The Southern California Medical Museum
Annual Report 2007-2008
The Historical Committee met 11 times during 2007/2008, and our members still give generously of their time in support of the Medical Museum. We are continuing our efforts to recruit new members to serve on the Committee. We are saddened to report one of our long-time members, Dr. Horace Orr passed away this year. Dr. Orr had been a member of SBCMS for 61 years and was currently a Corresponding Member of the Historical Committee. Even at the age of 94 and just a few weeks prior to his death, Dr. Orr still would make a house call.
Accomplishments of the Historical Committee this past year include:
Museum Publicity
* Completion of a new website for the museum: www.socalmedicalmuseum.org. The website features many photos of our museum exhibits. Many links are provided to various medical museums and organizations. The website will be a continuous project as it is with most websites.
Museum Displays:
* Our Docent Tour Guide Training Manual is completed and will be utilized to train additional members of the committee to be docent tour guides.
* Dr. Hans Davidson loaned for an indefinite temporary display a Revigator (radioactive water crock) circ. 1920’s and a Sparkletts Seltzer Bottle (circ. 1930_s) used to make carbonated water mixed with radon gas using special cartridges.
* A rotating display, “History of Contraceptives” features items from the collection of Dr. Bert J. (Hans) Davidson.
* Continuously updating and expanding our display showing “How Botanicals and Seeds Become Drugs.” The display includes photographs of the plants, a written narrative of the drug derived from the plant, and specimens of the plant and/or
the drugs derived from it. Items in this display will periodically be rotated out and other plants highlighted since there is such a wide variety of plants to showcase.
Future Goals and/or Projects:
* With the completion of the Docent Tour guide Training Manual, our long term goal is to have the information available on MP3 players that could be used for “self-guided” tours when docents are not available or for “self-guided” tours by members of both RCMA and SBCMS when they are meeting in the room.
* Explore the possibility of producing a radio program featuring such topics as medical history and interviews with noted medical historians and authors.
Donations
* Our Museum continues to truly live up to our name, the “Southern California Medical Museum”. We continue to receive donations of equipment and books from physicians and others throughout Southern California. Some of the items donated this year include:
* A nurse_s cape worn by a Mrs. Hazel Zieman, formerly known as Miss Hazel Rowley, during the time she worked at San Bernardino County Charity Hospital; and included her nursing hat, two name tags and one San Bernardino County Hospital pin. Loma Linda University School of Nursing donated a nurse_s uniform and Dr. Hans Davidson purchased a mannequin to display the clothing.
* A cane back and seat wheelchair.
* A box of medical antiques and a doctor’s bag with contents was donated by the family of Dr. Whittaker who resided in Simi Valley. Dr. Gibson was instrumental throughout several visits in sorting through all of the many items with the son
of Dr. Whittaker.
* A Dictionary of Medical Science, published in 1860 (making it 148 years old!), was donated by Ms. Alta Lowe whose father, Emil H. Riefflin, was a pharmacist in Montana and a graduate of the University of Montana at Missoula. He worked in Butte, Montana and this book was used at his first job out of school.
* Less than a month prior to our annual open house, a Spectro-Chrome Therapeutic System including three books on the system were donated. This item is considered quackery!
* Approximately one week prior to our annual open house, a SynAcro Generator was donated by Jerry Lew whose grandfather, Dr. William Lewi, invented and manufactured the item in the 1920_s.
* Historical Committee Chairman, Dr. Elliot Weinstein, donated a vision device, 30 herbal medication boxes, a poison bottle, a cast iron mortar, one box of ovarian tablets, one box of laxative cold capsules and one dental impression tray
* Books were donated by Mrs. Dixie Murray, a friend of the late Dr. Ralph Kleinman.
Medical Museum_s Annual Open House Event
* Our 11th Annual Open House event was well advertised by the Press Enterprise and featured a pre-publicity newspaper article published on Friday, April 25th prior to our Sunday, April 27th event. A recording of the interview was featured on the Press Enterprise’s website. Quackery, or Not? was the topic of this year’s event and featured our speakers Dr. Hans Davidson and Dr. Stanley Korfmacher. Dr. Elliot Weinstein posed as a salesman for medicinal products. Approximately 60 were in attendance.
* We would like to express our appreciation to the Alliance for assisting at the registration table and providing the refreshments, and to the Medical Society as a whole for all their assistance with the logistics of this year’s Open House.
In closing, I would like to recognize and thank all of our active and corresponding members for giving freely of their time and efforts for the Historical Committee. I also want to express our thanks for the tremendous help the Medical Society staff has been to our Committee and Museum.
On behalf of Historical Committee members and myself, I would like to express our appreciation to the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for their continuing support of our Committee and activities, and for allowing me the opportunity to serve as Chairman of the Historical Committee.
Elliot Weinstein, M.D., Chairman
