February 2008

New museum scouts for memorabilia

When someone talks about DD and BJ Palmer, or the early days of chiropractic, or even of those pioneers who went to jail for practicing chiropractic, many DCs roll their eyes or snicker. For them, chiropractic "history" started the day they enrolled in school or got their license. What happened in the past, especially with those "old guys" isn't important or relevant to today's practice.

Two‑time Pulitzer Prize winning author David C. McCullough would dispute that. "History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are," he stated.

Timothy Feuling, president of Chiropractic Benefit Services, agrees wholeheartedly. "The more we understand about chiropractic's rich heritage, the better we can plan for its exciting future," he recently told The Chiropractic Journal. "We need to honor and preserve its past."

To that end, Feuling has teamed up with Terry A. Rondberg, DC, president of the World Chiropractic Alliance, in founding what they hope will become the largest private collection of chiropractic memorabilia in the world.

Feuling, who was introduced to chiropractic as a patient after breaking his back in a 1991 accident, went on to dedicate himself to chiropractic, to educating the public about the profession and helping chiropractors safeguard their practices against malpractice claims.

Over the past decade, he has written and co‑written numerous books and articles, including "Chiropractic Works!," "Chiropractic Compassion and Expectation," "From Student to Doctor ‑‑ How to Transition into Practice."

Even his time off started to revolve around chiropractic when he became interested in collecting memorabilia dating back to the late 1800s. Feuling has built an impressive collection over the past seven years, including a complete Palmer Chiropractic Green Book Collection; Palmer Yearbooks from the first few decades of chiropractic; early chiropractic instrumentation, such as nervoscopes, a neurocalometer and heartometer; photographs; reel‑to‑reel tape recordings; original negatives; early pamphlets; books; paintings; and newspaper clippings.

Key artifacts include an original neurocalometer in an oak box in mint working condition, and a 1910 first edition of DD Palmer's book, "The Text‑book of the Science, Art and Philosophy of Chiropractic," which was previously owned by three early chiropractic pioneers, including Dr. Bertrand DeJarnette, the developer of SOT chiropractic care.

Feuling and Dr. Rondberg are always on the lookout for new pieces that can illuminate the history of chiropractic and documents its progress as the foremost American health care system. They hope to amass the largest collection outside of Palmer School, and they plan to write a book about the history of chiropractic within the next few years. The museum will be housed in the Mission Valley, Calif., headquarters of Quixote Software, and will be open to the public.

"The more chiropractic history and memorabilia we collect for our museum, the better our visitors will understand the journey our profession has endured and the validity of what we do," Fueling noted.

Feuling and Rondberg are encouraging all doctors or others involved in the profession (including surviving family members) to contact them regarding any early chiropractic items of any kind. They are seeking early chiropractic books, photographs, postcards, paintings, statues, school memorabilia, films, audio recordings, etc.

"The most important factor in our new museum is that we are doing exactly what BJ Palmer asked when he said 'You have in your hands a sacred trust ... guard it well!,' Feuling says. "We are safeguarding every possible shred of history we can, so the new generations and the current generations of chiropractors and chiropractic patients can see what our profession has gone through to get where we are today. If we can contribute by opening the eyes of a few here and there, more power to chiropractic."

To discuss donating or selling memorabilia to the new chiropractic museum, contact Feuling at 858‑229‑5518, tfeuling@sbcglobal.net , or 4479 Philbrook Square, San Diego CA 92130.