Doctor Clare Cayward seemed to have taken over the role as local physician in New Ipswich until Doctor Robert Wellwood moved into the area and set up a practice in Greenville. The local cynics used to say, "One recommends you get a shot and the other a pill."
The history of doctors for NI and Greenville is interesting. Getting MDs to settle here was always a challenge. If one reads the old annual town reports one learns how challenging it was. Even today it's not easy. During my years in New Ipswich it was Dr. Cayward. Fortunately he attended U of Vt and its College of Medicine in the 1920s although he was from upstate NY, an outstanding athlete who was offered contracts by professional baseball teams and was coach of UVM's basketball team while in medical school. NI would send letters to all the med schools in New England when a doctor was needed. Dr. Cayward responded fulfilled NI's request. At the U of Vt he is a legend because he was on the varsity team in 4 sports in addition to be an A student.
Are you any relation to Eric Niemi MD, whose father was originally from New Ipswich? Eric was an Army doctor whom I worked with out in Washington State while he was an intern.
I'm his father. The reason I know so much about Dr. Cayward is because I attended the same medical school as Dr. Cayward and older faculty members talked about how amazing Dr. Cayward was. As a boy in New Ipswich I just knew him as our family physician who made house calls in the middle of the night!
Your son Eric was very well liked by everyone and all staff members spoke well of him. He told me that he had been accepted into an Opthamology Residency when I last saw him in 1995 or so. I saw online that he is now in private practice. When I first saw his name I mentioned to him that I knew of an Oliver & Carol Niemi in New Ipswich. I was quite surprised to find out he was related. OBTW Toini Cayward was actually my godmother.
Doctor Clare Cayward seemed to have taken over the role as local physician in New Ipswich until Doctor Robert Wellwood moved into the area and set up a practice in Greenville. The local cynics used to say, "One recommends you get a shot and the other a pill."
The history of doctors for NI and Greenville is interesting. Getting MDs to settle here was always a challenge. If one reads the old annual town reports one learns how challenging it was. Even today it's not easy. During my years in New Ipswich it was Dr. Cayward. Fortunately he attended U of Vt and its College of Medicine in the 1920s although he was from upstate NY, an outstanding athlete who was offered contracts by professional baseball teams and was coach of UVM's basketball team while in medical school. NI would send letters to all the med schools in New England when a doctor was needed. Dr. Cayward responded fulfilled NI's request. At the U of Vt he is a legend because he was on the varsity team in 4 sports in addition to be an A student.
Are you any relation to Eric Niemi MD, whose father was originally from New Ipswich? Eric was an Army doctor whom I worked with out in Washington State while he was an intern.
I'm his father. The reason I know so much about Dr. Cayward is because I attended the same medical school as Dr. Cayward and older faculty members talked about how amazing Dr. Cayward was. As a boy in New Ipswich I just knew him as our family physician who made house calls in the middle of the night!
Your son Eric was very well liked by everyone and all staff members spoke well of him. He told me that he had been accepted into an Opthamology Residency when I last saw him in 1995 or so. I saw online that he is now in private practice. When I first saw his name I mentioned to him that I knew of an Oliver & Carol Niemi in New Ipswich. I was quite surprised to find out he was related. OBTW Toini Cayward was actually my godmother.