History of Detroit, a chronicle of its progress, its industries, its institutions, and the people of the fair City of the straits, / by Paul Leake ... [Vol. 3]

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HISTORY OF DETROIT

state, for though the way of a country school teacher may he hard, yet
it offers the best of preparation for any profession or business that life
may offer. Perhaps there is no other form of training so conducive to
self-discipline, or one that teaches so thoroughly the old saying, "Know
thyself." He then entered the Detroit College of Medicine and was
graduated from this institution with the degree of M. D. in 1904. He
also during this period of study was a special student under the eminent
surgeon, the late H. O. Walker, M. D.
Doctor Schwanz entered the general practice of medicine in Detroit
in 1904, but in 1906 he established the hospital at the corner of Fort
and Vinewood streets, which institution he incorporated under the
name of the Detroit General Hospital. He conducted'this with increasing success, winning the praise of his associates through his ability
as a surgeon, and the admiration of business men for the way in which
the practical end of the hospital was managed. In 1909 he voluntarily
relinquished the above name of the institution, though in so doing he
sacrificed himself. This was done at the request of the promulgators
of the new Detroit General Hospital, since they were very desirous of
the name and could not use it because the hospital which Doctor Schwanz
had founded was incorporated. He cheerfully gave his consent, however,
willing to make the sacrifice for his profession, and from 1909 until
May, 1911, he conducted the hospital under the name of the Vinewood
General Hospital. Since this date he has been in private practice,
limiting his work to general surgery and to office work. While at the
head of the hospital he did considerable work in abdominal surgery, and
since retiring from the hospital work he has continued to specialize in
this very difficult branch and has become widely known for his skill
and success in this work, which takes the steadiest of nerves, the most
skillful of hands and the quickest of brains. The importance of his work
can scarcely be overestimated, for a large proportion of surgical cases
to-day are of this description, and some of the greatest advances in
modern surgery have been made along these lines.
Doctor Schwanz is a member of the Wayne County Medical Society,
of the Michigan State Medical Society, of the American Medical Association and of the Mississippi Valley Association, as well as being an
honorary member of the Saginaw Valley Medical Society. In his
fraternal relations he is a member of the Order of Elks and of tle
Knights of Pythias, and is also a member of the Y. M. C. A. His
fondness for the out-of-doors led him to become a member of the Detroit Automobile Club, and automobiling is more than a convenient
method of travel for him. He may be found during his office hours in
suite 404 in the Whitney Opera House Block.
Louis C. BARIBAULT, M. D. There are definite branches in the science
of medicine and surgery which alone may challenge the entire thought
and attention of any one man for the entire period of his life, and thus
it is that practitioners of marked ability in general lines have seen fit
to direct their course to specialties, perfecting themselves in knowledge
pertinent thereto and the practical work implied. Among the practitioners in this class in Detroit may be mentioned Dr. Louis C. Baribault,
who, while one of the representative physicians of his section, has given
particular attention to special surgical cases, with such success as to give
him marked prestige among his confreres. Dr. Baribault was born
July 15, 1874, in New Haven, Connecticuit, and is a son of Jules and
Mary (Lanouette) Baribault, natives of the province of Quebec, Canada,
and children of native-born French parents of Normandy, France.