Rural Missouri House Calls

Dr. Charles Judd practiced family medicine in rural Northeast Missouri for 64 years. The book will make anyone who has ever had an old-fashioned family doctor, who made house calls, reflect on those long gone days. The stories are humorous, sometimes tragic, but always interesting. Dr. Judd delivered over 3,500 babies, many of those in the home during the first ten years of his practice. One was even delivered in the front yard, under a big oak tree, because of the extreme heat in the farmhouse. As coroner of both Sullivan and then Putnam Counties, he had cases from murders, suicides, and accidents to the first Continental Airline crash in the United States involving fatalities, in which 45 people died. He worked closely with FBI agents, including Agent Mark Felt, who only recently was identified as 'Deep Throat', the information source associated with the Watergate scandal. Other officials included the Federal Aviation Agency. Among his souvenirs is a personally signed letter from J. Edgar Hoover. Many of the stories in the book are Dr. Judd's own words, from tapes he recorded for the author. Written by his daughter, Serece Judd Baker, the book has many insights into the everyday adventures of this unique and truly dedicated family doctor.