The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1961-02-02
1st Physician

physician IN the entire area, the
nearest being DR. John H. Patter
son, in Grantsville-a long, hare
ride to the north in time of need
DR.. Conn set up his office in a
small building on the corner OF
what is now Second and Oak
streets, and from the beginning his
practice flOurished. In the days be-
fore the convenience of a we'll
stocked pharmacy, it was said that
the young doctor" either had on
hand the correct medication, or
could prescribe a suitable home
remedy for any attack of ague or
vapors, vague ailments which we're
popular in that period.
The presence in the community
of handsome, young doctor, with
a somewhat mysterious past, nat
urally was not overlooked by the
young ladies-the married as we'll
as the single.
One of the former was Ann John
son, whose husband, Cornelius, OPP
Grated a thriving general store on
Railroad street, just a stones throw
from the office of the new doctor.
Mrs. Johnson, home years young
er than her husband, was pictured
as a particularly unhappy woman.
Reared in the social climes of the
cities to the east, she detested life
in what she described as this out
post of civilization" Further, she
felt her Woodworking husband was
more interested in his barrels of
flour and bolts of material than in
his socially-conscious wife.
While social activities in the
young community were extremely
limited, that Johnson woman as
the town gossipS described her,
took advantage CT every opportuni-
ty to make the young physician
conscious Of her presence. And
while the doctor was polite enough,
he privately confided that he
found her attentions distasteful.
From the apartment over her
husbands store. Mrs. johnson
could observe the comings and 60
ings of the doctor and his patients,
for the office was d scant 300 yards
distant. 1t was to be expected, per-
haps, that the young lady found
many excuses over the months fol-
lowing to visit the office profess
sional,y. either for herself or with |
her infant daughter.
For Mr.. and Mrs. Johnson we're |
the parents of one child, a daugh- !
ter whom this vain, elegant, extra
ordinary mother had blessed with !
the improbable name of Ida Lucy /
Florence jeanette Genevieve Jen-
ny Lind Johnson.
AS time passed, and the visits
continued, Mrs. johnson was con-
WINGED that her personality and !
charm were making an impression
on Dr. Conn. True, he showed no
sign of interest except that re-
quired by his professional serv-
ices, but who, she reasoned, could
resist the charm of the city-bred
social leader of this impossible
backWoods community?
At a time when she believed her
charm and beauty were capturing
everyone, particularly the doctor
the cruel blow fell A friend re-
ported that DR. Conn, far from i'm
pressed, had actually described her
as a butterfly fool" Just imagine
her chagrin.
Here, then, was the perfect set
ting for an antc-bellum soap opera.
We have:
The stodgy, Woodworking hus-
band, chained to his business, con-
cerncd more with the safe arrival
of a Wagon-load of merchandise
from the east than the social as
pirations of his young wife;
The handsome young doctor,
more concerned with the welfare
of his patients and the building of
his practice than the advances of
a butterfly fool;
And, finally, the lonely, frus-
trated wife, who had rudely dis
covered herself to be, in the doc
tors opinion, Of no personal inter
est at ALL
In short, a woman scorncd, And !
in Oakland, as elsewhere, there
can be no such fury
Sitting in her apartment, day
after day, watching the doctors of
flee, Mrs Johnson planted the
seeds of revenge. 1t is probably an
insight into her mental condition
to realize that she decided only |
the doctors life could atone for |
the imagined insult she had suf-
fercd.
Lacking the courage of the deed, |
she turned to her husband to act |
as eXecutioner. Who can surmise, |
over a century later, what tales |