Medical Caregiving and Identity in Pennsylvania's Anthracite Region, 1880–2000

The researching and writing of this book were pleasures, acts of love. Its genesis came forth from my mother’s ability to tell a good story. Having been schooled by an expert storyteller, I learned to appreciate the tales that others had to tell me. I can’t thank her, my father, and my childhood neighbors enough for the wisdom they shared with me. The beauty and wealth of the coal region continue to inspire me. As always, my sisters Krisa and Kaleen were there. My husband, Paul, has always listened, and my children, Jonah and Pearl, are my greatest joys. My mother and father did not live long enough to see this book in print. Their generosity and love are boundless. I dedicate this book to them. While much has been written about immigrant traditions, music, food culture, folklore, and other aspects of ethnic identity, little attention has been given to the study of medical culture, until now. In *Medical Caregiving and Identity in Pennsylvania's Anthracite Region, 1880–2000*, Karol Weaver employs an impressive range of primary sources including folk songs, patent medicine advertisements, oral history interviews, ghost stories, and jokes to show how the men and women of the anthracite coal region crafted their gender and ethnic identities via the medical decisions they made. Weaver examines communities’ relationships with both biomedically trained physicians and informally trained medical caregivers, and how these relationships reflected a sense of “Americanness.” She uses interviews and oral histories to help tell the story of neighborhood healers, midwives, Pennsylvania German powwowers, medical self-help, and eventually the transition to modern day medicine. Collectively, the author is able to show how each of these methods of healing were not only shaped by their patrons and their backgrounds, but also how they helped to mold the identities of the new Americans who sought them out. -- "Finally, a scholar has tackled in rich detail the meeting of folk and modern medical beliefs and practices during international migration. *Medical Caregiving and Identity in Pennsylvania's Anthracite Region* is a valuable introduction to the powwowers, wise neighbors, midwives, regional hospitals, and mining company and immigrant doctors who offered mining communities a panoply of changing health care choices. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in the social history of U.S. immigration." --Donna Gabaccia, University of Minnesota

While much has been written about immigrant traditions, music, food culture, folklore, and other aspects of ethnic identity, little attention has been given to the study of medical culture, until now. In Medical Caregiving and Identity in Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Region, 1880–2000, Karol Weaver employs an impressive range of primary sources, including folk songs, patent medicine advertisements, oral history interviews, ghost stories, and jokes, to show how the men and women of the anthracite coal region crafted their gender and ethnic identities via the medical decisions they made. Weaver examines communities’ relationships with both biomedically trained physicians and informally trained medical caregivers, and how these relationships reflected a sense of “Americanness.” She uses interviews and oral histories to help tell the story of neighborhood healers, midwives, Pennsylvania German powwowers, medical self-help, and the eventual transition to modern-day medicine. Weaver is able to show not only how each of these methods of healing was shaped by its patrons and their backgrounds but also how it helped mold the identities of the new Americans who sought it out.

"Examines folk songs, patent medicine advertisements, oral history interviews, ghost stories, and jokes to show how over the course of the twentieth century the men and women of the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania crafted their gender and ethnic identities via the medical decisions they made"--Provided by publisher. The anthracite coal region Professional medicine in the anthracite coal region Mothering through medicine : the neighborhood women Powwowers and Pennsylvania German medicine Miners, masculinity, and medical self-help Moving from traditional medicine to biomedicine.