(above) Dr. Amy Robinson. Courtesy of Adams County Historical Society.
(above) City Hospital in Hastings, Nebraska. Located on the corner of 14th Street & Hastings Avenue. Courtesy of Adams County Historical Society.
(above) Dr. Robinson with nurses and patients at City Hospital, 1908. Courtesy of Adams County Historical Society.
Dr. Amy Robinson
1870 – 1936
Dr. Amy Robinson, sister of Alice Brooks, completed public school in 1887 and married the same year. After the birth and death of her third child, Amy taught school for two years in Adams County. In 1897, she started medical school in Lincoln, Nebraska, receiving medical degrees from both the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Michigan. She began her medical practice in Lincoln, but within five years moved to Hastings.
Although most of her practice was obstetrics, she was also a family doctor. Her daily schedule consisted of delivering babies, setting bones, sewing up cuts, diagnosing childhood diseases, or sitting through the night with a pneumonia patient. She was on call night and day and would drive miles out to the country to see patients who were too sick to travel.
During World War I, Amy was active in the Red Cross and the Volunteer Medical Service Corps, and was cited for her leadership by the Secretary of War.
In 1925, Amy joined the medical staff at the State Hospital for the Mentally Ill west of Hastings, known today as the Hastings Regional Center. After four years, she moved to Franklin, Nebraska, where she practiced medicine until just a few days before her death in 1936.
Awana Slaker James
1864-1944
After spending nearly 20 years devoted to caring for her children and husband, Awana became immersed in community activities and organizations. She was elected president of the Hastings Women Club in 1914. After serving a three-year term as president, she became involved in the activities of the Federated Women’s Clubs, serving as state president from 1917-1921 and General Federation Director from 1921-1923.
It was during her years as the state parliamentarian for the Nebraska group that Awana created parliamentary procedures she would later incorporate into her writing. She wrote a six-piece series for the Christian Science Monitor on The Arts of Assembly. Awana’s experience and speaking engagements resulted in the publication of her book, The Main Motion, A Practice in Parliamentary Procedure, in 1926. This book served as one of the main primers on parliamentary procedures and led Awana to travel the United States and Europe on speaking tours. She would appear at Federated Women’s Club meetings and conduct classes on parliamentary procedures. The Main Motion was adapted as a textbook for use in schools across Europe and was still in use as late as the 1970s.
YWCA Parade Float. Courtesy of Adams County Historical Society.
Hastings Women’s Club. Courtesy of Adams County Historical Society.
(above) Mabel Dixon at her dental practice. Courtesy of Adams County Historical Society.
Mabel Dixon
1881-1981
Mabel grew up in Aurora, Nebraska. In 1905, she was one of only five women out of a class of 275 to graduate from Northwestern University School of Dentistry. After graduation, she opened a practice at 800 W. 2nd Street in Hastings, becoming the fourth female dentist in the state. It was more than 40 years before there was a fifth. Adams County did not see a second female dentist until 1999 when Dr. Jessica Meske opened her practice.
Mabel felt strongly about promoting general health care. This led her to go on a year-long mission to Puerto Rico in 1914. While there she helped establish a Presbyterian social settlement providing education and health care.
Outside of her dental practice, Mable was extremely busy. She helped establish the YWCA in 1916, serving as its first president and an active lifetime member. Two years later, she organized the Hastings Business and Professional Women’s Club. In 1922, with the encouragement from the League of Women Voters, she became the first woman to run for the Hastings City Council, losing to incumbent Walter Livingston. In 1936, she also served as secretary-treasurer of the American Society of Women Dentists and was elected president of that group in 1938.
Mabel loved to entertain. She would host Christmas and garden parties at her home, where members of the Adams County Dental Society were regular guests. It was said, “she poured the stiffest drink in four counties.”
In 1965, Mable became the oldest practicing dentist in the world. She retired in 1968 at the age of 87. To this day, she is the longest practicing dentist—male or female—in Hastings.
(above) Mabel Dixon on her 84th birthday. Courtesy of Adams County Historical Society.