As of now we have Mae Cardwell’s history of the club from 1900-1905 published as Portland doctors hosted the American Medical Association’s annual convention in 1905 in conjunction with the Lewis and Clark Exposition (Mae Cardwell, “Medical Club of Portland—Historical,” Medical Sentinel 13:7 (July 1905): 223-226). And we have reports of some scattered meetings reprinted in the Medical Sentinel, the Oregonian and Oregon Journal, and the Medical Woman’s Journal.
The following is one of those treasures – a report of the October 1901 meeting reprinted in the Medical Sentinel 9 no. 11 (November 1901): 390. The summary reveals that the women took their business seriously, elected officers, and heard clinical cases – on this night from Esther Pohl, C. Gertrude French and Amelia Ziegler. It references Sara Marquam Hill's talk upon taking the presidency (she would give her presidential address a year later). And what I would give to have the text of Mae Cardwell’s “very able paper, reviewing in part, the history of the Medical Club, and also that of women in the medical profession.”
Do you have more records in your attic or know someone who might have such a box? Please contact me – think of what we can discover.
