CVM Graduate Biographies - 1909

Harold W. Bales. It was noted in the 1909 Royal Purple that Bales has great possibilities, if he would only develop. He could enter any discussion and argue equally well on either side. If you wanted to know anything about the Veterinary Department, you could ask him and he would tell you. The Royal Purple said his small size was probably due to his being burdened with such big words as hexamethylenetetramine, encephalomeningitis, and craniorachischisis. Bales was a charter member of the Kansas State College Veterinary Medical Association organized October 20, 1906. The 1914 Record of the alumni of the Kansas State Agricultural College notes that Bales was a Veterinary Surgeon, U.S. Veterinary Inspector, 542 Custom House, Louisville, Kentucky and General Practice of Veterinary Medicine, 1909-11. From 1911, he was a Veterinary Inspector with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry. Harold W. Bales, 62, Oswego, New York died March 3, 1948, of a cerebral hemorrhage. For twenty-four years he served as Oswego county veterinarian and he was a member of the AVMA. His younger son, Charles Ross Bales, M.D., was a plastic and general surgeon for over three decades.

Claude Smith Conner was born March 7, 1885, Mitchell, Rice County, Kansas. He went by “Stub” and served as president of the Webster Society during the spring term of his senior year. The motto of the Webster Society was “Labor Conquers All Things.” The 1909 Royal Purple stated this fair haired youth is fond of the ladies and the ladies are fond of him. However, we must agree with Shakespeare on this subject: “For maids, well summered and kept, are like flies at Bartholomew-tide, blind, though they have their eyes.” Conner was a member of the Veterinary Medical Association and the Dramatic Club. The 1914 Record of the Alumni of the Kansas State Agricultural College noted Conner was a Veterinary Surgeon first in Smith Center, Kansas and then in Lyons, Kansas. The 1918 issue of Veterinary Medicine, Volume 13, Page 38, notes Dr. E. F. Kubin has moved to Fort Worth, Texas where he is manager of a large bacteriological laboratory. Dr. Kubin sold his practice in McPherson, Kansas to Dr. C. S. Conner of Phillipsburg, Kansas. The 1920 American Journal of Veterinary Medicine notes he bought a practice from Dr. E. F. Kubin in McPherson. Dr. Claude S. Conner, El Centro, California, died, San Diego, California, July 29, 1933, the result of a skull fracture received in an automobile accident.

Chester William Grizzel was born and raised in Claflin, Kansas. He is described in the 1909 Royal Purple as calm, faithful, candid and works away with patient effort. There is a poem about “Ches” Grizzel in the 1909 Royal Purple, “A steady fellow of manly gait, But eyes that fain would look you straight.” Grizzel was a member of the Hamilton Literary Society, the Veterinary Medical Association, and the Dramatic Club. The 1914 Record of the Alumni of the Kansas State Agricultural College notes Grizzel was a Veterinary Surgeon, Seventh and Adams Streets, Sterling, Kansas. The Macksville Digital History notes he spent several years at Chase caring for his brothers horses. He came back to Macksville in 1913, where he lived on a farm east of Macksville. His veterinary work was done from the back seat and trunk of his car. In 1934-35, Grizzel spent six months testing cattle for tuberculosis in Texas. He was a specialist on sleeping sickness in horses and never lost a horse to that disease. Many old timers described the hours they spent with Chet over a sick animal. Chester W. Grizzel, 74, Macksville, Kansas, died May 12, 1958.

James William Harner. The 1914 Record of the Alumni of the Kansas State Agricultural College notes Harner was first a Veterinary Surgeon in Green, Kansas. In 1911, he became a United States Inspector, Bureau of Animal Industry, Paris, Texas.

Edison Frank Kubin was born in McPherson, Kansas on August 14, 1886. He gained considerable distinction for himself in the fall of 1908 by becoming the star player of the 1909 football team. The 1909 Royal Purple stated that his good looks, and cunning ways have made him popular with the ladies, and his brilliant repartee, and wonderful linguistic abilities have won him a host of friends. Kubin was twenty-two years old when he graduated from KSAC. Kubin was a member of the Hamilton Literary Society, the Rooters’ Club, a charter member of the Kansas State College Veterinary Medical Association, and the Penny-matchers’ Union. The 1914 Record of the Alumni of the Kansas State Agricultural College notes, Kubin was a Veterinary Surgeon, practicing veterinary medicine and also House Physician in McPherson, Kansas from 1909-10. In 1910, Kubin was in charge of the Serum Plant at KSAC. From 1911-12, Kubin was an Assistant in the Department of Veterinary Medicine, KSAC. The 1915 Kansas Farmer reported that Kubin was back in McPherson in practice again. The 1920 January issue of the American Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Volume XV, No. 1, Page 58, noted that Dr. E. F. Kubin, who has been connected with the Purity Serum Co., Fort Worth, Texas, has returned to McPherson, Kansas, where he has resumed the practice which he sold to Dr. C. S. Conner years ago. Kubin died in McPherson on July 13, 1975 at age 88, from an inoperable terminal cancer of the prostate. He was an honor roll member of the AVMA.

Edward A. Logan first graduated from KSAC in 1900 and then came back in 1908 to take the veterinary course. He was not very well known by his classmates, probably because he was a married man. Logan practiced veterinary medicine in Wamego, Kansas from 1909-12. In 1912, Logan moved to St. Joseph, Missouri where he was the City Chemist and Bacteriologist, also Professor of Bacteriology and Pathology, St. Joseph Veterinary College. In the 1923, St. Joseph Veterinary College class composite, Logan is designated the vice-president of the College. Edward A. Logan died in St. Joseph, Missouri on February 11, 1950. Dr. Logan had been employed by Anchor Serum Co. for several years.

John Elberman McCoy was a Scotsman born in 1886 Cawker City, Kansas. The 1909 Royal Purple stated that “Squint” came to KSAC in 1905, and being a lover of dumb animals, and a sympathizer with their suffering, it is only natural that he decided to take the veterinary course. It was stated that McCoy was a good mixer, and a serious sort of person, it being exceedingly difficult to be serious when he is about. McCoy was a charter member of the Kansas State College Veterinary Medical Association organized October 20, 1906. The 1914 Record of the Alumni of the Kansas State Agricultural College notes McCoy was first a Veterinary Surgeon in Cawker City in General Veterinary Practice, then in Thayer, Kansas from 1909-11. After 1911, he was in Cawker City. On October 8, 1918, McCoy was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps with duty at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia, then on January 9, 1919 assigned to the 323rd Auxiliary Remount Depot, Camp Funston, Kansas. After his discharge on May 21, 1919, McCoy moved to Twin Falls, Idaho. In 1922 a live bobcat, Touchdown I, was donated by Herbert Groome (1907) and John McCoy (1909), both in practice in Twin Falls, Idaho, to be the mascot at athletic events at their alma mater, KSAC. 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. In 1923, McCoy joined the faculty at Washington State University (WSU). Except for a three-year period (1933-1936), he was on the WSU faculty until he retired in 1952. During his teaching career at WSU, he served as Chair of the WSU Veterinary Clinic and immediately prior to his retirement he became dean of the college from 1950-52. The veterinary clinic building was named for Dr. McCoy in 1953, perhaps the most popular and admired clinician and teacher the school ever had. John E. McCoy, 72, Dean Emeritus of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State College, died on Jan 15, 1958, at the Veterans Hospital, Walla Walla, Washington. McCoy was a member of the Washington State VMA and a life member for the AVMA. He was also a member of Alpha Psi, Crimson Circle Honorary, and the American Legion. Following Dr. McCoy’s death in 1958, the John E. McCoy Endowment was established in his name through private gifts received from faculty, alumni, and friends. From the endowment the John E. McCoy Award is made to “an outstanding worker in the field of clinical veterinary medicine.” This is one of the most prestigious awards made by the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine. When Dr. McCoy’s former students and colleagues get together, they invariably reminisce of their former professor. They remember fondly those years when he stood as one of the stalwarts of veterinary medicine at WSU, especially since his tenure spanned two of the most trying periods in the history of the college—the Great Depression and World War II. One alumnus remembered Dr. McCoy’s rare “feel” for animals: “Dr. McCoy could tap the belly of a sick hog and tell you almost immediately what was wrong simply by listening to the hog’s squeal.” Shortly before McCoy’s death in 1958, Western Veterinarian, an annual research journal and yearbook produced by students, was dedicated to Dr. McCoy. The editors wrote, “During his stay at WSC there was never a better loved faculty member. His vast knowledge and total dedication to his students put him high in the esteem of faculty and students alike. It was said at one time that if Dr. McCoy could not teach someone veterinary medicine it was impossible for that person to learn.”

Peter J. Meenen was born in Oldenburg, Germany on May 10, 1882. Before entering KSAC he came to Kansas and graduated from Clifton High School and Salina Normal. Meenen was a member of the Webster Literary Society and the Veterinary Medical Association. The 1914 Record of the Alumni of the Kansas State Agricultural College notes Meenan became the Veterinary Surgeon and Veterinarian for the H. K. Mulford Biological Laboratories, 312 Glenolden Avenue, Glenolden, Pennsylvania.

John Howard Payne was born July 11, 1884 in Girardsville, among the Pennsylvania Dutch in Schuylkill County. He was one of 14 children. His father worked in the coal mines in Pennsylvania. He did not want his sons to work in the coal mines, and in 1894, moved his family to Formosa, Kansas in Jewell County. He bought a farm and raised his family there. Some of the sons remained on the farm; others went to college and held jobs in professional fields, i.e., veterinary medicine, dentistry, and electrical engineering. The 1909 Royal Purple said “Payne was a jolly, good-natured youth with curly hair, always ready for fun, but withal an unassuming, industrious student, he is sure to make an excellent ‘Horse Doctor.’ His favorite expression was ‘Gin I get back I might have had another lesson.’ Indeed it is said that he would rather study than eat.” Payne was a member of the Webster Literary Society, the Co-Operative Association, the Athletic Association, and the Veterinary Medical Association. Payne graduated from KSAC with his D.V.M. degree on June 17, 1909. He joined the KVMA on January 5, 1910. The 1914 Record of the Alumni of the Kansas State Agricultural College notes Payne was first a Veterinary Surgeon, practicing veterinary medicine in Blue Rapids, Kansas, from 1909-11. He then joined the Bureau of Animal Industry in meat inspection in Chicago, later moving to Sedalia, Missouri where he worked on the eradication of hog cholera in Missouri and eastern Kansas. In 1916, Payne left government employment and began veterinary practice in Formosa, Kansas. In 1923-24, he was employed in a sugar beet factory in Greeley, Colorado and later lived in La Junta, Colorado and was employed by the Santa Fe Railroad. When employees were laid off the railroad, the family returned to Formosa where he resumed his veterinary practice. Payne practiced veterinary medicine until his early death at age 49 from pneumonia and a heart attack on November 10, 1933.

Merrit Rex Tinkham was born in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. Before coming to KSAC he attended high school and also the College of Sioux Falls. The 1909 Royal Purple stated that somehow it seems odd that “Tink” should have received so many wrong impressions while in school; for instance, he disgraced the poet, Robert Browning, by calling him a married woman, in a final Literature exam. And how can Rex go on an excursion and never spend a cent of money? Of his future career it is hard to tell what he will be, for he has three vocations—Veterinarian, Doctor, and Banker. Tinkham was a member of the Hamilton Literary Society, Rooters’ Club, Athletic Association, a charter member of the Kansas State College Veterinary Medical Association, and Co-operative Association. The 1914 Record of the Alumni of the Kansas State Agricultural College notes Tinkham was a Veterinary Surgeon and Practicing Veterinarian, National City, California in 1909. From 1910-11, he was Deputy Veterinarian, San Diego County, California, From 1912-, Tinkham was a Real Estate and Building Contractor.

Robert Hugh Wilson was born in Rasharkin, Ireland and at age two was brought to America. Wilson was a member of the Franklin Literary Society and a charte member of the Kansas State College Veterinary Medical Association organized on October 20, 1906 at KSAC. After earning his D.V.M. degree, Wilson was an Assistant in Bacteriology, KSAC, 1909-10. He then became Assistant Chief Veterinarian and Veterinary Bacteriologist, Parke-Davis Research Laboratory. He supervised the Biological Farm for Parke-Davis and Company in Rochester, Michigan, for more than forty years. Wilson died in 1970.