As a child, and many years later as an adult, I visited Elmwood Cemetery. The Rusher memorial was never called to my attention because my visits to the cemetery were always with regard to my mother's side of the family. Therefore I was surprised to learn about the Rushers and their memorial.
My grandmother, Maude Walthall, saved family photos all throughout her life, but there were no Rusher photographs in her collection. Apparently the Rusher priorities lie elsewhere, and I think their story tells us why.
There is still more to learn. For example, whose idea was it to erect this monument, and who financed it? Bud Rusher struggled just to earn a living and pay the doctor bills.
In addition to the children memorialized here, the Rushers also had a daughter named Cleda. She is thus far unaccounted for in the Find-A-Grave system. The only information I have on Cleda is a news clipping from the Coffeyville Journal reporting that she (then a teenager) was slightly injured in a fall from her bicycle.
What a sad story it is for the Rusher Family! For 3 consecutive years, 1893, 1894, and 1895, Rose and Bud Rusher lost babies. Then in 1902 they lost 3 more children. THREE In one year! Six total!
According to the Centers for Disease Control, at the beginning of the 20th century, for every 1000 live births, six to nine women in the United States died of pregnancy-related complications, and approximately 100 infants died before age 1 year (That's one child in ten!)
In 1900, in some U.S. cities, up to 30% of infants died before reaching their first birthday.
Milk pasteurization, first adopted in Chicago in 1908, contributed to the control of milk borne diseases from contaminated milk supplies.
During the first three decades of the century, public health, social welfare, and clinical medicine (pediatrics and obstetrics) collaborated to combat infant mortality. In 1912, the Children's Bureau was formed and became the primary government agency to work toward improving maternal and infant welfare until 1946, when its role in maternal and child health diminished; the bureau was eliminated in 1969. By the 1920s, the integration of these services changed the approach to infant mortality from one that addressed infant health problems to an approach that included infant and mother and prenatal-care programs to educate, monitor, and care for pregnant women.
The discovery and widespread use of antimicrobial agents (e.g., sulfonamide in 1937 and penicillin in the 1940s) and the development of fluid and electrolyte replacement therapy and safe blood transfusions accelerated the declines in infant mortality.
JUST LOOK HOW FAR WE HAVE COME IN JUST OVER A CENTURY!
You can learn more at the CDC website.
My grandmother, Maude Walthall, saved family photos all throughout her life, but there were no Rusher photographs in her collection. Apparently the Rusher priorities lie elsewhere, and I think their story tells us why.
There is still more to learn. For example, whose idea was it to erect this monument, and who financed it? Bud Rusher struggled just to earn a living and pay the doctor bills.
In addition to the children memorialized here, the Rushers also had a daughter named Cleda. She is thus far unaccounted for in the Find-A-Grave system. The only information I have on Cleda is a news clipping from the Coffeyville Journal reporting that she (then a teenager) was slightly injured in a fall from her bicycle.
What a sad story it is for the Rusher Family! For 3 consecutive years, 1893, 1894, and 1895, Rose and Bud Rusher lost babies. Then in 1902 they lost 3 more children. THREE In one year! Six total!
According to the Centers for Disease Control, at the beginning of the 20th century, for every 1000 live births, six to nine women in the United States died of pregnancy-related complications, and approximately 100 infants died before age 1 year (That's one child in ten!)
In 1900, in some U.S. cities, up to 30% of infants died before reaching their first birthday.
Milk pasteurization, first adopted in Chicago in 1908, contributed to the control of milk borne diseases from contaminated milk supplies.
During the first three decades of the century, public health, social welfare, and clinical medicine (pediatrics and obstetrics) collaborated to combat infant mortality. In 1912, the Children's Bureau was formed and became the primary government agency to work toward improving maternal and infant welfare until 1946, when its role in maternal and child health diminished; the bureau was eliminated in 1969. By the 1920s, the integration of these services changed the approach to infant mortality from one that addressed infant health problems to an approach that included infant and mother and prenatal-care programs to educate, monitor, and care for pregnant women.
The discovery and widespread use of antimicrobial agents (e.g., sulfonamide in 1937 and penicillin in the 1940s) and the development of fluid and electrolyte replacement therapy and safe blood transfusions accelerated the declines in infant mortality.
JUST LOOK HOW FAR WE HAVE COME IN JUST OVER A CENTURY!
You can learn more at the CDC website.
As a child, and many years later as an adult, I visited Elmwood Cemetery. The Rusher memorial was never called to my attention because my visits to the cemetery were always with regard to my mother's side of the family. Therefore I was surprised to learn about the Rushers and their memorial.
My grandmother, Maude Walthall, saved family photos all throughout her life, but there were no Rusher photographs in her collection. Apparently the Rusher priorities lie elsewhere, and I think their story tells us why.
There is still more to learn. For example, whose idea was it to erect this monument, and who financed it? Bud Rusher struggled just to earn a living and pay the doctor bills.
In addition to the children memorialized here, the Rushers also had a daughter named Cleda. She is thus far unaccounted for in the Find-A-Grave system. The only information I have on Cleda is a news clipping from the Coffeyville Journal reporting that she (then a teenager) was slightly injured in a fall from her bicycle.
What a sad story it is for the Rusher Family! For 3 consecutive years, 1893, 1894, and 1895, Rose and Bud Rusher lost babies. Then in 1902 they lost 3 more children. THREE In one year! Six total!
According to the Centers for Disease Control, at the beginning of the 20th century, for every 1000 live births, six to nine women in the United States died of pregnancy-related complications, and approximately 100 infants died before age 1 year (That's one child in ten!)
In 1900, in some U.S. cities, up to 30% of infants died before reaching their first birthday.
Milk pasteurization, first adopted in Chicago in 1908, contributed to the control of milk borne diseases from contaminated milk supplies.
During the first three decades of the century, public health, social welfare, and clinical medicine (pediatrics and obstetrics) collaborated to combat infant mortality. In 1912, the Children's Bureau was formed and became the primary government agency to work toward improving maternal and infant welfare until 1946, when its role in maternal and child health diminished; the bureau was eliminated in 1969. By the 1920s, the integration of these services changed the approach to infant mortality from one that addressed infant health problems to an approach that included infant and mother and prenatal-care programs to educate, monitor, and care for pregnant women.
The discovery and widespread use of antimicrobial agents (e.g., sulfonamide in 1937 and penicillin in the 1940s) and the development of fluid and electrolyte replacement therapy and safe blood transfusions accelerated the declines in infant mortality.
JUST LOOK HOW FAR WE HAVE COME IN JUST OVER A CENTURY!
You can learn more at the CDC website.
My grandmother, Maude Walthall, saved family photos all throughout her life, but there were no Rusher photographs in her collection. Apparently the Rusher priorities lie elsewhere, and I think their story tells us why.
There is still more to learn. For example, whose idea was it to erect this monument, and who financed it? Bud Rusher struggled just to earn a living and pay the doctor bills.
In addition to the children memorialized here, the Rushers also had a daughter named Cleda. She is thus far unaccounted for in the Find-A-Grave system. The only information I have on Cleda is a news clipping from the Coffeyville Journal reporting that she (then a teenager) was slightly injured in a fall from her bicycle.
What a sad story it is for the Rusher Family! For 3 consecutive years, 1893, 1894, and 1895, Rose and Bud Rusher lost babies. Then in 1902 they lost 3 more children. THREE In one year! Six total!
According to the Centers for Disease Control, at the beginning of the 20th century, for every 1000 live births, six to nine women in the United States died of pregnancy-related complications, and approximately 100 infants died before age 1 year (That's one child in ten!)
In 1900, in some U.S. cities, up to 30% of infants died before reaching their first birthday.
Milk pasteurization, first adopted in Chicago in 1908, contributed to the control of milk borne diseases from contaminated milk supplies.
During the first three decades of the century, public health, social welfare, and clinical medicine (pediatrics and obstetrics) collaborated to combat infant mortality. In 1912, the Children's Bureau was formed and became the primary government agency to work toward improving maternal and infant welfare until 1946, when its role in maternal and child health diminished; the bureau was eliminated in 1969. By the 1920s, the integration of these services changed the approach to infant mortality from one that addressed infant health problems to an approach that included infant and mother and prenatal-care programs to educate, monitor, and care for pregnant women.
The discovery and widespread use of antimicrobial agents (e.g., sulfonamide in 1937 and penicillin in the 1940s) and the development of fluid and electrolyte replacement therapy and safe blood transfusions accelerated the declines in infant mortality.
JUST LOOK HOW FAR WE HAVE COME IN JUST OVER A CENTURY!
You can learn more at the CDC website.
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