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Our Association voted at its October 11, 2003 business session to erect a historical marker in Birchwood, Tennessee in memory of Dr. L. L. Friddell, a practicing physician in that community for almost a half century. A picture of Dr. Friddell and the marker appear in this issue of our Newsletter. Dr. Friddell was the only child of John and Lizzie Cross Friddell. He was a great grandson of John and Margaret Gross Roark who were early settlers in Birchwood. Upon the death of both his parents when he was quite young, L. L. lived a short time with his grandfather, Rufus Friddell. He then lived with an uncle, Johnny Cross, who was a farmer. His uncle gave him a horse and also permitted him to "make a crop" on a portion of his farm. He also attended the Rutherford Academy in Birchwood when school was in session. On completion of studies at the academy, he taught school briefly at the Baker School in Birchwood. This, coupled with his farming, was sufficient to get him into Grant Medical College in Chattanooga, Tennessee from which he graduated in 1902. Dr. Friddell began his medical practice in Birchwood upon graduation in the horse-and-buggy days and remained there for his life's practice which spanned a period of nearly 50 years. It was not unusual for Dr. Friddell during his long years of practice to spend the night at bedside in the home of a seriously ill patient. My wife, Joyce Roark, recalls as a first grade child his staying by her bedside throughout the night and on into the daylight hours when she had double pneumonia and until her fever "broke." Another remark I heard several times in Birchwood where I grew up, and was actually delivered at home by Dr. Friddell, was the weather was never too cold or hot, the night too dark or the rain too heavy or the snow too deep for Dr. Friddell to make a house call if he got the message of one ill and needing his attention. He also was never known to deny medical attention due to inability to compensate him for services rendered. After our Association voted last fall to erect a historical marker in Birchwood in memory of the community doctor, I mentioned it to an older individual who was delivered by Dr. Friddell and who grew up in the community. His response was, "Why in the world would the Association do that? He has been dead more than 50 years and I'll bet there aren't a dozen people living in Birchwood who would even know who he was." My response was that he was a Roark descendant first, but more important and meriting remembrance is his legacy of devoted and unselfish service to the citizens of a community for almost a half century. Why do we bother to erect a historical marker? The values, skills and contributions of the past are our legacy. They belong to the future as well. We are doing this for generations to come, and we trust they will gain respect, understanding and appreciation for our ancestors. Thus, we honor the memory of Dr. L. L. Friddell and his professional career in alleviating the physical suffering of more than two generations in Birchwood and the surrounding area by the placement of this marker. Dr. Friddell married Mista Coppinger in 1899. Five children were born to this union. A daughter died in infancy; other daughters were Nelle, Ruth and Louise. They also had a son, Delmas, who like his father became a prominent physician whose practice was in Terrell, Texas. Louise is the only surviving child. She lives in Libby, Montana and is 86 years old.   As Chairman of the Identification and Preservation of Historical Sites Committee, I was asked by our president, Darwin Lane, to put together a report for this issue of our newsletter relative to Dr. Friddell. My first step in compliance with this request was to ask Darwin to write the above article on Dr. Friddell. Darwin also wrote the text for the historical marker and obtained the doctor's picture. Thanks, for the splendid work. I appreciate Tommye Roark allowing the marker to be placed on her property. Thanks to Harold Roark for helping with the marker erection. From Louise Friddell Johnson, the only living child of Dr. Friddell, I was able to get some additional information that sheds more light on the personal side of Dr. Friddell. Louise remembers getting a whipping for eating too many plums. She recalls Mr. Jenkins, an avid fisherman in Birchwood, paying his medical bill with fish. The Friddells boarded school teachers in their home. Mary Robinson, the music teacher, was one of the boarders. Dr. Friddell owned two farms with a peach orchard on each. He sold his farm in Friendship (about 300 acres) to a Mr. Orr and kept the one in Birchwood. He was a Mason and probably owned the first car in Birchwood. L. L. was a very kind man with a huge appetite, especially for sweets. One piece of pie just wasn't enough. He lost his eyesight and one leg in his later years. His doctor son, Delmas, arranged for the leg amputation in a Texas hospital. He refused to have his other leg amputated and came back to Birchwood for his final days of life. Our own Howard Scott has located the foundation of an early house where L. L. Friddell once lived. The site is located on the property that was once owned by Tom Roark. I'm sorry to report that the date of birth appearing on the L. L. Friddell Historical Marker is inaccurate. I sent erroneous information to the sign manufacturer. I will be exploring all possibilities for correcting this mistake. | Return Home | Great Links | Calendar | History Page | |
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