There’s a small museum in Woodruff, Wisconsin that houses the story of a doctor known as the “Angel on Snowshoes."
In the 1930s and 40s Dr. Kate Pelham Newcomb tended to patients in many communities in the Northwoods before there was a hospital in the area. She would travel to her patients by any means necessary, including by canoe, skis and snowshoes.
She also advocated for a hospital to be built in the area, which led to a collection campaign of pennies to try and fund the hospital.
Lori Berryman is the president of the board at the Dr. Kate Museum and Marsha Doud is the curator.
"She served quite a large area in square miles from the Woodruff area north to the [Upper Peninsula] border," explains Berryman. After initially not being allowed to study medicine by her father, Newcomb eventually graduated from the University of Buffalo and found her way to the Wisconsin area. She then delivered about seven thousand babies while traveling to her patients by any means necessary. Her practice in the area began in 1934, but the hospital didn't open until 1954.
Newcomb also discovered that many of her patients in the area were being impacted by drinking water contaminated with bacteria. So, she began efforts to test the water to ensure that it was safe. "In addition, she started going to some of the camps that kids were going [to] in the area and made sure that the children were all healthy and had their inoculations. And then, if not, she would give them to them right there," explains Doud.
Newcomb also established and instructed the first natural birthing classes in the state.
In 1953, Northwoods, Wisconsin and Newcomb's work became an international story. A group of local high school students wanted to conduct an experiment to comprehend the number of a million. They sought out to collect one million pennies that would go on to fund the hospital. The efforts attracted contributions from all over the world, sparking what later became known as the million penny parade and continues to be a highly discussed topic for the museum.
The Dr. Kate Museum is in the process of raising money on the 70th anniversary of the penny drive to help keep Newcom's legacy alive. That money will go towards building a new structure wing to display some items currently not on display.
Keeping the story alive is a worthy cause according to Berryman. "This is a story that lives on. And we're very proud to keep telling the story," she says.
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