Delta Avenue Days

My grandfather Gustave August Hinnen (or Gaga, as I called him) was a doctor, specializing in problems of the eye, ear, nose & throat. In those days, most doctors did not have a specific area of practice. He was a prolific reader-- mostly books on animals, nature, and religion. The reason he read so many books on religion is that he was an atheist, and he wanted to prove his points about religion. He always said the Catholic Church caused the Middle Ages and set back the progress of man by hundreds of years. The house was filled to the brim with books all encased in bookcases with glass doors to keep them clean. Every book had his personal label on the front page. He loved his books and took such good care of them; however, after he died, I remember that Mother had a difficult time finding anyonewho would take them. Most were outdated--especially the medical ones. Also, in the crammed and crowded basement, he made wine and had a wine cellar, along with wood working tools, for he enjoyed making things.

Gaga, as I shall refer to him during the rest of the essay, accomplished more than most people. He was at his office every day, including Saturday mornings.His office had three rooms-- a waiting room and two patient rooms. He was a one-man band. No one else in his office to help him. He took care of billing along with treating people. The curious thing is that he treated many nuns, since he was so anti-religious. And he never charged them anything. I remember hearing them laught and talk and have the best time behind the closed door of his office. He charged very little to people--certainly not like doctors today, and did not make much money.

He gave tours at the zoo on Sunday Mornings, and gave lectures at night to clubs and organizations on animals and snakes. He was on the board of directors of the zoo and was one of the founding fathers of the Natural History Museum.Wednesday afternoons were just for the two of us. We went to the zoo, the greenhouse, the art museum, or some major event like a magic show or circus. Since Gaga was a director at the zoo, he was allowed to pet the animals and feed them. He had a black suitcase filled with candy, cookies, and various treats for the animals. They would sense he was coming and begin to howl, roar, or screech before he even got inside the dor. Each one had his special treat. He petted each and every one. Gaga had a following of people who came and walked the zoo with him on Sunday mornings as he did his rounds. Later the zoo administration decided that the animals should not get food that was unnatural to them and that Gaga's petting of the animals was not good for the people to see, for it might encourage them to try it. This, of course, was a real blow to him-- for this was the highlight of his life. He had always borrowed small animals and snakes for his lectures and I think all of this ceased at this time. When he had snakes at home, he would bring them out for me to handle. I was never very fond of them!

When Gaga was in his late sixties, he had a cataract operation on one eye and it went well and he returned to the office. Somehow, he picked up an infection from a patient and it settled in his eye. Soon the infection spread to the other eye and somehow he became blind in both eyes. This was a severe blow to him-- the avid reader and active doctor. After living in darkness for several years, he had a stroke and died at the age of seventy-four (I was twenty-one). So he was in his late fifties and early sixties when I knew him to the be very busy man that he was.

This remarkable man gave the world many contributions-- his dedication to medicine and not ever thinking of making a great deal of money healing people like doctors do today-- and his total committment to nature and animals and his desier to tell people about the zoo. He was certainly one of the most self-motivated persons I have ever known.