Evarts G. Loomis Collection Gifted To The National Library Of Medicine
By Fay Loomis, MA
As the widow of Evarts G. Loomis, MD, the father of holistic medicine, I felt I had a responsibility to ensure that his legacy be preserved and be made available for research. And, so, it is with delight that I gifted the Evarts G. Loomis Collection to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in Bethesda, Maryland.
The NLM, on the campus of the National Institutes of Health, is the world's largest medical library. The library, which collects materials and provides information and research services in all areas of biomedicine and health care, houses one of the world's largest history of medicine collections, documenting the history of medicine, health, and disease in all time periods and cultures.
Evarts pioneered healing of body, mind, and spirit at Meadowlark, American’s first holistic medical retreat, in Hemet, California. Evarts, who died October 2, 2003, operated the center from 1958 through 1991.
The collection includes publications by and about Evarts and Meadowlark, manuscripts, correspondence, audio and video tapes, films, newsletters, awards, books, and photos. Materials by Amy Brown Loomis, Evarts’ mother and spiritual teacher, who taught meditation at Meadowlark until she was in her late nineties, are also a part of the collection.
Additionally, a trunk gifted by Albert Schweitzer from his center in Lambarene, Africa, has been sent to the library, as well as a six foot scroll from the people of China in recognition of Evarts’
work as head of a Friends (Quaker) clinic and hospital during World War II.
Evarts was inspired by Schweitzer to go into medicine and hoped he join Schweitzer’s humanitarian work in Africa. Instead, he served at the medical Grenfell Mission in Newfoundland and Labrador for several years. While there he tended the poor fisher folk by
boat in the summer and dogsled in the winter. His snowshoes from that period are also included in the collection.
According to Paul Theerman, Ph.D, Head, Images and Archives, History of Medicine Division, “We are quite pleased that Dr. Loomis’s collection has come to the National Library of Medicine. It will be one of our premier archival collections in the expanding field of holistic and complementary medicine. The rich mix of materials makes it an especially interesting collection, and we expect it to be a worthy resource for our researchers.”
Evarts and I wrote, lectured, and consulted together for twelve years, and I will now be continuing our work by moving to New York State to study at the Hudson Valley School of Classical Homeopathy. I will be taking Evarts’ considerable homeopathic pharmacy with me.
Fay L. Loomis, MA, Health and Growth Associates, lectures, writes, and holds workshops on holistic health. She is also a conflict resolution specialist. You can reach her at 951-927-1768 or flloomis@earthlink.net.