BEMUS POINT – Members and guests of the Bemus Point Historical Society learned about the history and function of the property comprising the Cassadaga Job Corps at their June 9 meeting.

Michelle Henry, Chautauqua County Historian, recounted the history of the property when it was first opened as the Newton Memorial Hospital – a tuberculosis treatment center. Tuberculosis, or as it was more commonly known as “consumption,” had a profound impact on Chautauqua County with one person in seven contracting the disease, which was exacerbated by poor hygiene practices and by the proximity of living in the country’s growing cities. Rich and poor and those of distinction succumbed to the disease – Abraham Lincoln’s son, “Tad” contracted tuberculosis, as did W.C. Field, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, George Orwell and a host of others. At one point in time, health officials estimated that as much as 52 percent of the population that contracted the disease died.

Henry related that it was not until the 1880s that doctors first discovered that the disease was contagious. After exhaustive study and innovation, doctors determined, in 1895, that X-Rays could detect the presence of the disease. By 1924, most children in Chautauqua County schools were being routinely X-rayed to detect the disease, with local civic groups helping to defer the cost of the testing. Unfortunately, the program did not reach all children because many school age young men did not attend school and instead worked on family farms and thus were not tested.

The Chautauqua County Historian said that treatment of the day consisted of rest, good nutrition and daily exposure to sunlight. Less benign treatment included collapsing the lung of the affected individual or removal of rib bones over the infected lung. The nationwide appeal known as “Christmas Seals” was begun as a fundraiser for determining the cause and cure of TB.

Research by Henry revealed that in 1913, Mrs. Elizabeth Newton of Cassadaga died, leaving in her will $150,000 for the establishment of a permanent facility near the village where the poor could be housed and treated for tuberculosis. The treatment center was dedicated to Newton’s husband and son, both of whom had died of the disease. In 1920, the center opened to its first patients. Cost at the time was $2.69 per month per patient. The program was so successful that the Pierson farm property adjacent to the Newton Memorial Hospital facility was purchased. Acquisition of that property allowed the hospital to increase the number of patients treated and provided lands on which nutritional crops to feed the residents of the program could be grown.

The Cassadaga facility and its director, Dr. Walter L. Rathburn of the Cassadaga facility, was considered a model for the treatment of TB. In 1944, the invention of Streptomycin was found to be highly effective in the treatment of tuberculosis, so much so that by 1958, the Newton Memorial Hospital had fulfilled its mission and closed its doors. The facility went on to house both a seminary and a retreat before being opened as a Job Corps center.

Adam Dolce of the Job Corps related that the center currently houses a Federal Program under the auspices of the United States Department of Labor. That department has 126 campuses across the United States. The Cassadaga residential campus opened in 1978 under the administration of President Lyndon Johnson. The facility remains today, an educational center for the training off youths ages 16-24 for meaningful careers in health care, security and the construction trades.

On entry, students are tested to ascertain the academic abilities of the youth, deficiencies of which are remediated in conjunction with training in job skills. Over its existence, youths exiting the Job Corps program have had high placement and job retention rates. Dolce said there is no local cost to the youth for the voluntary program. All costs for training and housing are borne by the Department of Labor. The program, unlike many federal governmental programs is cost effective-for every dollar spent in training and housing, the Job Corps returns $1.91. Administration of the program is by private enterprise – the cost and outcome of which are periodically reviewed for both cost effectiveness and student job placement.

In other matters, the Bemus Point Historical Society announced that the museum at 13 Alburtus Avenue will be open on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the summer months. Program offerings for the summer by the group include:

Saturday, July 11, Tom Strom, the “Cottage Cartographer.” Strom’s unique illustrations feature the hand-rendered likeness of an individual’s home juxtaposed on a map of its location.

Saturday, Aug. 15, Fletcher Ward will speak about his soon-to-be-published local history book on Chautauqua Lake’s ice houses. His previous books on local history include: “Saving Chautauqua’s Muskies,” and “Chautauqua’s Great Race.”