Magic Moments

Margaret Ecker shares the story of Bill Dow’s and Pat Maxwell’s collaborative dental screening of children at a Headstart in Williamson County, Tenn. She frames it as an early manifestation of the SHC’s Saul Alinsky-inspired approach to addressing community public… Continued

Charles Scott, professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and early supporter of the Student Health Coalition (SHC), frames the development of coeducation and feminist-driven policy reform under Chancellor Alexander Heard and the Dean of Women, Margaret Cunningham–ongoing at the time… Continued

Charles Scott, professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and early supporter of the Student Health Coalition (SHC), shares the story of how he and Bill Dow first met. Follow this link for access to the full-length discussion. Recorded May 2019. Continued

Kate Bradley recalls lobbying for Medicare’s funding of Nurse Practitioners (NPs), a motion that later became known as the Rural Health Clinic Act. Others involved in the effort included Irwin Venick, Wanda Lang, Bill Corr, and Byrd Duncan. Follow this… Continued

Margaret Ecker describes the scary experience and pressure of treating a young girl exhibiting severe allergy to multiple yellow jacket stings in Clairfield, Tenn. Follow this link for full-footage of Margaret Ecker’s and Rosie Hammond’s reflections about their SHC experience… Continued

Rosie Hammond responds to Margaret Ecker’s inquiry about whether she ever felt afraid during her time in the mountains. She describes an experience while staying with Vada Evans in White Oak, Tenn. Follow this link for full-footage of Margaret Ecker’s… Continued

Margaret Ecker describes the communal living experience characteristic of those who stayed at the Ponderosa in Lake City, Tenn., a property donated by locals to host Coalition students. Follow this link for full-footage of Margaret Ecker’s and Rosie Hammond’s reflections… Continued

Margaret Ecker shares her perspective on the Coalition’s unique opportunity for students to stay with local families, and the power doing so had on the relationship-building element crucial to effective community organizing. As an example, she reminisces her experience among… Continued

Rosie Hammond shares the highlight of her SHC experience: living with and getting to know local families. She names several from her time in Briceville, White Oak, Petros, Stoney Fork, and Rose Creek, Tenn., including (but not limited to) the… Continued

Joe Little frames Tricia Nixon’s visit to the Center for Health Services (CHS) as a microcosm for the conflict that was going on at the time: some SHC and/or CHS participants and alumni attended the meeting, entertaining the dialogue that… Continued

Bob Hartmann frames the Coalition work as having absolutely been outside convention and against the grain, in large part due to Bill Dow’s talent at generating and following through with big, extraordinary ideas. He then elucidates one of his favorite… Continued

James Lovett, CEO of Mountain People’s Health Councils, Inc., shares the humorous tale of his experience as a 7 or 8-year-old patient at the Norma Health Fair. See the full length interview to learn more about James Lovett’s legacy with… Continued

Sharon Roberson shares how her cultural upbringing facilitated an innate respect for elders that, she believes, is foundational to achieving societal civility.   Full footage of Sharon Roberson’s 2018 oral history interview. Continued

Dick Burr shares the comedic story of Byrd Duncan first meeting folk musician Joan Baez.   Full footage of Dick Burr’s interview from March 25th, 2021. Continued

Tom John and Rick Davidson share some of their most memorable moments and takeaways from their time spent in Appalachia with the Student Health Coalition.   Full footage of the 2013 interview with Tom John and Rick Davidson. Continued

Art Van Zee shares about the first health fair in St. Charles, Va. (1973) and expands on the origins of the clinic that still stands today. Recorded March 17th, 2013.   Full footage of Art Van Zee’s interview. Continued

Art Van Zee describes how meaningful the opportunity to provide care for several generations of the same family has been on his medical career, and why community-run clinics in rural areas, such as the one in St. Charles, model a… Continued

Dana Ellis, a nurse and co-director of the West Tennessee Student Health Coalition, asks two of Square Morman’s sons what it was like in the early 1960s — from racial tensions to the development of “Tent City.” Recorded on June… Continued

During a health fair in the 70s, I stayed with a couple in Elgin, Tenn.: Reba and Bud Smithers. Another health fair worker, Angela, stayed with me at their home. A few experiences with this couple left me with strong… Continued

[Story contributed by Rosalie Hammond, December 2015] During the summer of 1971, I spent a good deal of time on health fair follow-up.  We had always been committed to doing more than just identify clinical problems at the health fairs. … Continued

Dr. Tom John speaks about his experiences with the Student Health Coalition (SHC) and the Center for Health Services (CHS). Recorded by Margaret Ecker, 2013. Continued

[Story contributed by Pat Kalmans] The whole bee thing with Bill started in Nashville on the Vanderbilt campus. Bill had been wanting to raise bees for a while, but didn’t want to necessarily mail order the suckers.  One day, literally… Continued

[Story contributed by Neil McBride] Ok, I’ll join with the two stories that suggest Bill‘s conversion from radical mountain agitator to organic farmer was not as sudden and distinct as some might think. They also address the sense that when… Continued

[Story contributed by Trip Van Noppen] In 1975, I began working for Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM) and moved into the Ponderosa, the really old farmhouse outside of Lake City that Bill had somehow obtained for general housing needs. Jimmy… Continued

[Story contributed by Margaret Ecker, RN, MSN] Sometime around 1975, local friends in Lake City offered us newly minted community organizers this abandoned house for a dwelling. We lived communally, our numbers fluctuating with the season. We lived with a… Continued

[Story contributed by Margaret Ecker, RN, MSN] My first job as a nurse practitioner began around 1975, in a Briceville, Tenn. community-run clinic housed in a trailer and managed by a local board chaired by the venerable Byrd Duncan. A… Continued

[Story contributed by Richard Davidson, M.D.] After an initial scouting year in the summer of 1969, the Student Health Coalition (SHC) began health fairs and community organizing in Appalachia in the summer of 1970. After several months of hard work,… Continued