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mm
Features
Sports
MANOR-ISMS
By ETHELYN EVANS
Medford
-Tribune-
pi
SECTION B
MEDFORD. OUEGON, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1963 PAGES 1 to 10
Dr. W. B. Giles, A Man of Many Hobbies
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Dr. and Mrs. William B. Giles arc shown here at piano at Rogue Valley Manor.
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Shown here is a display case of stamps exhibited by Dr. Giles. Many of his stamps are in
such display cases, while others are in cabinet drawers in one room of Dr. and Mrs. Giles'
Manor apartment.
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Pr. Giles displays a tin container with stamps attached which was dropped from an air
plane in the Pacific. It is just one of several for which he has the ordinal cover, making his
collection valuable.
Dr. William B. Giles, a retired physician, Is a resident of
Rogue Valley Manor, one of our members being currently de
scribed under the medical category. He has so many diverse
'obbics, perfected to the stage of being nearly parallel careers
with his primary work in medicine, that the word "incredible"
may be over-worked, but it is descriptive.
Born in Newfoundland, at the age of six little William came
to the United States with his father, Capt. Edwin J. Giles, his
mother and two brothers. He was educated in Mass-chusetts,
graduating cum laude from Tufts College Medical School in
Boston.
He always found ingenious ways to supplement his school
funds. When in high school, using a Christmas gift jig-saw,
he manufactured attractive picture frames, bookends and other
articles which sold readily. A gift camera was the beginning
of a hobby with which he made immediate profits by being the
first to produce and distribute the new Velox picture postcard
in his vicinity, using pictures of local interest selected with
artistic care and skillfully developed.
Grades Arc Recognized
In recognition of high scholarship grades as a freshman In
college, he was made a Prosector, which paid his tuition.
Junior year vacation time provided work and experience as
ambulance surgeon and intern in Grace Emergency Hospital;
and he was permitted to combine his senior studies with work
as house officer there. Also, during these youthful days he
played football, baseball and excelled in chess. Even with
this work-load and extra-curriculum activity, he managed that
cum laude.
After graduation, In New York City, Dr. Giles became house
surgeon in New York Lying-in Hospital. Upon completion of
this work, he was selected as intern and house surgeon of New
York Polyclinic Post-graduate Medical School and Hospital,
a pioneer institution of that type In the United Slates. After
four years of intern work he was ready for private practice.
But at this time World War I was being fought in Europe
and Dr. Giles responded to the call for doctors in France.
He served two years in France, gaining vast experience. When
the United States was about to enter the war, he came home
to lecture before medical society meetings and conventions
(preparing his own colored slides to illustrate his talks), trying
to encourage doctors to enlist. He also teamed up with Miss
Evangeline Booth of the Salvation Army in a drive for nurses.
Volunteered For Service
Dr. Giles then volunteered for service in our Navy. He was
assigned to the Brooklyn Naval Hospital, where he immediately
and successfully organized weekly conferences and won for this
an official commendation. Later he was reassigned to the Navy
ship Comfort, the first hospital ship to cross the Atlantic in the
War. Secretary of the Navy Joscphus Daniels ordered each
jhip to select one officer for extra duty as instructor of crews
. in hygiene and infectious diseases, and Dr. Giles was selected.
His work resulted In the Comfort checking in with the lowest
record in such diseases. Secretary Daniels wrote Dr. Giles a
personal letter of thanks for outstanding achievement. On the
Comfort he also played a portable organ and assisted the
Chaplain in conducting morale building sings.
After the war he remained in the service by signing up for
the Naval Reserve. Although still a young man, he had already
established an "incredible" record in his schools and in lha
service.- ;
Dr. Giles started private practice In New York City, where
with his usual capacity for hard work, lie accepted appointments
on the staffs of the Polyclinic Hospital, the Neurological In
stitute, and also taught at Bcllcvue Medical School. He was on
the consulting staff of the New York Children's Hospital and
the Manhattan State Hospital.
Takes Post-tirailuale Course
At the same time he was taking a post-graduate course in
pediatrics in Harvard Medical School and also found time to
do experimental and research work in neurology in the Bcllevue
Laboratory. One of his treasured mementoes is a book on
"Neuro-surgery" presented to him by the author, Dr. William
Sharp, and inscribed:
"To Dr. Wm. B. Giles, esteemed colleague and friend, as
a slight token of high regard and in grateful appreciation of
the many valuable suggestions and tireless efforts of co
operation during a pioneer period of neuro-surgery in this
City."
Somehow, during these years, he managed not to neglect
the social, civic and religious side of his life. He was an officer
and served on committees in medical societies, physicians and
surgeons clubs, college and hospital alumni groups, the Ameri
can Legion and in the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
He was a Phi Chi medical fraternity member and acted as
sponsor and organizer of chapters in Cornell and Columbia Uni
versities. He held office in civic clubs such as Kiwanis, Odd
Fellows, Elks, and several Masonic Orders, including Knights
Templar.
Active in Church Work
He was active in the Methodist Church, a leader In the
church social service field. He visited and watched over the
health of 200 elderly people in the New York Methodist Home;
and served in the social service departments of public hospitals
and clinics always gratuitously. All this required "incredi
bly" efficient organization of lime, ability and physical stamina.
From early school days, William Giles and Vivian Beach
were inseparable chums. Their contemporaries had a pun for it:
"When there's a Will there's a Vivian." When he was in
Tufts College, she attended nearby New England Conservatory
of Music. Then they were sweethearts and later she became'
and now is his charming wife.
All through their years of school and courtship, Dr. Giles
kept a most meticulous diary account of all their conversations
and parties picnics, church socials, hayrides, sings and choir
meetings. These were the days before radio, television or good
movies; and when an occasional automobile was an object of
intense curiosity. This diary, written in a fine, clear hand with
no margins, has been read and enjoyed by their family for
years. Dr. Giles tells me he is having it printed.
Accomplished Concert Pianist
Vivian Giles is an accomplished concert pianist. After each
Manor concert she has given us, I have written about her
musical career. It was in her scrapbook that 1 discovered still
another hobby of her husbands: Art.
A program he designed for one of her concerts in Argentina
"Birds, Insects & Animals in Music" shows clever, life
like pictures of birds, animals, etc. which he sketched. Another
a beautifully designed frontispiece for a program of "Love
Inspired Compositions of Great Musicians." He has always
shared his wife's love of music by singing in choruses and
choirs, and now he sings with the Barbershop singers in Med
ford. The American Ambassador to Argentina urged Dr. Giles to
move there where American doctors were urgently needed.
So off they went to Buenos Aires. He had to prepare for re
validation of his1 diploma, so, during his first 15 months in
Argentina he learned Spanish and took 48 oral examinations
in Spanish, of course. He passed all successfully and became
the first American trained doctor in Buenos Aires. He main
tained a large practice there for more than 20 years; and
also joined the Consulting Staff of the very fine British Hospital
and had the use of all hospital facilities.
Becomes Afllliated
Almost immediately he became affiliated with many Argen
'ine organizations. He served on the official board of Iglcsia
Methodists, was president of the Men's Club, and organized
meetings in which the heads of nine religious faiths spoke on
such subjects as the work of the church against Communism.
He spoke before youth meetings on subjects including "Wonders
of Astronomy" and "Philately," both hobbies of his own which
he was ardently pursuing. He arranged hobby exhibitions.
He ,was active in Masonic careers, joined the American Club,
Many of Dr. Giles' stamps arc on boards, held down with paper clips and rubber bands,
such as those shown in this picture. In the background is a telescope, another of Dr. Giles' many
hobbies.
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Dr. Giles is shown here In his "stamp room" in his apartment at Rogue Valley Manor with
some of its cabinets.
the Society of the River Plate, and the Asocicion Univorcitaria
Nortcamericana.
Dr. Giles gave many lectures in Buenos Aires and some of
the subjects were "Population Pressure," "Ycrba Mate," "Ar
chaeology in Patagonia." "Witchcraft and the Macchi of the
Napuche Indians in Chile."
In preparation (or these talks, he tracked the Yrba plant
across Brazil and the Uruguay River region to study its native
state; for his archaeology lecture he accompanied archaeologist,
Professor Mcnghin, on two expeditions; he went to Chile to
observe witchcraft, and by taking medicines along he was to
live with and study the Indians. He managed all this by making
his vacations do double duty.
He had long before succumbed to the lure of stamp collec
tion and became the President of the Buenos Aires Philatelic
Society and organized the first Philatelic Congress held in
Argentina. He was, of course, repealing the same "incredible"
program of busy, busy hours.
Italian Classic Slamps
Dr. Giles irterest in philately had its beginning in the col
lection of Italian Classic stamps when traveling through Ilaly
on his return from service in France. He soon had a splendid
collection of these "classics." His stamp hobby has gone on
and on and grnvn and grown until, with anyone hut Dr. Giles,
It would have become out-of-hand. His collection is housed in
one room of their Manor apartment. This room and its "In
credible" contents must be seen to be believed. If transferred
to some hobby exhibition, it would stop the show.
There are high, low and wide cabinets everywhere. Pull-out
drawer types are filled with thousands of stamps; card sized
cabinet drawers contain thousands of stamps in ticketed enve
lopes; high and narrow cabinets are filled with stamps In high,
narrow envelopes; -several letter-filing cabinets holds stamps in
folders; one cabinet houses albums of stamps; even in his bath
room are shelves he has built to hold long, narrow boxes of
stamps; on tables and chairs arc piles of sorted stamps; held
to cardboard by rubber bands, lie also manages to tuck in
magazines and books on philately here and there in the room.
Ho has, of course, stamps which arc far beyond my com
prehension. For instance, he has stamps attached to the orig
inals covers for tin containers which were flown to the Pacific
and dyipped. His many stamps altacljfd to original covers un
doubtedly make his collection more Interesting and valuable,
although he also has blocks ot stamps he bought in bulk. Dr.
Giles says no thief would know what to take or where to find
it. whereas an "incredible" feature of all this is that he knows
what he has and where to find it. He is sorting the stamps by
topic and country and cataloguing them as a full time oc
cupation for his retirement years.
Interested In Scientific Gadgets
Dr. Giles' inquiring mind has ever been interested in all
things scientific and in new scientific gadgets. In his early days
in New York, he hitched the earphones of his crystal set to a
large megaphone. Then he placed it in an open window and
proceeded to broadcast the Dempscy-Carpenticr fight to a huge,
astonished audience in the street outside. This was before the
days of the "loud speaker."
He maintained this scientific interest while in Argentina and
joined the Association of Technologists of the River Plate,
later becoming vice president of that association.
Dr. Giles also enjoyed the study of astronomy. He reluctant
ly left behind a fine, large telescope in Argentina, because
Dictator Pcron's orders prevented people from taking many
things out of the country In fact almost ali tilings. So now,
also in this "incredible" room, he has a borrowed telescope.
Placed near a window, pointing toward the heavenly space
above our mountains, it is ready for instant use. During the
lata ccllspc, he took a number of fellow-members to our pent
house roof to use this instrument, and, while guarding their
eyes from harm, ho poured forth scientific information.
Has Model Railroad
Like many other men, Dr. Giles always adored the hobby of
model railroading, but he perfected It to the "nth" degree by
building intricate, triple-level assemblies with dozens ot remote
controls much to the delight of his own and the neighborhood
small-fry.
Dr. Giles' plan to devote his time after retirement to his
slamp collection didn't hold. From the beginning he has been
in the thick of planning and working for our Manor programs.
He selects and rents all our films; he exhibits in philatelic
shows or acts as judge or chairman; ho works in our local
Methodist Church; he gives lectures before numerous groups.
When I say that Dr. Giles is still pursuing his hobbles, I mean
he is intensely Interested In study, inquiry and experimentation.
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