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Title
Oral History of Rodney Hartman
Contributing Institution
Mill Valley Public Library
Collection
Mill Valley History Online
Rights Information
Please contact the contributing institution for more information regarding the copyright status of this object.
Description
In this oral history interview, well-rounded and ever-active physician Rodney B. Hartman reflects on over forty years of medical practice in Mill Valley. After a "crash course" educational experience as a young doctor at San Quentin prison, Rodney transitioned to private practice in Belvedere, and then Mill Valley, during the 1930s. Rodney reflects upon the ups and downs of local medicine with vivid and detailed anecdotes, including the emergency delivery of two babies in Lytton Square during WWII, and that of Stalin's granddaughter in 1971. A proud general practitioner, Rodney's discussion with interviewer Carl Mosher touches on quality of life, disease prevention, psychosomatic illness, and observations and benefits of "alternative" pain management practices from elsewhere in the world. Rodney's scope is both national and local as he speaks frankly about topics ranging from the U.S. healthcare system to Mill Valley's treatment of its Japanese American population after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In his assessment of a lifetime of hard work, Rodney reiterates that medical care is more than just a science - it's an art. Editor's note: The recording and transcript differ for this oral history. The recording ends on page 53 of the transcript.
Identifier
744D1DFF-01DF-408A-8C19-013964941675
1978.010.001
Subject
Bagshaw, Fred
Bagshaw, Marie
Canet, Joe
Cowan, Harriet
Cowan, Jack
Cowan, Sue
Cowan, Vic
Danford, Dick
Danford, Geneva
Doctors
Foster, Gordon
General practitioner
Gettysburg
Giberson, Gus
Goddard, Wilson
Hartman, Harriet Cowan
Hartman, Harriet Kostic
Hartman, John
Hartman, Nicholas
Hartman, William
Hartman, Zaida
Hayakawa, S.I
Healthcare system
Landrock, George
Local practice
Malpractice
Medicine
Mental health
MV history - WWI and WWII
Pain management
Preventative medicine
Psychosomatic illness
Rotaries
San Quentin State Prison
Stalina, Svetlana (Lana Peters)
World War II

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