Is There A Doctor In The House?

There will be this evening (Tuesday) when I'm back up at the Marias Heritage Center reading Montana History. I'm excited today because tonight, we start reading a brand new book about a lady doctor in the old west. She's Dr. Mary Babcock (Moore) Atwater-Dr. Mollie. This female medical practitioner stepped off a train in Salt Lake City back in 1890. She knew she had to start a new life. She'd left her husband and his medical practice behind in Iowa and with only a few hundred dollars in her pocket and a great deal of pride, was hired on as a doctor to miners in Bannack, Montana. This should be quite the story...the name of the book is "Pioneer Doctor-The Story of a Woman's Work" and the author is Mari Grana. Dr. Mollie was actually the grandmother of the author. The book promises to be not just the biography of a fascinating women. It is also the story of an era when daring women ventured forth and changed history for the rest of us. What I want to know is, why did she leave her husband and his medical practice in Iowa. Was he hard to work for? Was she difficult to get along with? We'll find out more and get "the story behind the story" this evening at 6 during Montana History at the Marias Heritage Center.