This little item was handed to me the other day. Of course, I had to find out more about Dr. Browne.
It turns out this is actually a small envelope that probably held a couple of pills when it was handed to a patient. And don't you love the office hours, only 2 per day. And Sundays by appointment!
Harold Roberts Browne was born in 1897 in Cobleskill, his father Leslie was a dentist, his mother Daisy was of course "keeping house." He attended Albany Medical College, and settled in Bethlehem as early as 1929. By then he was married to Ruth Knappenberg. I'm not sure how they met, but in 1920 she was a school teacher in Tarrytown. She grew up in the West Sparta area of New York, daughter of John and Ida.
Dr. Browne was much appreciated. I found several glowing articles about him plus his 1971 obituary. He was an old-fashioned general practitioner and an early plastic surgeon. I'll just quote Edgar S. Van Olinda's tribute in the Times Union (January 1, 1969) who in turn was quoting an anonymous hometown patient:
"Words cannot portray how many good things Dr. Brown has done in this community of Delmar and its environs... Many an adult has a good-looking face, fixed up by the good doctor. He was one of the old school who would go to see a patient "in the hills and far away", any hour and weather... he worked his way through medical school playing the horn, French and English, in orchestras in New York State resort areas... Dr. Browne, although right up-to-date with the miracle drugs of this day and age, remains a shining example of the family doctor, close to his patients when the fee charged was a dollar for an office call ..."
Another tribute mentioned the many babies he delivered, and his obituary mentioned that he remembered making house calls on snow shoes when he practiced up in Clarksville. Charmingly, the obituary mentions "Dr. Browne's sledding hill." This was the gentle slope between his house at 421 Delaware and his office at 415.
Ruth Knappenberg Browne (1895-1965) was popular around town as well. She was a very active member of the Delmar Progress Club and a member of the St. Stephen's Church Woman's Guild. Her obituary noted her charity work.
I am wondering if there are Bethlehem folks who have memories of Dr. and Mrs. Browne. I'd love to find a picture of them.
You might recognize the pictures below (stolen from Google of course.) 415 Delaware Avenue is where the couple lived, and Dr. Brown practiced, until about 1947 or 48. Then they acquired the lovely yellow Colonial Revival home at 421 Delaware. A quick cut across the side yard, down the sledding hill, across Dyer Terrace, and the good doctor would be at the office. Interestingly enough, in the Tri-Village directories, the phone number on the envelope above, 439-2323, was listed for both the residence and the office.
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| 421 Delaware Avenue |
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| 415 Delaware Avenue |
From Carla Pelton Jackson: Dr. Browne was our family physician while I was growing up in the '50s and '60s. He made house calls, but what I remember most were his office hours. As indicated above, his office hours were 1 to 2 PM and 7 to 8 PM. There were no appointments for the most part - you just showed up and waited your turn, sometimes for hours in a packed waiting room. You just had to be at the office during the one-hour time periods, but Dr. Browne actually saw patients until there was no one left in the waiting room. I remember him as being rather gruff and imposing, but then, I was just a kid at the time.
ReplyDeleteThank you Carla!
ReplyDelete