Influential Figures We Lost in April 2022-- Part 5: Harris, Gottfried, Hatch, Mower and Judd

APRIL

ESTELLE HARRIS, 93

**  She hollered her way into TV history as George Costanza's short-fused ,other on "Seinfeld" and voiced Mrs. Potato Head in the "Toy Story" franchise.  Died April 2.

Serenity Now!!

GILBERT GOTTFRIED, 67

**  Actor and legendary standup comic known for his scorched voice and crude jokes.  Died April 12.

ORRIN HATCH, 88

**  The longest-serving Republican senator in history who was a fixture in Utah politics for more than four decades.  Died April 23.

DR. MORTON MOWER, 89

**  A former Maryland-based cardiologist who helped invent and automatic implantable defibrillator that helped countless heart patients live longer and healthier.  Died April 25.

NAOMI JUDD, 76

**   Her family harmonies with daughter Wynonna turned them into the Grammy-winning country stars, the Judds.  Died April 30.

Loved their songs.

And, the Coronavirus Cometh to McHenry County in 2020-- Part 5: It's the Weather Channel Thing All Over Again

I myself was wondering whether or not we'd get hit with one of those pandemics of the past, but figured our medicine would be able to handle it now that we are in the 21st century.  I was wrong.  Perhaps, too much concentration on diabetes, cancer and the like.  But, as bad as those diseases are, something that hits and kills in the numbers of a virus is really scary.

Back to the article:

"So here we are, working from home and isolated -- for our own good-- from family and friends.  But rather than grouse about our lot, I'd save your recriminations for government officials who failed to stockpile adequate medical supplies and hospital beds for a time health experts long predicted could strike at a moment's notice."

Personally, I was operating under the Weather Channel Fix.  Anytime there is anything out on the oceans even remotely looking like a storm, they go overboard with dire warnings of possible catastrophe.  We've had Ebola and other possible pandemics pop up then go away along with dire warnings from health experts.  So, I just figured it was more of the same.

I heard about this new one in China, but was absolutely not concerned.

Reckon I Should Have Been.  --Cooter

1918 Influenza in Butler Co., Pa.,-- Part 3: Medical Help Arrives, Hotels and Tents

Already shorthanded by the war in Europe, the 1918 influenza outbreak in Butler County further depleted medical personnel, sickening nine nurses and a number of staff, and hampering their efforts to combat the disease effectively.  The Pennsylvania Department of Health sent a doctor and three nurses to help.

Meanwhile, the hospital neared full capacity and the city health board considered  requisitioning a hotel in the city as a temporary hospital.  Tents were sent to Butler so patients could receive open air treatment which seemed to improve their health.

By mid-October, however, the Butler City Health Board reported 3,000 cases since the crisis had begun, just a few weeks earlier.

I don't know about you, but this sounds all to familiar.

--Cooter

Chicago's Mercy Hospital-- Part 2: The Civil War and the Growth of a Chicago Health Care Provider

Mercy Hospital helped Chicago's need for health care as the city grew rapidly in the 19th century.  There were  outbreaks of cholera and tuberculosis.  It became a modern hospital and remained an anchor for care on the city's South Side even to today.

During the Civil War, the Sisters of Mercy treated Union soldiers as well as Confederate prisoners.  In the middle of the war, they moved the hospital to 26th Street and Calumet Avenue near its current location.

Thousands of doctors have trained at the hospital and it was often on the cutting edge of medicine.  In 1955, Mercy neurosurgeon Dr. Harold Vors and his team performed the first successful separation of twins joined at the head.   The hospital also had the first oncology unit in the city.

Over the years the hospital expanded, eventually moving into a new 517-bed facility in 1968.

--Cooter

Dorr Township, Illinois-- Named for the Arrested Governor Who Wasn't From Illinois

In February I had a lot of entries about the 15th Illinois Infantry Regiment in my Saw the Elephant: Civil War blog.  The regiment had several companies from McHenry County where I live, including Company A that was mainly from Woodstock, Illinois, where our McHenry County Civil War Round Table meets every second Tuesday of the month.

We have a meeting this Tuesday, March 12 on Jonathan Letterman (no relation to David) who is credited as "The Father of Battlefield Medicine."

Anyway, I found a site that gave the residences of every member of Company A.  Most had Woodstock as their residence, and others had other McHenry County towns.  But. there were a few other places listed that after some research, I found to be McHenry County townships: Seneca, Greenwood Dorr and Hartland.  I had to look up the townships of McHenry County as I did not know most of them other than Burton, where we live, Richmond and McHenry.

When I looked up Dorr Township at its official site, I found it was named after Governor Thomas Wilson Dorr who had a "dramatically colorful record in the annals of American history, serving a jail sentence from which he was later acquitted by a Supreme Court decision."

Well, being from Illinois, I am well aware of the penchant for our governors finding themselves imprisoned.

So, I looked up Illinois' Governor Dorr.  Only, Illinois has never had a Governor Dorr.

The Plot Thickens.  --Cooter

World War I's Ellington Field-- Part 2: Training the Pilots

In December 1917, the first  planes from Ellington Field took off and flew over Houston for a Red Cross benefit.  It was quite a sight and many people turned out for it.

During the war, the field served as an advanced training base.  By 1918, it had its own gunnery and bombing range.

For the first months of operations, Ellington Field had no pilot fatalities, but within a year that changed drastically.  By August 1918, it had the most pilot fatalities of any training base.  It also had many firsts, including:

First camp newspaper
First American aerial gunnery and bombing range
First "canteen girls"
First aerial  ambulance in American history

Before the end of the war, around 5,000 men and 250 aircraft had been assigned to the base

After the war, it was inactivated in 1920 with only a small caretaker unit remaining.  It was reopened in World War II.

--Cooter

Rubbing It In, the Father of Vicks: Lunsford Richardson-- Part 1

From the December Our State Magazine by Jimmy Tomlin.

You know the smell.  You know the goop.  Personally, I like hetting my fingers in it about as much as I enjoy getting them into suntan lotion.  And you know its effective.  That would be Vicks VapoRub.  Your mom made you feel better with it.  I haven't used it in years, but know about it.

But, very few know anything at all about its inventor, pharmacist Lunsford Richardson of North Carolina.

His salve helped the world breathe easier during the influenza pandemic of 1918 and during countless colds and flus during childhood.

So, then, why did his name not become famous?  Mostly because it wouldn't fit on the jar, according to one story.  Originally he planned to call it Richardson's Croup and Pneumonia Care Salve.  Way too long for the squat jars he was putting it in.  He changed it to honor his brother-in-law, Dr. Joshua Vick.  (Never heard of him either, other, of course, than the Vick name.)

He was born in Johnston County, NC, in 1854 and loved chemistry.  In 1880, he moved to Selma to work with Joshua Vick and began handling the pharmacy duties and began to experiment with recipes which would eventually become Vicks VapoRub.  In 1890, he moved to Greensboro and that is when everything took off.

"Rub It In, Rub It In"  Billy "Crash" Craddock.  --Cooter