NEW BEGINNINGS

In early April 1949, less than two weeks after Dr. Caldwell’s death, the community welcomed Dr. Paul F. Temple. 

The community had remodeled the old post office location on Market Street into a doctor’s office. It included; a private office, two examining rooms, a treatment room and a laboratory. 

An all-out effort to help the young doctor was made by the people of the community who paid a year’s rent on his offices. They also arranged for men of the community to make themselves available to accompany and direct him on country calls. Doctors still made house-calls then. 

The committee that arranged for Dr. Temple included: J.A. Holmes, Leo Knight, Harold Luiken, and Tom Eilers. 

Dr. Temple, a native of Fort Dodge, was a graduate of the college of medicine at SUI, and served his internship at the Lutheran Deaconess hospital in Chicago. 

A bit over a year after his arrival in September of 1950, Dr. Temple was the first medical practitioner in south Hardin county to be called to service in the Korean conflict. Dr. Temple was ordered to report to Ft. Riley, Kansas for duty in the army. 

Temple had received training toward his medical degree under a World War II military setup. He was commissioned a first lieutenant, and given an indoctrination course in military rules and customs and assigned to a unit. 

Dr. Temple, served in the army for two years, and returned to Steamboat in 1952 and ably served the town until April 1, 1955, when he moved to Charles City to practice.