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"The Powells take to surgery like a church does to the collection box,'' stated the La Crosse Chronicle in the spring of 1882. Frank Powell was espe¬ cially adept at fixing up crossed eyes; his patent medicines were I lie talk of the town. He stood up braslily to the criticism of La Crosse plivi-icians. Said he, ''^As Onita's father says, I ^loif! scare worth a cent!" He seems to have lived up to his statement.
Drug >/ort' which Dispensed Dr. Powell's Cures
Notes on the Medical Practice of Dr David Franklin Powell^
by hAary Hardgrooe Hebberd
Dr. David Franklin Powell, who practiced medicine in La Crosse much of the time be¬ tween 1881 and 1903, made every possible use of popular ignorance regarding medicine as well as the exploitation of patent nostrums. Powell was particularly adept at not only promoting his remedies, but also himself, finding the newspapers a great help in his per¬ sonal promotion. For instance the La Crosse Chronicle said this of him and his brothers who also practiced medicine after a fashion: "The Powells take to surgery like a church does to the collection box."^ Such Powell publicity appeared before his removal to La Crosse and continuously thereafter—a type which has since gone out of fashion.
One reads that after Powell opened his office in La Crosse in 1881 a man walked in and with a blush and a stammer explained to the doctor that he was about to be married
^This is the second sketch relating to Dr. Powell, written by Mrs. Hebberd. The earlier one was published in the summer issue of this Magazine.
^La Crosse Chronicle, May 22, 1882, quoted from the Fillmore County, Minnesota, Record.
to a young woman from North Dakota. "Doc, she don't know that I am blind in one eye. I lost that 'ere organ in a rough and tumble fight since we got engaged and I want that fixed out OK. Can you do it?" he asked. In a few minutes an artificial eye was placed in position and, after the patient surveyed it in the mirror for a few minutes, he explained with delight: "Well, by gosh, I can't tell which from t'other." The newspaper assured its readers that Powell was able to match artifi¬ cial eyes so well that no living person could tell which was the natural one.^
No man in the history of the La Crosse area has ever received the newspaper space devoted to Powell. Ellis Usher who was the editor of the Chronicle not only printed ad¬ vertisements for Powell, but pointed them out so his readers could not miss them. One day he stated that Powell's handsome advertise¬ ment appeared on the fourth page, and that the doctor had come to La Crosse and wanted all his friends to know it.^ In the same issue
'Ibid., Nov. 27, 1881. 'Ibid., Dec. 22, 1881.
188
Object Description
| Title | Wisconsin magazine of history: Volume 36, number 3, spring, 1953 |
| Article Title | Wisconsin magazine of history: Volume 36, number 3, spring, 1953 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | State Historical Society of Wisconsin |
| Series | Wisconsin Magazine of History ; v. 36, no. 3 |
| Format-Digital | xml |
| Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Rights | © Copyright 2007 by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Publication Date-Electronic | 2007 |
| ISSN | 1943-7366 |
| Identifier-Digital | vol36no030000 |
| Description | This issue includes articles on the Kickapoo River, an 1856 fight over a land grant railroad line, and the medical practice of Dr. David Franklin Powell. |
| Volume | 036 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Year | 1952-1953 |
Description
| Title | 188 |
| Page Number | 188 |
| Article Title | Notes on the medical practice of Dr. David Franklin Powell |
| Author | Hebberd, Mary Hardgrove |
| Page type | Article home; Image |
| Format-Digital | jpeg |
| Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Rights | © Copyright 2007 by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Publication Date-Electronic | 2007 |
| ISSN | 1943-7366 |
| Identifier-Digital | vol36no030030 |
| Description | Notes on the Medical Practice of Dr. David Franklin Powell: Dr. David Franklin Powell (1847-1906) was a showman and opportunist physician who created many different patent medicine remedies and performed a variety of surgical operations for patients in La Crosse and Minnesota. Powell received a tremendous amount of publicity in local La Crosse and Minnesota newspapers, and he frequently placed advertisements for remedies like his patented “cough cream: that was able to cure aching lungs." Powell often donated his services to poor citizens in need of medical treatment. However, many of Powell’s colleagues did not agree with his medical practices and the Medical Examiner’s Office in Minnesota forbade him from practicing medicine in the state because of his questionable medical remedies and surgical techniques. (4 pages) |
| Volume | 036 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Year | 1952-1953 |
| State/Province | wisconsin; minnesota |
| Subject | physicians; Diseases; Medicine |
| Full Text | "The Powells take to surgery like a church does to the collection box,'' stated the La Crosse Chronicle in the spring of 1882. Frank Powell was espe¬ cially adept at fixing up crossed eyes; his patent medicines were I lie talk of the town. He stood up braslily to the criticism of La Crosse plivi-icians. Said he, ''^As Onita's father says, I ^loif! scare worth a cent!" He seems to have lived up to his statement. Drug >/ort' which Dispensed Dr. Powell's Cures Notes on the Medical Practice of Dr David Franklin Powell^ by hAary Hardgrooe Hebberd Dr. David Franklin Powell, who practiced medicine in La Crosse much of the time be¬ tween 1881 and 1903, made every possible use of popular ignorance regarding medicine as well as the exploitation of patent nostrums. Powell was particularly adept at not only promoting his remedies, but also himself, finding the newspapers a great help in his per¬ sonal promotion. For instance the La Crosse Chronicle said this of him and his brothers who also practiced medicine after a fashion: "The Powells take to surgery like a church does to the collection box."^ Such Powell publicity appeared before his removal to La Crosse and continuously thereafter—a type which has since gone out of fashion. One reads that after Powell opened his office in La Crosse in 1881 a man walked in and with a blush and a stammer explained to the doctor that he was about to be married ^This is the second sketch relating to Dr. Powell, written by Mrs. Hebberd. The earlier one was published in the summer issue of this Magazine. ^La Crosse Chronicle, May 22, 1882, quoted from the Fillmore County, Minnesota, Record. to a young woman from North Dakota. "Doc, she don't know that I am blind in one eye. I lost that 'ere organ in a rough and tumble fight since we got engaged and I want that fixed out OK. Can you do it?" he asked. In a few minutes an artificial eye was placed in position and, after the patient surveyed it in the mirror for a few minutes, he explained with delight: "Well, by gosh, I can't tell which from t'other." The newspaper assured its readers that Powell was able to match artifi¬ cial eyes so well that no living person could tell which was the natural one.^ No man in the history of the La Crosse area has ever received the newspaper space devoted to Powell. Ellis Usher who was the editor of the Chronicle not only printed ad¬ vertisements for Powell, but pointed them out so his readers could not miss them. One day he stated that Powell's handsome advertise¬ ment appeared on the fourth page, and that the doctor had come to La Crosse and wanted all his friends to know it.^ In the same issue 'Ibid., Nov. 27, 1881. 'Ibid., Dec. 22, 1881. 188 |