By the Historical Committee of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association
BY DECREEE ON MARCH 6, 2010, BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE TEXAS VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: “THE TEXAS VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION IS PRIVILEGED TO RECOGNIZE THE WHARTON VETERINARY CLINIC, WHARTON, TEXAS, AS A HERITAGE VETERINARY PRACTICE MERITING ADMIRATION AND RESPECT FOR HAVING BEEN IN CONTINUOUS OPERATION SINCE 1946.”
The wharton veterinary hospital, which was later renamed the Wharton Veterinary Clinic, was established in 1946 by Dr. John C. “Jake” Willis (A&M College of Texas, 1946). Dr. Willis built his animal hospital from the purchase and subsequent relocation to Wharton of a post-World War II U.S. Army barrack and government building. For the past 64 years, this hospital and its staff have represented veterinary medicine quite nobly for the Wharton community, its citizens, their animals and the State of Texas.
In 1950, Victor H. “Vic” Driscoll, DVM, graduated from Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine and was hired by Dr. Willis. Dr. Driscoll correctly viewed Wharton as a leading agricultural county in Texas, and he was eager to begin his professional career contributing to the area’s progress. He had already interned with Dr. Willis during the summers of 1947 to 1950 to fulfill a preceptorship required by Auburn, and he was, therefore, no stranger to the community upon his arrival.
A brief review of Dr. Driscoll’s early life is in order to fully understand the total picture of this respected veterinarian’s career. Dr. Driscoll was born on September 18, 1922, in Frisco City, Alabama, as the sixth child to Jeremiah and Mary Driscoll. He grew up as a child of the Great Depression. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the age of 17. Driscoll was trained as a B29 flight engineer, and he flew 26 missions in the Pacific campaigns. Following his service to our country, he attended Auburn University, where he met and eventually married Evelyn “Linda” Vickers.
Shortly after Dr. Driscoll’s graduation, Dr. Willis offered to sell the Wharton Veterinary Hospital practice to him. Dr. Driscoll accepted the offer, and Dr. Willis moved to Mississippi. Coinciding with this event, Dr. Driscoll was almost recruited again by the Army for deployment to Korea, however, he convinced the authorities that he needed to stay in Wharton to grow the much-needed practice for his community. At the time, Wharton County was the national leader in rice production, the leader in Texas in quarter horse breeding and home to the largest single Brahman herd in the state. This herd, which was owned by a corporate unit entitled J.D. Hudgins Incorporated, supplied over 26 nations’ needs for purebred Brahman. The manager, Edgar Hudgins, was a graduate of the A&M College of Texas with a bachelor degree in animal husbandry. He was responsible, more so than any other person, for the improvement in Brahman herds worldwide. His ranch in Hungerford, Texas, continues today to provide Brahman seed stock domestically as well as nationally.
Beginning early in his career and continuing for many years, the assurance and maintenance of the genetic integrity of his clients’ livestock and the crucial need for brucellosis control were two very important aspects of Dr. Driscoll’s commitment to veterinary medicine. Later, Dr. Frank E. Mann Jr., who graduated in 1958 from A&M, joined Dr. Driscoll and shared an equal commitment to those two aspects of practice.
The breeders of Brahman bulls depended heavily on Drs. Driscoll and Mann for the certification of the breeding soundness of their animals. Since many of the sales were to foreign markets, it was important that a certificate of fertility could be presented, thereby proving that a veterinarian had performed a microscopic examination of the semen to document adequate sperm counts and semen quality. There was also an urgency for a reliable and quick method of semen collection for those microscopic examinations. In the mid-1950s, the Marden Corporation developed an experimental electro-ejaculator unit that enabled rapid semen collections from bulls. Edgar Hudgins worked with Dr. Driscoll to obtain an early prototype, which had a label attached to the unit with the inscription “For Experimental Use Only.” They used that first unit extensively, and it was eventually returned to the Marden Corporation for display in the company museum.
The second pressing need involved one of the most serious disease problems of the 1950s in the cattle industry. The need existed for the proper diagnosis and eradication of Brucella abortus, the causative agent of the disease brucellosis. In October 1955, the Texas and Southwestern Cattleman’s Association had its annual meeting in Austin. Dr. J.K. Northway of the King Ranch, Mr. Hudgins of the Hudgins Ranch and Dr. Driscoll from Wharton were invited to this meeting to present their personal and professional observations with the use of strain 19 Brucella vaccine in calves. The attendees were impressed. The Texas legislature, following recommendations, began to develop a compulsory calfhood vaccination program for the elimination of bovine brucellosis.
Dr. Driscoll’s ambulatory large animal practice extended for about 60 miles around the Wharton area. There were not many veterinarians in this area at that time. He had additional dog runs installed in the hospital at a time in history when small animal medicine was exploding in importance throughout many parts of Texas. He also hired a technician who lived at the clinic.
Although most of the large animal work was done on a farm-call basis, clients were also able to back their trailers to the rear of the elevated hospital for on-site professional services. Dr. Driscoll was at the clinic from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but emergencies in the middle of the night often occurred. In those days, communication abilities were limited, and Dr. Driscoll spent precious time driving back to the clinic from farm calls just to retrieve his messages. Often, he would no sooner return to the office from a call then he would have to immediately return to the same locale he visited earlier in the day or drive in the opposite direction. He spent many hours on the road. With the purchase in the mid-1950s of a two-way radio system, road time was significantly reduced. His car became his mobile clinic. Practice life became easier for him and eventually for Dr. Mann as well.
On June 26, 1960, Drs. Driscoll and Mann officially moved the clinic from Milam Street to Highway 59. An open house was held for the
citizens of the community. Additional construction work was done over the ensuing years to further expand the large animal facility.
Some special anecdotes about Dr. Driscoll’s career are appropriate to fully understand his practice of veterinary medicine at that time:
• During Dr. Driscoll’s practice years, he contracted brucellosis and was exposed to rabies. With brucellosis, he was treated with a month-long antibiotic regimen; with rabies exposure, he underwent a series of painful shots.
• Late one night a rancher brought in a horse with a deep cut on its leg. Dr. Driscoll asked the owner if the horse was a kicker to which the rancher responded that he was very gentle. Dr. Driscoll gave some Rompun and proceeded to suture the wound. The Rompun apparently potentiated the horse’s reflexes, and with no warning, the horse kicked and missed his head by only a few inches. The horse tore the muscles in his upper right arm and lower right leg. Although in great pain, he diligently finished suturing the horse.
• While working at the local auction market, Dr. Driscoll was performing bull fertility testing. He needed some help; therefore, he called upon the nearest cowboy he saw to help him. He worked that cowboy all day. Later he discovered that the cowboy was Ben Johnson, the actor friend of John Wayne. He had been sent to Wharton to purchase cattle for John Wayne’s ranch. Dr. Driscoll was shocked to say the least and apologized for working him so hard. Ben Johnson, however, seemed to have enjoyed the day and was amused by the clever deception he pulled on Dr. Driscoll.
• One day while palpating a herd of cattle, a rancher asked him what he charged for his services. Dr. Driscoll gave him the answer. The rancher said that the fees were seemingly high. Dr. Driscoll asked the rancher if he would rather do the job himself, and the rancher replied that he wouldn’t know what to do. To that statement, Dr. Driscoll replied in paraphrase, “That is what you are paying me for.”
As a resident of Wharton, Dr. Driscoll took his religious and civic duties very seriously. While a member of the First United Methodist Church, he served in almost all of the official capacities. He also served as chairman of the Bi-County Child Welfare Board, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and an officer of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was elected chairman of the committee that composed the city charter adopted in 1970 (the charter is still used today) and was elected chairman in 1966 of the Wharton County Junior College Board of Trustees, where he served for 12 years. Dr. Driscoll served two years as the mayor of Wharton and has been a lifelong member of the Lions Club serving in many official capacities. Additionally, he is a 32nd Degree Master Mason.
In 1975, Dr. Driscoll left private practice and became a consultant for a large ranch in Briggs. In 1978, he was recruited to work for the federal government to oversee the surveillance of foreign animal diseases along the Texas border from Brownsville to El Paso. He and his wife, Linda, made Pharr their home for over 19 years. However, after the tragic loss of Linda in a house fire, Dr. Driscoll returned to Wharton to friends he had known for a long time. Dr. Driscoll is currently 87 years young and still lives in Wharton.
As already stated, Dr. Frank E. Mann, Jr., who graduated in 1958 from A&M, came to work for Dr. Driscoll on July 4, 1958. Dr. Mann already had a great deal of practical experience prior to graduation. As a youngster, he received a scholarship from the Houston Farm and Ranch Club. He was also president of the Harris County 4H Club. In 1955, he married Ima Lee Smith and subsequently graduated as a Distinguished Student.
Following the earlier partnership of Drs. Driscoll and Mann, the business grew rapidly because of the strong work ethic, medical prowess and strong commitment to veterinary medicine that these two practitioners possessed as they constantly strived to remain on the cutting edge of the profession.
Dr. Mann was best known in the veterinary and livestock community for his tireless, ongoing efforts to bring changes to the brucellosis-control laws and regulations. Through his efforts, expertise and stellar rapport with state and federal officials, livestock men and veterinarians, sweeping changes involving the roles of large animal practitioners in brucellosis control occurred. Also, changes in the state and federal uniform methods and rules concerning this disease took place.
“I have said continuously that a brucellosis-eradication program will not work unless and until there is private practitioner involvement,” Dr. Mann emphatically said.
As a result, the Texas Animal Health Commission published in the November 1979 issue of Cattlemen Magazine a strong endorsement for the utilization of large animal private practitioners in future brucellosis programs. The Texas Veterinary Medical Association honored Dr. Mann in 1979 by presenting and honoring him with a plaque that described his successful influence on the philosophy, laws and regulations for brucellosis control. In addition, Dr. Mann spoke at myriad livestock and health professions meetings throughout the state as a widely known and respected authority on the subject of brucellosis control. For many years, the Wharton Veterinary Clinic maintained a state and federally approved brucellosis testing laboratory. While performing blood tests on cattle in Wharton for his studies on brucellosis, he used the same blood samples to test for Johne’s disease as well. In doing so, he established for the first time the true incidence of Johne’s disease in Texas. Additionally, and contrary to the prevailing veterinary medical opinions of that time, he also propounded that Johne’s disease was a much larger problem in beef cattle than dairy cattle.
Dr. Mann was a busy civic leader in addition to his daily practice of veterinary medicine. He served four terms on the Wharton City Council, four terms as a member of the city planning commission and one term as president of that commission. He was president of the Wharton Lions Club and Jaycees, chairman of the building committee of the First Baptist Church, deacon of his church and president of the local Little League. Additionally, he held numerous leadership roles in the Boy Scouts of America, the Wharton County Youth Rodeo, the Wharton High School FFA chapter, the Wharton County Youth Fair and Exposition and the American Heart Association. Dr. Mann was indeed highly involved in his beloved community, and he represented veterinary medicine quite nobly in the activities in which he was involved.
Dr. Mann served his profession and state in the highest possible ways as a veterinarian. He served two six-year terms as a member of the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, and he was president during the second term. He is a member of the AVMA, Mid-Coastal VMA, Harris County VMA, Wharton County VMA and was a member, before retirement, of the Texas Academy of Veterinary Practice. In 1980, he was elected by his peers statewide to become the 78th President of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association. After his exemplary service as TVMA president, Dr. Mann became the AVMA representative to the United States Animal Health Association. In 1984, he was honored by the TVMA as the Food Animal Practitioner of the Year for “outstanding contributions to the field of food animal veterinary medicine that have aided in elevating standards, refining techniques and improving methods of practice.” He was chairman of both the TVMA Brucellosis Committee and the Bovine and Ranch Committee and was highly instrumental in the collection of monies for the first TVMA building fund. Dr. Mann was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987 and 1991 and was appointed as an adjunct professor of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery as well. In addition to these honors and responsibilities, he was the general manager of the Pierce Ranch in Wharton County, and he owned and operated his own ranch east of Wharton. He and his wife raised two sons, Frank and Garland, there. Later each graduated from Texas A&M University.
As TVMA president, Dr. Mann was grateful for the unselfish offerings of members’ time and talents. In his own airplane, he flew to all parts of Texas to fulfill his leadership responsibilities. His chief areas of concern during his presidency were fourfold: to increase awareness in the profession of the need for continual updating of professional skills through continuing education to provide for better service to the public; to better coordinate the thrust of how TVMA should tell the story of veterinary medicine to the media etc.; to better monitor the rules and regulations promulgated by elected officials and animal health-related boards, and to carefully watch over the State Legislature’s Sunset Review Commission as it performed a comprehensive review of the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. Dr. Mann was unabashedly a self-professed driven and aggressive veterinarian who wanted to make veterinary medicine a respected profession for the livestock industry and the State of Texas. Dr. Bill Ard once wrote of Dr. Mann, “More important than your work is your attitude…the final outcome of efforts… will benefit every citizen in our state. I don’t know where you find the time and energy to do all that you do, but you manage to get it all done with style.”
Dr. Driscoll’s departure in 1975 led Dr. Mann to eventually hire Dr. Carlos E. Bonnot, a 1976 graduate of Texas A&M University, to replace him. The only “problem” was, as Dr. Bonnot says, “Unlike Dr. Driscoll, I didn’t know ‘jack’ even though I was quite eager to apply those unpolished skills to the practice of veterinary medicine in Wharton.” According to one Historical Committee member who knew Carlos quite well as fellow members of M-1 Medical Company in the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets, Carlos Bonnot was one smart guy. That member also recalls that he represented the epitome of the fine values of the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University. While in veterinary school, Carlos worked for the D and B Cattle Company as a ranch foreman. Upon graduation, Dr. Bonnot, his wife Wanda and their daughter Amanda moved to Wharton. She was pregnant with their second child, and he had an $800 unsecured note to a College Station bank. The payment was due upon his first month’s paycheck which was to be $1,000. Dr. Mann told him in paraphrase, “Since you just got out of school, you should know everything; you need to get involved in the community; and oh, I’m going to Europe in two weeks and will be gone a short while.” The new graduate, Dr. Bonnot, nodded yes sir and was ready to tackle the task before him.
During this time period, the receipts given by the receptionists to the clients were done on a Big Chief notebook, and patient records were written on 3” X 5” index cards. Today, the clinic is fully computerized. Dr. Bonnot’s first practice vehicle was Dr. Mann’s retired family station wagon that contained cardboard boxes full of clanging, bottled medications with labels which were well-worn before fully using. The vehicle’s use was limited to short-distance calls without the air conditioner running. The car routinely overheated, and extra jugs of water were carried on farm calls with which to fill the radiator before returning to the clinic. During Dr. Bonnot’s early practice life, Dr. Mann was frequently absent from the clinic to tend to duties with the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners or with a myriad of other TVMA leadership positions, including the presidency. Carlos can still remember the constant, optimistic chant from the ever-dedicated Dr. Mann, “Eradicate brucellosis and pledge money to the TVMA building fund.” A 70 year-old longtime technician of the hospital, Mr. S.K. Stevens, taught Dr. Bonnot some of the art of veterinary medicine during those times when Carlos’ mentor, Dr. Mann, was away from the practice on state and TVMA business. Mr. Stevens was the barn helper, small animal assistant, kennel caretaker and janitor. He knew everyone in town and had plenty of stories to tell about plantation life in Wharton County. As noted by Mr. Stevens, who died in 1981, many of the descendents of those early plantation families were still landholders in the 1970s and were still farming and ranching in and around Wharton.
For Carlos Bonnot, Frank Mann was a second dad and friend as well as his extremely ambitious employer. They fished, hunted, worked, connived and planned for the future together. Drs. Mann and Bonnot had the first complete veterinary paging system in Texas whereby the doctors were at their clients’ beckoning calls at any time of the day or night. A portable X-ray unit was purchased in 1982, and this enabled the two practitioners to X-ray large animals in the field. Also, a padded large animal cell for post-operative recovery was created at the clinic. They became partners in 1985 and continued to have a great relationship. Once, Dr. Mann went off to California for a practice management meeting. The second day of the meeting he called Carlos and said, “I just spent $10,000 of your money and it will transform our practice.” “Are you hypnotized or drugged?” retorted Dr. Bonnot as he sheepishly questioned where they would find that kind of money! Dr. Mann safely returned home, and Dr. Bonnot distinctly remembers that “we made our money back in three to 10 years or so. It was a good ride all the while.”
Dr. Bonnot further discussed his practice years at the Wharton Veterinary Clinic:
“The clinic, which had been built in 1960 on old Business 59, was clean and state of the art when I arrived in 1976. It had a nice small waiting room, doctors’ office, one exam room, a surgery room, a grooming/bathing room, a large combination laboratory and ‘shoot the bull’ room and a concrete prison-cell kennel. The entire clinic area was about 600 square feet. A covered barn with pens and a working chute were behind the clinic. It was quite functional and served us well. Ranchers and farmers would come by for coffee, sit there and visit forever. A couple of old codgers would sometimes just fall asleep.”
“After two years, I told Dr. Mann, ‘We need to remodel and make another exam room. We’re not making any money on these old codgers snoring in the B.S. room.’ So we remodeled within the confines of the structure, however, it wasn’t long before we outgrew this facility and started making plans for an upgrade.”
“Plans for a new clinic were underway in the late 1980s, and a site was selected. Against my better judgment, we erected a future, completion-date sign which stated the exact month we would supposedly open the new hospital. Dr. Mann was always a foreseer and a visionary! He said, ‘We must set a goal and a commitment otherwise it will never get done.’ Needless to say, a recession and health matters delayed the start-up, but perhaps it was an ominous omen that delayed our construction. The commitment sign was struck by lightning. It was another five years after the lightning strike before we broke ground and moved into our new facility—February 1996. It was a great improvement in both size and efficiency. The small animal clinic is approximately 6,000 square feet, and the large animal barn is about 7,000 square feet. We had been greatly handicapped for growth without adequate parking or room to add any new diagnostic equipment. Upon moving in, I thought, ‘We will never fill this up’—now, 13 years later we’re on the brink of bursting at the seams. Within 14 months of our new clinic opening, Dr. Mann suffered a stroke and his practice ability became limited. He subsequently retired. It was a disappointment to both him and myself that he did not have the opportunity to enjoy practicing for very long in the new facility. Dr. and Mrs. Mann still live in Wharton. Our clinic has been AAHA accredited since 1980 and as of moving into the new buildings, we have added a coggins lab, an additional hydraulic chute, an additional cattle-working area and updated diagnostic equipment that includes digital radiography.”
“Over the years, associates have come and gone but each has added in his or her own way to the personality and the philosophy of the practice. Since I have been in Wharton, those who have contributed were Drs. Tony W. Brown, Sherry Dodson, Greg Bobo, Manny Sanchez, Eric Terrell, Steven Golla, William Totten and Rick Osterloh. Currently, two great individuals and outstanding young veterinarians are in charge of ‘knowledge’ at the Wharton Veterinary Clinic—Dr. Cody Pohler (Texas A&M 2007) of Shiner and Dr. James Morton (Texas A&M 2008), son of TVMA President-elect Dr. John Morton and past TVMA Auxiliary President Mrs. Ginger Morton, of Athens. I’m in charge of spending money and other insignificant details. I would be remiss if I did not honor our paraprofessional staff of 14 with multiple words of praise and gratefulness. Without their diligence, enthusiasm and faithfulness, the Wharton Veterinary Clinic would just be a shell. They make it come and stay alive daily. Our head receptionist, Shannon Calk, has been instrumental in developing this part of the story for the TVMA Historical Committee. Her enthusiasm has been contagious, and her help has been very valuable. I was fortunate to have been adopted into a practice that thrived on entrepreneurism, professionalism, organized veterinary medicine and community involvement. My hope is that I can later transfer the practice to those who will better the community and veterinary medicine in Wharton.”
Throughout Dr. Bonnot’s practice years, his professional affiliations have been and are extremely numerous. His professional highlights, however, have been the 1996 Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory Diagnostician of the Year and the 2000 TVMA Mixed Animal Practitioner of the Year awards. Currently he serves on the AVMA Council of Veterinary Services (COVS 2007-2013), the AVMA Foresight Report Task Force of 2009 (sunset for 2010), the Texas Animal Health Commission Trichomoniasis Working Group and the AVMA Animal Agricultural Liaison Committee (AALC 2010-2013).
Dr. and Mrs. Bonnot are members of the Abell Street Church of Christ, and they have one daughter, Amanda, three sons, Shane, Joe and Clayton, and five grandchildren. All four children graduated from Texas A&M University.
Dr. Bonnot currently manages the family ranch, which consists of a commercial cow-calf operation as well as corn, cotton and hay production.
Dr. Bonnot has published three professional articles in the JAVMA and the Texas Veterinarian.
TVMA is privileged to recognize the Wharton Veterinary Clinic as a Texas heritage veterinary practice.
