A regular feature looking back at what was being printed around 100 years ago in the Bristol Daily Courier. This week’s entry comes from the October 15, 1919 edition of the newspaper.
New Health Man Is Named For Bristol
Henry C. Lovett, of Bristol, R.D., has been appointed acting health officer for Bristol Borough to succeed John M. Wright, it was announced today by Dr. Plymire, county medical inspector.
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Dr. Plymire announces that all physicians should make their reports available hereafter to Mr. Lovett, especially in the matter of communicable diseases, calling special attention to the new state laws for the prevention of the spread of such minor ailments as chicken pox, mumps, whooping cough, etc.
The county medical man said today that he hopes to put into effect the long delayed “clean up” system here within a few days. A number of things have interfered with the forming of his “women’s committee,” but these kinks have now been ironed out, he declared, and the borough will see an effective system within the very near future.
As to local conditions, the doctor said they are pretty bad, although the publicity given has resulted in a considerable improvement in some section of the borough.
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Dr. Plymire, county medical director of the State Health Department, has requested that the police department of Bristol aid and assist him in keeping the alleys of the town from being littered with rubbish and debris of all sort.
The police are of the opinion that the job is not one they should be called on to do and last night Harvey S. Rue, chairman of the police committee, took the matter before the borough council and asked that the body give him some opinion as to whether or not the officers should be used for that purpose.
Mr. Rue stated that recently he has received numerous communications from Dr. Plymire requesting the use of the police to compel residents here to clean up their premises and also to prevent them from continually littering such premises with rubbish, ashes and debris of other nature.
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One location in question is the alley in the rear of Wood Street, between Market and Mulberry and between the westerly side of Wood Street and Pond Street. This alley was reported as being filled with ashes and other debris. On investigation, the alley was found to be fairly clean, stated Mr. Rue. But the residents had piled their ashes on the lost owned by G.M. Dorrance and Joseph R. Grundy.
The State Health Department is still planning how to clean up Bristol, as it has been doing for the past two months, with nothing accomplished. Just what the department will ever do here is not known.
An advertisement from the October 15, 1919 edition of the Bristol Daily Courier:
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