Jail was what the profession needed to weather its earliest storms, to survive the trials to come it needed something different. By the time of D.D.’s incarceration, his Palmer School was nearly 10 years old, but its enrollment was languishing, its founder’s attention diffuse and his influence waning. As attorney and family advisor Willard Carver
once remarked, “Those who know D.D. Palmer know that no man living could become his associate in business and remain with him for any considerable length of time.”
That included his son Bartlett Joshua Palmer, D.C., who not entirely amicably took on the mantle of leadership soon after D.D.’s release. “If D.D. gave us the why, B.J. gave us the what and the how,” says Dr. Marchiori. “He really scaled up the organization and the big idea of chiropractic, building a strong, dedicated Palmer community of staff, students and alumni.” Indeed, by the time he opened the school’s
research clinic in 1935, B.J. had already established a pioneering X-ray lab, a busy printing press and a hugely successful broadcasting operation. He had penned over a dozen books. He had fought legal battles for chiropractic’s rights in courtrooms across the country. And he had toured the world promoting the science, art and philosophy being taught to more and more students — up from 13 to 3,000 — back home in Davenport.
What B.J. built wouldn’t have been possible,
Dr. Marchiori is quick to point out, without his colleague and wife, Mabel Heath Palmer. Like his
father, B.J. was a brilliant, dynamic and, in his own way, alienating personality, often at odds with his counterparts in the business community and tight- fisted in his control of the College. By tempering those qualities, Mabel’s intellect and emotional intelligence were
crucial for driving the Palmer
organization and chiropractic profession forward. “The limelight was always on her husband, as she wished it,” wrote David D. Palmer, D.C., of his mother. But “the perpetuation of Palmer School was assured only because of her quiet and firm hand on the tiller.” Beyond serving Palmer since its early days as everything from cook to business manager to anatomy teacher, Mabel’s “sweetness and diplomacy did much to bring B.J. and his bitter enemies together,” noted Dr. Dave. “Her touch was felt across the entire country, thus, assuring continuing support for the school.” For Dr. Marchiori, understanding Mabel is
essential to understanding not just B.J.’s contribution to Palmer but also Dr. Dave’s. “Looking at Mabel,
THE HAND ON THE TILLER Mabel Heath Palmer made invaluable contributions to drive the college forward.
“If D.D. gave us why, B.J. gave us the what and the how. He really scaled up the organization and the big idea of chiropractic.”
—Dennis Marchiori, D.C., Ph.D. Chancellor and CEO
27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
