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HOME > History > History Club > Barb Owen - Dr. Ridgway

Doctor Ridgway
Presentation to the Annandale History Club
October 5, 2009
Barb Owen

I am here today to present a biography of Dr. Alfred Miller Ridgway, pioneer doctor of Annandale, born January 29, 1862, died May 19, 1952, at age 90. Dr. Ridgway was my great-uncle.

Alfred Miller Ridgway was born January 29, 1862, in Columbus, Dodge County, Wisconsin. He was the sixth child of Joseph and Margaret Phillips Ridgway who immigrated to America from Cheshire, England, around 1849. Why to Columbus, Wisconsin, is unknown. His boyhood days were spent on the home farm, attending grammar school and then high school. In 1882 ambition brought him to Minneapolis. He wanted to become a doctor. To earn the necessary money he worked in a drugstore for $35 a month, worked as a fireman on the Soo Line Railroad for $1.50 a day, sold real estate at 245 Hennepin Ave. finally accumulating enough money to enter the University of Minnesota Medical Department in 1887. He graduated in 1890. He interned at Minneapolis City Hospital, now Hennepin County Medical Center, for a year. He was given an appointment as government surgeon at Fort Totten near Devil's Lake, North Dakota, but after inspection, he declined to accept the position.

In July of 1890 he came to Annandale, at the encouragement of Dr. Skinner who was practicing in Annandale at the time. He hung out his shingle thinking this would be temporary. He was homesick and on the verge of leaving many times. Dr. Ridgway had a tough time recruiting patients until a diphtheria epidemic came along. Dr. Ridgway treated his patients with a then new diphtheria toxin: Dr.Skinner did not, and his patients died. Dr. Ridgway's patients survived, and his practice began to increase each year until he was covering territory from Cokato to St Cloud and Watkins to Rockford.

Annandale at that time had a population of 150 and was sparsely settled. Roads were few and not very good. There were no telephones and one needed to walk or ride to town to fetch the doctor. His first means of transportation was a horse and buggy given to him by his sister, Mary Ridgway. His young cousin, Martin Lowe (who was to become my grandfather), drove the horse and buggy from Minneapolis to Annandale. As neither he nor Dr. Ridgway had the money for his fare back to Minneapolis, he stayed in Annandale, setting up bachelor quarters. So Dr. Ridgway, Martin Lowe, Lew Williams (a family friend from Wisconsin who he recruited to Annandale to become the town druggist), and Reverend Higgins (the Methodist minister) enjoyed their bachelor establishment. They were always playing jokes on each other, short sheeting the bed, ladling druggist syrup into unsuspecting places and sitting in the front row of the Methodist Church in unusual attire. They were loyal friends, as shown when Reverend Higgins was arranging a church revival tent and a cigar slipped out of his pocket in the presence of a church board member. Dr. Ridgway came to his rescue asserting that the cigar was his and Reverend Higgins was wearing his suit with the offensive cigar in the pocket.

Dr. Ridgway's expectation of a temporary stay became permanent when in September of 1892, he and Viola Ponsford were married.

1892 Newspaper article:
Married--On Tuesday evening September 20th at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Ponsford, at Annandale, Minn., the Rev. Doctor Stafford, of Minneapolis officiating, Dr. A. M. Ridgeway (sic) to Miss Viola L. Ponsford, both of Annandale. Some 125 friends and relatives of the contracting parties were present as invited guests. Amongst the number there present from Minneapolis, the Doctor's mother, Mrs. Ridgeway, and Mrs. Doctor Williams and M. T. Warham, Dr. Munger of Fair Haven, Dr. O'Connor of Maple Lake, Rev. Davis of Buffalo, Rev. Higgins of Annandale and others. The parlors had been very prettily decorated for the occasion, the bridal party standing under a beautiful arch of flowers and evergreens while the ceremony was being pronounced. Alex. Ridgeway, the groom's brother, and Miss A. Ponsford, the bride's sister, stood up with the bride and groom. The ceremony that made them husband and wife was the short but impressive ceremony of the M. E. church and at its conclusion the happy pair received the hearty congratulations of their very many friends. The wedding feast was elegant, rich and abundant after which there was music, vocal and instrumental, and at the proper time, with many and oft repeated congratulations, and earnest wishes for the future, health, happiness and prosperity of the bridal pair, the guests took their departure and the young Doctor and his lovely bride went to their own cozy home already prepared and furnished. There were numerous valuable and many costly gifts and tokens of esteem and friendship. Dr. Ridgeway has succeeded in building up a successful and lucrative practice and is on the right road to still more gratifying success, his estimable wife is to the "manor born" and is loved and respected by all.

They took up residence in an apartment over the drugstore until 1903 when they moved into their newly built home at Park Street and Oak Avenue. This became their life-long home. Dave and Judy Ferrell are now the owners of this fine house.

In the years living above the drugstore Dr. Ridgway stabled his prized, purebred Hamiltonian horses at the rear of the drugstore. The horses were cared for by Jake Lantto. That space is now [in 2009] occupied by State Farm Insurance Agency.

He used 6 horses in the summer and 8 in the winter to make his rounds. Incidentally my home is located on what was the summer pasture for his horses. His first automobile was a one cylinder chain drive Cleveland car. The horses had to come out and get him more often that not. After that, he owned 18 cars in a row starting with a Ford and staying with the same make and same dealer all through the years. Lundeen Brothers are still in business today.

Dr. Ridgway was a good diagnostician without the help of today's technology. His operations were often performed in the homes of his patients, often on scrubbed kitchen tables by lamplight, no x-ray, laboratory, lighting, or modern conveniences. Reaching the patient might also be hampered by broken buggy wheels or sleigh runners, getting stuck on muddy roads or having to walk.

I'm sure you remember the day when the Advocate reported Mr. and Mrs. Somebody visited Mr. and Mrs. Somebody Else Sunday afternoon. Here are a couple regarding Dr. Ridgway visits.

Dr. A. M. Ridgway assisted by his brother, Dr. Alex Ridgway of Belgrade, performed a critical operation at Kimball yesterday. Fred Theide of that village is suffering from stricture of the oesophagus, being unable to swallow food. Dr. Ridgway inserted a tube in Mr. Theide's side through which food is transferred to the stomach. The operation was successful.
-Annandale Advocate, October 14, 1897

Dr. A. M. Ridgway, assisted by Dr. Moore of Minneapolis, performed a very successful operation on Mrs. T. V. Willett for Appendicitis, one week ago Sunday and by the careful attendance of Dr. Ridgway, Mrs. Willett is getting along nicely. Mrs. Peter Larson and Mrs. P. S. Rudolph assisted during the operation. Mrs. Abbie Bradley, an experienced nurse from Minneapolis, arrived Tuesday to take charge of the case, and will remain until Friday. Mr. and Mrs. Willett are very grateful to the Drs. and neighbors for their kindness to them.
-Annandale Advocate, May 4, 1899

Nobel Shadduck writes this account in his book Small Boy In The Big Woods of Dr. Ridgway having to amputate the leg of Polk Heberling: "Something bad happened to one of Polk's legs and Dr. Ridgway said they would have to cut it off and all the neighbors had to come and help hold him down when he struggled as the sawing got going. They were going to perform the operation on the kitchen table and unless Polk was kept still he might tip over the table and make more trouble. Dr. Ridgway made Polk drink a big glass of whiskey before the operation started. Polk survived the surgery and walked with a wooden leg. By the way, the saw that cut off Polk's leg is over at Pioneer Park."

A train wreck on the Soo Line Railroad near Annandale in 1922 gave Dr. Ridgway first hand experience in caring for multiple injuries in an emergency situation. Dr. Ridgway assessed and cared for many injured, treating them in nearby houses as there was no hospital in Annandale. He handled the situation so well the Soo Line appointed him Railroad Surgeon. He acted as such for 40 years, being called to points in North Dakota and Canada to look after patients injured in Soo Line accidents.

To further his education, every five years Dr. Ridgway would leave Annandale and travel to large cities to take post graduate work, which together with his long experience and extensive reading perfected him as a country doctor. He had a well grounded medical education, good common sense, and a genial disposition, which made him a very successful country doctor and credit to his profession. He had a gift to inspire confidence in his patients and their families. What it must have meant to some farmer's wife or suffering patient, in those difficult days, to see him come into the home and feel certain you'd be all right because the doctor was there.

Dr. Ridgway delivered over 3500 babies over the years, most being born at home. Most were uneventful births and the doctor often spent nights sleeping or reading on some chilly, hard farmhouse floor. In those early years of practice Dr. Ridgway was paid in whatever manner folks could manage. Some brought wood, some delivered various forms of farm produce and livestock and in bad crop years he would forget their bills.

In 1930 as Dr. Ridgway began having more patients than he could handle alone, he set out to find an assistant to relieve some of the load. He looked over a number of prospects until he interviewed Dr. Lester Bendix, who he hired on the spot. By 3PM that same day they were hard at work. Dr. Bendix remained in Annandale, taking over after Dr. Ridgway retired and continued to practice here until he retired in 1983.

The idea of honoring Dr. Ridgway had it's origin with the Annandale Improvement Club and on June 14, 1940, the town of Annandale honored Dr. Ridgway with "Ridgway Days" celebrating 50 years as country doctor. In these 50 years he delivered more than 3500 babies. Some of you may be one. The entire town turned out to honor him and pay respects to the family doctor whose faithful service meant so much to them.

Dr Ridgway was active in civic affairs as well as medical duties as country doctor. He was a director of the Annandale State Bank, president of the Village Council, Mayor of Annandale, served on the Annandale Board of Education, was a supporter of the Electric Light and Power Co., a Mason and Oddfellow, an active member and supporter of the Annandale Methodist Church. He helped organize the Wright County Medical Association. He belonged to many societies and associations including the Minnesota State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, American Red Cross and American Association of Railroad Surgeons to name a few.

Dr. and Mrs. Ridgway lived in Annandale throughout their married life. They had no children, but made a home for many young people and helped them to complete their education. In his 62 years of practicing medicine, Dr. Ridgway won the affectionate title of "Minnesota's Country Doctor" and the distinction of being the states oldest physician in age and years of service.

Dr. Ridgway served the Annandale area from 1890 until his death May 19, 1952, at his lifelong home of coronary insufficiency and bronchopneumonia.

Dr Ridgway had three brothers and a sister who graduated in medicine. Gainsford Ridgway graduated in medicine, pharmacy and dentistry. His brother Joseph Ridgway practiced medicine in Minneapolis and Alex Ridgway practiced medicine in Wright County including South Haven and Belgrade.

Pioneer Park in Annandale displays many of Dr. Ridgway's medical devices and books in the replica Doctors Office on the boardwalk.

In closing, I have fond memories of Dr. Ridgway from my childhood. I grew up in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, but spent many Sundays visiting Dr. Ridgway and Viola, who we called Uncle Alf and Fefe. I remember his large vegetable and flower gardens, rows of lilacs and apple trees in his large yard. My fondest memory is being given 25 cents and walking down main street to the Candy Castle to spend a great deal of time selecting a bagful of penny candy. I remember my mother's stories of riding along on doctor calls to farms and playing in the barn while Dr. Ridgway attended to his patients. Once she went along on a call to Clearwater Lake to examine a drowning victim. Her favorite story is of Dr. Ridgway carrying his hypodermic syringe in a sock to keep it clean. My how times have changed.

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