Abbott "Pete" Smith, D.V.M.
June 16, 1938 - February 22, 2010 |
Welcome to Milliron Monday where every Monday we celebrate the legacy of Pete Smith, D.V.M., and Milliron: Abbott “Pete” Smith, D.V.M. The Biography (Monday Creek Publishing 2017). A graduate of Colorado State University and a well-known veterinarian in southeast Ohio, Dr. Smith continues to motivate and inspire.
This month we remember Dr. Smith's mother, Elizabeth Cooper Saunders Smith. "Betty" was a prolific writer, writing for several publications at different times throughout her lifetime. An excerpt from her obituary...
Elizabeth was a longtime member of the Millbrook Garden Club for which she wrote their newsletter for many years. She also wrote a column, My Side of the Street, for the Millbrook Round Table for 12 years. In 1996, the family moved Abbott, overtaken by Parkinson's and related medical conditions, to Farmington to reside at Edgewood Manor until his death in 1998. After selling their Millbrook home, Elizabeth moved to Kingfield in 1996 to live with her daughter Susan. In addition to a short stint writing a column for the local (Kingfield, Maine) paper, The Irregular.
From Pete's mother, Betty, My Side of the Street...
A brook, nicely walled up, runs beside our house and under a little bridge to join the Carrabasset. Yesterday when the sun was warmest, a flock of blackbirds seemed to be having a group bathing party. They flew down from the tall bare trees a few at a time, and then back up to the branches to shake the water off their wings. I am not an ornithologist, but I would assume that they will wait to mate until there are leaves on the trees. And this is the time of year when I usually make my prediction, "In another couple of weeks the leaves will be out" - a statement that usually brought a laugh from my spouse.
It has been an extraordinary April so far, and people were beginning to say that we need rain. Last night Jupiter Pluvius favored us with a good soak and the river is roaring this morning. My daughter in Castle Rock, Colo., reports that they have had snow showers rather than rain. She picked some daffodils which were bending over with snow, and they perked up in the house as if grateful.
The memorable words come to mind of that great ego, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, about old soldiers, just fading away, except that old gardeners just keep on planting. I have gambled on a small planting of green beans, the ground being quite warm. Maybe that will bring back cold weather...
Skis on cars have been replaced by canoes, and snowmobiles by towed boats. Mainers are dyed-in-the-wool outdoor people. If all else fails, they go hiking. It makes on wonder how it is that there are more smokers in Maine than any other state.
Mr. Goldstone's speech to the National Press Club has certainly brought out an assortment of opinions on all sides. I am not nor have I ever been a smoker, but I do not understand why the tobacco business should be sued for millions by those who are. Surely if you know cigarettes are harmful you are to blame if you smoke them. If you get drunk and drive your car into a tree, should the car maker be sued? Maybe the guilty parties are the senators who kept subsidizing the tobacco farmers. It always seemed to me that those growers should be encouraged to grow other crops such as soy beans, which have so many uses.
Problems such as these go around and around. Maine will be voting again on the subject of forest users. Another related matter is the control of additional land give by Great Northern Paper to Baxter Park, given to the state by Gov. Baxter many years ago, along with a trust fund ample enough to maintain it. Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine and the beginning of the Appalachian Trail, is a treasure enjoyed by a great number of people. The three men who are the trustees of the park appear to be unduly influenced by sports groups such as Fin & Feather, and the fact that paper companies pay part of the salary of the forester member. Opening the park to snowmobiles is a tender subject, as well as hunting. Access roads would be a decided detriment to the nature of the park, as Gov. Baxter intended it to remain.
"Maine Times" has published a series of reports on the subject. One writer expresses it very well, saying that there are a great many more people who enjoy the woods and wilds who do not hunt than those who do, and that we shouldn't have to dress up like clowns to go into the woods without risking being shot.
The present time is enjoyable for a similar reason. The snow has gone enough to permit walking without being in danger of snowmobilers, and the black flies are waiting for whatever it is that black flies are awakened by, and of course there are no hunters. So I shall seize the day and Hannah and I into the woods will go - at least for a little way. We would not want to meet a black bear, thought I am sure such an encounter would not be a fatal one, the bear being more afraid of people. I don't believe that our small border collie would be interested in chasing him, either.
Have a great week ahead.
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Through captivating, powerful, and emotional anecdotes, we celebrate the life of Dr. Abbott P. Smith. His biography takes the reader from smiles to laughter to empathy and tears. Dr. Smith gave us compelling lessons learned from animals; the role animals play in the human condition, the joy of loving an animal, and the awe of their spirituality. A tender and profound look into the life of a skilled veterinarian.
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