American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists

The American College of Neuropsychiatrists

(An Osteopathic Institution)

By Floyd E. Dunn, D.O., F.A.C.N., F.A.A.M.D.

The Miami Beach sessions (our Twenty-fourth ‘Annual Meeting’) was memorable for being numerically our largest gathering up to that date; for our Resolution that “the continued identity of our organization be a matter of established policy, and that the College shall raise its voice against any move that would threaten the position and status of osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists”; and for the fact that is was the last time our California members would be able to meet with us except as guests. Our two most active “Founding Fathers”, Ken Bailey and Tommy Myers, although they would be honored by the College at our “Silver Jubilee,” were forced to give up their active membership (although never their interest and good-will) in our group. We had to begin planning for the future of out college without our leaders from California and with only two-thirds of our former membership. We solved the financial pinch by raising our dues, and we found new leaders, chiefly among some of our new Senior members from the metropolitan Philadelphia-New York axis. Dr. George Guest, who had only recently become a Senior Member (though we knew of his record of leadership at the Philadelphia College) became our President-elect, and Dr. Sydney Kanev, another recently-elected Senior member (whose ‘track record’ in New York City and State organizational affairs was known to us) was elected Vice-president. Don C. Littlefield was continued as Secretary-treasurer in the hope that he might join the new California Association and thus retain his osteopathic identity, his A.O.A. certification and his eligibility for active membership in our College.

Alas, we found that Don had been one of the active supporters of the California Merger; he accepted his “sixty-five pieces of silver” little m.d. degree, and resigned both his position as Editor of the Bulletin, and his post as Secretary-Treasurer of the College. There had been no Bulletin’s, consequently, until Dr. Sydney Kanev agreed to fill the double-post of Editor Pro-tem and Secretary-Treasurer Pro-tem, and we were able to have a Bulletin published under his capable editorship in September 1961 as Volume XIV, Numbers 2 and 3.

In addition to the two “Pro-tem” functions of Bulletin editor and Secretary-Treasurer, our intrepid “Syd”, as we all came to fondly call him, was (by the constitution through his election as Vice-president) also Program Chairman for what was to be the biggest celebration of our College’s history thus far: our Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting, publicized of course, as our “SILVER JUBILEE”. How Syd did it all, and still remained in active practice, kept out of the divorce courts and maintained his sanity is still a source of wonder to this author.

The College elected to meet again at the time and place chosen by the A.O.A. for its sessions: Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the first time either organization had met in what was beginning to be known as the entertainment capital of the world. This meeting was our Twenty-fifth Convention and Scientific Session and was publicized as our “SILVER JUBILEE,” as stated above. The four “Founding Fathers” who were still living (Drs. K.G. Bailey, G.N. Gillum, T.J. Myers, and F.M. Still) were invited to attend our Annual Banquet as honored guests. They were presented with Silver Memorial Platters attesting to the gratitude of the College for their years of effort, dedication, and counsel. Only Doctors Bailey and Meyers were able to be present, so the platters for Doctors Gillum and Still had to be presented in absentia and then sent to the by mail.