Life, 1919-06-26 · page 15 of 43
Life — June 26, 1919 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a poem and illustrations contrasting old-fashioned family doctors with modern specialists. The text, attributed to Carolyn Wells, nostalgically celebrates "the old-fashioned doctor" who knew families personally and provided holistic care—making house calls, offering comfort alongside medicine. The top illustration shows children gathering around a brick building (likely a doctor's office) to watch Dr. Willie Jones make a kite. The bottom illustration depicts a mother hiding cakes and candies before the doctor's visit, suggesting the old family doctor's personal knowledge of his patients' lives. The satire critiques contemporary medicine's shift toward impersonal specialization and technological diagnostics ("X-rays and vaccine"), implying modern doctors are efficient but emotionally distant compared to their predecessors' personal touch.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Memory I jow well | remember our child- hood's diseases, \s old recollections present them to vie The fever and ague, the colds and the sneezes, The mumps and the measles and chicken-pox, too. es mother administered The reme quickly The syrup of squills, ipecac, calomel ; dl then, if next morning we still ap- peared sickly, She called in the doctor, who made us get well. The old-fashioned doctor, hie family doctor, he white-whiskered doctor Who made us get well is eyebrows were bushy, his forehead was wrinkled, lis manner was hearty, his voice deep and gruff \nd through his big glasses his little eyes twinkled, \s he gave us a dose of some vile- tasting stuff. felt of our pulse, and he said, “Stick your tongue out!” He told us to stay home from school for a spell; Then, “I'M see you to-morrow morning,” he flung out, That old-fashioned doctor who made us get well The old-fashioned doctor, The family doctor, Che white-whiskered doctor Who made us get well Hut now we have specialized diagnos- ticians, Who take our blood pressure and temperatur They're highly efficient, these modern physicians, And yet they don't always accom- plish a cure X-rays and vaccine they are awfully strong. for; They pull all our teeth, a not rebel; And they drag our case on till we secretly long for The old-fashioned doctor who made us get well. nd we dare YESTERDAY THE The old-fashioned doctor, The family doctor, The white-whiskered doctor Who made us get well Carolyn Wells. ON'T hurl defiance unless aim is good your KIND- HEARTED DOCTOR MADE, WILLIE WILLIE NOT TO TELL JONES A KIT THE OTHER BOYS, AND ASKED IRST WORKMAN poration has offered to give us on Yes, the cor- half the profits for the coming year, in addition to our wages Steoxp Workman: Well, tell ‘em whin they offer us all ov the pre we'll consider it. “YOU'LL HAVE TO SEND FOR THE DOCTOR, CORA; I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH ME. ME FORBID ME TO EAT THE AND HIDE THOSE CAKES AND CANDIES BEFORE HE COMES. comicbooks.com