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Below is another
article written about Dr. Brewster, photo and article courtesy: CONTRIBUTION TO AVIATION Proving Grounds for Aviation's Practical Use Dr. Frank A. Brewster recognized the difficulty of traveling
muddy roads and infrequent trains particularly for the delivery of
medical services. With the persuasion of his neighbor Wade Stevens, a
WWI pilot, Dr. Brewster bought a Curtiss-Wright JN4D. The aircraft,
delivered by rail in two large boxes, was assembled and flown on May 19,
1919. Dr. Brewster responded to the first medical emergency by air on
May 23rd, when Wade Stevens flew him from Beaver City to Herndon,
Kansas. The doctor performed successful surgery to remove a piece of
steel from an oil field worker's skull. |
On May
23, 1919, Dr. Frank A. Brewster of Beaver City and pilot Wade Stevens took off
on a flight to Herndon, KS. There, Brewster performed emergency surgery to save
the life of an injured man. This flight attracted world-wide attention and Dr.
Brewster was regarded as perhaps the first physician to use an airplane for
professional purposes. The plane was a Curtiss JN ~ 4D "Jenny", which
the doctor had purchased a few weeks earlier. Brewster's airstrip and hangar,
located near here, was among the first private airports in Nebraska. One of the few surgeons serving the area of Nebraska and Kansas, Brewster was quick to adopt time-saving innovations. In 1906, he purchased the first automobile in Furnas county. However, back roads were a constant problem which led to Brewster's use of an airplane in his medical work. After moving to Holdrege, NE, Dr. Brewster regularly flew to visit the several hospitals he had built in the two-state region. At age 71, he received his own pilot's license and was an active flier until his death at age 89 in 1961.
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