Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1950-05-11

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givem at the Public Health luncheon
on Monday By the aOriter published
By special request of the COancH.)
l feel quite f1attered to be asked
to report a few highlights of the
early day of the council on this it's
18th anniversary. For the last five
years / have been compelled to
watch its amazing accomplishments
from the sidelines = but with Pub
lie Health work, as with news
paper work, one never loses inter-
est.
You all have been given pink
slips listing the projects of the
council-but five of its II local COM
mittees were organized when the
council came into being. The first
of these was organized in Laytons-
vile, June %, 1884 with Mrs.
Gordon Keys = now Mrs. Robert
Chichester, as chairman. The sec
ond, Rockville, was organized the
next day, June 20. Takoma Park,
Silver Spring and Sandy Spring,
were also organized in 1884. Beth
da-Chevy Chase and Cabin John,
now known at Potomac Valley were
organized in 1886. The same year,
the committees were organized in
to the council with Hrs. j. Angus
Watson, Jr., as the first chairman.
In 1943 the Poolesville commit
tee was organized; in 1914 the
Colesville, Damascus and Gathers
burg groups organized and became
a part of the council. The young
est committee is Kensington or
gained in 1947. The Silver Spring
committee was the first to have its
own Public Health Center - now
all the committees have quarters -
Potomac Valley and Colesville have
centers new this year. The first
dance to raise funds was held in
1884. The first luncheon was held
here at Normandy Farms in 1885.
Most of you know that the COM
mittees which form the Public
Health Lay Council were the re-
suit of ideas evolved by DR.. V. l..
Ellicott, county health officer, Mrs.
Katharine Johnson, a member of
his staff - still with US, thank
goodness - and Miss Martha Keys,
now Mrs. Eugene M. Fry of Beth
esda, busy raising family = but
still interested in the work.
They thought a lay committee in
each nursing district would carry
out some of the endless routine
chores = such as clerical work =
assisting with clinics = and trans
porting patients. Transporting pa
tients was a big item = we used
our own cars in those first days =
no paid mileage = no free gas
and no thanks from many of those
whom we rounded up for the clinic
Some of US have been known to
coax family from it's hiding place
in cornfield that we might take
the mother to Maternal Hygiene
Clinic, or her children for i'm
munization shots.
Altho' not specifically in the
planning - it quickly developed
that one of the best services rend-
cred by the Council in early days
was it's influence upon public opin-
ion. You remember last year Mr..
Wolfson remarked that the Council
has certain electric and telegraphic
characteristics? Thomas Edison,
he said, in explaining the operation
of electricity in telegraph lik-
',ned it to a Daschund long
enough to reach from Edinburgh
to London - when you pull his
tail in Edinburgh he banks in
London? Well, it was not long
after the council was organized
that it was recognized that our
Daschund had several heads and
when his tail was stepped on in
Rockville he barked all over the
county.
The Council escaped being known
as "a high pressure group" : but
there were times when the County
Commissioners were a little pest
cred = especially around BUD
GET TIME
This Council has had eight chair
men in the Is years = Besides
Mrs. Watson, there were Mrs. Aus
tin Lamar, Mrs. Morrison Clark,
Mrs. Merhle Haines, Mrs. William
c. Bowles, Mrs. c. S. Duvall, Mrs.
w. w. Hinckley and now my
neighbor Mrs. Harold Mitchell,
who took office in January this
year. Many of the projects COM