The late Dr. G.G. Woods, Huntington's physician, recalled "Life of a Country Doctor" in the early 1900's.
     A 10-year old boy used to sit on the front doorstep of his home and dream of his ambition "to be the best doctor in the world". That was 84 years ago. In his later years, the elderly physician sat on his from porch in a rocking chair thinking of his past experiences. This is Dr. George G. Woods' story.
     It began in the winter of 1876, January 7, on a farm near Hackett. For on that cold night, Mr. and Mrs. John Samuel Woods became the parents of a tiny red-faced boy whom they named George. Young George's childhood --- which he described as happy - was spent on this farm.
     His education began in Mountain View grade school. From his tenth birthday, he had only one ambition-"to be a doctor", and his mother's advice, "George, don't ever let anything take away that hope and faith and dreams".

STORY OF DR. GEORGE
     And so began the story of Dr. George. After graduating from the Hackett High School, he attended the University of Arkansas and its medical School in Little Rock. He became a medical doctor in 1904.
     He came to Huntington then and began his study under the guidance of the late Dr. John McConnell of Huntington. Dr. Woods, then, received his license to practice medicine. On the medical board at that time which granted the young aspiring doctor his license was the late Dr. E.B. Jones of Hartford. It was also during 1904 that he married the beautiful brown-eyed Sarah Alice Edwards.

TWO CHILDREN
     The Woods had two children, Natalie, who is now Mrs. Buell Phillips of Fort Smith, and Merle, who is professionally known as, Dr. William Merle Woods, who was with his father in the Woods Clinic until his death. Dr. Merle is well known both professionally and socially and like his father - a friend to everyone.

GETS FIRST AUTO
     When young Merle was only three months old, Dr. Woods purchased a Hupmobile, the first car in this part of the country. Mrs. Woods recalled standing on the road one afternoon, young Merle in her arms, as she waited for her husband to come riding home in his Hupmobile and overheard two youngsters who were playing by the roadside saw his auto roaring down the road and scream "God, watch him fly!"
     Dr. Woods was very proud of his shiny black auto, but it was the responsible for a little disorder. For when the Hupmobile passed the school house, class had to stop while all the youngsters ran out to watch it.
     Professional-wise, Dr. Woods had delivered over 3000 babies in his 40 year career. "When I first began practicing", he said, "There were no hospitals". "The first one in Fort Smith was where the Randall sales lot was located". "This hospital housed six rooms". He recalled that the second hospital was named Belle Point. It was located where the Sparks Hospital was in his day.

MINE BLAST IN 1930's
     During his early practice, mining was the man source of income in Huntington. He recalled the tragic mine explosion in the mid- 30's. "It was the worst thing I ever got into. The No. 44 mine blew up injuring 27 and killing eight. It was here that I received my first "real practice", as I began dressing those horrible burns with a yellow powder and later with lime water and linseed oil. Here's what the late Dr. Woods called a taste of a "town doctor over half a century ago". "I started out on my pony from Dr. McConnell's office in Huntington, then over to Hackett city road to No.2 camp, on to No.3 camp, across the creek with no bridges. The roads were far from being good and when heavy rains fell, I had to swim the creek. (But I had an excellent horse!) Then I would ride over Prairie Creek to No. 1 camp on out to Red Rock cross the creek to No.4, then go to Frog Town, and up the south side of the ridges to Huntington". "This was my daily round".

MANY EPIDEMICS
     Back in those days there was malaria, typhoid and pneumonia epidemics. "I remember I had seven cases of typhoid in one family", he recalled. Dr. Woods said he caught the mumps from one of his patients. One of Dr. Woods' sadder memories was the smallpox epidemic here in 1903. Two Negroes died in the old Dock Turner house, known as the Red Hotel. The Woods' office was first located in the back of Dr. Saunders Drug Store on Highway 71. When it burned, Dr. Woods moved upstairs of the Deger Building. Now the Woods Clinic is on Main Street.

YOUNG DR. WOODS
     Dr. Woods liked to talk about "one of the happiest days in my life!" It was in 1934 when his son Merle, completed his internship and started practicing with him. "Dr. Woods" who entered the University of Arkansas at age 15.
     Despite hardships the late Dr. Woods felt that he had a good life - a colorful life that began in the horse and buggy age and continued into the atomic age. At the age of 77, the late Dr. George was ageless. One of his patients described him thus - "He is as old as the love for ministering to his patients and as young as his youngest patient because his service and love of life have kept him so."