The Docs: Gibbon & McIver

The small town of Lowry in the first half of the 20th century was blessed with two incredibly skilled physicians who were also marvelous human beings. I was born after this golden era of Lowry doctors but whenever I have heard any remembrances of these men, it was with a tone of reverence. These doctors were clearly special people with an exceptional level of dedication to the people of Lowry and surrounding area.  Their careers just barely overlapped. Both became known as "The Doc".

Dr. Luther Llewellyn Gibbon 1875-1930

I know Doc Gibbon was a wonderful person if only because my grandmother gave her 3rd son his middle name, a Welsh name no less, (Donald Llewellyn Hoplin), an indication that next to God his standing with her.







The picture at left of Doc Gibbon is illustrative of the lengths he was known to go to reach his patients. Perhaps the earliest snowmobile ever created. (I have a feeling Martin Holden might have had a hand in this.)

Dr. L.L. (Luther Llewelyn) Gibbon, a beloved local physician, came to Lowry in 1897. Doc Gibbon graduated from the University of Minnesota, College of Medicine and Surgery in 1896 and practiced in Lowry from 1897 to his death in 1930. Doc Gibbon served as a surgeon in the medical corps in France in WWI. His surgery skills were so renowned that Starbuck Hospital where he did his surgeries, drew patients from as far as South Dakota. When Doc Gibbon died suddenly of a stroke in 1930, just as the Great Depression was making for difficult times, his wife Anna, "allowed" my grandfather to buy Doc's old mammoth Hudson for $400. I am told that that vehicle was never driven in in the 30's. Cost prohibitive.




From the 1908 Minnesota Who's Who:

GIBBON, Luther, physician; born at Norwood, N. Y., March 29. 1875; son of Alfred Henry and Mary Jane (Gant) Gibbon: came to Minnesota. 1882; educated in public schools of Minneapolis: Minneapolis Academy; University of Minnesota. College of Medicine and Surgery, graduating, degree of M.D., 1896. In practice at Lowry since Nov. 8, 1897. Unmarried. Address: Lowry, Minn. 
[Editor note: Dr. Gibbon married Anna about 1912]

Dr. Bert McIver 

Doctor Bert McIver was the second beloved physician that blessed the little town of Lowry.

Author note: The following account includes excerpts from an article by Teri Blair that appeared in the Pope County Tribune in Nov 2007 and previously in the Senior Perspective. (see attachment below)

Doc McIver, as he was known, grew up wanting to be a farmer, but became a country doctor. In the mid-20th century, "country doctors used to be the norm in small towns, physicians who worked with a black bag that carried medicine, stethoscope and gauze.  They made trips to homes, kept office hours, and treated the medical needs of their rural communities - from delivering a baby to a heart attack to a farm accident, all with limited supplies, limiting transportation and little sleep."

His sister Margaret urged him to go to med school and he was in a pre-med program when WWI called. He served in the medical corps on the front lines. His son Dan remembers, "Dad always said it was in France where he received his real medical training. He became astute at sewing people up after they had been wounded.  It turned out to be one of his trademarks as a doctor in Minnesota. His work didn't leave scars."

After the war, he completed his medical degree at the U of M and had a fellowship to study surgery there. In the summer of 1930, he worked with Doc Gibbon in the Lowry Clinic, planning to return to school in the fall. Doc Gibbon died that summer from a sudden stroke and community begged Bert to stay.  Again his son Dan: "He never got to go the University to become a surgeon. He never talked about it, we never heard one complaint. But I'm sure he thought about it."

Doc McIver was an innovative physician using treatments far ahead of standard practice. From arthritis treatments to the use of antibiotics and an office that included an x-ray technician, his clinic would see up to 100 patients a day - and then deal with emergencies in the dead of night. In winter he would use a sleigh.

Gospel Hall ~1935 Dr. Bert in back in suit & tie

Doctor Bert was a man of faith, a member of the Plymouth Brethren Congregation in Lowry. He often would etch a cross in the corner of a prescription saying "this is what you really need."  Tragically, in the early 50's Doc McIver contracted ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and passed away in 1953. 

After the death of Doc McIver, the clinic stood empty for awhile, but it reopened with part-time visits by Glenwood doctors, Gordon Lee & Robert Letson
.  I always knew when it was Doctor Lee's rotation as he drove a classic '55 Thunderbird.  I would surreptitiously drool over that car parked behind the clinic.  I also remember his less than gentle approach to injections.

Other doctors that served the small town. (Note; I may have missed someone)




Dr. Maynard Nelson
Dr. Nelson enlisted on December 7, 1941 and served through WWII in the medical corp. After the war he worked for a time with Doc McIver at the Lowry Clinic.

Dr Beaumont Cyril Hiram Hagebak
Dr. Hagebek was the first dentist in Lowry sharing the clinic with Dr. Gibbon & Dr. McIver from 1929 to 1941, but beyond that I know not.










Dr. Lawrence Wright
Doc Wright was also a dentist and practiced in Lowry in the mid-fifties. I remember him best as the manager of the Lowry Leghorn baseball team, the slow grinding of the drill receding from my memory.

Dr. Bruce Jarvis

Dr. Matthew Plasha

Author note: For 50+ years Doc Gibbon & Doc McIver impacted the lives of virtually everyone in Lowry and the surrounding area. As stated, they were revered. I did not personally know these men so my story is lacking. I am hoping that some readers might contribute personal memories (or 2nd hand memories) of these doctors.  Please add comments below or email me  ussbb62@gmail.com and I will update this post with your memories. Thanks in advance.

Devotion was of course not limited to men.  Doc Gibbon's wife Anna was his nurse.  Doc McIver's sister Eleanor was his x-ray technician.

Copyright © 2019 Dave Hoplin

Addendum.  2007 Pope County Tribune article