Decades of paper-making and other manufacturing industries created unprecedented wealth in Neenah and Menasha. Industry owners tended to build stately homes in Neenah because property taxes there were much lower. Menasha taxpayers struggled for decades to pay off the city's debt, taken out to encourage railroads to build there. Menasha industrialists built on the Neenah side of Doty Island because we didn't have the railroad bonds sitting on our backs, and the property taxes were less. So Neenah became known as the city of mill owners. Menasha is a city of mill workers. But both cities are mill towns, and there's no way around it. And what that means is that you have a handful of people sitting on top of the pile, and the vast majority of everybody else just getting by. To bridge the gap, industrialists and their families gave back and used their wealth to address some of the most pressing problems of the day. There was this understanding that you have to make it work. You have to somehow or another make sure that everybody is accounted for. Women in Neenah and Menasha formed a very strong backbone for the life and times of their society. They had a very deep philanthropic streak and a very deep quest for education. They came together and they formed societies and clubs. In 1906, in response to a devastating earthquake in San Francisco, women in Neenah and Menasha formed the Emergency Society. The Emergency Society started as a group of women who wanted to do something to help the victims of the San Francisco earthquake. So they got together to sew clothing for the victims. And when that need was finally over, they went on then to do things within their communities. The Emergency Society formed a new organization, the V.N.A., or Visiting Nurse Association to address the public health needs in Neenah and Menasha. They formed this organization. They hired a nurse. Her name was Ida Heinecke. And each month, she made visits to individuals in the community. I think initially it was more related to women and childbirth because there was no real healthcare for them following up after they'd given birth. And no one telling them how to take care of a baby. Ida Heinecke cared for poor and immigrant families and helped them adapt to American culture. At first, she made her rounds on foot, until the communities pitched in to buy her a car. Making over 2,000 calls a year, Heinecke fought smallpox, scarlet fever, and when a doctor was unavailable, delivered babies herself. At the time the V.N.A. began, construction started on a new hospital for the community, funded by the family of Theda Clark. Daughter of Kimberly-Clark founder C.B. Clark, Theda lived a privileged life, but also attended the local public schools. She developed a keen sense of community responsibility from the example set by her father, a former Neenah mayor, and member of congress. Her father was so adamant about her helping her community, and being community-minded, and thinking of the future of the community. She's saying things like, "I know the perfect spot for a library," years before it's built. Clark led the campaign to build a new public library in Neenah and donated the land for the site. But it was her experience of personal loss that fueled her vision of a hospital, which would serve both communities. Community members' health issues, including her own father's death, probably impacted her when she thought about the community and what it needed most. F.C. Shattuck, a neighbor, he died from complications of appendicitis. Her friend, Helen Kimberly Stuart's first child died after birth. Her next door neighbor, D.L. Kimberly, died from complications of having back surgery performed in his home. There was no hospital. And maybe in her mind, she thought, "We could've prevented this." And then, unfortunately, she died just following the birth of her first child. She hemorrhaged to death over the course of a day or two. In her will, Theda Clark provided funding for the building of a hospital, to be carried out by her brother, Bill. The Clark family covered the hospital's losses through the crucial first decade. After that, both communities began providing generous support. In Menasha, another philanthropist, Elisha Smith, president of the Menasha Woodenware Company, and employer of over a thousand workers appeared before the City Council. Smith announced that he would provide all of the funds needed to build the Menasha Public Library, and furnish it with books. He also informed the council that he would donate 24 acres of land for a public park. After the community learned of the generosity of Mr. Smith, thousands of people decided to gather and march to his house. There were speeches, the mayor talked, two bands provided music, and Mr. Smith came to address the people. And he said that any person will live longer and be happier in this world by doing something to help mankind. And Mr. Smith passed away the year after the library opened. And he was so revered that his funeral procession stretched over a mile.
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