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Dr. Gordon Dammann — Civil war buff
NEWS ) i d You K n o w ?
)r. G o r d o n D a m m a n n
- - Civil W a r Buff
Nhde Confederate and Union soldiers ought for different causes during the ~ivll War. there were some things that were common ground for men ol both ;~des In addition to the pare and sufferng of war. suffenng from poor physical ~ealtn. spec~flcaqy dentat health, was a ;erious concern AAE member Dr Gordon Dammann of .ena. Ilhnois. has explored the area of .~ivll War dentistry for more than fifteen ,ears. A Ovil War buff since grade ;chool days. Dr Dammann collects ned,cal and dental 0nstruments and ;ClUlpment from the years 1861-1865 In h~S radial explorahons of that era. )r Dammann found that there was 'very Nile knowledge of the medical and lental practices" then Jn existence He vas also surpnsed to find that no one ~ad catalogued the mstrumenls and .,quipment recovered In response 1o Ibis eed. he dec~ded to compde his own col~chon and to undertake the compos~hon )f a book on C~vll War dentistry Dunng the l~me that he was gathering lformation for hiS book and now. as he ;hares h~s knowledge with others. Dr )ammann has traveled many miles ,.500 ~n 1983 H~S growing expertise and eputahon in the area of Cwil War den~stry. has resulted ~n an increased ~umber of requests for h~s lectures and Iisplays Th~s means time away from his ]mdy and practice and ~s the only ,egatwe aspect he has encountered m ~ursumg h~s hobby Dr Dammann's w~fe. Karen. and h~s ~o sons. Greg 13 and Doug 9. occa,onally are able to accompany h~m on cture/display tr~ps, their favonte spot emg Gettysburg Mrs. Dammann does I1 h~s tybmg and gwes adwce on ms ,ctures She and Doug also s~t m on is class at a local c o m m u m t y college 'here he teaches students about the ivil War He enjoys lhe teaching SPect of h~s hobby, espec,ally when Orkmg w~th School chddren and "see,g their eyes light up when you tell ~em aboul Abraham Lincoln. Grant qd L e e . He ~s hkew~se grahfled when Person who has bought a copy of h~s OOk wr,tes to tell of h~s or her enloylent. as ~t makes the hme and effort
C/vii War instruments Dr Dammann spends w o d h w b d e In adddion to being able to teach others. Dr Dammann has h~mself learned a valuable lesson from hrs hobby " S o m e o n e once sa,d ht ~s hard to tell w h e r e you are going ~f you do not know where you have been', I think this applies to denl~slry also Seeing how our proless=on has progressed ~n 120 years makes me think the future will be bright, ~f we work hard at ~t " Whde he pursues his hobby on h~s own, Dr. Dammann also belongs to many orgamzat~ons devoted to C~vfl War research. ,ncludmg the Cmcago
Civil War Roundtable, the Madison, Wisconsin H~story Roundtable, the Lena, Ilhno~s H~storical S o o e t y (of wh,ch he ~s a founder), the Soctely of O w l War Surgeons. and the Company of Mditary Historians. HiS most unusual and rewarding experience has been finding the portable dental k~t used during the O w l War at a sale in an old barn in Pennsylvanra To share h~S knowledge and enioymenl of lh~s subject, Dr Dammann plans to open a medical museum m hfs home. It wdl be open by appointment only for small groups and wdl deal only with C~vil War era matenal. Dr Dammann plans to call h~s museum "The Field Hospital" Being a C~wl War buff has been a rewarding hobby for Dr Dammann m all aspects although, he adds, maybe not financially It has gwen him "a release from the pressures of dentistry. It was emohonally uphfhng to dream about putting together the besl medical collecbon and wrmng a book and then a c tually doing it Meeting new friends from all over the world ts exceptionally sahsfying also Civil War buffs are very fine people " In closing, Dr Dammann says he would adwse young praclitioners "to find some rewarding h o b b y " as "d wdt make them better d e n b s l s ' He also asks anyone who knows where there might be a diary of a C~vil War dentist to let him know. All denhsts dunng the war were cwdians but some must have taken care of the t r o o p s Finding a diary would help hzm to understand the men and the profession during the war
Dr Dammann (r) dressed as C/vii War surgeon. 411
)r. G o r d o n D a m m a n n
- - Civil W a r Buff
Nhde Confederate and Union soldiers ought for different causes during the ~ivll War. there were some things that were common ground for men ol both ;~des In addition to the pare and sufferng of war. suffenng from poor physical ~ealtn. spec~flcaqy dentat health, was a ;erious concern AAE member Dr Gordon Dammann of .ena. Ilhnois. has explored the area of .~ivll War dentistry for more than fifteen ,ears. A Ovil War buff since grade ;chool days. Dr Dammann collects ned,cal and dental 0nstruments and ;ClUlpment from the years 1861-1865 In h~S radial explorahons of that era. )r Dammann found that there was 'very Nile knowledge of the medical and lental practices" then Jn existence He vas also surpnsed to find that no one ~ad catalogued the mstrumenls and .,quipment recovered In response 1o Ibis eed. he dec~ded to compde his own col~chon and to undertake the compos~hon )f a book on C~vll War dentistry Dunng the l~me that he was gathering lformation for hiS book and now. as he ;hares h~s knowledge with others. Dr )ammann has traveled many miles ,.500 ~n 1983 H~S growing expertise and eputahon in the area of Cwil War den~stry. has resulted ~n an increased ~umber of requests for h~s lectures and Iisplays Th~s means time away from his ]mdy and practice and ~s the only ,egatwe aspect he has encountered m ~ursumg h~s hobby Dr Dammann's w~fe. Karen. and h~s ~o sons. Greg 13 and Doug 9. occa,onally are able to accompany h~m on cture/display tr~ps, their favonte spot emg Gettysburg Mrs. Dammann does I1 h~s tybmg and gwes adwce on ms ,ctures She and Doug also s~t m on is class at a local c o m m u m t y college 'here he teaches students about the ivil War He enjoys lhe teaching SPect of h~s hobby, espec,ally when Orkmg w~th School chddren and "see,g their eyes light up when you tell ~em aboul Abraham Lincoln. Grant qd L e e . He ~s hkew~se grahfled when Person who has bought a copy of h~s OOk wr,tes to tell of h~s or her enloylent. as ~t makes the hme and effort
C/vii War instruments Dr Dammann spends w o d h w b d e In adddion to being able to teach others. Dr Dammann has h~mself learned a valuable lesson from hrs hobby " S o m e o n e once sa,d ht ~s hard to tell w h e r e you are going ~f you do not know where you have been', I think this applies to denl~slry also Seeing how our proless=on has progressed ~n 120 years makes me think the future will be bright, ~f we work hard at ~t " Whde he pursues his hobby on h~s own, Dr. Dammann also belongs to many orgamzat~ons devoted to C~vfl War research. ,ncludmg the Cmcago
Civil War Roundtable, the Madison, Wisconsin H~story Roundtable, the Lena, Ilhno~s H~storical S o o e t y (of wh,ch he ~s a founder), the Soctely of O w l War Surgeons. and the Company of Mditary Historians. HiS most unusual and rewarding experience has been finding the portable dental k~t used during the O w l War at a sale in an old barn in Pennsylvanra To share h~S knowledge and enioymenl of lh~s subject, Dr Dammann plans to open a medical museum m hfs home. It wdl be open by appointment only for small groups and wdl deal only with C~vil War era matenal. Dr Dammann plans to call h~s museum "The Field Hospital" Being a C~wl War buff has been a rewarding hobby for Dr Dammann m all aspects although, he adds, maybe not financially It has gwen him "a release from the pressures of dentistry. It was emohonally uphfhng to dream about putting together the besl medical collecbon and wrmng a book and then a c tually doing it Meeting new friends from all over the world ts exceptionally sahsfying also Civil War buffs are very fine people " In closing, Dr Dammann says he would adwse young praclitioners "to find some rewarding h o b b y " as "d wdt make them better d e n b s l s ' He also asks anyone who knows where there might be a diary of a C~vil War dentist to let him know. All denhsts dunng the war were cwdians but some must have taken care of the t r o o p s Finding a diary would help hzm to understand the men and the profession during the war
Dr Dammann (r) dressed as C/vii War surgeon. 411