Histories

DOCTORS SCARCE IN EARLY DAYS

In those early days of Burrton's history, doctors had not yet discovered this little prairie town. (The population of Burrton was 255 at the time of its incorporation.) But a lady lived here who acted as midwife and general practitioner for all the settlers. She was Mrs. Leicester Day and she lived where the Bruce Wilson family lives now. Mrs. Day was one of the most valuable persons in the community. An early day friend of mine told me that he once had a case of acute indigestion. His family sent for Mrs. Day, and after she had given him a dose of her medicine the pain ceased in less than fifteen minutes.

Mrs. Day also kept a boarding house to accomodate transients and drummers (salesmen to the younger generation), and one day a Mr. Dickey of Newton on his way to Hutchinson stopped at her house for dinner. He finished the meal before the others and on his way out, he passed by the cook stove. He could smell a delicious aroma coming from the oven and he asked Mrs. Day what she was cooking. She told him it was a wild goose. "Well", he said, "I'll be coming back for supper. Save me some of the goose." When he returned, she had to tell him that it was not a goose but that she did not dare tell him before the other boarders that it was a skunk. She was rendering the oil from it for some patients she had. Of course she had removed the disagreeable effluvia from the creature before she put it in the oven.

Burrton Centennial Book