The 73rd Annual Meeting of the International Hahnemannian Association was held at the Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan, on July 21-23, 1954. Attendance was good considering he distance involved and the relative inaccessibility of “The Island.” Fortunately, not all of us has the difficulties encountered by Dr. Bond of Greensfork, Indiana, in reaching Mackinac. He, poor man, after travelling to Detroit by air, was obliged to drive by taxi to Mackinac City in order to catch the boat to “The Island”.
The Grand Hotel, reputed to be the worlds largest summer hotel, is situated in beautifully landscaped grounds overlooking the Straits of Mackinac and is a landmark for those approaching from the mainland. The Grands reputation for cuisine and service was amply demonstrated during the convention. Transportation on “The Island” is limited to bicycles, horses and “Shanks mare.”
Automobiles are allowed but cannot be operated under their own power. There are some 500 horses on “The Island” which give the street cleaners and English sparrows plenty of work. In the village area, the equine aroma is pronounced, bringing back pleasant childhood memories to those of us brought up in the pre-auto era. Some 200 Indians, many of mixed blood, descendants of the once powerful Chippewas, are domiciled on a reservation in the central part of “The Island.” Local opinion holds that they are a rather shiftless lot.
The readers attention is directed to the inside front cover of this issue where the list of officers for the ensuing year appears. The Recorder offers its congratulations as well as its full support for the important year ahead. We are particularly pleased that the I.H.A. continued the policy, begun in 1953, of electing to office a member from outside the United States. Dr. William N. Wesner of Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Dr. Henry W. Eisfelder of Brooklyn, New York; Dr. S. M. Bhattacharjee of Berhampore, West Bengal, India, and Dr. Harbans Lal Bhardwaj, Lashkar, India, were elected to membership in the I.H.A. The Recorder offers its felicitations to these men.
Sparked by the enthusiasm of Dr. Carl H. Enstam of Los Angeles, California, newly-elected president of the American Institute of Homoeopathy, plans are under way for Hahnemanns bicentenary, the celebration of which will take place in Washington, D. C., in April 1955. All homoeopathic organizations in the United States have been asked to participate. The I.H.A. is represented on Dr. Enstams Bicentennial Committee. Dr. H. W. Eikenberry of Indianapolis, Indiana, a member of the I.H.A. as well as of the Institute, has been appointed by Dr. Enstam as general program coordinator, a position of great responsibility entailing much hard work. The Recorder bespeaks the full cooperation of all homoeopaths so that Dr. Eikenberrys task will be as much lightened as possible.
Allan D. Sutherland was born in Northfield, Vermont in 1897, delivered by the local homeopathic physician. The son of a Canadian Episcopalian minister, his father had arrived there to lead the local parish five years earlier and met his mother, who was the daughter of the president of the University of Norwich. Four years after Allan’s birth, ministerial work lead the family first to North Carolina and then to Connecticut a few years afterward.
Starting in 1920, Sutherland began his premedical studies and a year later, he began his medical education at Hahnemann Medical School in Philadelphia.
Sutherland graduated in 1925 and went on to intern at both Children’s Homeopathic Hospital and St. Luke’s Homeopathic Hospital. He then was appointed the chief resident at Children’s. With the conclusion of his residency and 2 years of clinical experience under his belt, Sutherland opened his own practice in Philadelphia while retaining a position at Children’s in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department.
In 1928, Sutherland decided to set up practice in Brattleboro.