My Dad, Walter E. Chase, was the doctor in Rippey for 33 years. He interned at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines and that is where he met mom, Elsie Pearl Henry, who was just finishing nurse’s training.
They married in July 1933 and immediately headed to Rippey, which at the time was advertising for a doctor. Dad was the guy they needed, and Mom was his nurse.
Despite having very little money, they opened an office in a small white frame building just south of Killam’s Hardware Store. It rented for $15 a month and had been vacant for some time, so there was fixing up to do.
The office had a small waiting area, a drug room, and a treatment room. It was hardly soundproof! Mom and Dad kept a radio playing in the waiting area to keep curious ears from hearing doctor/patient consultations going on in the next room.
They kept morning and afternoon office hours during the week and from 7 A.M. to 9 P.M. on Saturday. House calls were handled each day before 9 A.M. and after 5 P.M; of course, emergencies were tended to at any time.
The charge for drugs was simply their actual cost, and Dad fit glasses as well. After 10 years of practice, Dad and Mom increased the charge for an office call to $2 plus drugs. House calls were $3 plus drugs.
In addition to making house calls and delivering babies in homes, Dad made rounds on patients at the Greene County Hospital after it opened in 1939, and at the Dallas County Hospital in Perry.
In the beginning, these calls were made in a 1930 Ford Model A, battling mud roads, snowdrifts, and the occasional blizzard. On some occasions, farmers had to pick up Doc and Mom by horse and bobsled.
I had two siblings, Dolores and Paul, and Dad delivered all three of us. Many an evening meal was interrupted by a patient knocking on the door or an emergency call.
I recall many farmers at our front door with injuries to fingers, hands, and arms due to a run-in with a grain auger or a disgruntled cow or sow. Stress release for Dad was often found on the golf course, where his mild-mannered demeanor sometimes gave way to temporary frustration when missing a 2-foot putt. Otherwise, Dad was known to have a soft gentle bedside manner around his beloved patients.
My parents retired from their country practice in 1966, when Dad accepted the Director of Student Health position at the University of Northern Iowa. They retired to Sun City, Arizona in 1973.
Today, they are at rest in the Rippey Cemetery under a headstone that proclaims: “Served Rippey for 33 Years”. They loved their time in the community and all their wonderful patients who were also their friends. This is where they wanted to finally rest.
– Dave Chase, Rippey
Dave and I communicated about the article he has written. He is interested in collecting stories about his parents from Rippey residents. They may be sent to him at barbdavechase@gmail.com.
– Mary Weaver
Republished from the April/May OUR IOWA with permission of the magazine publisher and author Dave Chase.