By Michael Dorausch, D.C.

Like many chiropractors that have been in practice for awhile, I have accumulated boxes of chiropractic books, pamphlets, tapes, videos, photos, and other media. While spring cleaning and sorting through some of those materials I came across a 1970s patient education pamphlet authored by Bob Sottile, D.C.

Dr. Bob Sottile practiced chiropractic in New Jersey and was deeply involved in the creation of Life Chiropractic College (today known as Life University). He was a regular speaker at Dynamic Essentials, and active politically via the Garden State Chiropractic Society and the International Chiropractors Association.

The text from the pamphlet is posted here with permission from the Sottile family (spine photo by me).

CHIROPRACTIC FIRST – MEDICINE SECOND – SURGERY LAST
And Here’s Why In A Nutshell
Bob Sottile, D.C., F.I.C.A.

The purpose of this booklet is to dispel incorrect information and medical propaganda concerning Chiropractic and its role in health care. It is hoped that this knowledge will aid all those who read this booklet in understanding what Chiropractic is, when it should be used and most importantly, why it should be used from infancy on.

Chiropractic is not a treatment for aches and pains. That’s its least important role. Its greatness and importance to the healthcare of the world is paramount, in its approach to health and well being. Chiropractic care embraces health. Medical care embraces disease care.

In the following pages it is hoped that you will be able to decide for yourself: Do I want health or do I want disease treatment? The choice is yours.

Bob Sottile, D.C., F.I.C.A.

Do You Want HEALTH or Relief?
There is a BIG DIFFERENCE!

The dictionary defines health as “Soundness of body; freedom from disease; well-being.” Relief is defined as “alleviation of pain; something that relieves pain.”

If one were to take some type of pain medication to relieve a toothache, the pain may disappear temporarily and give relief. However, at the expense of a little relief, what would happen to the tooth in the meantime? That’s right. The problem would progress and the tooth would eventually rot. Now it would have to be removed. This is a typical. easy-to-understand example of what relief is and its consequences.

Relief is a very dangerous thing. It gives US a false sense of well being or health. If relief comes in the form of temporary alleviation of symptoms. when the symptoms return. we again act to do what worked before. This is dangerous.

In the pages that follow, I will explore the philosophy of right and wrong, the law of cause and effect. and then let you decide what’s best for your body. both physically and mentally.

We have been brainwashed in the therapeutic type of treatment since birth. We have been told when we have a symptom or group of symptoms we should go to the doctor (M.D.). We tell him our symptoms. he examines us, possibly runs some tests, makes a diagnosis, and prescribes some type of treatment to render relief.

Now, let’s look at this scenario as it happens thousands of times per day the world over.

First of all, lets examine what a symptom is. Anything that you feel is abnormal is a symptom whether it be pain, swelling, constipation, diarrhea, a cough, a fever, nervousness, irritability, congestion, and so on. In order for a symptom to occur, two things must happen first. Number one is the cause. You have to understand that every effect (symptom) must have a cause. Now. that cause may be in your body for months or even years in some cases. That cause then gives rise to a condition which also may be present in your body for any length of time until the cause is finally felt. So it must be emphasized here that the symptom may very well be the third stage in the disease process, and NOW you are going to your doctor – at THIS late stage.

Now the doctor asks you some questions, such as: Where does it hurt, how long has it hurt, what did you do to cause the problem, does it hurt more in the a.m. or p.m., does it hurt constantly or on and off and a few other worthless questions. Worthless because you already had answered these questions in the case history form with one hundred and twenty-nine other questions which took you thirty-five minutes to complete. The doctor just wants you to feel like he’s really interested in your problem. Following this comes the standard routine of taking the blood pressure, weighing you, listening to your heart and lungs and looking into your eyes and ears. I Could never understand why doctors follow this routine even if the complaint is pain in the big toe. I guess they have to justify their fees in some way. Oh, yes, add to this the routine blood test which just about everyone gets plus any other test he or she may order. You know, the EKG to see if the heart could be causing the big toe pain. That’s a quick ninety bucks right there.

After all this nonsense, the time has come for the diagnosis; the 85% incorrect guess of what you have. “Di” means two and “agnosis” from the word agnostic, or don’t believe. So … diagnosis = two don’t know – you and the doctor. Eighty-five percent of all diagnosis is incorrect.

Now comes the treatment, which is also a guess. You know … “Take this and see me in two weeks. If you’re not better, we’ll try something else.” Really scientific, isn’t it? The next question by the patient is. “What caused this problem, doctor?” This brilliant scientific genius answer, “Well, your tests are negative. I just think it’s your age.” And you, the patient ask, “My other toes are the same age, why don’t they hurt?” His face becomes a blank stare as he doesn’t know what to say, so he avoids the answer and states that the prescription he’s ordered for you should give you some relief.

If you’ve ever listened carefully to these miracle workers’ answers, you really begin to get the gist that modem scientific medicine doesn’t deal with causes, just effects. “It’s your age, it’s your weight, it’s stress, it’s the weather, it’s the pollen, and so on… Medicine always tries to change the environment to aid man’s sick body instead of making the man’s body stronger with better resistance and better immunity so that it can deal with and adapt to environmental changes.

You always hear, “This will give you temporary relief,” or “We’ve got it under control,” or ‘This should help you.” Relief is not health. Being under control is not health. These statements merely indicate that the cause of the problem has not been eliminated, therefore restoring the body to health has not been achieved.

Just as taking a prescription for the toothache covers up the real problem and causes the tooth to further decay, taking any drug or medication to cover up a condition or disease process can give relief while the organs continue to decay.

This is the reason why the latest statistics show that one of every three Americans have chronic disease.

There is absolutely no rhyme or reason in covering up warning signs. If your smoke detector went off, would you heed its warning or disconnect it so it wouldn’t bother you anymore? Symptoms are warning signs that something is not working correctly in the body. It’s the cause that must be eliminated. As a result, the symptom will then leave. Stop putting sponges under leaky roofs. Fix the roof.

Let’s examine this further with some specific examples that occur every day. A child has a runny nose, teary and red eyes and episodes of sneezing. Mom calls the family M.D. She brings the child in for an examination. It’s determined that he has an allergy. But, they must now go to an allergist. You see, he specializes in allergies. Every part of your body needs a specialist who goes to school for twenty-five years and specializes in two square inches of your body. You know – the audiologist for the heart, the respiratory expert for the lungs, the proctologist for the rectum, and so on. It seems as if the definition of a specialist should be “a doctor who knows more and more about less and less.”

Back to the allergist. He examines the child, runs a battery of tests and determines that the child is allergic to pollen, house dust, cats, dogs, and grass. He now suggests that the child should be given shots to relieve his allergy symptoms. Nothing is done to eliminate the cause of the allergies. Why is it that this child has three brothers, two sisters, a mother and a father, all living in the same house, and they ALL breathe the same air, and are exposed to the same pollen, dust, cat, dog, and grass as the child, yet they do not suffer from the same allergies? Is it these things in the environment, or is the real cause the child’s low resistance and immunity? Isn’t his body too weak to cope with these irritants? And, furthermore, what is the cause of these weaknesses? It’s a nervous system that is being interfered with causing this lowered resistance. How does this occur? From subluxations in the spine which interfere with the transmission of normal nerve impulses responsible for chemical, enzymal and hormonal cellular metabolism. What are these subluxations. you ask? Good question. Subluxations are spinal vertebrae that have come out of normal alignment, thus putting pressure on the nerves they house, decreasing their effectiveness. It has been proven at the university of Colorado by Chung Ha Sub, Ph.D. that the weight of a quarter on a nerve can decrease the impulses of that nerve up to 60%. So you can imagine the effects of a vertebrae impinging on the nerve.

Let’s face it, if pollen caused allergies, we would ALL have allergies since we all breathe pollen. If hay caused hay fever, all farmers would have hay fever. If cats and dogs caused allergies, all the veterinarians treating such pets would have allergies. And if grass caused allergies, all lawn maintenance people would be in trouble. Absurd, isn’t it? Again, medicine putting the blame on the environment instead of man’s weakened state. Now let’s take a look at some other medical symptomatic relief attempts that do not make sense. And, oh, by the way, now medicine is finally beginning to see their mistakes, even if only to a slight degree.

You have a cough. It’s bothersome. The doctor prescribes cough medicine or you go to the drug store and buy some over-the-counter cough syrup. What is a cough anyway? You might answer it’s a symptom. Well you’re correct. However, what you don’t realize is there are some good symptoms. A cough is produced as your body’s innate attempt to cleanse the lungs of various toxins due to an irritant So why are you attempting to stop the body from doing its job? Because you have been brainwashed that this was the correct thing to do. Well, it wasn’t. Now you know better, don’t you?

It’s the same thing with a cold You are not sick when you get a cold. It’s merely the body’s way of detoxifying itself. After all, where would all the mucus go if it didn’t have a way out? Fortunately, the nose runs, sneezing occurs and the body is doing its job. But now you’re going to stop this process? You take cold medication to “dry up” the cold. Again, leaving the body with toxins that would have been excreted, and oh yes, “dried up.”

One more example comes to mind and this is really bothersome to me. Let’s say you child has a temperature. Oh, let’s say it’s 103°. What is a “temperature?” It’s one of our body’s most dynamic defenses. The body responds to an invasion of foreign bodies and irritants by creating additional heat to bum out the infection. I think that is wonderful. But what have you been taught to do? Tylenol, aspirin, ice, cold baths, alcohol robs, and medication to get the temperature down – against the body’s wishes. So now you’ve forced the temperature down and the thermometer reads 98.6. Wow! That’s over with. What have you done to eliminate the cause of why your temperature was raised by the body?

Let’s pursue this a little further. Let’s talk about bacterial infections and the application of medicine’s germ theory. And by the way, it’s not the germ LAW, it’s THEORY. That is because in order for it to be the germ LAW, it would have to work on every individual. But it didn’t. Concentrated doses of bacteria were injected into individuals. Some became ill, but others noticed no effects. So, therefore, it was theorized that some individuals were not susceptible because their resistance was higher. How to become one of those with higher resistance will be addressed in later pages. Let’s go back to infectious diseases. The question I ask you is: “Do germs cause disease?” My answer to you is, “No, germs do not cause disease!” If germs caused disease we’d all be infected within a couple hours after we were born. The air is full of bacteria. Our bodies’ fluids are laden with bacteria. Just take a sample of your saliva and look at it under a microscope. You would be amazed at the number of “little critters running around. And, if you’re not aware of it, there are good bacteria and not-so-good bacteria. Now your doctor gives you an antibiotic. How does that antibiotic know which are the good guys and which are the bad guys? It doesn’t. So, harm is done. Besides, medicine is now admitting that antibiotics don’t work anymore. They say it’s because the germs are bigger and badder than before. They won’t admit to the truth. Antibiotics have been used, or should” I Say overused, to such degrees that our bodies have become intolerant. Again I say, what caused the infection?

Let’s examine this germ theory which, by the way, medicine has backwards. This is the simplest and most logical way I can explain it, so that all who read this booklet can clearly and easily see what we’re attempting to share with you.

There are two garbage pails. One is clean and one is dirty and full of garbage. My question to you is this: “Where do the flies go?” To the dirty garbage pail, you would answer. Yes, you’re correct. Now my second question is, “Did the flies cause the garbage, or did the garbage cause the flies?” You’re right again. Of course, the garbage caused the flies. So let me ask you, did the bacteria cause the infection, or did the infection cause the bacteria? Now you pause, don’t you. Because you’ve always been told the bacteria caused the infection. Well, you’ve been taught wrong again. Bacteria are scavengers. They migrate to inflamed, damaged, dead. and infected tissue to feed. This is the environment they grow and multiply in. So when the medical geniuses microscopically examined cultures and found them laden with bacteria, they incorrectly summarized that the bacteria caused the infection. So they give antibiotics to wipe out the bacteria. But one thing remains. The poor environment we talked about. You know – the dirty garbage pail. So what happens? Several months later the same infection returns. And the same procedure is again followed. And, of course, the same results occur. That’s why you hear so many times about individuals having reoccurring problems. The poor child with ear infections, the mother with reoccurring bladder infections, the young man with sinus infections that keep coming back. Again – treatment of symptoms, not alleviation of the cause. It” s like taking some spray to the dirty garbage pail. The flies leave for awhile and then return because the garbage pail is still dirty.

I hope I have succeeded in explaining to you in a simple manner, how you have been misled.

I was watching a college wrestling match. One wrestler almost had his opponent pinned. All of a sudden, he began to hyperventilate and rolled over on his back, gasping for air and coughing. His coach jumped onto the mat and administered a spray into this young man’s mouth. In a short time, the boy was able to get up. He began breathing normally after several deep breaths. He sat on the bench shaking his head in disgust. I, as a spectator, also shook my head in disgust. This young man has battled asthma since he was seven years old. He was now twenty, suffering with asthma for thirteen years. Of course, the treatment to reduce these attacks is medication again, to control the condition or to give symptomatic relief. I walked over to his parents. You could see how upset they were. I introduced myself to them and asked if they would take some advice or rather, would listen to some. They were all ears. They, too, have suffered enough with their son’s condition. I started off by telling them that last year, 56.2 billion was spent in this country on asthma alone. I then went on to explain that the medication offered, at best. only symptomatic relief. They agreed, as they have seen these attacks repeatedly over the past thirteen years. I then proceeded to explain to them that asthma was a spasmodic condition of the lungs which was caused by a lack of nerve supply which controlled the muscular walls and bronchial tubes. I then went on to explain that this diminished nerve supply was due to vertebral subluxations. As I continued my story I could see the look in their eyes change. They were nodding their heads in an up and down fashion. I asked them about their son’s past history. All his problems had been with his lungs. He had many episodes of bronchitis and coughed a lot, especially at night. One other thing. As an infant, he fell off the dressing table. They told me they wanted me to check his spine. We made an appointment for the next day. Examination of his spine revealed severe spinal subluxations. X-rays confirmed these problems. A program of regular care was started. In four months, this young man was off all medication. We had corrected the cause of his problem; his lungs now had a healthy nerve supply. They were again healthy like they should have been. His last year in college was great for him. No asthmatic attacks, no more medication and all the way to the semi-finals and the state tournament. More importantly, if the nerve supply in the lungs had been allowed to progressively worsen, other more serious problems such as lung cancer might have occurred. The parents also came, as did their daughter. They’ve all enjoyed natural health.

As I promised earlier, I would now like to talk about causes.

Do you know what directs the formation of a child in the womb of a woman in two hundred and seventy days? It’s the brain and the nervous system which orchestrates this miraculous event. In each stage of the development of the fetus. the brain and nervous system are in charge. And by the way, what are the first two things formed in the fetus? That’s right. The brain and the spinal cord, because from there all life and control comes. Then the spine is formed to house and protect them. All of the organs are then formed in nine months and a miracle is born.

Now let me ask you this. I think the body is pretty intelligent to do this, don’t you? Don’t you think if this body of ours can create a child that it is intelligent enough to heal and restore health? Don’t you also believe it’s intelligent enough to cure a cold or an infection or any other disease? or course it is. Think about this. If you break your right arm, does the body send the extra calcium to heal the left arm? No. It knows a fracture has occurred and in order to heal, calcium is sent right to the site of the fracture. We take these things for granted. We seem to expect our bodies to do the things that are necessary for health. It makes our heart beat, makes our lungs expand and contract, detoxifies, produces insulin at the levels needed, produces hormones and enzymes and converts the food we eat into healthy living tissue and then eliminates the waste not utilized. Pretty amazing, you’ll have to agree. When we cut ourselves, we heal from the inside out. And when we get sick, in order to become healthy we must get well from the inside out. Chiropractic has always maintained this, whereas medicine has always felt that with their symptomatic relief treatments that you must heal from the outside in. They are wrong – very wrong.

How does our body work? How does it get sick or diseased and how does it become healthy again? We know that the brain and the nerves control all functions. Every organ, tissue and cell is controlled by the nervous system. There is not one function of this body that is not controlled by the nervous system. The brain sends its impulses or “life” down the spinal cord, out the nerves into every organ, tissue and cell. This “life force” or “life energy” must be 100% to its destination. If it is, then where it controls will function at 100% efficiency. Less than 100% efficiency is disease. How can it become less than 100% you ask? Due to subluxation. As we stated earlier in this text, the weight of a quarter on a nerve can cause up to a 60% decrease in the function of a nerve. A vertebrae impinging on a nerve will cause this and even more than 60% life shut off.

Suppose every nerve in your body was functioning at 100% efficiency into every organ, tissue and cell. What would you think your health would be like? You’re right – you would have optimal health. This has occurred because you’ve become subluxation free, you would have a clean garbage pail. The flies (germs) wouldn’t be able to do damage. Symptoms would be gone, not because they were covered up but because they were eliminated, life was restored and the body was able to heal from the inside out as it was intended. You now also have God-given natural immunity – the only true immunity and not artificial so-called immunity from vaccinations. And best of all, the only side effect of natural immunity is health.

Now maybe you can understand why children should be adjusted from birth on. Subluxations occur during the birth process. The head of the fetus is used as a battering ram against the wall of the uterus. Then the twisting of the baby’s head upon delivery all contribute to subluxations at birth. In fact, there is recent medical research showing that sudden infant death syndrome has been attributed to subluxations of the atlas and axis vertebrae, the top two vertebrae in the neck. Make sure that you and your children stay as subluxation-free as possible for as long as you wish optimal health.

Spinal subluxations do not only occur during birth. Babies begin to crawl. They bang their heads on the coffee table. Then they begin to walk and fall a thousand times. They fall off their skates, their bicycles, and so on. All of these shocks are absorbed into the spine, causing subluxations.

Other factors causing subluxations are poor posture, poor work habits, stress, toxins, lack of rest, lack of proper nutrition, among others. That is why it is so important to be checked regularly for subluxations.

The only specialist knowledgeable in locating and removing subluxations is a doctor of chiropractic. Other physicians may use manipulation, but manipulation is not an adjustment. An adjustment is a specific movement to decrease pressure on the nerve being impinged. Great study and training is necessary for such an important. precise procedure.

I hope you now have a better. more well-informed concept of what we in Chiropractic set out to achieve. We wish for all patients to be subluxation free. It is our hope that more people of all ages will experience better health without the use of dangerous drugs, and many times unnecessary surgery.

We do not heal nor do we cure. No doctor does. However, we take no credit for your well being. We give all of that credit to the intelligence of your body and the innate wisdom it possesses. That is why we always say: “Chiropractic First, medicine second, and surgery last.” It’s as simple as that.

“We must recognize that many ailments or diseases are enormously accelerated in their improvement by spinal care; indeed, many a cure thereby becomes for the first time possible… without a conservative vertebral therapy as a basis of treatment, general medicine cannot go on. We do not have to call our activity Chiropractic, but we do have to go to the Chiropractors for instruction.” – K.R. von Reques, M.D.

Make Me Prove It! says the bold text in a chiropractors advertisement that appeared in a Los Angeles newspaper around 1921. The chiropractor, Dr. C.C. Petersen, was one of several downtown Los Angeles area chiropractors placing advertisements in local newspapers.

Similar to the You Need Not Be Sick! advertisement by 1919 chiropractor Joseph H. Coleman, Dr. Petersens ad mentions more than 15 so-called conditions that could be addressed with a chiropractic adjustment.

Make Me Prove It! (1920s Chiropractic Advertisement)

The text is not the easiest to read but the information on the left says: CC Petersen’s chiropractic adjustments remove the cause of so-called:

• Rheumatism
• Asthma
• Lumbago
• Stomach, Spleen, Liver and Eye Troubles
• High Blood Pressure
• Nervous and Skin Disorders
• Constipation
• Headaches
• Catarrh
• Paralysis
• Bronchitis
• Neuralgia
• Neuritis
• Deafness
• Hayfever

According to the advertisement Dr. Petersen was in practice seven years when the ad was placed. Phone numbers were different in the 1920s and it looks like the phone number reads Phone 67542.

The office was located in Suite 505 to 509 Homer Laughlin Bldg., 315 South Broadway (downtown Los Angeles). That part of downtown Los Angeles was very popular in the 1920s (and still is today). The Homer Laughlin building was constructed in 1896 and is rumored to be the first fireproof building in Los Angeles. Today the downstairs of the building is the location for the Grand Central Market (the oldest and largest open-air market in the downtown Los Angeles area).

Note the chiropractors adjusting hours include three weekdays working until 8 PM. I don’t know many chiropractors in the United States that today have office hours that late in the evening. Also note there are no hours listed for Saturday or Sunday.

Dr. Petersen lists being a member of three chiropractic organizations; one national, one state, and one local. The three chiropractic associations listed in the advertisement read: Member National Federation Chiropractors, Federated Chiropractors of California, L.A. County Chiropractors Association

Certainly a different type of chiropractic advertisement then you can expect to see today.

In honor of Founder’s Day, a.k.a. the Birthday of Chiropractic, I am sharing this newspaper clipping from a chiropractic advertisement placed around 1919 in Los Angeles California.

The title reads YOU NEED NOT BE SICK!

Chiropractic adjustings release pressure off nerves, the cause of all sickness.

Conditions listed in the advertising include…

• Rheumatism
• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Lumbago
• Neuralgia
• Stomach, Spleen, Liver and Eye Troubles
• High Blood Pressure
• Nervous and Skin Disorders
• Constipation
• Headaches
• Neuritis
• Catarrh
• Deafness
• Paralysis
• Hayfever

Chiropractors of today may notice that there is no mention of neck pain, sciatica, low back pain (instead lumbago is used), or scoliosis. There is also no mention of car accidents and insurance being accepted. Funny that the diagram used doesn’t look that different from some I see today in print advertisements.

By Michael Dorausch, D.C.

I don’t know if chiropractic history is still taught in chiropractic schools, but I would imagine most chiropractors hopefully know that chiropractic was founded by DD Palmer in 1895. The birthplace of chiropractic is Davenport Iowa and the Palmer School of Chiropractic located in that city is commonly referred to as the Fountainhead. Chiropractors, including DD Palmer himself, began appearing on record in other US states shortly after the 1890s. The first record I have of a chiropractor practicing in Los Angeles California is in the year 1902. Chiropractic in the Los Angeles County area was receiving newspaper attention by 1905. Not much of the press was good, as some medical doctors in those days, felt this new science of chiropractic was invading on their turf. This newspaper clipping comes from June 21, 1907 and it appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

“Chiropractors” Have Legal Rights in California

The newspaper clipping involves the profession and it was for a test case in where a chiropractor was arrested (C.D. Greenall) so that courts could determine whether chiropractors had a legal right to practice in the State of California. The chiropractor was represented by a young graduate from the USC Law Department, Philaletha S. Michelson. In the newspaper clipping chiropractic was defined as “a method of removing the cause of disease without the use of drugs or the surgical knife.”

The newspaper clipping reads: Greenall was represented at his arraignment in Justice Seiph’s court by Philaletha S. Michelson, a young woman graduate of the U.S.C. law department. Thoroughly in sympathy with her client in his methods of treating certain forms of nervous troubles, she says the case will be carried to the highest court in order to establish the exact status of chiropractors. She claims that those expert in this system should have a legal right to treat patients who desire such treatment. Chiropractic was defined by the young Portia as a method of removing the cause of disease without the use of drugs with a surgical knife. Treatment is given to the spinal cord, and it is claimed to have proved successful in certain forms of disease.

While this is just one newspaper clipping, I find it fascinating that chiropractic is older than the beach city I live in (Venice of America – where development didn’t begin until 1905). Most chiropractic related history I’m unearthing for California is centered in downtown Los Angeles, with some pre-1910 activity taking place in Pasadena, and Long Beach. Chiropractic does live in California, and it’s now been in existence longer than many of our cities, streets, colleges and traffic jammed freeways.

The first chiropractors in the LA area were practicing in downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena, Long Beach, Glendale and the San Fernando Valley. I’ve yet to do research on chiropractors in the surrounding desert areas (like Riverside County, Palm Springs and Indio) but I expect we’ll see chiropractic practice beginnings in those locations not long after 1910-1920.

For those who live in LA, be reminded that in the early 1900s, there was a spectacular transportation system in place (provided mostly by the Pacific Electric Railway) throughout the LA County area. Nearly all trains routed through Los Angeles Street (P.E. Building) and the downtown area was quite a hub for commerce, business, and even education. I’ve also noticed a large amount downtown Los Angeles dental offices in existence during this period.

By Michael Dorausch, D.C.

I’ve written before about historic chiropractic schools (like Manhattan Chiropractic College), places that existed as long as 100 years ago, but are no longer around today. In cases like the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic (now SCUHS and currently in Whittier, California), I’ve shared advertising from when the school was located at 920 Venice Blvd. in Los Angeles California around 1946. While LACC was established in 1911 in Southern California, it was not the first school of chiropractic on the West Coast. That honor goes to the Ratledge System of Chiropractic Schools, established in 1908, and initially located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.

Ratledge System of Chiropractic Schools – Los Angeles, California

The historical image shown here is of a classified ad placed in a 1912 publication of the Los Angeles Times. Among the Hollywood School for Girls, the Page Military Academy, and a Girls Collegiate School, is a liner ad for the Ratledge System of Chiropractic Schools (highlighted in red). The advertisement also reads… The Only Chiropractic School on the Pacific Coast. It’s location is marked as the Fourth Floor of the Hamburger Building, on the corner of 8th and Hill Streets, in Los Angeles, California.

For those of you into chiropractic history, you may be interested to know that DD Palmer himself (the founder of chiropractic) was at one time an instructor at the Ratledge Chiropractic School. During the same decade, Palmer also maintained chiropractic practice hours, in the city of Pasadena.

Here’s where it gets interesting (at least for me). You likely don’t recall that the original Planet Chiropractic office was located in the 1913 built 548 building on S. Spring St. in downtown Los Angeles (a one-time very popular filming location). Around the time of 1999, real estate developers in the downtown LA area were purchasing buildings and converting them into lofts. Thinking about purchasing a loft myself I began doing some research on the area. Someone had introduced me to a 90ish year old property owner in the downtown area, and he showed me the inside of buildings that hadn’t had tenants in what appeared like 40 to 50 years (downtown LA was quite run down by the mid-1990s). One was the Hamburger Building. Go figure.

Ornate H on the Hamburger Building in downtown Los Angeles

Dr. Ratledge and his school of chiropractic was certainly not the only tenet in this massive and ornately designed building (later purchased by May Company in 1923). I believe at one time the ground-level housed the largest department store (Hamburgers Department Store) on the West Coast. In 1908, the City of Los Angeles Public Library occupied 31,000 square feet along the third floor of the same building, possibly being one floor directly below the West Coast’s first school of chiropractic.

The Ratledge School later moved to the address of 3511 W. Olympic Blvd. in Los Angeles, with the school later being sold to Carl S. Cleveland Junior, and being renamed to Cleveland Chiropractic College Los Angeles (the school I graduated from). Just shy of 100 years later, we see the cycle of history come near full circle, with the closing of the Los Angeles CCCLA campus taking place in August 2011.

I’ve walked 8th Street and Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles numerous times since Planet Chiropractic was established in the 1990s, but it was only today that I discovered this was the building, housing a chiropractic school that evolved into the one I would attend almost 90 years later.

D.D. Palmer Poster photographed at the Ocean Place Hotel in North Long Branch, NJ. I was in town for a New Beginnings Chiropractic Philosophy Seminar.

Along with a drawing of D.D. Palmer are words written by him regarding disease, drugs, God, and the Universe.

Disease does not originate OUTSIDE the body. It is not the work of devils, for God created the Universe. Drugs, serums and pus of diseased animals will not release pressure upon the spinal nerves and spinal cords. There is an Intelligence WITHIN — let’s call it INNATE which transmits to every organ and tissue cell the ONLY real healing force.

How like the words of the One Great Master — “The power is Within us” D.D. Palmer

This marks the official end of my summer blogging break.

By Michael Dorausch, D.C.

I found this advertisement for the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic (today known as the Southern California University of Health Sciences) in a 1946 chiropractic publication. The College, located in Whittier California, recently announced the appointment of a new college president. The school is going to be celebrating its centennial next year (2011), which is quite a milestone for a chiropractic educational institution.

Los Angeles College of Chiropractic Circa 1946

Established in 1911, the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic was celebrating a third of a century when this ad was placed around 1946, in a chiropractic publication. It’s as if they were already aware they would be celebrating its centennial in 2011. The advertisement reads…

Reflecting a Third of a Century in the Progressive Development of the Science, Art, and Philosophy of Chiropractic.

The advertisement was placed long before postal codes were being used in the United States. The address listed around 1946 was 920 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles 15, California. I’m not sure how the PR. 2126 fit into the address description, and I’m not really sure how the “15” fit into the description of Los Angeles either.

Today, there is a 920 Venice Blvd. in Venice, CA 90291, but that’s not where the school was located. I believe the address would be 920 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90015, which would put the location in downtown Los Angeles, near the 110 Harbor Freeway and the 10 Santa Monica Freeway. In 1946 the 110 freeway and 10 freeway did not yet exist, which means there was probably lots less traffic trying to get to chiropractic school in downtown LA. I’ll get confirmation, but I’m fairly sure the school was located between Valencia Street and Albany Street on Venice Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles.

The advertisement is from around the same time of this chiropractic research funding check drawn at the Bank of Los Angeles. There is a rich history of chiropractic education in the Southern California area, with several chiropractic schools operating throughout the years. Today, there are only two chiropractic colleges in the Los Angeles area, but there are four chiropractic schools in the state of California, the most operating out of any state in the US.

By Michael Dorausch, D.C.

If you followed along any of the chiropractic writing I’ve done in the last 12 years or so, chances are you’ve read about mentions I’ve made on numerous historical chiropractic events. While everyday is a day of chiropractic history, some events are better publicized than others, and many don’t receive any press (inside or outside of chiropractic) at all.

$2250 Chiropractic Research Funding check in 1945

The above is an image showing a photottatic copy of a check for $2250 marked pay to the order of  Chiropractic Research Funding by Los Angeles Hospital, Inc. in December of 1945. It is an excellent example of possibly forgotten chiropractic history in the city of Los Angeles. Like an example I showed in July of this year, of a historical chiropractic mailing address, the above image serves as a reminder of chiropractic related activities taking place in one particular city many years ago.

While the city of Davenport Iowa tends to get most of the attention when it comes to historical chiropractic stories (as it should), it behooves us not to forget even maybe more recent historical chiropractic events. It doesn’t matter if these things took place locally, nationally, or internationally, every story has its place.

The 2004 Chiropractic Expansion trip to Russia was a very big deal to the chiropractors that made that monumental event happen. Mission trips and chiropractic expansion projects are under works around the globe and many chiropractors have dedicated their lives towards moving the science, philosophy, and art of chiropractic care forward.

Chiropractic history includes stories of chiropractic schools that once existed in Manhattan as well as stories of chiropractic educational expansions in places like Hayward California with dedications of new colleges (captured on audio) by former presidents of chiropractic colleges like Dr. Sid Williams.

Close-up displaying address for Los Angeles Hospital Inc on Westlake Park Blvd.

Even non-chiropractic historians may find images like this of interest. If you look at the address above for Los Angeles Hospital Inc. you may notice that the address is listed as Westlake Park Blvd. 2024 W. 6th St., Los Angeles 5, Calif. FEderal 4819. The city of Los Angeles has undergone many changes in the near 64 years since this check was written. There’s no longer a Westlake Park Blvd. in Los Angeles (I believe it’s been renamed Wilshire Boulevard) and mailing addresses now use postal codes instead of divisions of cities into zones. I believe the “Los Angeles 5” identified a particular area within the city and the “FEderal 4819” was the precursor to the use of United States postal codes.

When I think about my own chiropractic experiences I can’t go back much further than the early 1970s. Most of the stuff that I’ve had available to share online has come from my personal collecting of books, photos,  audio recordings, and whatever also come across during the past 15 years or so. Basic things like chiropractic photos from when I was in school (I had some of the most awesome chiropractic classmates) and 1999 chiropractic blogging histories are fairly abundant in my collection of “stuff” I’ve accumulated.

Security First National Bank of Los Angeles

As if someone intended for me to publish more information related to historical events in the industry of chiropractic, earlier this summer my historical collection grew considerably, mostly related to the history of chiropractic in the state of California. An old-time chiropractor had passed on and, and afterwards his widow delivered to me stacks of chiropractic textbooks, publications, journals, radiological guides, and other chiropractic related documents.

As I mentioned above, some of these documents may even bear interest to those not seeking history regarding chiropractic, but those seeking historical topics in general. I found that the Security – First National Bank Los Angeles is now Bank of America. Today, if you drive along S. Alvarado St. or W. 6th St. near MacArthur Park, you’ll pass a BofA branch located at 2101 W. 6th. Today the postal code for that area is 90057.

If you’re interested in viewing a much larger version of the check shown above, use this photo link to view it in an expanded size. The $2250 check was reportedly presented by the president of the Los Angeles Hospital, Inc. Dr. George Taylor, to Chiropractic Dr. J. Ralph John. The presentation took place during a dinner meeting at the Los Angeles Elks Temple on January 3, 1946. The Elks later became the Park Plaza Hotel and they have a historical page showing photos.

I can’t help but be reminded by what Dr. Ian Grassam said regarding the price of greatness when I think even seemingly little events in chiropractic history. There’s so much to be remembered and still so much to do while moving forward.