Nebraska's Flying Doctor

The patient in Herndon was Guy Sidey, an oil-field worker whose skull had been crushed in a well accident; local doctors would not operate. By road the trip ran about 70 miles and three hours, and the Jenny made it in 50 minutes. Brewster removed the bone fragments and fitted a silver plate, and Sidey recovered. The pilot, Wade Stevens, born in 1896, had trained at Kelly Field and served as a flight instructor in France. He flew for Brewster one summer, then studied law, twice won election as Furnas County Attorney and died in 1983.

What the plaque says

Nebraska's Flying Doctor On May 23, 1919, Dr. Frank A. Brewster of Beaver City and pilot Wade Stevens took off on a flight to Herndon, Kansas. There, Brewster performed emergency surgery to save the life of an injured man. This flight attracted world-wide attention and Dr. Brewster was regarded as perhaps the first physician to use an airplane for professional purposes. The plane was a Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny," which the doctor had purchased a few weeks earlier. Brewster's airstrip and hangar, located near here, was among the first private airports in Nebraska. One of the few surgeons serving a large area of Nebraska and Kansas, Brewster was quick to adopt time-saving innovations. In 1906, he purchased the first automobile in Furnas County. However, bad roads were a constant problem which led to Brewster's use of an airplane in his medical work. After moving to Holdrege, Nebraska, Brewster regularly flew to visit the several hospitals he had built in the two-state region. At age 71, he received his own pilot's license and was an active flier until his death at 89 in 1961. Beaver City Centennial, Bi-Centennial Committee Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• The Republican River Flood of 1935 — 11 mi
• Burton's Bend — 16 mi
• Atlanta Prisoner-of-War Camp — 25 mi
• Pioneer Crossing — 27 mi