Founding Years

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The Founding Years

University of Houston College of Optometry 1952—1961

By Charles R. Stewart, O.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.O.

ISBN 1-891429-49-3

Memoir/History, 248-pages

$19.95

Prologue

On vacating my UHCO office in 1961, I took only personal papers and belongings, and now my official records of the Founding Years are no longer available. Compiling and writing this document would have been impossible without the thorough coverage of all aspects of the College in the Journal of the Texas Optometric Association, founded and for many years edited by my close friend and mentor, Dr. Weston A. Pettey. Much of the material included here was published in the Journal, and can be found in bound copies located in the Weston A Pettey Library at UHCO, by the year and month credit for each article referenced. Also helpful has been Dr. Pettey’s book, Optometry in Texas. To understand the problems of the young College of Optometry, it is very helpful to know something of the history of the University itself. A good source for this, as well as for “inside” unpublished facts, is In Time, an anecdotal history of the first 50 years of the University of Houston, by Patrick J. Nicholson.

The beginning of the College really dates back quite a few years prior to any mention of it in the Journal. Note that Texas was the last state to obtain legal recognition for optometrists. The bill licensing optometrists was not enacted until 1921. The original bill had provisions in it whereby a person interested in becoming an optometrist could serve an apprenticeship and, by passing a written Optometry Board examination, could obtain a license. This provision for apprenticeship was continued until several years beyond the end of WWII. It was extended beyond that because nobody wanted to discriminate against Texas citizens who were serving in the Armed Forces. Many optometrists of the time felt that this loophole should be eliminated; however, this provision did permit a sort of school to exist in Dallas for a number of years, allowing prospective optometrists to work in the practice of a group of preceptor optometrists who prepared them for the examination. Upon passing it, they were licensed. Not many of these licensees bragged about their education, and it is now too late to obtain firsthand information; nor are any records available to me. Some of the “graduates,” no doubt, continued to study and learn way beyond the day they were licensed. Getting information about this “school” was very difficult because most of the people who taught had died, and those who survived didn’t seem to wish to discuss it, or perhaps had forgotten about it.

Long before establishment of the College of Optometry at the University of Houston, leaders in Texas optometry had explored various possibilities of establishing a university-affiliated college. Not too much came of this, although at one time Southern Methodist University did become interested and meetings were held with TOA officers. President Humphrey Lee seemed to feel that it would be a good thing for SMU to do. It appeared to be just a matter of presenting it to the Board of Directors and they could then get together with Texas optometrists and start a College of Optometry. From the sound of things, although it never fully came out in the open, it appeared to me that Dr. Lee’s proposal was probably turned down because of medical opposition to having a College of Optometry. Although that was not the reason officially given, it would be typical for local ophthalmologists to oppose such a school in a reputable university.

First mention of the University of Houston in the TOA Journal was in the September 1950 issue. It stated that discussions had been going on and that some money would be needed for it. Most of the material in this article is not relevant for the history of UHCO; however, it is interesting to note that a great deal of discussion occurred regarding the hiring an executive secretary and obtaining an office for the TOA. Prior to this time the Office of the TOA went with whomever was President or Secretary. The Executive Secretary who was being considered and negotiated with was J. J. “Jake” Pickle, who later became quite an important person in politics and was very helpful with the political efforts of TOA. Shortly after he became TOA Executive Secretary, he went to work for Lyndon B. Johnson as campaign manager when he ran for U. S. Senator. As we know, when Kennedy was assassinated, LBJ became President; and when running for election on his own, I believe that Jake Pickle was again his campaign manager. Later, Jake Pickle went out on his own and was elected to the House of Representatives. He was re-elected quite a few times, retiring only recently. As of December 2002, he was still living and was seen attending some of the local political functions around the Austin area. (I have included this other material not directly related to the College, but which was a part of the environment in which UHCO existed.)

Regarding the University of Houston, two optometrists, Drs. Bernard Mazow and W. Lester Cheatham, practiced in the same office building in downtown Houston. Dr. Mazow was very much interested in education. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and had taken the contact lens certification program. Dr. Cheatham was a Vice President in TOA. Dr. Mazow mentioned the interest of optometry in establishing a college to one of his patients, Mr. Howard Daniel, who was a Professor in the UH College of Business. Prof. Daniel told him that the University of Houston was interested in establishing new programs such as optometry, where there was a need for graduates and where there would be financial support to get a program started. Dr. Mazow told his friend Dr. Cheatham about his conversation with Prof. Daniel, and it was not long before a meeting was held with the soon-to-be President of the University of Houston, Dr. W. W. Kemmerer.

Dr. Kemmerer had a long career with the University of Houston and was in charge of establishing quite a few of the existing programs at the University. In September 1950 nothing had been done other than talking about it, but TOA definitely was interested and they discussed with him what their obligations would be in terms of financial support.

The October 1950 issue of the TOA Journal contained several pages related to the University of Houston and the possible establishment of a College of Optometry. Nothing officially had been done, but Dr. Kemmerer had expressed enthusiasm for such a College and would present a proposal to the Board of Regents. On page 3 the article mentions a committee at work in the early stages of planning. The committee included not only Drs. Mazow and Cheatham, but also Drs. Nelson Greeman, Sr., Charles C.. Murray Jr., Weston A. Pettey, and Arthur J. Harris. Dr. Ira Woods, who was at that time President of TOA, appointed the committee and was ex-officio.

A photograph on page 4 includes several of the principals involved in planning the College of Optometry. Seated are Dr. Kemmerer and Dr. Mazow, and behind them are Dr. Charles F. Hiller, Vice President for Development, Dr. Cheatham in the middle, and on the right is Prof. Daniel. Several other pages in this issue were devoted to Dr. Kemmerer and to the University at large. I mention these pages because they give an insight into the University of Houston as it was in 1950 when it was just emerging and developing into a large university. Its peak enrollment after WWII leveled out at about 12,000 students. For what had been a small junior college a few years earlier, this was an overwhelming growth.

The next thing I found of interest was in the April 1951 issue of the Journal. It included a quarter- page advertisement for the TUOHY Corneal Lens, manufactured by Solex Laboratories. This establishes a time frame for the days in which planning was being made for a College of Optometry. The corneal contact lens had only recently been developed and was being prescribed by only a very small number of optometrists. Having worked with the older scleral lens, many of us were quite disappointed with the results; and because of the complexity and inadequacy of the financial rewards and the tediousness of the work, not many who tried it stayed with it. With development of the new “corneal” lens, more and more optometrists started getting into contact lenses in a much bigger way.

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The Founding Years

University of Houston College of Optometry 1952—1961

By Charles R. Stewart, O.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.O.

ISBN 1-891429-49-3

Memoir/History, 248-pages

$19.95

The Master’s Master

by Kathleen Napholz

ISBN 1-891429-14-0

Pets, 55-pages

$6.99

“I got a dog from the shelter,” I told my best human friend the day I picked up Emily.

“Is she cute?” Kathy asked.

Silence.

“She’s got a really great personality,” I said.

My first impression of Emily was not, how mus is that doggie in the window?

I had gone to the shelter with very specific demands. I wanted a small dog, under ten pounds, not yippy, female, at least a year old, house trained, good with other animals, and good with children. I was a little demanding.

The shelter manager just looked at my list of requirements, stunned. “Well,” she said, “we want you to get the dog you want so that it will be a good match. You should know, though, we don’t get a lot of small dogs.”

Remarkably, within a week, the shelter had called me. They had a dog for me to see.

I went to the shelter, and there she was. She was a little bigger than I had wanted, about twelve pounds. But she was...ugly. She was obviously a mixed breed. She had black and white fur, for the most part, buth with hints of apricot that made her look like she had rolled in red clay and had stained her fur in places. Her fur was long and of various textures. Part of it, around her head, was very soft, like a Pekinese. Her shoulders were covered with thick, white fur, almost like a Husky’s. The rest of her body was covered with black and white wiry terrier fur. She had bulging eyes, one of which wandered. Crust and boogers surrounded her eyes. And she was matted and greasy from the flea bath. Her stomach was stretched and hung loosely below her, as if she were pregnant.

Worse yet, right next to here was a perfectly groomed little Chihuahua. He was friendly, jumping up on his cage to greet me. Emily, on the other hand, sat back, quietly, pathetically.

“What about the little Chihuahua,” I asked a little guiltily.