CVM Graduate Biographies - 1907

Charles Earle Bassler was the youngest member of the class of 1907 (twenty-two years old). Bassler was born in Manhattan, Kansas. His pre-veterinary education consisted of the city school course and one year of high school. The subject of his thesis was “anatomy of the digestive tract of chickens.” Bassler was a charter member of the Kansas State College Veterinary Medical Association organized on October 20, 1906. Under the provisions of the 1907 Legislative Practice Act there were registered prior to January 1, 1908, 147 graduate veterinarians and 184 non-graduates. Charles E. Bassler had Certificate No. 58. Bassler briefly practiced in Greensburg, Kansas, then returned to teach at KSAC from 1907-08. He then practiced veterinary medicine in Halstead, Kansas from 1908-09 before returning to Greensburg. Bassler became a member of the AVMA in 1918 when the AVMA meeting was in Kansas City. He was in Greensburg, Kansas at that time. Bassler died in Ainsworth, Iowa on Jan. 9, 1951.

Fred Wallace Caldwell was born on Christmas Day, 1879, in Garnett, Kansas. His advice to fellow students was not to “butt in.” Caldwell was a charter member of the Kansas State College Veterinary Medical Association organized on October 20, 1906. He announced in the 1907 KSAC yearbook that he would be happy to doctor the horses owned by anyone of the class of 1907 at reduced prices. The topic of Caldwell’s thesis was “Blood Count as a Means of Diagnosing Disease.” Under the provisions of the 1907 Legislative Practice Act there were registered prior to January 1, 1908, 147 graduate veterinarians and 184 non-graduates. F. W. Caldwell had Certificate No. 111. Caldwell practiced in Wamego and Atchison, Kansas from 1907-12. He then joined the faculty of the St. Joseph Veterinary College, 1306 South Twentieth Street, St. Joseph, Missouri, where he was Professor of Theory and Practice, Manager of the St. Joseph Veterinary Laboratory, and Dean of the St. Joseph Veterinary College. The photo of Caldwell as dean of the St. Joseph Veterinary College is from the 1913 graduation composite. In 1911, Caldwell was vice-president of the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Caldwell died on April 24, 1942.

Albert Francis Cassell was born in a sod house in Lincoln County, north of Beverly, Kansas, on September 22, 1879. His father was born in France; the family came to the U.S., first settled in Quincy, Illinois, moving to Kansas in 1876. Albert Cassell was one of eleven children; he went to Pleasant Hill School and worked for local farmers during the summer, breaking sod with a horse and plow to save money for college.

Cassell graduated from Kansas State Agricultural College (KSAC) in 1905 from the Agricultural Course; however, the 1907 College yearbook notes he believed he was better suited to be a veterinarian than a farmer, he re-entered college in the fall of 1906 to take the Veterinary Course. Al was quite athletically inclined, having played on both the college football and baseball teams. He belonged to the Hamilton Society, the Athletic Association, and the “Vet Gang.” The Fifteenth Biennial Report from KSAC, 1905, notes his thesis was on “Pus Organisms.”

Albert Cassell is pictured on a baseball program in 1907 and featured inside as follows: “AL CASSELL, the honored man in this book, is a senior doctor of veterinary science, and one of the best in the class. Al has a record in the College as a baseball fan and especially as a hard hitter. When Al steps to the bat the left and center fielders get back while the right fielder looks for a place to get over the fence. The Doctor graduated from the College with the ’05 class in the ‘Ag’ course but decided to return and spend some more time with us. Al was once a big member in the Hamilton and has a record which shows up well in the history of that society. Al played several seasons on the football team at fullback but a broken leg ended his football career. Immediately upon graduating the Doctor will leave for Spain, where he has accepted the position of head veterinarian at the court of King Alphonso XIII (he did not go to Spain).”

Albert Francis Cassell graduated in 1907 in veterinary medicine from KSAC. He was in the first class of seven graduates to earn the D.V.M. degree. He returned to Lincoln County, lived in his home town of Beverly and served as the veterinarian for several counties for some 40 years. He married Eva Maude Chamberlain on June 10, 1914. He briefly served in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps during World War I with duty at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia and Chickamauga Park. Cassell was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant on Oct 5, 1918 and discharged on Dec 28, 1918. His son, M. Joe Cassell and his wife, Kathleen, Salina, Kansas, said Al Cassell was in the Kansas National Guard from 1918-20, a Captain in the Cavalry Corps, U.S. Army. Cassell was a Horse and Buggy doctor through the 1920’s, making calls in Lincoln and Ellsworth counties. Early records show most charges were $2.00 and at the most $10.00. He also became the postmaster from 1933 to 1943 and a substitute teacher for both grade and high school in Beverly until his death in 1947. For several years, he was the only resident in Beverly with a college degree. He always wore a white shirt, tie, and usually a suit. Cassell’s son remembers going with his dad in the spring to the Gregory Ranch in Ellsworth County to vaccinate and castrate calves; this usually took two weeks, so they stayed in the bunk house with the ranch hands. Cassell bought his first car in 1930, a Model A Ford; his second car was a 1935 Ford and his last car was a 1940 Ford. For years, there was no medical doctor in Beverly. Between the pharmacist and Cassell, minor problems were handled or sent to Lincoln or Salina. A traveling salesman wrecked his car one day, almost severed his arm, and Dr. Cassell was forced to amputate it, then stayed with him while he was driven to Salina for further treatment. The Salina physician told Dr. Cassell he should have become a medical doctor.

Dr. Albert F. Cassell died on April 26, 1947, at the Asbury Hospital, Salina, Kansas, following a severe heart attack. The funeral was April 29, 1947, at the Colorado Township Hall in Beverly, the only place large enough to accommodate his many friends and family. There were many standing outside the Township Hall. Burial was at the Beverly cemetery.

James Hamilton Cheney was born on August 19, 1880. He earned his B.S. degree in the agricultural course in 1906. His thesis was on “corn planting.” In the 1906 Yearbook, the Banner, is a rhyme about Cheney, “A little ‘Ag’ with smooth straight hair, Presided in the ’06 chair, The joy and pride of all the class, His heart’s not lost to any lass, He owns not any creed or sect, A loyal ‘Hamp,’ his one defect, (In other ways he’s quite in tune), His mother let him walk too soon.” While in school he served as the “landlord” at the co-op dining hall. Cheney was also on the Editorial Staff of The Kansas Agricultural Review, a publication in the Agricultural Department at KSAC. Cheney was a charter member of the Kansas State College Veterinary Medical Association organized on October 20, 1906. The subject of his thesis for his D.V.M degree in 1907 was “Urinalysis as a Means of Diagnosis in Veterinary Practice.” Under the provisions of the 1907 Legislative Practice Act there were registered prior to January 1, 1908, 147 graduate veterinarians and 184 non-graduates. James H. Cheney had Certificate No. 64. Cheney practiced in Hoisington and Great Bend, Kansas, and in Chicago. In 1914, Cheney was vice-president of the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association. While in Chicago, Cheney received a petition signed by thirty of his friends from Great Bend respectfully requesting that he endeavor to arrange his plans to return in the near future to resume his veterinary practice. An attached letter stated that a gang of his friends would get together to meet him at the train in Great Bend with a colored band if necessary. Instead of going back to Great Bend, Cheney became a county agent in Miguel County, Colorado. Dr. Cheney died on September 10, 1939 and is buried in the Great Bend Cemetery.

Herbert Revere Groome traveled to Kansas from North Carolina to secure an education that was befitting of a man of his rank. Groome earned his B.S. degree in 1905 in the general science course. Not being satisfied with this title, he enrolled in the new veterinary science program during the next fall. Groome was noted for his interest in horseshoeing and it was said that although he was always prepared for class, it really did not matter, since he was easily the best in class when it came to the game of bluff. In the spring of 1906, John Roseberry Morris, Jewell City, Kansas, took as a partner Herbert R. Groome, a future veterinarian. Morris was not a graduate veterinarian. Their veterinary infirmary was in John Morris Big Barn. The ground floor of the barn served as a livery barn and veterinary hospital. The second floor was used for the storage of hay. The third floor was used as a skating rink, opera house, and dance floor. Groome was a charter member of the Kansas State College Veterinary Medical Association organized on October 20, 1906. The subject of Groome’s thesis for his D.V.M. degree in 1907 was “Therapeutics of Eserine.” Morris left Jewell City in 1907; The Jewell County Republican, May 17, 1907, noted that Dr. H. R. Groome will answer calls at Crawford & Elyea’s Barn. On March 19, 1910, Dr. Herbert R. Groome was married to Miss Maude McClain in Jewell City. In 1917, Groome sold his practice to Dr. Harvey Frank and moved to Twin Falls, Idaho. In 1922 a live bobcat, Touchdown I, was donated by Groome and John McCoy (D.V.M., 1909), both in practice in Twin Falls, Idaho, to be the mascot at athletic events at their alma mater. Unfortunately, the bobcat had been attacked by a porcupine and his face and throat were punctured with numerous quills. The bobcat never fully recovered from the attack and died due to pneumonia shortly after arriving in Manhattan. Dr. Groome died on June 26, 1953, in Twin Falls, Idaho. He had practiced for 35 years in Twin Falls. For two years, Groome served as State Veterinarian of Idaho. He became a member of the AVMA in 1919.

Edwin William “Mack” McCrone was born on May 16, 1876. He was the first man to earn his D.V.M. degree from KSAC in 1907. McCrone received a B.S. degree in the agricultural course in 1903. Following graduation, he managed a dairy in Callao, Missouri, near Kansas City in 1903; was employed in a dairy in Big Horn, Wyoming, in 1904; and a student in the Kansas City Veterinary College in 1904-05. McCrone returned to KSAC in 1905 to complete his veterinary degree, graduating at the end of the winter term, March 29, 1907. McCrone was a charter member of the Kansas State College Veterinary Medical Association organized on October 20, 1906. The 1907 yearbook states that McCrone was the star of the class in anatomy and at all times took a great deal of interest in all subjects related to veterinary science. The subject of McCrone’s thesis for his D.V.M. degree in 1907 was “Relational Anatomy of the Respiratory and Digestive Tracts of Chickens.” He established a practice in Haddam, Kansas. McCrone died on June 27, 1922; he is buried in the Haddam Cemetery, Washington County, Kansas.

Charles A. Pyle was born in 1881; he was from Morrill, Kansas and earned his B.S. degree in agriculture in 1904. Pyle was a charter member of the Kansas State College Veterinary Medical Association organized on October 20, 1906. The topic of Pyle’s thesis for his D.V.M. degree in 1907 was “Protargol in Veterinary Surgery.” Under the provisions of the 1907 Legislative Practice Act there were registered prior to January 1, 1908, 147 graduate veterinarians and 184 non-graduates. Charles A. Pyle had Certificate No. 84. Following his graduation in veterinary medicine in 1907, Pyle practiced veterinary medicine in Salina, Kansas (1907-08), was an Assistant, Veterinary Division, University of Minnesota (1908-10), and Professor of Pathology and Physiology, San Francisco Veterinary College (1910-12). He was also on the faculty at the University of Georgia, and Kansas State College from 1928 until 1935. The Industrialist (October 9, 1909) reported that Miss Vera McDonald and Dr. Charles A. Pyle were married on September 16, 1909; they note Pyle was employed as assistant in veterinary science in the University of Minnesota. The 47th Annual Meeting of the AVMA was in San Francisco, September 6-9, 1910. A clinic was prepared for members at the San Francisco Veterinary College. Pyle read a paper in the evening entitled, “Preventive Treatment of Hog Cholera” which proved to be very interesting and brought forth a general discussion. In 1912, Pyle responded in the Pacific Rural Press to a question about “Udder Troubles.” In 1936, Pyle went into private practice in Independence, Kansas. Dr. Pyle died on October 27, 1967. He is buried in the Morrill Cemetery, Brown County, Kansas.