Northern Illinois College of Optometry - Focus Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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From The beginning, Dr. Needles was mosT forTunaTe in having his sisfer as his asso- ciaTe and co-worker. Miss Lida E. Needles has served The school' and The profession in nu- merous capacifies, being Treasurer aT The presenf Time. l-ler long affiliTaTion has meanT a greaT deal To The growfh and developmenT of The college. Dr. Needles was a generous and prolific lecTurer, especially in his earlier years, when he devoTed much of his Time To various sTaTe convenfions and meefings of The nafional as- sociafion. Though an exfremely busy man of manifold responsibilifies, he was never Too preoccupied To confribufe arficles of inTeresT and imporTance To The opTomeTric publica- Tions, in which he forcefully pressed forward his endeavors To insrall Opfomefry upon a higher professional plane. His efforfs have borne grafifying fruiT. Like so many men of ideas and influence, he found some who did noT always agree wiTh him or wiTh his meThods: inTeresTingly enough, how-ever, Those who disagreedwere among The Tirsf To admiT ThaT Dr, W. B. always acfed and spoke in The besT inTeresTs of opTomeTric advancemenT. l-lis friends were numerous and locafed in all parTs of The coun- Try, due To his widespread convenTion acfivifies. So marked was his influence upon Opfom- eTry, over The years, ThaT There were few pracficing opfomefrisfs who did noT know him per- sonally, or who were noT familiar wiTh his sound philosophies. i NoThing less Than indispuTable proof could cause him To guesfion eifher The mofives or abiliTies of a friend in whom he had once placed confidence. When misTakes were made by any member of his sTafT, he always assumed full responsibiliTy. To The public, he was The only man in The whole organiiafion who ever commiTTed a serious error. A Dr. Needles suffered a hearT aTTaclc while aT Richmond, Virginia, following The SouTh- easTern Convenfion of l942. From ThaT Time, he gradually relinquished much of The ad- minisTraTive work of The college. AT The Time of his passing, he was an l-lonorary Life Member of The American Opfome- Tric AssociaTion, which membership dafes back To I92O. l-le was a Fellow of The American Academy of OpTomeTry and of The Disfinguished Service FoundaTion in OpTomeTry. ln addiTion, he held memberships in The Befa Sigma Kappa and Omega Delfa fraTerniTies. The guidance and counsel of a greaT leader is no longer wiTh us, buT The professional influence and creeds of Dr. Needles will casT a long shadow in The fufure of The profession he loved so well.

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.f4rcAifecf 0 Olafomefrg HIS LIFE STORY On June 5, I948, aT PassavanT l-lospiTal in Chicago, The NorThern Illinois College of OpTomeTry, and indeed The enfire opTomeTric profession, suffered a grievous and momenT- ous loss. ThaT day saw The final acT in The disTinguishecl career of Dr. William B. Needles, pioneer and leader in his chosen field. r 1 This eminenT and well-loved educaTor, The founder of The one of largesT opTomeTric colleges of The profession, was born in Sedalia. Missouri, on The l7Th day of May, I879. A man of unusual vigor and keen insighT, he began his worlc in OpTomeTry while sTill in his early TwenTies. l-lis efforTs in The field of opTomeTric educaTion anTedaTed by several years The firsT of The sTaTe laws which gave legal recognifion To The profession. l-le esTablishecl The Needles lnsTiTuTe of OpTomeTry in I9lO aT Kansas CiTy, Missouri. Graduafes from This school became conspicuous for Their success and leadership in pracTice, TesTifying To The greaf abilify of Dr. Needles as Teacher and counsellor. lT was increasingly a,pparenT To The men of OpTomeTry of ThaT era ThaT This young Needles of Kansas CiTy was on his way To bigger and beTTer Things in his service To The profession. 'S lneviTably, The day arrived on which he walked inTo The office of Dr. George B. lvlcFaTrich, his close personal friend, who was The PresidenT of The Norfhern Illinois Col- lege of Ophfhalmology and Ofology, a'school which Trained medical men in eye, ear, nose and ThroaT. Dr. Needles emerged from ThaT conference as The new Presidenf. ShorTly ThereafTer, he effecfed a merger of The Two schools, which he called The Norfhern Illinois College of OpTomeTry. The new insTiTuTion blossomed, boTh in size and in The scope of iTs curriculum and opTomeTric philosophy.

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EH-IIIE AIFTVIEIFMIMXAGIF --: BRANDON E. REA Produciion Manager WARD B. MacKEEN JAMES C. MANVILLE Business Manager Edifor-in-Chief A SAMUEL KOVEN EE SAMUEL P. BRADLEY Adverfising Manager Picf'-ll'9 Edifol'