In the town's early years, a physician usually lived in Battle Mountain. From 1896 to 1903, Dr. William Henry Hood had a busy practice at his office/residence on the corner of Broad and Second streets where office fees ranged from 75 cents to $5. In 1901, Hood became the first physician licensed by the State of Nevada. After he left town, Hood was replaced by Dr. Pinninger who did not stay long. In 1909, Battle Mountain's Dr. G.F. Pope became first vice-president of the Nevada Medical Association.
Yet most people managed their own health needs. Louis A. Lemaire explained that, in the early part of the 20th century, a Battle Mountain mother "guarded her offspring's health by hanging around his neck a stinking bag of asafetida. Any germ that survived the asafetida was subject to dosings of castor oil, sassafras bark, wormwood, flax seed, or Perry Davis' Painkiller." Of course, those items could be purchased at the Lemaire Store. A nearby general mercantile, Blossom & Blossom, sold a liniment called Trib, which they constantly advertised in the local newspaper with quick rhymes, such as:
"Trib in a liniment tried and true,
Maybe it's just the right thing for you."
In addition, most babies were born at home with the assistance of a midwife. From 1895 to 1908, Annie Laurie Thomas McCormac welcomed many new Battle Mountain residents. She was remembered by an assistant as "a large comfortable looking woman with her hair held in a tight grey knot on her crown. Her dress was clean, freshly ironed gingham with a large white, starched apron covering a good share of it." Her skill was welcomed with relief by many new parents. Her assistant explained:
"If the baby wasn't doing too well after he was spanked into the world and there were no hot water bottles, newspapers or even magazines were heated in the oven and it was folded within the warm pages. She could contrive a crib from towels and she could have the new mother in a clean fresh bed, with all the blood soaked towels disposed of before she knew it. With no olive oil, the baby could be cleaned with lard. She had learned to make do and did with efficiency and good humor."
Midwives, such as McCormac, Selina Dusang, and Minnie Tybo, continued to be a common feature of Battle Mountain life through the 1920s.
This excerpt comes from the newly-released "All Roads Lead to Battle Mountain," available from the Battle Mountain Cookhouse Museum.[[In-content Ad]]
