The Way Things Were

Last week's 52 Ancestors blog prompt was 'same' so it is only fitting that this week the prompt is 'different'.  I thought this was a fitting prompt for the local doctor in the community where some of my family was from.  The way things were back then are quite different than the way they are today. This week I am going to introduce to you a man who was both well known and well loved by those in the Oark, Catalpa and surrounding communities. His name was Doc Floyd. Now I am not related to this man, but if it weren't for him a few of my ancestors may not have survived -my mother included- therefore I wouldn't be here to write about him or any of my ancestors.

So let us begin, with the bare bones facts...

 

John William Earnest Floyd was born Oct 27 1881 in Hunt, Johnson Co., Arkansas to James Richard Floyd and Alice Lou Ella Bennett. (Hunt, at that time, was known as Hunt Town or Hunttown). He was the oldest of five children, followed in birth by two sisters, Stella and Lula, then two brothers, Norman and Russell. In 1902, at the age of 20, he married Laura Ella Pyron. The following year they had their first child, a daughter, Ocie Lee, and soon after Frankie Estelle, Tommie Irene, Ruby Miriam and last Deward Wilson.

If it weren't for my Great-Aunt Peggy, I wouldn't even be writing this post at all. A few weeks ago she posted the photograph on the left on Facebook and began asking all her friends and family members if they had any great stories about this man. I, having a love for anything old-timey, was naturally drawn to the conversation. I began to ask a few questions and followed along reading each of the stories shared and decided he would be a wonderful addition to this blog.

Peggy has an unsual connection to Doc Floyd that she herself didn't discover until just a few years ago. Her mother, Irene Adams, confided in her that before she had married Peggy's father, Leroy Clark Harmon, she had been married to Doc Floyd. The story Peggy sent me is as follows:

"In 1935, my mother, Irene was at school and took a bad case of appendicitis. Doc Floyd came to her house that evening and told her mother, Eva, to give her nothing but a small amount of soup and no sweets period, and to not get out of bed. She stayed in bed for 6 weeks. Doc Floyd came to see her nearly every day. On her 17th birthday he gave her a ring and asked her to elope with him. She went with him and worked as his nurse. He would leave her with his patients and she would care for them in their homes. On March 22, 1940 they went to Cassville, MO and got married in the court  house. They came back to Eureka Springs and spent the night at the Basin Park Hotel. When they came back to Oark he continued to have her stay with his patients. Come to find out, he didn't want his family knowing they were married. In the fall of 1942 he rented a house in Oark and they moved into it. He still wouldn't make it public that they were married. My Mother didn't like them living together and people thinking there were not married. In 1943 they were divorced. The first time she asked for a divorce he didn't want one but he had his brother-in-law who was an attorney to write one up and she found out it wasn't legal. He had another one made and she signed it and Dr. Floyd was supposed to have it recorded and she thought he did but I have never been able to find it."

 

 

Now for how this man impacted my life - even though I never knew him. It would seem that not only is my Dad "Lucky To Be Alive", but so is my mother, thanks to Doc Floyd. In the early 60's my mother's family lived about half a mile from their grandparents, OZ and Bondell Melson, near Oark. My Aunt Diane recalls the story:

"When we were kids we took baths in the wash water. I got in the washing machine and Nay and Shell used the rinse tub. Shell some how broke a gallon jar getting into the rinse tub and Nay decided she would tell mama about the jar. The soapy water was really slick (I can still feel the ability to slide around in the washing machine to this day). Nay got out of the water and stepped on the rounded lid of the canner and fell back into the broken jar. It had really long spikes sticking up from the base. One of shards, sticking up like a dagger, went through her back near her shoulder blade. She was able to get up off of it, but then she slipped again and fell on her butt onto the same glass point. Mom came in to see about all the screaming. When she saw what had happened she grabbed some clothes for me and told me to run and get Granny and Papaw. They had a car. I ran the fastest I could. I can remember thinking that if I stopped running Nay might die. I have no idea how far they really lived from us, I had been there several times to watch TV, but this time it seemed to take forever. I got to the house and no one was there. I was scared. Then I heard the tractor down in the pasture and I ran to them screaming for help with every step. Granny told Papaw "Turn that thing (baler) off can't you see this girl is upset." I told about the incident and we went to the house. When we got there I saw Mom walking down the road toward us carrying Nay wrapped in a big quilt with blood dripping off the bottom. Michelle, only being two, was beside them struggling to keep up, crying. We stayed with papaw while mom and granny went to Doc Floyds. Nay was so pale I can remember that day as plain as yesterday. I was about 6 years old."

I called my Grandma Reba for her memories of the incident. She said when she went to see what was going on and she saw my momma cut, she told Diane, "Run and go get Granny and Papaw, Reine is cut all to pieces" (She later found out that her saying that had really scared little Diane because Diane thought Reine was hacked up into little pieces.) She remembers carrying my Momma while Michelle
followed behind them crying and that my Momma said "I hope little Shell don't get lost." Grandma said she doesn't remember my mom bleeding too much, since no main blood vessels were cut - though there was blood. She said once they got loaded into Granny and Papaw's car it was only about a 5 mile drive to Doc Floyd's.

She recalled it was a hot summer day and it was cooler to be outside Doc's office than it was to be inside. Doc Floyd had a rock outside his little office that many people remember sitting on, either for treatment or for waiting their turn. This rock is where my Grandma sat while holding my mom, so that Doc Floyd could begin stitching her up. She recalled that her cousin Hurley and my Grandpa Leroy were working on the grade school building in town and came to Doc's office when they heard what was going on. She said that Hurley fanned Momma with his hat.

Doc Floyd's Office

Diane also had to have some stitches from Doc Floyd once. She said they had a little sandbox and they kept an old tin can in there to scoop the sand. One day when she went to go play, she tripped over the side wall and plunged her hand into the can hitting the edge full force gashing her hand. She says the scar is very small now, but when she was 4 or 5 the gash had gone clear across her hand. She remembered a dark room and him putting stitches in her  hand but she doesn't remember if he numbed it. She figures he probably did because she doesn't have any negative memories about it.

When I called my Grandma to ask about my Momma, Grandpa Leroy told her that his Dad, Obie
Zearl (O.Z) had once chopped off his big toe with a chopping axe. They only lived about 150 yards from Doc Floyd. Doc sewed OZ's toe back on and it survived. Grandpa said his dad's toe didn't wiggle but it healed. Grandpa Leroy also remembers collecting old medicine jars and taking them back to Doc Floyd for a whole nickel. Grandma remembers taking their old medicine jars back to him, but she didn't remember if they were paid for it or not. From other stories I'll share, Doc Floyd seemed like a very kind man, and was always treating the little children with a small amount of money for an ice cream from the store next door. He may have paid my grandpa a nickel, just out of kindness since he was such a small child, and his neighbor.

My Grandmother Reba's brother Dwight remembered when he and Tooter (another brother) were young boys Grandma and Grandpa (Reba and Leroy) brought them a rod and reel. They wanted to see how long the line was. Tooter held the rod and reel while Dwight ran through the yard with the line. When he got to the end of the line it jerked the lure went into his hand. They had to make a trip to Doc Floyd's. Doc cut the hook off and shoved it on through his hand. And Grandma remembered when Dwight got a bean stuck up his nose, and their neighbor Austin Denzer had to take them to Doc Floyd.

Peggy sent me a memory from Anita Pitts, who was a neighbor of the Stepps.

"Doc Floyd delivered me and my little brother, Glenn at home. Dad would go get him and he came. With the help of the neighbor women we were safely delivered and well taken care of. As we got older when we had sore throats, ear aches, etc. he was always at his office in Oark. He would give us pink throat tablets and usually penicillin or sulfur drug in tablet form. What I hated the most was the black croup pills. He would have Mom crush them and pour calcidrine cough syrup over them. I can still smell something that smells like that terrible yellow cough syrup and gag! Mom would hear one croupy cough at night and here she came with a spoonful of that terrible stuff and a dripper that should have had a good drink of water in it, but she barely let it touch your lips and said no more. I got a lot of ear aches from swimming in the creek and one year I could not get rid of them. He gave me penicillin pills along with those ear drops  he always had on hand but the ear ache would just come right back. His cure was for me to come to his house every morning before school and get a penicillin shot in the rear end. That cured them up for years. He always had plenty of those little pill boxes that he wrote directions on and such He did not give prescriptions to take to the drug store. Most of the medicines were kept in his office. I can remember a few times he would have Mom and Dad go by Laster Drug Store and pick up  medicines he had ordered.

He was a very knowledgeable doctor who knew how to treat most things. When he didn't he would send them somewhere else. I know Dad was sick with heart problems and he sent him to Holt-Krock Clinic in Fort Smith for a diagnosis. Then after the diagnosis he treated him. Without him having to go back to Fort Smith every week or month. I wish we had doctors like them today."  

Peggy recalled that Doc Floyd made his own antibiotic ointment. He mixed Vaseline and powdered penicillin. A cure all for cuts, scrapes or infected insect bites.

One of Doc Floyd's granddaughter's, Gwendella, says,

"Papa Floyd was a 'dyed in the wool - yellow dog Democrat'. He also refused to change the time on his clock. He didn't "spring forward" or "fall back". He was a good musician. He loved his Fiddle. He was quite a baseball fan too. At one time he had been quite a good player. He loved watching the game on the TV in his later years. Another thing he was strong for was a good education for all children. He was quite instrumental in getting the good school in Oark. Another accomplishment he had to do with was the good road to Oark. At one time it was not much more than a trail from Harmony to Oark."

Memories shared from Peggy's Facebook post:

 



 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From all these memories I believe Doc Floyd had a compassionate heart for the people of the community in which he served. He made house calls, kept them well, and helped them in every way he could.  These days we tend to have a negative view towards those who work in the medical field. But I believe, and know, there are a still several out there who still care deeply for their patients.

In closing I hope you'll take the time to read this article on Doc Floyd, as there is quite the story of some teenage boys helping him capture little runaways in the woods.

And if you're in the Clarksville, AR, area stop by the Johnson County Historical Society. It's my understanding that they have an exhibit dedicated to Dr. John Floyd, MD.

As always be sure to check out my sister-in-law's genealogy blog over at Days of Our Lives!

Until next week, 

Becky

The Springfield News-Leader
Springfield, Missouri 27 Sep 1994, Tue • Page 9