For a list of the images in this collection click here and go to the WHMC photograph database
Earl Rhine donated his papers to WHMC on September 10, 1998.
Earl Ross Rhine was born on June 13, 1932 to Mr. and Mrs. Oren Rhine. He graduated from Mattoon High School in Illinois in 1950. Later in 1950, he moved to Texas and served two years in the Army Medical Corps. In 1952, Rhine married Emily Bosley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Bosley of Mattoon, Illinois. In 1953, Rhine began work at the Brackenridge Hospital, where he met Dwight Davis. Rhine and Davis both attended the University of Texas in 1954 and then Southwest Texas State College in 1955 for pre-med until they went to work for Dr. Tom Dooley in Laos in 1958.
In 1958, Rhine and Davis read about Dr. Tom Dooley's medical work in Southeast Asia and his new organization MEDICO in national magazines. They contacted him about working with him, and after an interview, Dr. Dooley invited them to be his new MEDICO team and work with him in Laos. They left in July 1958 and began work with Dr. Dooley at a hospital they established in Muong Sing, Laos. While in Laos, Rhine and Davis assisted Dr. Dooley with operations and delivering babies and treated tuberculosis, pneumonia, malaria, small pox, whooping cough, leprosy, beri-beri, respiratory infections, vitamin deficiencies, malnutrition, and much more.
Rhine and Davis returned to the United States in April 1960. After returning to the United States, they returned to Southwest Texas State College and earned their pre-med degrees. After they graduated, Rhine and Davis were recruited by the State Department to work with the Agency for International Development (AID) program. They worked in separate villages in South Vietnam. The goal of their work was to help villagers learn to grow various crops and use new farm equipment so they could produce for themselves. They worked in South Vietnam from 1962 to 1965.
In 1966, Rhine and Davis began work for the Office of Economic Opportunity. They worked with locally elected officials, business people, and the poor of specific areas to determine the cause of poverty in that area, and then to design a way to get the area out of poverty. Later, Rhine worked with the Health and Human Services, and Davis worked for the Environmental Protection Agency. So, Rhine and Davis did not pursue their medical careers, but they helped people in other ways through working in their government jobs in South Vietnam and in America. Rhine retired from this job in 1982.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The Earl Rhine Papers document his medical work with Dr. Tom Dooley in Laos from 1958 to 1960 and his link with Dooley organizations and Laotian friends a few years after he returned to the United States. Information in the collection ranges from 1958 to 2002.
Within the collection, the sticky notes attached to note cards are notes written by Earl Rhine and put with corresponding items to give further detail.
This collection is related to the Thomas A. Dooley Papers. WHMC became the official repository of the late Dr. Tom Dooley's Papers in 1980.
See collection #464 DOOLEY, THOMAS A. (1927-1961)
PAPERS, 1932-1988
This collection is related to the Medicine in the Jungle Web Exhibit Collection. See collection #651 MEDICINE IN THE JUNGLE WEB EXHIBIT
COLLECTION, 1959-1999
Also see the related web exhibit: MEDICINE IN THE JUNGLE: DR. THOMAS DOOLEY AND EARL RHINE IN LAOS
SERIES DESCRIPTION
SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE, nd., 1958-1975
Folders 1-5, arranged chronologically, include general correspondence to Earl Rhine from Dr. Tom Dooley, members of MEDICO, and patients from Southeast Asia. There is extensive correspondence from Ngoan Van Hoang, who came to America to study medicine because of Dr. Dooley's influence. A few letters are in French and the Lao language.
SERIES 2: MEDICAL ORGANIZATIONS, nd., 1958-1975
Folders 6-9, arranged chronologically, include information about and from organizations that Dr. Dooley was involved in or inspired including MEDICO, the Thomas A. Dooley Foundation, Inc., and Tom Dooley Heritage, Inc. This also includes an excerpt from a journal of activities at the Muong Sing Hospital and informal translation lessons from English to the Lao language.
SERIES 3: PUBLICATIONS, 1958-1964
Folders 10-13, arranged chronologically, contain newsclippings about Dr. Dooley, Earl Rhine, Dwight Davis and their medical service in Laos and publications of general information about Southeast Asia.
SERIES 4: PHOTOGRAPHS, nd., 1958-1960
Folders 14-19 include images of Earl Rhine, Dwight Davis, Dr. Dooley, their patients at Muong Sing Hospital and on their river trip, a decoration ceremony for Rhine and Davis from the King of Laos, and Earl Rhine's family. The processor added all writing in pencil and red ink on the back of the photographs. The words in quote marks ("") came from descriptions written on sticky notes and attached to the pictures by Earl Rhine.
SERIES 5: ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS, 2001-2002
Folder 20 includes oral history interviews by telephone with Earl Rhine by Sonya McDonald, December 11, 2001 and with Ngoan Van Hoang by Sonya McDonald, January 15, 2002.
SERIES 6: ARTIFACTS, nd., 1958-1963
Folder 21 and Box 4 contain artifacts including personal material, stamps and money from Southeast Asia, and gifts from patients including banners, blankets, bags, and clothing. Box 4 is arranged alphabetically.
FOLDER LIST
SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE, nd., 1958-1975
BOX 1
1. General Correspondence, 1958-1960
2. General Correspondence, 1961-1964
3. General Correspondence, 1966-1967, 1971-1972, 1975, n.d., letters in Lao and French
4. Correspondence from Hoang, Ngoan Van, 1960-1964
5. Correspondence from Hoang, Ngoan Van, 1966-1970
SERIES 2: MEDICAL ORGANIZATIONS, nd., 1958-1975
BOX 2
6. MEDICO Material, 1958-1961
7. Foundations after Dooley's Death, 1961-1975
8. Lists, 1958-1959, n.d.
9. Language Charts, n.d.
SERIES 3: PUBLICATIONS, 1958-1964
BOX 2
10. Newsclippings, Earl Rhine and Dwight Davis, 1958-1961
11. Newsclippings, Dr. Thomas A. Dooley, 1958-1961
12. Newsclippings, Laos, 1959-1961
13. Publications, Southeast Asia, 1957-1964
SERIES 4: PHOTOGRAPHS, nd., 1958-1960
BOX 3
14. Negatives, 627.1-627.291
15. Photographs, with negatives, 627.62-627.291
16. Photographs, 627.292-627.327
17. Photographs, 627.328-627.373
18. Photographs, 627.374-627.415
19. Photographs, 627.416-627.454
SERIES 5: ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS, 2001-2002
BOX 3
20. Oral history interview by telephone with Earl Rhine by Sonya McDonald,
December 11, 2001.
Oral history interview by telephone with Ngoan Van Hoang by Sonya McDonald,
January 15, 2002.
SERIES 6: ARTIFACTS, nd., 1958-1963
BOX 3
21. Personal Materials, 1958-1963
Earl Ross Rhine's passport, 1958
Earl R. Rhine's MEDICO Hospital business card in English and Chinese
Earl R. Rhine's membership card for the "Mekong Rod-n-Gun Club," 1959-1960
Earl R. Rhine's membership card for "The Foreign Correspondents' Club,
HongKong, 1958
Birth announcement for Elaine Marie Davis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dwight
Davis, February 2, 1961
Airline ticket for Air Laos, 1960
Airline ticket for Veha-Akat, 1959
Napkin from Snooper Bar, Reef Hotel at Waikiki
Napkin from The Erawan, Bangkok, Thailand
Napkin from Strand Hotel, Rangoon
Set of postcards (7) featuring airplane and scenes from Fujiya Hotel, Miyanoshita Spa, Japan where Earl Rhine and Dwight Davis rested on their way from
the U.S. to Laos
Business card for Murray Fromson, News Department, National Broadcasting
Company, Inc., Los Angeles, California
Business card for Mademoiselle Thong Phanh, Hotesse De L'air, Vientiane, Laos
Invitation for dinner at Lubbock Country Club, Lubbock, Texas, in honor of Dr.
Tom Dooley benefiting MEDICO
"Service Above Self" Certificate to Earl R. Rhine from Rotary Club of Mattoon,
Illinois Certificate to Earl Rhine naming him an honorary citizen of Lubbock, Texas, May
16, 1960
"Two of Tom Dooley's Men Return to Studies at SWT," Southwestern Texas
State College Summer News 24 June, 1960, 6.
BOX 4
Artifacts received in Laos as payment for medical services. (Words in quotes are from notes written by Earl Rhine to give further explanation.)
Bag, carrying, 13.5x11.5 inch cloth bag with cloth handle [like a purse], multi- colored geometric shaped embroidery and multi-colored thread tassels on two bottom edges. "Beautiful carrying bag-hand made by a Lao woman for Dr. [Tom] Dooley. He admired it while in the village treating this woman's husband. She made this one for him and later delivered it to the hospital at Muong Sing."
Bag, hand, 13x12 inch cloth bag with cloth handle [like a purse], with orange and green lines and black and white geometric shapes, purple ribbing on opening of bag with orange, green, white, and black thread tassels on two bottom corners. "A Montagnards hand bag. Gift from a family to Dr. [Tom] Dooley for successfully treating 'Grandfather' for bladder stones. There were very generous people. There were very happy times for us [Earl Rhine, Dwight Davis, Dr. Tom Dooley] and it was a joy to be able to treat these people."
Banner, 22x33 inch hot pink banner with three lines of Chinese characters in black material embroidered on the banner, 22x2 inch white pocket edge for stick to hold banner, 4 inch bright green triangle-fringe border on three sides of the banner. "We [Earl Rhine, Dwight Davis, Dr. Tom Dooley] had many Chinese patients. Some of them came from China and the communes (and communism) and some were local residents. They expressed their thankfulness for treatment by giving us rice, fruit, household items, etc. But sometimes they gave us banners to hang in our house. They tell the world, and the spirits, how great we are."
Banner, 23x33 inch hot pink banner with three lines of Chinese characters in black material embroidered on the banner, 1.5 inch bright green border.
Banner, 23x34 inch peach banner with three lines of Chinese characters in black material embroidered on the banner, 23x2 inch white pocket edge for stick to hold banner, 4 inch faded yellow-green triangle-fringe border on three sides of the banner.
Banner, 24x33 inch red banner with three lines of Chinese characters in black material embroidered on the banner, 24x2 inch white pocket edge for stick to hold banner, 4 inch bright green triangle-fringe border on three sides of the banner.
Banner, 34x67 inch hot pink banner with six lines of Chinese characters in black material embroidered on the banner.
Blanket, 24x56 inch blanket with multi-colored geometric shapes for the main part of the blanket with a dark green border on two sides and a mustard yellow border on the other two sides, with a rust and white border on two sides and a multi-colored lined border on the other two sides, with a white cotton outside border and back covering. "This piece was given to the Dr. [Tom Dooley] by a village chief. The village was 3 days from Muong Sing in the mountains. The village was somewhere near where Burma, Thailand, and Laos come together-sometimes this area is referred to as the Golden Triangle-we saw acres and acres of opium poppies. This is one of the most beautiful pieces I've seen."
Blanket, 32x70 inch blanket with lines of various widths and colors including purple yellow, orange, green, white, and red. "We had few patients from Burma-but some would come. This piece was given to us by a Burmese women for treating her husband's addiction to opium. He smoked 120-140 pipes a day. They would give us gifts but would not indicate specific uses for the item. I asked this woman what to use it for. She replied-whatever you want."
Blanket, 34x60 inch with multi-colored embroidered pattern for the main part of the blanket with a silk green border and a silk pink border and a white cloth border and back covering. "The people of Muong Sing learned that my [Earl Rhine] wife had had our first child, so they made this blanket for her. Most of the women in the village participated in its making."
Blanket, 42x72 inch blanket with red and black geometric designs on white cloth. "This unfinished piece shows the coarseness of the material and the primitiveness of their looms. But I think it is also very beautiful and shows how artistic these primitive people really are. As we saw the people in all aspects of their lives-we began to rethink the meaning of 'primitive.'"
Bracelets, metal. "Baci bracelets given to the Dr. [Tom Dooley] by old medicine woman. She appears in The Night They Burned the Mountain [by Dooley]."
Card, Christmas, from Prime Minister
Chop, riding, 22 inches long, with knife, 8 inch decorated handle, 14 inch weaved top. "Police chief of Muong Sing gave this ridding chop to Dr. Dooley. The village officials (including the mayor) planned to give in a 'Tibetian pony.' These small ponies were common in our area."
Coins from Indo-china
Coverings, table-two, 11.5x17 inches, purple with purple fringes and red and blue border design on shorter edges,; "Received for service small table coverings. Probably make in China or Burma. Gift to Dr. Tom [Dooley]."
Covering, table, 15x28 inches rectangular off-white cloth with smaller ends decorated with multi-colored (purple, green, yellow, fuchsia) geometric shapes, with tassels and beads on two edges. "All hand make-we watched the ladies at a locally made loom, produce this piece of cloth. It was completed as a gift for the Dr. [Tom Dooley] on the occasion of a Lao Holiday. There are two pieces. They came from two different households."
Covering, table, 17x36 inches rectangular off-white cloth with small ends decorated with multi-colored (red, yellow, blue, green) geometric shapes. "All hand make-we watched the ladies at a locally made loom, produce this piece of cloth. It was completed as a gift for the Dr. [Tom Dooley] on the occasion of a Lao Holiday. There are two pieces. They came from two different households."
Handkerchief, 11.5x11.5 inches, off-white material with bright blue crocheted border, embroidered pink flower, buds, and green leaves in one corner. "Hand made handkerchief given to us [Earl Rhine, Dwight Davis, Dr. Tom Dooley] for delivering the mayor's second son. Dwight delivered. Strange thing was, was took turns delivering babies on rotating basis. Dwight delivered only boys-I [Earl Rhine] delivered only girls. We stopped counting deliveries at 200 apiece. This gave Dwight and I a healthy respect from the villagers."
Harness pieces, three round objects with holes in the middle and one small bell. "I [Earl Rhine] retrieved these pieces of harness at the site of a tragedy. Communists had murdered a man, his wife, and small daughter by the side of a trail leading to M[uong] S[ing]. The girl was shot in the middle of the forehead as she looked at her captors."
Jacket, black thin cloth, very fragile and deteriorating. "This jacket was from a Lao soldier we treated. He was 'Pathet Lao' soldier fighting against the regular Lao forces backed by the U.S. He had been wounded some distance from Muong Sing-he was left at the hospital during the night. We did our best to save him, but he died after a week or so."
Jacket, clinic, white, short-sleeved, waist-length wrap-around jacket with buttons on the right side, pocket on upper right side, with Chinese characters embroidered on the left upper side, inside tag says "Fretz Brothers, Kansas City, MO, Size 40. "Clinic jacket given to me [Earl Rhine] by Dr. [Tom] Dooley. I don't know how he acquired it. I believe it came from the Chinese K.M.T. soldiers stationed in Thailand. He had my name in Chinese sown on the front-since we had many K.M.T. patients-this was a typical 'Dooley diplomatic move."
Jacket, navy blue with blue trim on sleeves, front flap embroidered with multi- colored lines with flower-like object in the middle of the flap, on each side on the front of the jacket above the flap are decorations with strings of beads and tassels of yarn and horse hair. Kha Kho tribesman's jacket. The cotton was grown in the area-the dye came from the area-everything they need-they produced. This jacket-from start to finish-is a home made, home produced, product. They may be primitive but they are very wise. They have been surviving for hundreds of years. I loved it."
Money from Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, HongKong
Pants, black thin cloth, very fragile and deteriorating. "This pair of pants was from a Lao soldier we treated. He was 'Pathet Lao' soldier fighting against the regular Lao forces backed by the U.S. He had been wounded some distance from Muong Sing-he was left at the hospital during the night. We did our best to save him, but he died after a week or so."
Purse, money, 4x4 cloth bag with line designs in red, yellow, green, white, and purple, with many colorful beads, square cloth, and thread tassels off the corners, top flap opens to inner pouch. "A 'Kha Kho' money purse-trinket bag. The 'Kha' tribesmen were very primitive in their ways. Lived only in the mountains but loved to come to the hospital. This was a gift to Dr. [Tom] Dooley and staff for saving a man who had been shot while hunting in the jungle."
Speculum. "This is a 'weighted speculum' and a 'dialator'-these were used often in various procedures. This came from our operating room.
Stamps from Laos
String, in a ball. "This is 'Baci' string-many time people would give us gift for treating them but frequently, they would have the elders of a village or religion persons give us a 'Baci' or celebration. They would chant-make offering to 'the gods or spirits' on our behalf. Then they put string on our wrists to seal the deal."
INDEX
Airline Stewardess Program, f. 7
An Lac Orphanage, f. 6, 14, 15, 18
Angkor Wat, f. 14, 15
Ankor Wat, f. 14, 15
Ban Houei Sai, f. 2
Buddhism, f. 13
Chaney, Dr. Verne, f. 2, 3, 7
Christianity, f. 13
Comanduras, Dr. Peter, f. 6
Commanduras, Dr. Peter, f. 6
Communism, f. 4, 12, 13
Davis, Dwight, f. 1-8, 10, 11, 14- 21
Dooley, Malcolm, f. 6
Dooley, Thomas A., Dr., f. 1-8, 10, 11, 13-21
Dooley, Thomas A. Foundation, Inc., see Thomas A. Dooley Foundation, Inc.
Dooley, Tom, Heritage, Inc., see Tom Dooley Heritage, Inc.
Dooley, Tom, Memorial Hospital, see Tom Dooley Memorial Hospital
French Language, f. 9
Furey, Robert, f. 1
Gallagher, Teresa, f. 1
Hoang, Ngoan Van, f. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 16, 18, 19, 20
Indochina, f. 13
Kha Ko, f. 17
King of Laos, f. 10, 17
Lao Language, f. 9
Laos, f. 1-7, 10, 11, 12, 13-19
Laotians, f. 13-19
MEDICO, f. 1, 2, 6, 10
Miller, Hank, f. 1
Muong Sing Hospital, f. 1-4, 6-8, 11, 13-18
Namtha River Trip, f. 8, 19
Ngai, Madame, f. 6, 8, 14, 15, 18
Ngoan, Van Hoang, see Hoang, Ngoan Van
Ngy, Madame, see Ngai, Madame
Northshield's, f. 4, 5
Order of the Million Elephants with White Parasol, f. 10, 17
Orphanage, An Lac, see An Lac Orphanage
Pathet Lao, f. 2, 13
Phnom Penh, f. 14-16
Project Showboat, f. 3, 7
Rangoon Airport, f. 14, 15
Rhine, Carol Ann, f. 10, 14
Rhine, Earl, f. 1-8, 10, 11, 14-21
Rhine, Emily, f. 10, 14
Rhine, Gordon Thomas, f. 10, 14
Russians, f. 12
Sai, f. 2, 8
Sassano, Gloria, f. 1
Sawadee, f. 7
Schweitzer, Dr. Albert, f. 6, 11, 17
Seagraves, Dr. Gordon, f. 6
S.E.A.T.O, f. 12
Siem Reap, Cambodia, f. 14, 15
Smith, Ted, f. 1
Southwest Texas State College, f. 10
Soviet Union, f. 12
Thomas A. Dooley, Dr., f. 1-8, 10, 11, 13-21
Thomas A. Dooley Foundation, Inc. f. 2, 3, 7
Tom Dooley Heritage, Inc., f. 3, 7
Tom Dooley Memorial Hospital, f. 7
Tze-yu, Ho, f. 2, 16, 18
Vietiane, Laos, f. 6, 8, 13, 16
Vietnamese, f. 12, 13
Voulgaropoulos, Emmanuel, f. 6, 18
Yao Tribe, f. 14, 15, 18
WESTERN HISTORICAL MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION
222 THOMAS JEFFERSON LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS
8001 NATURAL BRIDGE ROAD
ST. LOUIS, MO 63121
(314) 516-5143
whmc@umsl.edu