Valerie F. McNown oral history collection

Collection

Identifier: HHC172

Staff Only

Scope and Content

This interview surveys the life and career of Dr. Valerie Friedman McNown (1916-2004), a longtime New Mexico pediatrician of the Espanola valley. Coming to Los Alamos as a Federal government physician in 1948, Dr. Friedman from her Espanola base served the children of the Espanola valley for 39 years until her retirement in 1987. Among the subjects discussed in this interview are Dr. Friedman's personal and professional backgrounds; her practice in the Espanola valley and the major problems encountered there; the physician community of the area and the pediatricians of the state generally; public health services; and the Santa Fe medical community.

Dates

May 1989

Language of Materials

English

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Copy Restrictions

Limited duplication of print materials allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Biography / History

Valerie Friedman McNown was born in Messina, New York in 1916. Raised in the United States and Canada, she graduated from Michigan State University in 1938. Dr. Friedman graduated from McGill University with an M. D. in 1945. After pediatrics residencies at Children's Memorial Hospital (Montreal, Canada) and Children's Hospital (Columbus, Ohio), she spent from 1948-1950 as a contract physician with the U. S. government at Los Alamos, New Mexico. She opened a private practice and worked for the state's health department at the end of her government contract.

Dr. Friedman practiced in northern New Mexico for forty years. After her retirement in 1987, she opened an antique shop. She and her architect husband, Allen, moved to Nambe, New Mexico.