The Owosso times., 1921-05-06

In 1917 committee from the I'M
provement association met in the Ma
sonic temple with physicians of the
county and $4,000 was subscribed,
and an option secured on the Dudley
property at Water and Oliver streets,
now the residence of D. M. Christian.
Mr.. Christian, then living across the
street, desired the place as resi-
dence, and going to the committee,
offered $500 more for their option
than they had paid and declared his
willingness to subscribe $4,000 to-
ward building a new hospital. He
was better than his word, for when
Memorial Hospital funds were being
raised, he doubled this figure. The
physicians let him have the property,
and sought site elsewhere.
Soon afterward, or in April 1917,
our country entered the war and the
doctors answered the call to the col
ors. The hospital project was given
up until hostilities ceased. There
were two reasons for this. The gov
ernment needed all the doctors it
could get, and it needed all the hos
pital equipment available. 1t was no
time to build private hospitals.
With the war over and the service
men returning in 1919, the hospital
project again came to the fore, and
this time, with the necessary impetus
given the movement, by desire to
do something to perpetuate the mem
ory of the men who had served their
country. The question of the form
of memorial to be erected to those
men came up, and sentiment was
unanimous that no finer monument
to them could be erected than hos
pital, which while honoring them,
would be performing real service
for humanity.
The subject was brought up at a
meeting of the Chamber of COM
merce on January FL, and on motion
Of E. 0. Dewey, President ]. H. Rob-
bins appointed a committee Of FIVE,
!. consisting of C. P. Bentley, Fred
Welch, C. E. Rigley Jr., S. S. Miner
and j. Edwin Ellis, to take up the
matter of a hospital. Later Fred B.
Woodard, D. M. Christian, DR.. w. T.
Parker and James c. Mullaney were
added to the committee.
On April %, Cornelius S. Loder
Of New York, hospital commissioner,
and expert in organization work for
such projects, appeared before the
Chamber of Commerce, and spoke on
the subject of hospital, and on
April 20, Mr.. Bentley as chairman of
the hospital committee, submitted an
exhaustive report dealing with all
phases of the hospital situation in
cluding the need, the location, size
and cost. The report ended in a
Recommendation that $150,000 be
raised and a modern hospital of SO
or so bed capacity be built. The COM
mittee, it's work completed, rendered
its resignation, but virtually the same
men were appointed on the perman
ent hospital committee. They were
C. p. Bentley, C. E. Rigley Jr., j. F,
Field, Fred B. Woodland, Fred Welch
J.yE. Ellis, D. M. Christian, j. c. Mul'
laney, w. F. Gallagher and ]. H
Robbins Mr.. Rigley later resigned
and his father, c. E. Rigley Sr., sue
ceeded him.
The committee Immediately began
work. Architects were consulted
and tentative plans for the building
and estimates of the costs, secured
s. d. Butterworth, Lansing architect
who had drawn plans for severa
buildings in Owosso, was called intt
conference with the committee, ane
later visited several cities, including
Chicago and Detroit, looking ovel
the newest hospitals and posting him
self on the best in hospital architec
ture. He submitted plans to the com
mittee. with, an estimate of the struc
ture pictured. Those plans were the
same. with very few alterations, OF
which Memorial hospital is built
Members of the committee, alst
visited other hospitals, and conferred
with local physicians on the plans fol
the structure. The Shia"asse'
County Medical association cooper
ated with the committee and no stone
was left unturned to insure the very
finest and most complete hospita
building obtainable for a reasonable
sum. Before the plans Of Mr.. But
terworth were finally accepted, the