Submitted by Lana Sue Jones
The Twentieth Century Club met Jan. 9, at the home of our hostess, Sandi Eaves, with Georgia Detwiler serving as co-hostess.
The meeting was opened by a report on two of our members who had been ill and in the hospital, Ruth Woody and Kay Sewell. Georgia and Sandi will be reimbursed for expenses from our last meeting. Georgia president then called the meeting to order. Sue read her minutes from the December meeting in the absence of our secretary who was ill.
There was no financial report due to our treasurer being absent. Janet Conner, our new member, gave the group her information to be added to our membership list. It was brought to our attention that Sherry Wiseman was scheduled to give the program in March and April. Georgia asked for a volunteer for April. Sue Jones will have the April program.
New business was the discussion about the fine arts council at the high school. They are in need of sponsors. A motion was made and seconded that we make a donation to them.
Our entertainment was provided by Sandi. She passed out pennies and each member selected one. We had to tell what had happened to us in the year on our penny.
Old business is that we have not yet been contacted about helping the library. The old library is being demolished to make a parking lot. The opinion was given by Glenda Baker. She wanted to encourage people to attend the council meetings. They are open to the public and are held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month at 5:30 p.m. If anyone has any ideas, suggestions or concerns, get in contact with her.
The program was presented by Glena Ware. Her biography was on Dr. Gordon Seagrave, missionary, physician and author. He was born in Burma in 1897, the son of American Baptist missionaries. He represents the 4th generation of a missionary tradition. He was sometimes referred to as the “Burma Surgeon” which was the title of one of his books he wrote. He was the author of six books. He graduated from Denison University and John Hopkins University. While a surgeon at John Hopkins, he would collect surgical instruments still in good condition that was being thrown away and put them in a waste basket to be sterilized and reused at his hospital in Burma. He wrote two books titled, “Tales of a Waste Basket Surgeon” and “ Waste Basket Surgery”. In 1922, he and his wife, a nurse, went back to Burma with their wastebasket of surgical instruments. His staff was the native people which he had to train. He received money for a hospital but he had to build it himself. The beds were made out of the old scaffolding from the construction. He joined the US Army Medical Corps in 1942 working at a field hospital.
Glenda said the reason she chose Dr. Seagrave was that he was the surgeon who saved her father’s life when he was in the service.