“Yes Sir, Reusser, Dr. Reusser,†was a common cry a century ago
It was once a local icon for a man referred to by many as the, “horse and buggy doctor.†These days, the horse and buggy silhouette hangs silently near the central entrance to the MRE Cemetery, a reminder of the dedication of a physician who used to ride his horse and buggy through storms and brutal weather to deliver one of the over 4,500 children he delivered during his lengthy career.
“I walked too, riding horseback when the roads were muddy. I delivered hundreds of babies for five dollars,†Reusser was quoted as saying by Sherman Stucky in the Adams County History Book of 1979.
But while Ruesser’s life was full of interesting tidbits and special stories, the background anecdotes of his immediate and extended family were just as interesting.
Reusser’s heritage was solidly entrenched in the old country. His paternal grandfather, David Reusser, was born in Eriz in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. His maternal grandmother, Katherine Utz, was born near Moutier in the Jura section of the mother country. His mother, Katherine Sprunger, was born on a farm named LaTann, near Tavannes in the Jura Canton.
Sprunger’s family came to Berne by sailing ship in 1852 during a 44-day journey. They sailed into the Hudson River to Albany, New York, where they connected with the Erie Canal and Great Lakes route to Cleveland.
Reusser’s father, Jakob, was a pharmacist, and had served on the committee which gave Berne its name. Reusser’s brother, Henry, was Berne’s weather man for several decades and was recognized nationally for his 55 years of commitment to the National Weather Service.
Reusser’s wife (Claren Helen Bixler) was no less interesting. She was a school teacher when Reusser took her to be his bride on Sept. 6, 1896.
“She was the oldest daughter David D. Bixler, who was a jeweler and optometrist in Berne,†stated the history. “David Bixler was considered the genius and wizard of Berne, having invented a telephone which was the first in this area. Because of his ingenuity he was asked by Henry Ford to join his firm early in life. This he declined. He was Berne’s first photographer.â€
Early in his practice and during the Great Depression, it was said that those who couldn’t afford medical services bartered fruit, vegetables and horse feed for physician’s care. In addition to practicing medicine, Reusser had also taught school early in his life.
Reusser was rewarded for his service to the Berne community in 1948 at the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York City where he received the gold medal accompanying the designation of, “Family Doctor of the Year,†which was conferred by the Southern and Pan-American Homeopathic Medical Association.
“Dr. Reusser was loved by all who knew him. He was a lover of nature, and enjoyed the outdoors,†stated the history story. “Music was also his interest, and he was a tenor soloist in the oratorio, ‘The Messiah,’ during his years.â€
There are still several residents in the local community who owe their coming into this world to Reusser’s expertise medical skills. Through the silhouette hanging at the entrance to the MRE Cemetery, one can almost hear the clip-clop of horse’s hoofs and the beckoning of an intense rider becking the creature to deliver him to another country home where an impending birth of a child or medical emergency was waiting for him.
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