Winifred Reynolds was a doctor in the rowdy coal mining town of Aldridge near Yellowstone National Park. Caroline McGill doctored in the mining city of Butte.

"It happened that most of the doctors in frontier Montana were in mining communities," said Dwight Phillips, professor emeritus in health sciences at Montana State University.

Now Reynolds' and McGill's stories -- and those of other women who cared for Montanans during the early years of the state -- will be shared during the fifth annual conference on medical history of the West. "Women in Health Care in Frontier Montana" will run from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, at MSU's Museum of the Rockies. It is free and open to the public.

"We are going to hear a lot about how women shaped the healthcare delivery system as it exists in Montana," said Phillips, one of the conference organizers.

Reynolds and her husband, William Pearson Reynolds, were physicians in Aldridge about 100 years ago, said Janet Winnie, their great-granddaughter. Winnie will dress in costume and share her great-grandmother's memories during the conference. Winnie's father, William Arthur Reynolds, will appear as the Aldridge doctor introducing his wife. The younger William Reynolds is a retired endocrinologist from Missoula. Winnie is a nurse practitioner at MSU's Student Health Service.

Aldridge, once a huge mining camp near present-day Corwin Springs, is now a ghost town, Winnie said. William Pearson Reynolds died in 1936. Winifred wrote her memoirs during the 1940s.

People who attend the conference will also hear more about McGill and see an exhibit on her life. They will learn about the history of midwifery in Montana; frontier medicine and the Catholic Sisters of Providence; and the Methodist Deaconess movement in Montana from 1910 to 1960.

This is the first year that part of the conference will be held in the evening. The organizers wanted to make it available to people who might not be able to attend during the day, Phillips said.

The schedule is: 12:30 p.m. -- Registration at the Museum of the Rockies. 1 p.m. -- Welcome 1:15 p.m. -- "Called to Care: Frontier Medicine and the Sisters of Providence" by Mary Anne Sladich-Lantz, St. Patrick Hospital and Health Center in Missoula. 2 p.m. -- "To Kiss Her Shadow: Nursing Education in the Deaconess Movement in Montana 1910-1960." by Pierce Mullen, professor emeritus in history and philosophy at MSU. 2:45 break/display on Dr. Caroline McGill 3:15 p.m. -- "Dr. Caroline McGill: Mining City Doctor," by Connie Staudohar, adjunct instructor at MSU. 4 p.m. -- End of afternoon session. 7 p.m. -- Introductory comments. 7:15 -- "History of Midwifery in Montana" by Stacey Haugland, certified professional midwife and president of the Montana Midwifery Association. 8 p.m. -- "Winifred Reynolds, MD in Aldridge, Montana: 100 Years Ago" by William Reynolds and Janet Winnie. 9 p.m. Reception in museum lobby.

The conference is sponsored by the Volney Steele Endowment for the Study of Medical History, the WWAMI Medical Education program at MSU, the Department of History and Philosophy at MSU, the Museum of the Rockies and the MSU College of Nursing.

Those who plan to attend are asked to register in advance. Call (406) 994-4411 or send an e-mail to wwami@montana.edu.

Posted by Evelyn Boswell for 10/25/04