Getting Things Done in Eureka

Recently I had a blog concerning origins of some sayings we have all heard.

Now as I see many different forms of medical service popping up in West St. Louis County, I am bold enough to relate things that happened in the last century in how medical care was provided back when.

My brother, Wm. F. "Bud" Weber, managed to get his right arm mangled in a farm machine, a corn shredder, while feeding the corn stalks into it. He had a leather glove sewn onto a leather legging to protect his hand and arm during the process.

Unfortunately, the fingers of the glove got entangled in the two feeder rollers, which pulled the arm into contact with the beaters that shredded his hand, much like the corn he was feeding into it.

He was pulled into a safety bar that stopped the rollers, and he survived. When removed from the machine, he was taken to a hospital and the arm was removed.

It was quite a schock to all, especially the local doctor who was known to have a drink once in a while, and I remember Bud coming home after a visit and removing several yards of gauze that had been wrapped around the stump as a means to protect the stump. That was 74 years ago.

Some years later, when I was a board member of the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation, I learned of a rural Well Baby Clinic idea, which my wife, Roberta, and I promoted. It was held one day a week at the Bud Weber Hall in Eureka.

Roberta became the clerk and local contact, as anyone could register to have baby care, provided by the St. Louis County Hospital staff at no charge. I was reminded of this by the national media coverage recently of a coverage of the contraception measure nationally.

Roberta did the office work and other management all for free. In case of a pregnancy, she called on me to get the case to the County Hospital for more intense service.

I didn't get the names of those I transported at different times, but I do remember one day, I had five young ladies to haul to Clayton and found that four of them had been made pregnant by the same guy, also unknown to me. Another time, one had her water break and I got to clean the car when I got home.

But, all felt the treatment was a huge step forward from what we had.

Then, events showed that St. Louis County was about to condemn the downtown part of the town of Eureka for a sewer situation. Again Roberta asked what could we do?

I suggested that she get the town leaders together to get the city of Eureka incorporated so they would have the power to act locally. We did this, and now look at the new ways that are available to cope with problems.