Chiropractic (General)

"Kodak is Herb's Middle Name" The Remarkable Dr. Lee Part II

Joseph Keating Jr., PhD

Figure 15: Original campus of the CMCC at 252 Bloor Street, in the university district of Toronto, 1945.

Herb returned to Toronto upon graduation, and associated for a while with Andrew D. Nicholson, D.C. on Bloor Street (Brown, 1990). However, uncomfortable with Dr. Nicholson's use of radionics, young Dr. Lee established his own practice in the Royal Bank Building later in 1941. In 1945, he was called into the service of the embryonic CMCC (Keating & Haldeman, 1995). He was appointed corporate secretary of the Ontario-chartered school. Later, his agreement to serve as a teaching assistant became a career when the lead instructor in anatomy failed to appear on the first day of classes at CMCC, and Dr. Lee agreed to substitute (Brown, 1990). It was a tough crowd: Most of the original CMCC students were recently discharged veterans of World War II.

Figure 16: CMCC Board of Management, 1950; standing left to right: Drs. A.Earl Homewood; James A. Price; Joseph McCarthy; Herbert K. Lee; seated left to right: H.J. Hunt; Keith B. Kennedy; John S. Clubine; Rudy O. Mueller; Cecil C. Clemmer.

Figure 17: Dr. Lee was an early advocate of research at his adopted chiropractic college, as revealed in this column from an early CMCC periodical, 1946

Figure 18: the NCA Council on Education (forerunner of today's CCE) met in Toronto in February 1956; left to right front row: Justin C. Wood, D.C.; John J. Nugent, D.C.; Thure C. Peterson, D.C.; Joseph Janse, D.C., N.D. Left to right, back row: A.E. Homewood, D.P.T., D.C.; Ralph J. Martin, D.C., N.D.; Norman E. Osborne, D.C.; Arthur G. Hendricks, D.C.; F.H. Gardner, D.C.; Julius C. Troilo, D.C.; John B. Wolfe, D.C.; Walter B. Wolf, D.C.; George H. Haynes, D.C., M.S., N.D. (courtesy of Herbert K. Lee, D.C.).

Figure 19: B.J. Palmer spoke with students at the CMCC in 1956 (courtesy of Herbert K. Lee, D.C.).

Figure 20: Dave Palmer, D.C. spoke at his grandfather's memorial in Port Perry, Ontario in 1961, a month after his investiture as the third president of the Palmer School of Chiropractic (courtesy of Herbert K. Lee, D.C.).

Figure 21: Members of the CMCC Property Search Committee, who established the College's present campus on Bayview Avenue in Toronto in 1968; left to right are Drs. Howard Gauthier, A. Earl Homewood and Donald C. Sutherland (courtesy of Herbert K. Lee, D.C.).

Figure 22: National College president Joseph Janse hoods fellow NCC alumnus H.K. Lee during award of the Doctor of Humanities from National, given at CMCC in 1982.

Over the decades Herb has served informally as college photographer, and has captured many memorable moments in Canadian chiropractic history; he has in turn been frequently featured in College's various publications:

Honors have come to Dr. Herb Lee in abundance. He was named the Ontario Chiropractic Association's "Chiropractor of the Year" in 1961, and a Fellow of the International College of Chiropractors in 1963. In 1980, Dr. Lee participated in the founding of the Association for the History of Chiropractic (AHC), served as the scholarly society's second president (1983-85), and was granted the AHC's Lee-Homewood Award in 1994 (Vear, 1994). His alma mater granted an honorary "Doctor of Humanities" in 1982, and the Canadian Chiropractic Association awarded him "Life Membership" in 1983. In 1993 Dr. Lee was co-founder of the Canadian Chiropractic History Association (CCHA), and currently serves as its president of the organization. Named Professor Emeritus of the CMCC in 1976, Herb still teaches several days a week at the school he has served so well, and supervises interns in the College clinic named in his honor. As well, he is collaborating as co-editor and author of a history of the CMCC.

How he does it no one knows for sure: is it partly genetics, partly lifestyle, partly his commitment to continuing chiropractic care? Dr. Herb Lee is on the go daily: teaching at CMCC, serving his Masonic brethren, interviewing with Toronto broadcasters, visiting with his daughters and grandchildren at the family's lakeside retreat in central Ontario. You can't keep up with him and his full, rich life. We salute you, Dr. Lee!

Figure 23: Dr. Herbert K. Lee, 1990, at the tender age of 80.

Figure 24: Recent cartoon caricature of CMCC's beloved Herbert K. Lee, D.C.

References:

 

  • Brown, Douglas M. Herbert K. Lee, D.C., an accomplished professional. Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association 1990 (Sept); 34(3): 153-6
  • Dzaman F et al. (eds.) Who's who in chiropractic, international. Second Edition. Littleton CO: Who's Who in Chiropractic International Publishing Co., 1980
  • Keating JC. Old Dad Chiro comes to Portland, 1908-10. Chiropractic History 1993 (Dec); 13(2): 36-44
  • Keating JC, Haldeman S. Joshua N. Haldeman, D.C.: the Canadian years, 1926-1950. Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association 1995 (Sept); 39(3): 172-86
  • Vear, Herbert J. 1994 Lee-Homewood chiropractic heritage award: Herbert Kenneth Lee. Chiropractic History 1994 (Dec); 14(2): 30-1
  • If your interest in chirohistory has been stimulated, then consider joining the Association for the History of Chiropractic (AHC). Founded at Spears Hospital in Denver in 1980, the AHC is a non-profit, membership organization whose goal is the discovery, dissemination and preservation of the saga of chiropractic. The AHC held its first annual Conference on Chiropractic History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. in 1981, and has held similar conferences each year since at various chiropractic colleges. The AHC's 2001 Conference on Chiropractic History was held at Palmer College of Chiropractic West in San Jose, California during March 30-April 1, 2001. Details about the upcoming conference can be obtained from the AHC's executive director, or by checking the AHC website at www.chirohistory.org.

    The AHC publishes a scholarly journal, Chiropractic History, in which chiropractors and interested observers contribute their expertise to telling and interpreting the rich lore of the profession. The journal, which is indexed in the National Library of Medicine's Histline, is published twice per year. Chiropractic History is distributed to all members of the AHC as a membership benefit. Membership in the AHC can be obtained by sending your name, address and check for $50 ($20/year for students) to the AHC's executive director:

    Alana Callender, M.S.,
    Executive Director
    Association for the History of Chiropractic
    1000 Brady Street,
    Davenport IA 52803 USA

    If you'd like to encourage historical scholarship and preservation within the chiropractic profession, then consider making a donation, large or small, to the historical fund of the National Institute of Chiropractic Research (NICR). The NICR is a non-profit organization committed to conducting and supporting various types of research; in most cases, contributions are tax-deductible. The NICR historical fund supports the work of chiropractic historians and of centers for the preservation of historical documents. Preparation of this paper was supported by the NICR. Please make your check payable to:
    Historical Fund
    National Institute of Chiropractic Research
    3714 E. Indian School Road,
    Phoenix AZ 85018 USA
    Thank you.
    May 2001
    print pdf