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Published on 02/01/1999 All articles from this issue

The days when a trip to the doctor's cost $2

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Voice of the Past

Ruth Anderson married her husband Earl Anderson in 1925 during his internship at Los Angeles County Hospital. One year later, Earl, a graduate of Stanford University, moved to this area and opened his medical offices. Ruth Anderson , now 96, lives in the same house that her she and her husband built. She told the following story about her husband's practice during a 1997 interview with Diane Weissman.

In 1934, Earl's mother bought 25 acres in Los Altos Hills for her two sons and their wives. It was adjacent to San Antonio Park. The property next door was owned by the Borden Company, the milk people. The 25 acres cost mother $6,500. We worked hard to build our home and in 1935 we moved in. We did all the work ourselves. Over the years, we couldn't afford the property taxes, and had to sell off acre lots for $6,000 each.

When we came here, Los Altos was a nice little village with two churches and a real estate office with one person. There was a bakery called "The Cookie Jar" where the Los Altos Pharmacy is now. There were two blocks of stores on Main Street between First and Third, with vacant lots in between. Lots sold for $300 to $400.

People got interested in this area and stared moving here. It developed very slowly. In 1941, my husband was the only doctor in Los Altos. There was a doctor in Mountain View in 1944, who had a two-bed hospital in his home.

Earl had an office in San Jose from 1926 to 1966. Then, he decided to open an office in our home. When patients came here, they loved it - to wait in the garden. Earl rarely sent a bill. He was a very dedicated person. People either paid him when he treated them, or they just didn't pay. He never asked patients for money. He started out getting about $2 per appointment. Later he charged about $15 an appointment. If a patient asked him to do it for half price, he'd say, "No, I'll do it for free." Earl really took time with people, and helped them with all kinds of problems.

We were married for 69 years when he died in 1994. We were great nature lovers. We hiked all over. Sometimes we wouldn't see anyone for two days. First we hiked, then used a mule and then horses.

I will end this story by saying how much I have enjoyed all the nature things God had made - the mountains, streams, waterfalls, lakes, flowers and animals. All are so marvelous. I wish I could have had a longer time to appreciate them.

- Courtesy of Donna Shoemaker and the Oral History Program of History House of Los Altos.