Dr. Phillipson Veterinary InfirmaryDr. Phillipson Veterinary Infirmary
This infirmary is the best in the country. Dr. Peter "Pete" Phillipson has moved his practice here from Holbrook, Furnas County, Nebr., and a fine practice it is. Dr. Phillipson handles all types of animals and their ailments including such serious disorders as glanders, colic and the so-called epizootic.
There was a Dr. Phillipson, Dr. Peter "Pete" Phillipson, who at the time of his death in 1983 had been a member of the Nebraska Veterinarian Association for 75 years. He practiced in Holbrook, Furnas County, and had an infirmary that resembled this structure. This exhibit was sponsored by the Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association. This building was constructed by Stuhr Museum and opened in 1986.
Veterinary Infirmary Reflects Painstaking Creativity and Research Prairie Pioneer Press April 1986 by Tom Anderson
Visitors to the pharmacy room of the "Dr. Phillipson Veterinary Infirmary," will be impressed by the formidable array of apothecary bottles. One of these bottles carries sinister words on its label: "Mercury Bichloride Poison -- 1 Tablet to a Gallon of Water."
And what fills this bottle? Why of course, mints, painted silver to resemble mercury bichloride poison tablets. Mercury bichloride, incidentally, could be used as a disinfectant.
And what did they do with the red hots and the bubble gum balls? Well, the red hots appear to have filled a bottle labeled "Compressed Tablet, Physiologic Saline Solution" and the gum balls found their way into a bottle marked as a "physic for bloat."
Heck, Sedlacek and his gang conceived an entire pharmacy out of such ingredients as denatured alcohol, food colorings, flour, cinnamon, black pepper, tapioca, red cloves, curry powder, Epsom salts, pimento and, or course, the candies.
More than 200 turned out on Sunday, May 4, 1986 for the dedication of the veterinary infirmary, a 40 by 50 foot frame building that was erected last summer under the supervision of Warren Rodgers, Stuhr's assistant director, at the north end of Railroad Town on Hagge Avenue.
The completion of the infirmary, named in honor of the late Dr. Pete Phillipson of Holbrook, was called a "dream come true" by Dr. Leo L. Lemonds, DVM of Hastings, chairman of the historical committee of the Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association.
It was the NVMA that initiated and backed the project. Stuhr selected as the site. Dr. Lemonds called the three years of work and planning for the interpretive exhibit by his historical committee and the Stuhr staff an example of "fantastic cooperation."
Speaking for the Phillipson family at the dedication was Dr. Dave Phillipson, DVM with a Kalamazoo, Mich., pharmaceutical company.
"Dr. Pete epitomized the dedication of his profession." he said of his uncle, who at his death in 1983 had been a member of the NVMA for 75 years.
The principal speaker at the dedication was Dr. O.H. "Ole" Stalheim, DVM of Ames, Ia., president of the American Veterinary Historical Society. The former research vet with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and now an associate professor of history at Iowa State University described the Stuhr exhibit as "one of the most elaborate I've ever seen." Most of the others are small, just one room."
The exhibit is a composite of the early history of veterinary practice in Nebraska, concentrating on the 1890-1910 period.
More than 400 instruments used by veterinarians were gathered for the exhibit, according to Sedlacek. For example, there are 17 types of syringes on display and nearly 50 more available.
To the layman, some of these instruments that adorn the interior walls look rather wicked -- "double end pig forceps," 17 inches long; a mouth gag that could be used for horses, cattle, hog and dogs; the "keystone dehorner" and "Henry's dehorner saw," and "balling guns," plunger devices used to feed pills down an animal's throat.
Dominating the operating room is a lay-down table, circa 1913. A horse, in vertical position, could be immobilized against the table, and the table could then be tilted to a 180 degree level and pivoted.
In the operating room area can be seen a 10 gallon jug filled with a purple liquid -- denatured alcohol and the appropriate food coloring -- that resembles potassium permanganate used as a disinfectant.
Visitors can explore the building through a bricked alleyway, and enter the rooms located along the alley. One of the first rooms is the office. There stands Dr. Phillipson's roll-top desk, open notebook and pen along with a turn of the century Oliver typewriter. There's a baseburner for heat, and on the wall a telephone activated by crank.
A touch of the macabre can be found in the specimen cabinets, also located in the pharmacy room. In large preservative-filled jars can be seen a young pig with one head and two bodies, and a one-eyed lamb, eye in center of forehead.
These abnormalities are not recreations from Sedlacek's creative mind. They're the real thing, contributions from Dr. Larry Barbee, DVM of Sutton, a member of the historical committee.
The veterinary infirmary, one of the most ambitious interpretive exhibits ever undertaken in Railroad Town, is sure to be a hit. Over each door in the barn-like structure hangs a lucky horseshoe.
Dr. Peter Phillipson was born on a farm near the Furnas County town of Holbrook in southwest Nebraska, Dr. Phillipson was a 1908 graduate of the Kansas City Veterinary College, and returned to Holbrook where he practice his entire life.
In a background sketch on Dr. Phillipson, Dr. Lemonds, DVM of Hastings, has written:
"Dr. Phillipson, as had all Nebraska veterinarians of his era, was born in the horse and buggy age. He practiced in his early years in a buggy with a kerosene lantern and lived to see men in space.
"He, like all other pioneer Nebraska veterinarians of his time, has left his family, community, state and profession a rich heritage. The Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association and Stuhr Museum are proud to name its pioneer veterinary infirmary in Dr. Phillipson's honor."
Within the structure visitors will find the veterinarians's office, a pharmacy complete with apothecary and specimen bottles and microscope with slides, examining and treatment areas for both large and small animals, and an operating room, featuring a lay-down table.
In the large animal area, there's a sling that can be used to immobilize a horse in an upright position.
In addition to obstetrical equipment, visitors will find the wide range of instruments to include such items as blood-letting knives, some pre-1850, and twitches, which were attached to a horse's lip and used to hold the animal down.
There's even a buggy, similar to the one Dr. Phillipson used to make calls, accompanied by his faithful dog, "Cap."