Dr. Otis Franklin Gay
Dr. & Mrs. Otis F. Gay in front of the Health Center named in his honor (Goldsmith & Fulton) |
Dr. Otis F. Gay (Goldsmith & Fulton) |
Heath Dept. Doctor
Notes:
• Son of:
Fanny Mae Cagle b: November 15, 1889 in Pickens County, Georgia d: WFT Est. 1921-1983
Milton Cleveland Gay b: November 10, 1884 in Cherokee County, Georgia
married: July 26, 1908 in Pickens County, Georgia - Goldsmith and Fulton
• Education:
Received his early education in Athens, Georgia (twelve miles from his home in Winterville).
Attended Darlington Prep School, Rome, Georgia).
Studied pharmacy at the University of Georgia (1927-1929) ).
Doctor of Medicine degree from Tulane Medical University, New Orleans, 1935).
Interned at Mercy Hospital, New Orleans).
Interned with United States Public Health Service Marine Hospital, Boston. - Goldsmith and Fulton
• Married Clare Heintz of New Orleans on June 24, 1936. - Goldsmith and Fulton
• Father of:
Dr. Robert Milton Gay, a physician and pathologist in Greensboro, North Carolina
Thomas Otis Gay, an editor with John Wiley Publishing Company in New York City. - Goldsmith and Fulton
• "Dr. Gay recalls that in 1937, when it was difficult to 'make ends meet,' he was prompted to investigate the possibility of improving his immediate situation and, at the same time, look to the future. In so doing, he read an ad stating that the State of Alabama needed County Health Officers, at a starting salary of two hundred twenty-five dollars a month. He wrote to Dr. Douglass Cannon, director of Alabama's sixty-seven County Health Service offices. To qualify for the position of County Health Officer in Alabama, Dr. Gay was required to take a six-week field training program in Opelika, Alabama. During the training, Dr. Gay learned not only the many rules and regulations pertaining to County Health Services but also the fundamentals of building a "pit privy," which were numerous in those days.
After completing the training program, he was assigned to Clay County, with offices in Ashland, in September of 1937. At that time, Ashland had only seven miles of paved roads. He served Clay County until 1939, when he was transferred to Butler County, with Health Services offices in Greenville. Throughout his assignment in Butler County, he was involved in building an effective sewerage system. So intense was his interest in the sewerage project that on Sundays the entire Gay family went for pleasant auto trips, during which he managed to also inspect the system's progress. Mrs. Gay and the children enjoyed the Sunday outing treat and did not mind in the least that Dr. Gay frequently made stops to look at his work.
With R.O.T.C. experience during both high school and college, Dr. Gay enlisted in the Army in May 1942 as a first lieutenant. Initially assigned to the Port of Embarcation in Charleston, South Carolina, Dr. Gay considered himself fortunate because he intensely disliked paperwork and there was little required there. He was later transferred to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where he served as a liaison officer to the Chief of Transportation from the Surgeon General's Office. He remained in Washington until June 1946, when he was discharged with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Upon his discharge, and with a wife and two children, Dr. Gay again considered his future and once more contacted Dr. Cannon in Montgomery to inquire about job possibilities with County Health Services. Dr. Otis accepted an open position in Dekalb County, with offices in Fort Payne, and was there until September 1949, when he entered Tulane University in New Orleans. Upon earning his Master's degree in Public Health in July 1950, he became Director of Public Health in Madison County. A polio epidemic was under way at about the same time. Under the direction of Dr. Gay, the Madison County Health Department became widely regarded as one of the most efficient in the state. One of Dr. Gay's pet projects was the rabies immunizations program.
Candid and known for being 'outspoken,' Dr. Gay rarely minces words. From the May 11, 1958 issue of The Huntsville Times, two quotations may be considered as classic examples of the doctor's plain speaking. In one he referred to 'the poor, dear, dumb parents who are negligent in having their children inoculated against polio.' In another, he referred to immunization of dogs against rabies as 'Shooting the Pooches.' In the same article, as reported by Alan Moore, Dr. Gay is quoted as saying that he 'thrives on controversy and dreaded the day that he would be too old to tilt at windmills.'
Dr. Gay and the County Sanitation Officers who worked with him were always available, not only for consultation on sanitation and contagious diseases but also regarding any illness or problem affecting the well-being of the County and its population.
Another of Dr. Gay's pet projects was the Maternity and Child Health Center located in Triana, where Dr. Harold F. Drake was the physician in charge. At the time, Miss Johnnie Loujean Dent was the County Health Nurse teaching prenatal care at the Center. Miss Dent is still with the Public Health Service and, in more than forty-seven years, has served in almost every capacity. She has made exceptional contributions to Public Health in Alabama on both state and local levels.
Dr. Gay relates that each year, the Center sponsored a dinner, to which every mother participating in the program and every member of the Health Department was invited. Held at one of the Triana churches, it was always a very enjoyable day, with a real feast. It was also an opportunity for the Health Department's staff to see the good work being done for the community.
A member of the American Medical Association, Dr. Gay also served as secretary-treasurer of the Madison County Medical Society for twenty-three years. In 1977, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce in 1975 and has numerous other honors and awards to his credit.
A gracious and lovely couple, Dr. and Mrs. Gay courteously gave permission to be interviewed in their home for additional information for this article. Dr. Gay sat back, relaxed, puffing on a pipe, talking in his native Georgia drawl. He is witty, has a broad sense of humor, and one can easily surmise that he was an uncompromising 'stickler' for the observance of sanitary rules and regulations while he was carrying out his duties as Health Director. During the conversation, he discussed his efforts to enforce sanitary laws in restaurants during the early 1950s. He was forced to close some of them because they neglected to observe proper sanitation procedures in their operations.
An avid reader, Dr. Gay's other hobbies include photography and the collection and enjoyment of high fidelity stereo equipment. Upon retirement on January 1, 1980, Dr. Gay received letters, certificates and resolutions in recognition of his dedicated service. In addition, Mayor Joe Davis proclaimed January 15, 1980 as 'Dr. Otis F. Gay Day.' Dr. and Mrs. Gay live at 804 Fagan Springs Drive in Huntsville." - Goldsmith and Fulton
• "Health Officer, Clay County, 1937-1939; Health Officer, DeKalb County, 1946-1949; Health Officer, Madison County, 1950-present; Awarded William Henry Sanders Medical Award, 1967; President and a founder, Alabama Public Health Association; a Founder of Alabama Association of Sanitarians; Board, Alabama Society for Crippled Children and Adults; Board, Madison County and T.B. Associations; Secretary, Madison County Board of Health; Army Commendation Ribbon; Health Officer, Butler County." - Record
• Dr. Hereford mentioned Dr. Gay twice in his book. Once recalling advice Dr. Gay gave related to venereal diseases. And another time in this footnote: "According to the Huntsville Times (11 May 1958), Georgia native Gay, a Tulane medical graduate who had served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II, was an uncompromising stickler for the observance of sanitary regulations,' disliked by cafe owners and trailer park proprietors alike.'" - Hereford
• He was of the list of the Rotary Club's Paul Harris Fellows for 1986-97 and the Paul Harris Fellows Sustaining for 1989-90. - Easterling
• The personal profile page in Ancestry.com says he died in Huntsville. And the North Carolina Death Index says he died in Greensboro. - Editor's Note
Related Links:
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Clare Heintz Gay
• Health Department History
• Record
• Sesquicentennial
| Born: | May 15, 1910, Winterville, Georgia |
| Died: | May 9, 2000, Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Husband of: | Clare Heintz Gay |
Notes:
• Son of:
Fanny Mae Cagle b: November 15, 1889 in Pickens County, Georgia d: WFT Est. 1921-1983
Milton Cleveland Gay b: November 10, 1884 in Cherokee County, Georgia
married: July 26, 1908 in Pickens County, Georgia - Goldsmith and Fulton
• Education:
Received his early education in Athens, Georgia (twelve miles from his home in Winterville).
Attended Darlington Prep School, Rome, Georgia).
Studied pharmacy at the University of Georgia (1927-1929) ).
Doctor of Medicine degree from Tulane Medical University, New Orleans, 1935).
Interned at Mercy Hospital, New Orleans).
Interned with United States Public Health Service Marine Hospital, Boston. - Goldsmith and Fulton
• Married Clare Heintz of New Orleans on June 24, 1936. - Goldsmith and Fulton
• Father of:
Dr. Robert Milton Gay, a physician and pathologist in Greensboro, North Carolina
Thomas Otis Gay, an editor with John Wiley Publishing Company in New York City. - Goldsmith and Fulton
• "Dr. Gay recalls that in 1937, when it was difficult to 'make ends meet,' he was prompted to investigate the possibility of improving his immediate situation and, at the same time, look to the future. In so doing, he read an ad stating that the State of Alabama needed County Health Officers, at a starting salary of two hundred twenty-five dollars a month. He wrote to Dr. Douglass Cannon, director of Alabama's sixty-seven County Health Service offices. To qualify for the position of County Health Officer in Alabama, Dr. Gay was required to take a six-week field training program in Opelika, Alabama. During the training, Dr. Gay learned not only the many rules and regulations pertaining to County Health Services but also the fundamentals of building a "pit privy," which were numerous in those days.
After completing the training program, he was assigned to Clay County, with offices in Ashland, in September of 1937. At that time, Ashland had only seven miles of paved roads. He served Clay County until 1939, when he was transferred to Butler County, with Health Services offices in Greenville. Throughout his assignment in Butler County, he was involved in building an effective sewerage system. So intense was his interest in the sewerage project that on Sundays the entire Gay family went for pleasant auto trips, during which he managed to also inspect the system's progress. Mrs. Gay and the children enjoyed the Sunday outing treat and did not mind in the least that Dr. Gay frequently made stops to look at his work.
With R.O.T.C. experience during both high school and college, Dr. Gay enlisted in the Army in May 1942 as a first lieutenant. Initially assigned to the Port of Embarcation in Charleston, South Carolina, Dr. Gay considered himself fortunate because he intensely disliked paperwork and there was little required there. He was later transferred to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where he served as a liaison officer to the Chief of Transportation from the Surgeon General's Office. He remained in Washington until June 1946, when he was discharged with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Upon his discharge, and with a wife and two children, Dr. Gay again considered his future and once more contacted Dr. Cannon in Montgomery to inquire about job possibilities with County Health Services. Dr. Otis accepted an open position in Dekalb County, with offices in Fort Payne, and was there until September 1949, when he entered Tulane University in New Orleans. Upon earning his Master's degree in Public Health in July 1950, he became Director of Public Health in Madison County. A polio epidemic was under way at about the same time. Under the direction of Dr. Gay, the Madison County Health Department became widely regarded as one of the most efficient in the state. One of Dr. Gay's pet projects was the rabies immunizations program.
Candid and known for being 'outspoken,' Dr. Gay rarely minces words. From the May 11, 1958 issue of The Huntsville Times, two quotations may be considered as classic examples of the doctor's plain speaking. In one he referred to 'the poor, dear, dumb parents who are negligent in having their children inoculated against polio.' In another, he referred to immunization of dogs against rabies as 'Shooting the Pooches.' In the same article, as reported by Alan Moore, Dr. Gay is quoted as saying that he 'thrives on controversy and dreaded the day that he would be too old to tilt at windmills.'
Dr. Gay and the County Sanitation Officers who worked with him were always available, not only for consultation on sanitation and contagious diseases but also regarding any illness or problem affecting the well-being of the County and its population.
Another of Dr. Gay's pet projects was the Maternity and Child Health Center located in Triana, where Dr. Harold F. Drake was the physician in charge. At the time, Miss Johnnie Loujean Dent was the County Health Nurse teaching prenatal care at the Center. Miss Dent is still with the Public Health Service and, in more than forty-seven years, has served in almost every capacity. She has made exceptional contributions to Public Health in Alabama on both state and local levels.
Dr. Gay relates that each year, the Center sponsored a dinner, to which every mother participating in the program and every member of the Health Department was invited. Held at one of the Triana churches, it was always a very enjoyable day, with a real feast. It was also an opportunity for the Health Department's staff to see the good work being done for the community.
A member of the American Medical Association, Dr. Gay also served as secretary-treasurer of the Madison County Medical Society for twenty-three years. In 1977, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce in 1975 and has numerous other honors and awards to his credit.
A gracious and lovely couple, Dr. and Mrs. Gay courteously gave permission to be interviewed in their home for additional information for this article. Dr. Gay sat back, relaxed, puffing on a pipe, talking in his native Georgia drawl. He is witty, has a broad sense of humor, and one can easily surmise that he was an uncompromising 'stickler' for the observance of sanitary rules and regulations while he was carrying out his duties as Health Director. During the conversation, he discussed his efforts to enforce sanitary laws in restaurants during the early 1950s. He was forced to close some of them because they neglected to observe proper sanitation procedures in their operations.
An avid reader, Dr. Gay's other hobbies include photography and the collection and enjoyment of high fidelity stereo equipment. Upon retirement on January 1, 1980, Dr. Gay received letters, certificates and resolutions in recognition of his dedicated service. In addition, Mayor Joe Davis proclaimed January 15, 1980 as 'Dr. Otis F. Gay Day.' Dr. and Mrs. Gay live at 804 Fagan Springs Drive in Huntsville." - Goldsmith and Fulton
• "Health Officer, Clay County, 1937-1939; Health Officer, DeKalb County, 1946-1949; Health Officer, Madison County, 1950-present; Awarded William Henry Sanders Medical Award, 1967; President and a founder, Alabama Public Health Association; a Founder of Alabama Association of Sanitarians; Board, Alabama Society for Crippled Children and Adults; Board, Madison County and T.B. Associations; Secretary, Madison County Board of Health; Army Commendation Ribbon; Health Officer, Butler County." - Record
• Dr. Hereford mentioned Dr. Gay twice in his book. Once recalling advice Dr. Gay gave related to venereal diseases. And another time in this footnote: "According to the Huntsville Times (11 May 1958), Georgia native Gay, a Tulane medical graduate who had served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II, was an uncompromising stickler for the observance of sanitary regulations,' disliked by cafe owners and trailer park proprietors alike.'" - Hereford
• He was of the list of the Rotary Club's Paul Harris Fellows for 1986-97 and the Paul Harris Fellows Sustaining for 1989-90. - Easterling
• The personal profile page in Ancestry.com says he died in Huntsville. And the North Carolina Death Index says he died in Greensboro. - Editor's Note
Related Links:
• Ancestry.com - Page owned by davidray308 and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription.
• Easterling - 75 Years of Service: A History of The Huntsville Rotary Club, by Bill Easterling, 1992, pages 112, 117, 118.
• Goldsmith and Fulton - Medicine Bags and Bumpy Roads: A Heritage of Healing in Madison County, Town and Country, by Jewell S. Goldsmith and Helen D. Fulton, 1985, pages 327-330, 354.
• Health Department History - Reproduced from Sesquicentennial as a Huntsville History Collection article.
• Hereford - Beside the Troubled Waters: A Black Doctor Remembers Life, Medicine, and Civil Rights in an Alabama Town, by Sonnie Wellington Hereford III and Jack D. Ellis, 2011, pages 64 & 158.
• North Carolina Death Index - Information viewed through an Ancestry.com paid subscription. (Originally found at http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-g&gsfn=Otis+Franklin&gsln=Gay&msbdy=&msbpn__ftp=&msddy=&msdpn__ftp=&cpxt=0&catBucket=rstp&uidh=000&cp=0&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=12708335&recoff=8+9+10+46&db=NCdeaths&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1&hovR=1.)
• Record - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentally of Alabama and the United States, Volume II, by James Record, 1978, page 674.
• Sesquicentennial - Commemorative Album, Celebrating our City's Sesquicentennial of Progress, Huntsville, Alabama, by James E. Taylor, General Chairman, 1955, pages iv, 101, 102, 103, 105, 351.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Clare Heintz Gay
• Health Department History
• Record
• Sesquicentennial