Dr. William Beauregard Young III, Wilson, N.C.
Dr. Putney and Dr. Goldin in Elm City, N.C.
When you walked into the front lobby of the Carolina General Hospital on Pine Street in downtown Wilson, N.C., in 1950’s it is likely that you would see the receptionist, Ginny Finch, and hear her lovely voice saying, “Dr. Young. Dr. Will Young.” She would repeat “Dr. Young. Dr. Will Young.” Her voice was musical.
Anyone who knew Dr. Will Young had stories to tell and I have heard a lot of them but they are their stories. The ones I write about are just a few from my memories of interaction with one of the best doctors ever. He was a great doctor and an interesting character.
Dr. Will Young had a small office along a hall at the old Carolina General Hospital on Pine Street. Several doctor’s offices were located on that hall. There was nothing shiny and elegant about the building but there were some first rate doctors practicing there. There was a small room that housed an X-RAY machine and all the doctors used it. Wilson had a lot of great doctors and each one could have stories written about them but Dr. Young was my doctor and I have a few about him. Dr. Young passed away in 2000.
Since we lived at Pender’s Crossroads near Elm City we went to Dr. Putney during my childhood. Dr. Putney was an exceptional doctor and he, too, is a Legend. He doctored the community. He cared for the grandparents, parents, delivered babies and doctored the babies, children and teenagers. He gave them their baby shots and did their examinations to play sports and doctored the old folks. Dr. Putney had been a doctor in the United States Navy and must have had a lot of practice at giving injections. He could give a shot so fast you never saw or felt it. But if his nurse, Mrs. Bowen gave the shot, she moved the needle from one hand to the other and it seemed to take forever. There were doctors before and after Dr. Rob Putney but he is the one etched in my memory. He provided care for not only Elm City but for the rural communities surrounding the small town.
Doctors made house calls back in the 1940’s. Dr. Goldin came to Elm City and practiced with Dr. Putney for a number of years. Dr. Goldin was a quail hunter and he and my father hunted together. Dr. Goldin had a German Short Haired Pointer that was ready to give birth to her litter. My dad was keeping the dog for him during this time. Dr. Goldin got a call that a lady in the neighborhood was having a difficult time delivering a baby so he came out to attend to her. I remember that day was filled with activity. The Pointer was having difficulty giving birth in a building in the back yard and just down the path the woman was having a difficult time giving birth. Dr. Goldin was tending to both for most of an afternoon. I was not allowed to be too close by but was aware of what was going on. Dr. Goldin was back and forth between the home of the lady and the pack house where the dog was. He stayed the entire afternoon and into the early evening until the baby was born and mother and baby were comfortable. He stayed late in the evening until the German Short Haired Pointer delivered ten beautiful healthy puppies. These, in my mind, are the kind of acts that make Legends.
After I moved to Wilson and needed to see a doctor my dad said, Go to the Carolina General Hospital and ask to see Dr. Young.”
Ginny Finch was at the receptionist’s desk when I walked in and told her I was there to see Dr. Young. It was an experience like none other I had at any doctor’s office. He leaned back in his chair with a grin on his pretty face and started talking about my father. He told me all about a bird dog he had gotten from my dad and about his first quail hunting trip. He said, “Your daddy took me on my very first bird hunt when I was twelve years old. Your dad stood back and he let me shoot the quail. I am trying to interrupt and tell him that I have to go back to work but he is having none of it. He kept talking about bird dogs and William Greene. He finally gave me a shot of something and told me the sore throat would be ok in a day or so.
The year was 1955. I was having severe pain and was admitted to the old Carolina General Hospital. Tests showed that I had a kidney stone I was trying to pass and that is what was causing the pain. The movie “A Man Called Peter” had just started at the Wilson Theater and I had promised my mother that I would take her to the Monticello Restaurant for oysters that day and then to see the movie. I was totally upset and told Dr. Young about my promise to my mother. He must have been touched and didn’t think I was going to die. He told me that I could go get my mother, take her for oysters and to the movie and then come straight back to the hospital and get in that bed, and hope the stone didn’t move while I was out.
My first migraine struck when I was about 23 years old and it was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I called Dr. Young and told him that it felt like someone was sticking a knife in the back of my head. He prescribed Codeine and Phenergan for me. He told me he wanted to talk to me the next day and I was to come to his office. I went and he started asking questions about what was worrying me. “Something is bothering you. These headaches are usually caused by stress.” His prescription was, “Whatever is causing you stress you have to get rid of it. If it is your job you need to quit. If it is your in-laws, stay away from them and if it is your husband, put his bags on the porch and say goodbye. Nothing is worth ruining your health.” That was his prescription. Things were just different back then.
In 1955 or 1956 Dr. Young diagnosed a problem I had as a hemorrhoid. His exam took place in the small exam room adjacent to his office on the hall at the old Carolina General Hospital. After an exam that took only seconds, he asked me, “Which surgeon do you like”? My reply was that I didn’t like any of them. He said, “Good. I like Dr. Badie Clark.” He left and went down the hall, was back in a matter of minutes with Dr. Clark, the surgeon. Dr. Clark had his surgical instruments in his hand on a white towel and within just a minute he injected me with novocaine and lanced the hemorrhoid. That was sixty six years ago. It was all over in less than five minutes. In today’s medical world, I would have been given a referral to a specialist. It would take a few days to get in touch with them and maybe an appointment within a month. Then I would have to go in for a Pre-Op visit. Get insurance company’s approval. Then the surgery would be scheduled at sometime later. After the surgery, it would be required that I go back for Post-Op visit. Back then it was all taken care of within a few minutes in Dr. Young’s Office.
Just a few years ago I had an ear infection and went to see Dr. Satterly here in Wilson. My appointment was at a time when he wasn’t very busy and we were talking about Wilson and and old times. When I told him that Dr. Young had been my doctor and I had never found another one like him. Dr. Satterly said, “And you are not likely to”. He said that everyone who knew Will Young had their own stories. He said I have one if you want to hear it. Of course, I wanted to hear it. He said that he had attended a meeting at the Regency (I believe he said the Regency but not positive) and he and several of the men who attended were standing around the parking lot after the meeting talking when they spotted a beautiful brand new Cadillac. They were talking about how pretty the car was and wondered whose it was. They walked over to take a look inside the car and he said there wasn’t a place to sit in that brand new car except the driver’s seat. There were bags of dog food, empty dog food bags, muddy shoes, hunting coat, boots, fast food boxes, empty soft drink cups, and just assorted trash. The guys were wondering out loud who owned the car and why in the world they would let a new Cadillac get in that shape. As they were talking, Will Young came out of the building and walked toward them and asked them what they were doing. One of the men said they were wondering whose car that was. Dr. Young spoke up proudly and said, “It’s mine.”
After the new hospital, Wilson Memorial, was built my mother spent a good bit of time there under Dr. Young’s care. At midnight it wasn’t unusual to see him rushing down the hall with his hair uncombed, wrinkled clothes, smoking a cigarette and untied shoelaces dragging behind him. He would make his rounds and even during those midnight hours the hospital operator would say, “Dr. Young. Dr. Will Young”. He was always bumming cigarettes from anyone within his reach. If you didn’t watch, he would walk away with your whole pack. His words were, “you don’t need to be smoking” as he lit up one. He would even ramble through ladies purses looking for a cigarette.
Ginny Finch worked at the switchboard at the new hospital just as she had at the old Carolina General on Pine Street and her voice rang out over the long halls and the one I remember most was her saying “Dr. Young. Dr. Will Young”. The new building was larger and the tile and granite gave it a look of elegance but Ginny Finch was the same. Dr. William Beauregard Young III was a Wilson Legend and so was the switchboard operator extraordinaire’ Ginny Finch. She was so much a part of the old Carolina General Hospital and the new Wilson Medical Center.
Montress Greene
Montressg@gmail.com
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