The Doctor was a Doughboy

In case you didn’t know, there is a museum here in Poplar Bluff. It has tales of us, our family, and our history. I want to tell you some of those tales found within the museum walls.
Walter Brandon was born in Jackson County, Illinois, in 1894. He went to medical school at Loyola University and interned at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago. In 1916, he borrowed $600 from the bank and bought a house, a buggy, and medical supplies. Dr. Brandon began his small medical practice in Broseley, Missouri.
In 1917, World War I interrupted his practice. He joined the Army and became a medical officer. He deployed to France and made the acquaintance of a young artillery captain named Harry S. Truman. They became lifelong friends and political allies. Their friendship has been said to be the major cause of why a VA hospital was built in the small town of Poplar Bluff.
After the war, Dr. Brandon returned to Poplar Bluff and opened a four-bed hospital on South Main Street. The small wooden hospital was destroyed in the 1927 tornado.
Dr. Brandon built his next hospital out of bricks.
Brandon Hospital was a two-story facility on North Main Street. It still survives today.
He operated in the hospital until 1963. He sold it due to his failing health.
Dr. Brandon was a pioneer in using the new x-ray technology and it is suspected this contributed to his condition. The good doctor passed away in 1966.
Dr. Brandon was a pioneer doctor who tried to bring a hospital to Poplar Bluff. He served on numerous state health boards and councils. He was a Masonic member for 50 years and a proud officer in the Governors State Militia. His State uniform, biography, Brandon Hospital souvenirs, and a photograph of his 1916 horse and buggy are on display in the Medical Room of the Poplar Bluff Museum.
The Museum is open every Sunday, free of charge, from 1-4 p.m. at 1010 Main St., Poplar Bluff (Formerly the Old Mark Twain School). Tell them Mike sent you!
Mike Shane is a veteran, Poplar Bluff resident and board member for the Poplar Bluff Museum.