Mrs. Margaret (Newberry) Cooper,
and in honor of
Mrs. Rena (Clayton) Allen,
Mrs. Lula (Baugh) Hunter,
Mrs. Ina Marsh,
Miss Lucille Hearn, and
Mrs. Underhill
Given in honor and memory
Of family members
who were employed by the
Cotton Belt Railway
"THE COTTON BELT"
ST. LOUIS SOUTHWESTERN RAILWAY HOSPITAL
In the 1800’s and into the 1900’s many railway companies had their own hospitals for the employees and their families. The St. Louis Southwestern Company established their first Cotton Belt Hospital in Tyler, Texas in 1887. Doctor Charles Adna Smith came from New York, New York in 1889 to be the Chief Surgeon.
The hospital was located upon a knoll in the College Hills area and was said to be the prettiest area in Texarkana. The large three story structure was of brick and wood. It had a wooden roof with a dome tower rising above the trees. The front veranda with its large white columns gave a Southern welcome to all who came up the wide driveway which circled the building. An unpaved road led down the hill to the railroad tracks and a small brick depot where the patients could disembark for the hospital or depart for their return trip home. If a patient was too ill to walk up the hill to the hospital, the ambulance drawn by a horse would be at the station to transport them to the facility. In later years there were other modes of transportation.
The back of the hospital faced Dubley Avenue. A gardener, Mr. King, cultivated a field of bluebonnets on the rolling back lawn where red roses and cannas bloomed in well-kept flower beds. Sheep grazed in the pasture near the rail tracks. They were kept for their blood that was used in some blood tests. A horse, wagon, pigs and the ambulance were also in the pasture. Mr. King would use the horse and wagon to go to town to get supplies. When there was a parade in town he would ride the ambulance in the parade.
The company hospitals could provide good health care for their employees. The cost per month was $6.00 but the amount advanced as the nation came out of the depression. This service was for the employee only but later included the employee’s family.
It was an excellent health plan. It provided every service available in any other hospital. It was a family type facility. With its 150 bed capacity it was considered an institution “Second to None” in the South. Obstetrics was the only service not available in the Cotton Belt Hospital but babies were delivered by caesarian section occasionally.
The hospital drew its patients from St. Louis, Missouri, Memphis, Tennessee, Shreveport, Louisiana, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Texas and all the little towns in between served by the Cotton Belt passenger trains.
The Cotton Belt maintained an average patient load of 60, with 3 doctors and 25 nurses. Some of the dedicated doctors were: Charles Ada Smith, George Cale, Ralph Cross, Harold Moody, Harry O'Brian, Chester Kitchen, William Hibberts, R. F. Higgins, Sam Richter, John Porter, G. H. McDonald, Harold Williams, W. I. Wilbur, Peter Fajan, Dr. Rathgeh, Dr. Swindall, Dr. Ledbetter, Richard Bruazzi, Dr. Franeschi, J. B. Kittrell, Demetri Boosalis and John Ferris.
When Dr. George Cale was Chief of Staff, Dr. Hibbets was the kidney and bladder consultant for the hospital and there almost every day. When Dr. Cale died in 1935, Dr. Chester Kitchens was made temporary Chief. Many of the doctors put their names in to become the new Chief of Staff including Dr. Hibbetts. After the Board met and elected the new Chief, Dr. Kitchens came out and announced that he, Dr. Kitchens, was appointed. When Dr. Hibbetts looked so puzzled and disappointed, Dr. Kitchens could not help but laugh and announce it was a joke. Dr. William Hibbetts became the new Chief of Staff in 1935.
Under Dr. Hibbetts, the hospital became a different place. The hospital, patients and staff were his priorities. He was a fine man, very abrupt and always in a hurry. Under that gruffness was a soft heart and a very caring man. The staff could be mad at him one minute and in love with him the next. “HE WAS A TERRIBLE PATIENT!” said Mrs. Clyde (Margaret Newberry) Cooper. She probably knew him best as she spent her entire nursing career at the Cotton Belt Hospital.
After Dr. Hibbetts retired, Dr. John Ferris came from Jonesboro, Arkansas to become Chief of Staff. Dr. Demetri Boosalis was Chief from 1948 to 1967 when the facilities became a community hospital. Dr. Boosalis retired in 1972.
During World War II some of the doctors left to go into the service of their country. This took a large part of the staff. Several doctors from Mexico were hired to update the staff. Nurse Margaret Newberry Cooper relates a story of one of these Mexican doctors. “He came to the hospital late one night. I was on duty and I toured the facilities with him so he would know the layout of the area. I then took him to the doctors living quarters. Thinking he would want to rest, I returned to my duties. The next morning the doctor could not be found. He had just vanished during the night.”
During the years that Nurse Easter was on duty at the hospital, it was known that railroading wasn’t the only recreation in the men’s ward. The men would gamble and would not obey the hospital rules. One day during a big money game the men heard her coming. They cleared the table and put it in their empty water pitcher. Nurse Easter came in very nice and sweet, walks directly to the pitcher, picked it up and replaced it with a fresh pitcher of water. From that day on she had the winning hand.
The nurses did not stay as long as the doctors did at the Cotton Belt hospital. Some left to marry and have families, some were fired, some went into other jobs and perhaps some were not as dedicated as other. In 1988 there were four nurses who made Texarkana, Arkansas/Texas their home. They are: Mrs. Reva Clayton Allen, Margaret (Newberry) Cooper, Miss Lucille Hearn, Mrs. Underhill and Mrs. Ina Marsh. The four nurses on the Arkansas side all live within a three block area of the old hospital grounds. Mrs. Ross (Lulu Baugh) Hunter lives in Pine Bluff. The Cotton Belt nurses who gave many years caring for the St. Louis Southwestern employees and their families should be revered by each of us. They could have gone to many other hospitals and received higher pay. They were very dedicated to their hospital and had the best training any nurse of that day could receive. If in doubt just ask any Cotton Belt Employee that had been a patient. Nurses were: Ruth Brown, Head Nurse, Mrs. Mona Camponovo, and Mrs. Thelma Tate, Operating Room Nurses; Mrs. Mildred Alexander, Mrs. Mildred Bius, Miss Ruth Buster, Miss Ailene Cartledge, Mrs. Cleo Cleveland, Mrs. Margaret Newberry Cooper, Miss Ruth Cross, Mrs. Mildred Crudup, Miss Jimmie Fleming, Mrs. Fortner, Miss Alma Fritsch, Mrs. Maggie Hatley, Miss Lucille Hearn, Mrs. Lucille Henderson, Mrs. Lula Baugh Hunter, Mrs. Jerigan, Mrs. Juanita Lewis, Mrs. Lily Locke, Miss Ethel Maples, Mrs. Ina Marsh, Miss Dorothy Mather, Miss Christine Powell, Miss Ora M. Simpson, Miss Ruby Skinner, Mrs. Eleanor Thrash, Mrs. Underhill, Mrs. Opal Story Johnson, Miss Jewell Campbell, Miss Mary Orr, Miss Grace Easter, and Mrs. Shelton.
Mrs. Vida Kirby, dietitian, prepared very good meals. Now and then lamb would be on the menu. When it was being cooked the odor would go all over the hospital. At noon most of the staff could not eat.
The Lab and X-Ray Technicians were: Alsie Herndon, Kathryn Pettaway, Mary Farrar, Helen Van Note, Mrs. Opal Story Johnson and Doctor Hibbett’s daughter, Mrs. Frances Kittrell.
The Pharmacists were: Alex Green, Bill Boyles and Cliff Robertson.
The Orderlies were: Albert (Boots) Sellman, who was there for many years, Ray Allen and Dorice Baird.
Miss Cora Mae McCullough was in the hospital office in the 1930’s. Ruth Walker was Doctor Hibbett’s secretary.
Mrs. Dora Kimmens, the aunt of Ruth Brown, was the head Housekeeper. She ran a tight and clean ship and also acted as chaperone when the nurses had parties and dances in the nurses’ home. The home had a huge living room with terrazzo flooring. By rolling up the carpet you had a perfect dance floor. There was a Victrola and records. All the hospital staff came to the parties with their dates. All had a great time and were all in bed snoozing before midnight.
There is something to be said about being young and poor. Most everyone was in the same condition. You do a lot of things to entertain yourselves. Salaries were not very high in those days. Registered nurses received $65.00 a month except the night duty Nurse who received $100.00 for a 12 hour, 6 nights a week duty. The nurses had dances and parties for all occasions.
Doctor Charles Adna Smith’s daughter, Mrs. Olivia Smith Moore, always enjoyed telling a story of how her father handled patients who were not sick but would come to the hospital for the weekend. She said, “Some railroad workers would ride the passenger train to Texarkana for the weekend pretending to be ill so they could get a good home cooked meal. Father’s remedy for such behavior was a large dose of distasteful Castor Oil. That removed the pleasure of eating a free meal.”
In 1968, a Texarkana newspaper interviewed Dr. Boosalis and Nurse, Margaret Newberry Cooper. They told the reporter of many things they remembered about working at the Cotton Belt Hospital. It was like no other hospital because everyone knew everyone else. Most patients were comrades whose friendships were made along the tracks from Missouri, Arkansas and Texas. For them, the hospital was as much a social gathering place as a medical facility. The men played checkers and dominos on the sun porch. They would be in bed and talk railroading all day. All were “buddy-buddy”. Hospital employees had a fierce loyalty to the hospital. Families would bring several children at a time for tonsillectomies.
Most of us remember how the men patients like to sit on the sun porch and play dominos and checkers. One day, two elderly men were playing a very serious checker game. One accused the other of cheating in the game. Words went back and forth and the discussion got violent and the canes were striking back and forth. The staff had to separate them. Tempers would flare up many times after that the games had to cease.
The demise of the Cotton Belt Hospital was caused by many factors. The rail passenger service was discontinued on the St. Louis Southwestern Railway in 1960. Many employees dropped their hospital dues. Group health insurance became available, Federal and State care was established. By 1967 the hospital was turned over to the railroad unions but they did not succeed in the plans that the unions and the men had agreed upon.
The hospital became a Community Hospital, the Four States Memorial Hospital, for five years. In 1972 the city and hospital inspectors forced the facility to close. They condemned the structure for having a wooden roof and open stairways. In all her 74 years of service, the Cotton Belt Hospital never had a major fire.
In 1974 the contents were up for auction. A Texarkana preacher tried to save the historical structure by making the highest bid for the property, but could not obtain the money. The next highest bid was by Bobby Dowd.
Mr. Dowd made the doctors’ and nurses’ living quarters into a rehabilitation center for alcoholics.
The old dome tower cupula is on display at the Texarkana fairgrounds. A nursing home is now located where the old hospital once stood.
When the hospital was condemned and tom down, Nurse Margaret Newberry Cooper described her feelings and the feelings of most of the Cotton Belt employees. She said, “It is so hard to believe that stately structure will no longer be in Texarkana. We realized the building’s fate, but everyone who worked there thought it would be there forever. It is sad. It was wretched when it was tom down.”
The Cotton Belt Hospital was a great blessing in its time for the Cotton Belt employees. We were blessed to have the best medical health care and be ministered to by the dedicated, skilled doctors and nurses. I hope what they did for us came back to each of them in many blessings during their lifetimes.
Wouldn’t the old hospital be a life support for each of us who are retired and our medical costs keep going higher and higher and our savings getting smaller and smaller? Perhaps we realize now what a treasure we had in our Cotton Belt Hospital.
Our hospital was a victim of our changing times. Perhaps her destruction will help many of us to see the treasures we were letting man destroy. Today we are looking at these treasures and are saving them.
April 26, 1988
Dear Mrs. Stone:
A lot of water has run under the bridge between the time I came down here to the present and it would take much too long to cover all the happenings but at least I can give you a few things.
On Halloween morning in 1933, three of us from St. Louis arrived to go to work at the Cotton Belt Hospital. Several nurses had been fired and Dr. Cale came to St. Lukes in St. Louis for replacements. Dorothy Mather, Ethel Maples and I were chosen after an interview. Dr. Cale had been at St. Lukes at one time and Miss Brown, the head of the nurses was a St. Lukes graduate. At a later date two St. Lukes doctors were here working - Dr. O’Brien and Dr. MacDonald. We were happy to get the job - it paid $65 a month! Twelve hour night duty with one night off a week paid $100.
Miss Brown met us at the union station and we came to the hospital in a taxi. We wondered what we had gotten ourselves into when we rode and rode and it looked like we were heading for the country. It was so pretty, though, when we finally arrived. Not only was the hospital a beautiful place but we could see all over Texarkana from the nurse’s home. Everyone was so friendly. Many of the patients were playing cards out on the front porch and some were walking around the grounds. Those who were in bed were laughing and talking (about railroading). The third floor was empty. We had never been in such a friendly place and it was less like a hospital than any place I had ever seen and it stayed that way as long as it was open. My two friends left here and married. I stayed and married. All my professional life was spent at the Cotton Belt and I helped with the auction that finally disposed of it.
Dr. Cale was a sick man when we came down here and he became sicker. He died in 1935 and Dr. William Hibbetts was appointed Chief Surgeon. He got things humming. It wasn’t long before the third floor was open and occupied and for a while we had patients on the colored ward, on the first floor beneath the colored ward and in the hallways. Things finally settled down and only tonsil operations were bedded in the second floor hall as they just stayed overnight.
We had some good doctors before the war - Dr. Porter, Dr. Higgins, Dr. Rathgeb, Dr. MacDonald, Dr. Williams and Dr. Wilbur. When most of the doctors went into the service, things got pretty rough. We had quite a few Mexican doctors. After the war we got Dr. Boosalis and Dr. Francheschi. They stayed a long time. Dr. Hibbetts left and Dr. Ferris from Jonesboro came as Chief Surgeon. Several came after him and the hospitat was opened to the public. The place was never the same after that. Over the years we had several Hospital Inspectors. When we came here Mr. Neislar was the inspector and he was followed by Mr. Paul Holtzclaw, Mr. Sam Raney and others.
There are five nurses in a three block area that worked at the hospital. So many of the nurses are gone now. Mrs. Marsh lives on the Texas side of town. Miss Hearn, Reve Allen, Mrs. Underwood and I live just down Dudley Avenue from the hospital grounds.
There is a nursing home where the hospital stood. The nurse’s home was given to the Mental Health Association by Bobby Dowd who bought the hospital. The preacher who made the highest bid for the hospital at auction couldn’t come up with the money so Mr. Dowd bought it.
When we came to the hospital in 1933 there were sheep and hogs down in the pasture and a horse. Mr. King was the yard man and he took care of everything around the outside. There was even an old ambulance drawn by the horse that Mr. King would drive in parades. He had a wagon which he drove to town to get supplies. The sheep were the source of blood the laboratory had to use for certain tests. Sometimes they cooked lamb but the odor was so bad most of us couldn’t eat it. Mrs. Kirby was head of the kitchen and we certainly had some good food over the years.
When Dr. Hibbbets came to the hospital he brought Ruth Walker as his secretary and she stayed until she retired. Alex Green was the pharmacist and he stayed until he retired. He didn’t get to enjoy retirement long, though, as his heart went off kilter and he died at the hospital. After Alex left we had several different druggists - Mr. Boyle, Robertson and others.
Ailsie Herndon was the lab girl and she did the lab work as well as the x-ray but as time went on and more patients were kept they had to hire more help and Kathryn Pettaway came and then Mary Farrar, Helen Van Note, Frances Kittrell and others. Some of the orderlies were at the hospital for years - Albert Sellman (Boots), Roy Allen and Dorice Baird.
Mona Camponovo and Thelma Tate were in the operating room for years. When they left there were many who didn’t stay long.
It was truly sad when the hospital was auctioned off but it was worse when the wrecking crew got started on the building. A lot of people bought brick to use in the homes or patios they built.
There just wasn’t another place comparable to the old Cotton Belt. Everybody loved the place and took pride in it until a new element got on the board of directors. It was a real shame the place had to close. It weathered the depression but couldn’t take deliberate sabotage. All of the employees were loyal and dedicated workers. None of us would work any place else even though other hospitals paid more salary. It was always fun to listen to the stories the men told us and as the years piled up we all had stories to tell ourselves such as working in long sleeved uniforms before the days of air conditioning. We finally got huge fans and they put one at each end of the wards to keep the men half way comfortable. And the time a man came in from down in Texas with a high temperature and rash. We got Dr. Spinka the dermatologist out to see him and she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. That night his fever broke out and it was obvious he had small pox, a disease no one had seen in years. The next day another man from the same town came in with the same thing. We had to vaccinate everyone who had been in the hospital since the first man came in and that included all the hospital personnel.
I have to laugh at some of the things that happened over the years. We had a lot of fun and we worked hard most of the time and we wouldn't trade places with anyone. It is a pity there are so few trains now and there will a generation before long that never had a chance to ride a train. Only a few of us can remember going places on a train and arriving with so much cinder dust on our faces we weren’t recognizable. Or going on a train trip and having the train stop for our lunch which they had ordered ahead. I think the Cotton Belt had the best food of any railroad and the nicest cooks and waiters.
Hope this is partly what you wanted. I’m sure I’ve left quite a few people out - Dr. Bob Kittrell for one - he is retired now - but it would be impossible to include everyone. The numbers had dwindled down to a very few but as long as there are a few there will be Cotton Belt Hospital.
If there are any questions you want answered just write me and I’ll do my best.
Sincerely,
Margaret Cooper
May 17, 1988
Dear Mrs. Stone:
I dredged up quite a few names after I had written you. I am amazed I had forgotten so many people, especially the ones who worked here before the war. It shouldn’t have since I have a time trying to remember my own name sometimes.
There were many more doctors and nurses, especially during the war years but they came and went so quickly we hardly knew their names. I remember one doctor who arrived about ten o’clock one night (I was on night duty) and I took him on rounds at his request. Then I showed him his living quarters. The next morning he had completely disappeared.
Another thing I had forgotten to tell you. There was a circular drive that surrounded the hospital and on the so called front of the hospital or the north side, there was an unpaved road down to the railroad tracks. There was a small station at the foot of the road for patients who got off the train or were catching the train. If they couldn’t walk up to the hospital the ambulance drawn by a horse would go down for them. This was discontinued before I arrived on the scene.
Mrs. Dora Kimmons, aunt of Ruth Brown, was the head housekeeper. She ran a tight and clean ship and also acted as chaperone when the nurses had dances or parties at the nurses home. When we had a party all the employees came, Dr. Hibbitts, the doctors, nurses, orderlies and everyone’s date. The nurse’s home had a huge living room with terrazzo flooring. We just rolled up the carpet and had a perfect dance floor. We had a Victrola and bunch of records. Everyone had a good time and we were all in bed snoozing by midnight. We were all hard up for money. The Cotton Belt was in receivership until the war was over. The R.N.s were paid 65 dollars a month except the night duty nurse who got one hundred for 12-hour six-nights a week duty. There is something to be said for being young and poor. We were all in the same boat so we did a lot of things to entertain ourselves such as dances and parties of any occasion.
The hospital drew patients from St. Louis, MO to Memphis, Tenn., to Shreveport, La. to Dallas and Ft. Worth, Tex. and all the little towns between if the railroad ran through. We all had a pass on the C.B. and on any other railroad we so desired so on vacations we all took advantage of our pass to either go home or see the U.S. The C.B. personnel all knew us and they were really wonderful to us when we traveled, especially the dining car bunch.
Dr. Hibbitts was the kidney and bladder consultant for the hospital when Dr. Cale was chief surgeon and he was at the hospital almost every day. When Dr. Cale died Dr. Chester Kitchens was the temporary chief. A number of doctors put in for the job. After the board meetings to pick the new man Dr. Kitchens came out and told Dr. Hibbitts he (Dr. Kitchens) had been appointed. Dr. Hibbitts looked so disappointed Dr. Kitchens couldn’t help from laughing. Things were different when Dr. Hibbitts took over. He put things in high gear. Dr. H. was a fine man, very abrupt and always in a hurry but under the gruffness was a soft heart and a very caring man. We could be mad at him one minute and love him the next. The hospital, patients and employees were his priorities. And, he was a terrible patient!
Most medical and surgical things were taken care of here at the hospital but some patients were sent to St. Louis, Dallas or Memphis for consultation with specialists. Caesarian sections were performed here but very few.
For years Dr. A. W. Roberts and Dr. Kirkpatrick did all the tonsil, ear and sinus operations. Dr. Hibbitts took over the tonsil operations after he became Chief.
Dr. Spinks and Dr. Raymond Hughes were the dermatologists. Dr. Thomas Kittrell was a consultant and Dr. Frank was the radiologist. There were several kidney and bladder specialists. Dr. Mansfield was the dentist and Dr. Roy Basket was the cardiologist.
After Paul Neislar left as Hospital Inspector, Mr. Paul Falvey, Mr. Paul Holtzclaw, and Sam Raney followed.
Bob Clapp, Jerry Trammell, and Naomi Young worked in the office as well as a number of others.
I’ve added some names to the Doctors list:
| Dr. Charles A. Smith | Dr. John Ferris |
| Dr. George Cale | Dr. Peter Fejans |
| Dr. William Hibbitts | Dr. Rathgeb |
| Dr. Ralph Cross | Dr.? Franceschi |
| Dr. Harold Moody | Dr. Dimitri Boosalis |
| Dr. Harry O’Brian | Dr. G. H. MacDonald |
| Dr. Sam Richter | Dr. J. B. Kittrell |
| Dr. R. F. Higgins | Dr. ? Swindell |
| Dr. Harold Williams | Dr. Richard Brunazzi |
| Dr. W. I. Wilbur | Dr. ? Ledbetter |
| Dr. John Porter |
NURSES
5 nurses still live in a 3 block area of Texarkana, Arkansas side: Mrs. Clyde D. (Margaret) Cooper, Mrs. Underhill, Miss Lucille Hearn Texarkana, Texas side: Mrs. Ina Marsh
| Head Nurse, Ruth Brown | Miss Ruth Buster |
| Miss Christine Powell | Miss Alma Fritsch |
| Miss Ruby Skinner | Miss Lucile Henderson |
| Miss Margaret Newberry (Cooper) | Miss Jimmie Fleming |
| Miss Dorothy Mather | Mrs.? Fortner |
| Miss Ethel Maples | Mrs. Mildred Alexander |
| Miss Thelma Tate | Mrs. Maggie Hatley |
| Mrs. Mona Camponovo | Mrs. Lily Locke |
| Miss Lucille Hearn | Mrs. Clio Cleveland |
| Mrs. Ina Marsh | Mrs. Eleanor Thrash |
| Miss Reve Clayton | Mrs.? Jernigan |
| Miss Ruth Cross | Mrs. Mildred Crudup |
| Mrs. Ora M. Simpson | Mrs. Juanita Lewis |
| Mrs. Mildred Bius | Mrs.? Sheltone |
LAB AND X-RAY
| Miss Ailse Herndon | Miss Frances Hibbitts |
| Miss Kathym Pettaway | Miss Eloise Hudson |
| Miss Mary Farrar | Mrs. Carmelita Stroman |
| Miss Helen Van Note | Mrs. Betty Stevens |
HEAD OF KITCHEN
| Mrs. Vida Kirby |
Ruth Walker was Dr. Hibbitts’ secretary. Miss Cora Mae McCullough was in the office when I came.
PHARMACISTS
| Alex Greene | Cliff Robertson |
| Bill Boyles | and others |
Frances was married to Thomas Kittrell and was the daughter of Dr. Hibbitts.
Think that is all unless one or the other of us thinks of something.
Mrs. Margaret Newberry Cooper (Mrs. C. D.)
November 11, 1988
Dear Mrs. Stone:
Sorry to be so long in answering your letter. Thanks for the articles.
I’m enclosing a couple of more names I’ve dredged up. I think that about all my poor brain can come up with.
The article reads real good. Hope you have no trouble rounding up a good printer.
I’m sending everything back as I wasn’t sure that you wanted.
The two I thought of were Grace Esther and Mary Orr, both R.N.s. I don’t know if you have Jewel Campbell, R.N. or not.
Hope you and your husband are both in the pink now.
It’s a cinch. When you get our age you get over one thing something else will turn up. At least it’s been so in my case. However, I’m still breathing and that’s an accomplishment!
All the best for the holidays. If I can help you again just let me know.
Sincerely,
Margart Cooper
1910 Dudley Avenue
Texarkana, Arkansas
75502