To many, Rochester may be just a hospital town. Dr. Paul Scanlon, a retired Mayo Clinic physician and lifelong resident of Rochester, wrote a book debunking that myth.

Scanlon’s book, Rochester Stories: A Med City History, dives into the history of Rochester — going far beyond the tales of Mayo Clinic and its success. The book is told in a series of short stories, some of which have never been published until now.

The idea for the book, Scanlon says, began with questions from his colleagues through Mayo and around the world. Knowing others may be asking the same questions, Scanlon decided it might be worthwhile to research and write down some of the less-told stories of Rochester.

“There are stories that come up that nobody’s even aware of; fascinating stories that no one’s ever publicized,” said Scanlon.

Rochester Stories: A Med City History book cover / submitted — *Rochester Stories: A Med City History* book cover / submitted

Recognizing that a challenge faced by many readers of history books is the length and complexity of the material, Scanlon wanted to be sure his text was accessible and easy to read for anyone interested in the city’s history.

“The typical format of a historical textbook is a single subject that’s covered comprehensively from beginning to end, so I thought why not write a history book that’s all short stories and responses to questions,” said Scanlon. “History books are not very accessible for casual reading. Here’s something that’s readily digestible that’s a pretty detailed history of what’s important in Rochester history.”

Among the stories detailed in Scanlon’s book is about Henry Wellcome, who moved to Rochester at the age of 17 and worked as a pharmacy clerk until W.W. Mayo saw promise in him. Mayo, the book explains, took Wellcome under his wing and encouraged him to pursue an education in pharmacy. After graduating, and with more help from the Mayos, Wellcome partnered with Silas Burroughs to create Burroughs and Wellcome, which became one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

Wellcome continued to grow his empire and his assets, creating the Wellcome Trust.

“The Wellcome Trust that he established in 1936 is still the fourth largest charitable trust in the world and generates $600 million for research every year,” said Scanlon. “Henry Wellcome is arguably one of the greatest philanthropists of all time; it’s an amazing story and nobody knows it.”

Some of the stories Scanlon researched for the book predate his life, and even the incorporation of Rochester itself. Others comes from Scanlon’s own time here — making the stories even more personal to him.

Detailed in part three of Rochester Stories: A Med City History, Scanlon reflects on notable Rochester events such as the beginning of IBM operations in 1956, the flood of 1978, the Brom murders of 1988, and the solo Nobel Prize in Physics for Luis Alverez in 1968.

In all, the book, released June 7, includes 80 stories from the city’s history.

“I’m a native of Rochester, I grew up there and actually spent all but nine years of my life there,” Scanlan said. “Some of the stories I write and some of the experiences I write about are actually experiences I had as a child.”

Scanlon’s book can attest that there’s more to Rochester than just Mayo Clinic and those who live here because of it. Although the dynamic between the Clinic and the community has been and remains influential, the history of Rochester is far greater than it may seem on the surface.

“There’s a constant balance between this behemoth medical center and a small town that supported it and benefits from it,” said Scanlon. “Rochester didn’t just magically happen, it evolved from a long series of historical events that some of which relate to Mayo Clinic but many of which relate to other entities and other people in the city of Rochester.”

Rochester Stories will make its debut at a book signing event with Scanlon at the Rochester Art Center on June 10 at 6:30 p.m.

Catey Ackerman is a summer news intern for Med City Beat. A graduate of Mayo High School, she now studies criminology and English at Penn State University.

Cover photo: Rochester street scene (300 block of South Broadway facing north) c. 1918 / courtesy the History Center of Olmsted County