hopkins, talks about streamlining the room to make it modern and cozy. For a long time, it was painted a very dull pale green and all of the county flags were in the front of the room. The dais, which you can see in the picture above, was expanded with several different woods, so it was repainted during the 2017 renovation. (Click here)

While Osler Hall wasn't destroyed by fire or catastrophe, it was destroyed in the name of progress and MCM architecture.