Hi List: This article from a current edition of The York Daily Record was sent through the York List by Theresa Riley. Since they mentioned that Benjamin A. HOOVER and his wife, Margaretta SHOEMAKER had at one time taught school in Franklin Co., PA. I decided to forward it to the list. Hope this helps someone! Best Wishes for a joyous Holiday Season! Donna HELLER ZINN of Cumberland Co., PA. ************************* A family of physicians finds love in helping By DAVID SMITH Daily Record correspondent Before 1910, when Dr. Benjamin A. Hoover left his home on Locust Street in Wrightsville to deliver a baby, his first stop was at the Number 8 pier along the Susquehanna River, where he would obtain an infant to fit the bill. At least this is the story the doctor told his young son, Philip, satisfying the boy's curiosity about where babies came from. The elder Hoover also assured that his boy's attention would be diverted to the pier every time he passed it. Both Dr. Hoover and his wife had been teachers in the school system of nearby Franklin County. She taught until their marriage, and he until 1897, when he decided to enter the medical profession. Benjamin attended the Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia, which later became part of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In 1901, he set up a small practice in Upper Strasburg, where he worked for two years. Benjamin longed to pr actice in a more populated area and seized the opportunity to take over the practice of the late Dr. John Channel in Wrightsville. Benjamin Hoover and Margaretta Shoemaker married on July 7, 1903, and moved two days later to the town along the river that would be their home for the next 60-plus years. The doctor and his wife became parents to Philip, Robert and Margaretta in the f ollowing years, with Philip especially taking an interest in his father's profession. Although the horse and buggy were the staple transport for the country doctor, the purchase in 1916 of a reliable Dodge sedan moved Dr. Hoover into the 20th century. In the winter, however, there were times when the only way to travel over snow-drifted roads was in his own sleigh. Benjamin soon held other posts of importance in the community. He helped organize the Wrightsville Savings and Loan in 1911 and served as its president for 30 years. He was also president of the First National Bank of Wrightsville for more than 20 year s then served as a trustee after its merger with the York Bank and Trust Co. Benjamin was a member and later president of the York County Medical Society. He was a founding member of the Rotary Club of Wrightsville and served the American Red Cross for 30 years. Young Philip Hoover spent countless hours on house calls with his father. He even became an underage chauffeur in 1918 during an influenza epidemic. He and his father worked 16-hour days for a month straight during this time. On his father's advice, Ph ilip prepared for a career in business or banking. He took up a course of general studies at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. After graduation in 1925, Philip tried several careers, such as working at a brokerage house during the stock market crash of 1929. But his true calling turned out to be medicine, and after taking some required science courses at F&M, he entered the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Philip graduated in 1936, then married Elizabeth Fles, whom he had met at a church function and fell in love with almost immediately. He interned at York Hospital and started practicing medicine in Dallastown on Sept. 11, 1937, just 13 days before the birth of the couple's first child. Taking the advice of his father ("Expect to work hard and expect to succeed"), Philip spent many ye ars building a successful practice. Like his father, he was active as an elder in the Presbyterian church and also was president of the Rotary Club of Red Lion. The Philip Hoover family grew to include six children, sons Benjamin A. II, and Robert P. as well as daughters Elizabeth, Barbara, Susan and Sarah. Among Philip's many accomplishments were the co-founding of the congenital heart clinic at York Hospital and serving as one of the original founders of the York Foundation. He was also a board member of the Historical Society of York County and served on the committee that built the Memorial Gym in Dallastown. One of his sons, Benjamin, spent many summers working at York Hospital. That experience, Philip believes, led his son to pursue a career in medicine. The Benjamin A. Hoover II, who practices medicine today, is the third generation of his family to do so in York County. He and his wife, Anne B. (Cramer) Hoover, are the parents of two sons and a daughter. Benjamin graduated from the Mercersburg Academy and followed his father's path to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine after graduation from Princeton. Ben's grandfather, the original Benjamin Hoover, died in 1962 when his grandson was a junior in medical school. Benjamin went on after graduation to and internship and residency at York Hospital, then spent three years during the Vietnam War as chief of medicine at the U.S. Army hospital in Wurzburg, Germany. Upon returning to York, Benjamin set up a solo practice, Brockie Internal Medicine Consultants, where today he leads a staff of nine physicians. He has received numerous medical honors and published several papers in medical journals. He and his wife are involved in many community service organizations including The Rotary Club of York, of which he was president, the York Symphony Association, The York Foundation, and the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center Foundation. He is also the chairman of the board of the trustees at York College of Pennsylvania. Anne is on the board of the York County Council of Churches, the Junior League of York and the York County Farm and Natural Lands Trust. The doctors of all three generations of the Hoover family have devoted more than 100 years to the health and welfare of the people of York County. Beyond their concern for the people they serve has always been a deep love of family as expressed by Philip Hoover in this excerpt from his memoir: "As one who spent his youth in the same household with this amazing man, I can attest that no accolade, no matter how sincere and well-crafted, could do justice to this dedicated, wise and knowledgeable medical servant of mankind who was my father, the doctor." Sources: "Echoes of the Health Century," by Philip A. Hoover; papers provided by and interview with Benjamin A. Hoover II.