The note on a cake honoring school nurse Eileen Upton, right, in 1973 says, ‘Congratulations to someone special.’ The cake was presented by Marshall Hill School PTA president Charlotte Steifel. (File photo by Ann Genader)
The kindness, concern and care that two medical professionals showed for families living in West Milford 50 years ago and later are not forgotten by some still living in the township and by younger generations who have heard stories of them.
Dr. Harold Geiger, a native of St. Clair, Pa., who opened a medical office at 2024 Macopin Road in 1936, and his office nurse Eileen Upton are remembered by families they helped in trying times.
After the doctor died in 1967, Upton carried on the work of aiding children and their parents when she became a school nurse in West Milford.
After Geiger’s 25 years of practicing medicine, residents decided to honor him with a testimonial dinner. They wanted it to be a fun-filled event for everyone, and it was.
The Our Lady Queen of Peace parish community hall was chosen because it was large enough to accommodate the 500 guests.
The party was to be a surprise for the honoree. As impossible as it seems, it was.
Geiger agreed to do Upton a favor and drive her to the church. Going into the hall with her, he was very surprised to be greeted by the crowd led by Dave Jorlett Jr. singing “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” and “Happy Birthday.”
For any community-wide event such as this, there was no question that township attorney Louis Wallisch Jr. would be the master of ceremonies.
As usual, he did not disappoint. He planned a program with local participants doing a show to illustrate phases of Geiger’s life.
Groups who took the stage included “babies who were delivered into the world by Dr. Geiger,” then “all the doctors who were in the house” appeared.
Township tax collector Harry Michelfelder, engineer G. Waldo Rude and clerk George Eckhardt sang as a trio.
Resident Joan Brooks Kerr was a singer, actress and composer of songs, including “Songs and Saddles” (1938), “Ten Cents a Dance (1945) and “Penthouse Party” (1958). She sang three times weekly on a CBS radio program in 1945.
She was married to Bob Kerr, an NBC executive. Their home was on Union Valley Road; in recent years, it has been a men’s shelter.
Joan and Bob Kerr started Pompton Lakes Radio Station WKER. They did some broadcasts from their West Milford home.
The well-known couple said they were honored to be part of the group honoring Geiger.
After Kerr’s performance, Dave Pieters presented his program. He became known for his singing talent while he was a student at Butler High School.
At the party, he sang “Heartaches” and “A Shanty in Old Shanty Town.”
Virginia Hedgecock was another local entertainer. Known as a soloist in the choir at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, she was popular for her deep alto voice, singing torch songs such as “Only You” at Bearfort Tavern” (more recently known as the Valley Vie bar/restaurant and now a cannabis dispensary).
Starting to speak about the doctor, Wallisch said he was the son of Dr. and Mrs. Harry Geiger and the oldest of their 10 children. Two of his brothers, Thomas and Robert, and sisters Florence Hamilton, Ida Pearson, Jeanette Rodenback, Anna Goodhead and Dorethia Link came from Pennsylvania to attend the event.
Next, Frank Schwaeble, with a broom in hand, was sweeping the stage in memory of Geiger’s boyhood days when he swept movie houses for the opportunity to view Western movies.
David Jorlett Jr., dressed as a newsboy selling papers, showed up next wearing the original red cap that Geiger wore on that job.
The doctor’s brother Tom came on stage with a ladder that his brother used when he plastered houses. Then another brother Robert arrived wearing the mining cap worn by Geiger at age 14 when he was a maintenance worker in the mines to earn enough money to attend college.
Geiger graduated from Bucknell College and Temple Medical School. He was a star football player until his father refused to allow him to continue playing after he broke his nose.
He won a letter in the javelin and was on the track team.
At Temple, where he was class president, he met his future wife, Ethel. Speaking at the party for her husband, she said he was too shy to propose so he did so by sending her a letter.
He interned at Orange Memorial Hospital for one year. When he was looking for a place to practice medicine in 1936, Dr. Paul Richards of Butler told him that West Milford needed a resident physician.
Ira Davenport, owner of Davenport’s lumber business and its adjacent shopping center, visited the doctor. Davenport made his real estate office available and found him a home.
When the United States was brought into World War II in 1941, Geiger enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. At the party, resident Buster Fox presented him with the helmet that he wore when going across the English Channel on D-Day.
The next person on the stage was Chester Kirchner, who carried the doctor’s medical bag that he had with him when delivering babies. The bag was marked “retired” as the doctor was no longer taking maternity cases.
Police Chief John Moeller was there to present the doctor with a toy train to remind him of a lucky escape that Geiger had when he nearly collided with a train.
With Township Committeeman Chester Pulis presenting a miniature horse and rider, Wallisch recalled when in 1937, the doctor rode a horse (one time only) to aid a patient at Greenwood Lake.
Pulis’s wife, Anne, representing “the ladies who stood by Ethel when her husband was serving in the military,” presented her with a sweater and mink collar.
David Jorlett, for “the doctor’s friends,” gave him a motorized golf cart.
The Rev. James Mulhern, OFM, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, and the Rev. Albert Manus, pastor of West Milford Presbyterian Church, where Geiger and his family were members, offered prayers.
Dr. John Schmidt, chief surgeon at Franklin Hospital, and 60 staff members attended the event. The hospital, now closed and turned into apartments, was the hospital used by many of Geiger’s patients.
Wallisch, president of West Milford Fire Company, presented Geiger with a life membership document and pin.
Mamie Fredericks, who ran the general store in Macopin, was there with Ada Mae Fredericks, who had gained some notoriety for writing words to the song “We Will Never Let Our Old Flag Fall.” They spoke about the doctor’s love for apple pie and presented him with a fresh baked pie. Mamie Fredericks cherished letters she received from Geiger while he was serving in the military.
Geiger’s son Roger flew in from a naval base where he was stationed to be at the event. The doctor’s other sons Richard, Ronald and Robert also attended. Ronald graduated from Cornell Medical School a week before his father died.
After his death, Upton was hired to be nurse at Upper Greenwood Lake School. She was family to the Geigers.
Having been a teacher at Marshall Hill School when Upton was nurse there, I know first-hand the love and care she gave the children and their families.
In 1973, the Parent Teacher Association president Charlotte Steifel honored her with a membership presentation. Representing the faculty, Sydell Fishman said, “She is truly an angel of mercy to both the school children and staff at Marshall Hill School. To the children she is the lady - who like mommy - is always there to comfort them when their tummies hurt, when they feel very upset, feel lonely or need a Band-Aid. Every child is delighted when the teacher gives them permission to leave the classroom to see Miss Upton.”
Upton was a graduate in the Butler High School Class of 1937 and received her nursing training at St. Mary Hospital in Passaic.