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This photo of the Omaha Medical College at 12th and Pacific in 1887 is part of the display that will be placed in the DOC. This wooden structure housed the laboratories, dissecting rooms, an auditorium and a dispensary. Dr. William Milroy, a nationally known faculty member, is on the porch. This is the site of the current downtown Omaha Post Office. |
The photos are part of an exhibit that was displayed in the Durham Western Heritage Museum from Oct. 6 through June 3.
“The display consists of 40 historical photos of the College of Medicine from its beginning as the Omaha Medical College to the present,” said Robert Wigton, M.D., associate dean for graduate medical education and professor in the department of internal medicine. “The exhibit was part of the 125th anniversary of the College of Medicine.”
Sections of the display will be placed in public corridors on various levels of the DOC.
“I was looking for a home for the pictures and thought of the DOC or hospital corridors, because it would be seen by many visitors, employees and students,” Dr. Wigton said. “The exhibit received a lot of interest when it was up at the Western Heritage and after speaking with Dr. Rod Markin, president and CEO of UNMC Physicians, about possible locations, the DOC seemed like the best option.”
The exhibit was arranged with the help of the John Schleicher, head of special collections and assistant professor in the McGoogan Library of Medicine, Jill Carson of UNMC public affairs and Dr. Wigton.
“It was definitely a very interesting and rewarding project to work on,” Carson said. “I had been here for less than a year when the opportunity came and it was a great way to learn about the history of the college.”
Many of the photos were collected and archived over the years by Rose Reynolds, medical illustrator, Sandy Benson, and Reba Benschoter, then head of biomedical communications.
The prints were used in the history of the book, College of Medicine, written for the school’s centennial in 1981. When the biomedical communications department was reorganized, Dr. Wigton digitized all of the older pictures to preserve them.
“My father was a faculty member of the College of Medicine in neurology and psychiatry, as was my grandfather,” Dr. Wigton said. “When I was growing up I met a lot of the faculty of the college because they were family friends. Later I became interested in their stories and the history of the college itself.”
Teonne Daye of graduate medical education edited several photos to improve their quality and Bill Wassom of printing services made the final prints for the display in the DOC.
The original photos are now in the Library of Medicine and Dr. Wigton has added many new pictures to the collection from public affairs and donations from alumni.