(50 Years of Medicine Leaves Fond Memories)\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
As a reporter for the Mayefield Messenger, Thomas Carroll captured the soul of his hometown by writing about \u201creal people,\u201d not just those considered newsworthy.\u00a0 His feature stories were well regarded and occasionally came to the attention of the metropolitan daily, the Beacon Light, which published Thomas\u2019 stories under the heading \u201cDispatch from Mayefield.\u201d\u00a0 The following is one of these Dispatches, published in 1976.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b>50 Years of Medicine Leaves \u201cDr. B.P.\u201d Fond Memories<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b>By Thomas Carroll<\/strong><\/p>\n Mayefield Messenger<\/strong><\/p>\n Sitting in the parlor of his historic Maye Hill home, Dr. Bryan P. Wilson thinks back to the town of Mayefield 50 years ago, and recalls a small, peaceful village and a simpler way of life.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was totally different then,\u201d the dean of Mayefield doctors remembers.\u00a0 \u201cIt was mainly a rural community with just a few industries.\u00a0 There were many truck farmers in the area that used to take their produce into Washington to sell.<\/p>\n \u201cThe primary industry was the mill at the end of Sycamore Street, but we also had a shirt factory in the back of the elementary school (on Maple Drive) and, of course, the Sanitarium.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a quiet town in those days,\u201d Dr. Wilson recollects, \u201cbut there was plenty to keep a young doctor busy.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Wilson was describing the Mayefield of 1925, the year he set up practice here.\u00a0 The town has changed tremendously since then, but this man who remembers her past so well is still active in her life and caring for her sick.<\/p>\n As he turned 80 this May, Dr. Wilson decided to curtail his professional activities somewhat, but even age cannot get him completely out of his office.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the most part, I\u2019m retired,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I still go to the office one day a week to see the old-timers.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cold-timers\u201d Dr. Wilson refers to are those patients who have been with him throughout his 50 years of practicing medicine in Mayefield.\u00a0 Many have never known the care of another doctor and he won\u2019t turn them away now.<\/p>\n Dr. Wilson\u2019s retirement may be a semi-withdrawal from his professional life, but his days are still filled with activity.\u00a0 Primary among his interests are tending the gardens at May Hill and hunting.<\/p>\n Hunting, long one of his favorite pastimes remains his principal escape.\u00a0 He is a member of two Eastern Shore hunt clubs, the Black Water Hunt Club, which is limited to a six person membership; and the Montchester Hunt Club.<\/p>\n Occasionally Dr. Wilson ventures away from the Maryland area in search of big game.\u00a0 Recent trips have taken him to Canada and Newfoundland, netting him five moose and three caribou.<\/p>\n Getting him to reminisce about his 50 years of medical practice in Mayefield is not difficult.\u00a0 One only has to sit back and relax as he spins tales and recalls anecdotes of years past.<\/p>\n How he came to Mayefield originally is, as he says, \u201ca whole story in itself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was beginning my practice in 1925 and was looking for a room in Baltimore.\u00a0 I intended to become a surgeon and I wanted to be close to University Hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cI decided to take this one room in Baltimore over a grocery store, but it was taken first by an assistant to a dentist who occupied the other room in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n Having lost the room he wanted, he became disgusted with Baltimore and took a friend\u2019s advice and came to Mayefield to inquire about assuming the practice of the recently deceased Dr. Byer.<\/p>\n \u201cI liked the town and the people,\u201d he says, \u201cso I stayed.\u201d\u00a0 The doctor that Baltimore lost because of a housing shortage became a Mayefield institution.<\/p>\n Dr. Wilson was born in South Carolina, the second oldest in family of ten children.\u00a0 He took his pre-medical training at Trinity College, which is now Duke University. He volunteered for World War I and served for two years, much of the time overseas.\u00a0 He received his first two years of medical training at the University of South Carolina, and obtained his medical degree from the University of Maryland in 1924.\u00a0 A one year internship at University Hospital preceded his coming to Mayefield.<\/p>\n Dr. Wilson\u2019s first office in Mayefield was located in the upper 300 block of Main Street, across from Portokalos\u2019 store.\u00a0 One of the fondest memories of his early days in town, he recalls, is the friendship and kindness he received from Mr. and Mrs. Portokalos, owners of the store.\u00a0 After a year on Main Street, Dr. Wilson moved his office to 307 Pine Street and remained there until 1937 when he was joined in practice by his younger brother, John M. Wilson, and moved to 305 Pine Street.<\/p>\n Dr. John Wilson\u2019s coming to Mayefield saved Dr. Bryan from \u201ca breakdown,\u201d the latter recalls.\u00a0 \u201cI was pretty well worn out by the time John arrived,\u201d he says, \u201cand with him in the practice I could afford to sleep every other night.\u00a0 Before, I often had to work all day, all night, and all day again.\u201d<\/p>\n The brothers Wilson have practiced together ever since, and Dr. Bryan couldn\u2019t be more pleased with the relationship. \u201cJohn and I have always worked together in harmony and have complemented each other\u2019s efforts,\u201d he says.\u00a0 In 1967 they opened a medical center at 321 Pine Street, which offers many medical specialists to serve the Mayefield area.\u00a0 Joining the practice just last week was Dr. John\u2019s son, William.\u00a0 At present, he proudly occupies Dr. Bryan\u2019s office.<\/p>\n The challenges that confront \u201cDr. Bill,\u201d as he is sure to be nicknamed, will certainly be different than those his uncle faced in the early days of his practice.<\/p>\n Dr. Bryan\u2019s memories are laced with both the hard realities of life that face a doctor every day and with humorous nostalgia.\u00a0 He recalls borrowing 87 dollars to buy a second-hand 1919 Ford couple single-seater and having it just barely make through his rounds.<\/p>\n He says that some doctors accuse him of telling a \u201cfish story\u201d when he claims to have seen 250 patients in one day during the flu epidemic of 1928.\u00a0 \u201cSome of the younger doctors think I exaggerate the number, but it\u2019s the truth.\u00a0 People still remember me running around town with a pocketful of thermometers to treat those who couldn\u2019t make it to the office.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Wilson\u2019s favorite story involves riding through a 1926 snow storm on horseback to see a patient and deliver the mail on Gorman Road.\u00a0 \u201cI was headed to treat a patient near Mrs. Gorman\u2019s home,\u201d he recalls, \u201cwhen my car started getting hot and I had to stop.\u00a0 I set out on foot and went to a nearby farm to borrow a horse because the snow was 13 or 14 inches deep.<\/p>\n \u201cAlong the way I met the mail carrier who also had to abandon his car.\u00a0 Since I was gong the same way, he asked me to deliver Mrs. Gorman\u2019s mail.<\/p>\n \u201cI finally located a horse, but no saddle, and proceeded through the snow on a bumpy ride with my medical bag in one hand and the mail in the other.\u00a0 Both got through.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Wilson, as local residents will recall, was the first doctor at the scene when Governor Willie Blount was shot in Mayefield in 1972.\u00a0 Calling it \u201ca harrowing experience,\u201d Dr. Wilson does not regard the incident as one of his career highlights.\u00a0 He prefers to remember lighter incidents such as the undertaker who converted his hearse to an ambulance by placing a cot in it to transport the ill to the hospital before the days of the Rescue Squad.<\/p>\n It is with great enthusiasm that Dr. Wilson shows visitors through his Maye Hill home.\u00a0 Dr. Wilson purchased the estate in 1940 and restored the colonial home which has been furnished by Mrs. Wilson with period antiques.\u00a0 Built in approximately 1740 by Samuel Maye, Maye Hill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.<\/p>\n One of the most interesting aspects of the house Dr. Wilson points out to visitors is the inscription \u201cGW 1786\u201d carved on a brick at the back of the house.\u00a0 Although he can\u2019t fully document the fact, Dr. Wilson has it from what he considers a reliable source that the visitor with the initials \u201cGW\u201d was indeed George Washington.<\/p>\n Maye Hill is filled with memories as so is the man who lives there:\u00a0 memories of Mayefield when her people through years of growth and development.\u00a0 The care and love that Dr. Bryan has given the townspeople has not gone unremembered.\u00a0 At his eightieth birthday party in May, friends and relatives gathered to salute him.\u00a0 The sentiments of those gathered and of many patients over the years were summarized in this poetic tribute written by a family friend, Mrs. Richard Kane (the first letters of each line spell out \u201cFifty Years\u201d):<\/p>\n \u00a0Fifty Years ago a man<\/em><\/p>\n Inspired to help and aid began.<\/em><\/p>\n Fervent, with desire to serve,<\/em><\/p>\n To give himself with reserve.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Young and firm in his life plan,<\/em><\/p>\n Years have been good.\u00a0 The world has spun.<\/em><\/p>\n Each day, you love and plaudits won.<\/em><\/p>\n All who sought received your aid.<\/em><\/p>\n Rich your life, a fine Crusade,<\/em><\/p>\n Salute to you!\u00a0 A job well done!<\/em><\/p>\n Poetry is nothing new in Dr. Bryan\u2019s life.\u00a0 His patients have been sending him poems for years.\u00a0 This is one of his favorites, written by Elizabeth Ross many years ago.\u00a0 Entitled \u201cMy Doc,\u201d it probably bespeaks the feeling of many of his patients in these five decades:<\/p>\n His deeds may never be blazoned<\/em><\/p>\n In any great hall of fame.<\/em><\/p>\n There may never be high-sounding titles<\/em><\/p>\n Added to his name.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For not in busy and bustling cities<\/em><\/p>\n His pathway of service lies,<\/em><\/p>\n But among the poor and country folk<\/em><\/p>\n He brightens many lives.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0He knows not of that talent<\/em><\/p>\n That has been given him to use.<\/em><\/p>\n Nor that his touch like magic<\/em><\/p>\n Does so quickly soothe.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n He never thinks to spare himself<\/em><\/p>\n Yet his strength is like a rock.<\/em><\/p>\n And so, he serves others daily.<\/em><\/p>\n May God bless him always\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n My Doc.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n (Robert J. Marton)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (50 Years of Medicine Leaves Fond Memories)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.robertmarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.robertmarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.robertmarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertmarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertmarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=133"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertmarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":179,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertmarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133\/revisions\/179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.robertmarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertmarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertmarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}