by Debie Oeser Cox
 |
| IVY HALL |
Most everyone who lived in East Nashville and
Inglewood from the 1930's through the 1970's knew the name Cleo Miller. Dr. Miller gave much to the community in
which he worked most of his life and where he lived in his younger years.
Cleo M. Miller was born in 1903 at Dechard, Franklin
County, Tennessee. His parents, Joseph
Edward Miller and Aurora Thelma Woll, were married on June 12, 1902 in Franklin
County.
His father died soon after Cleo was
born. His mother brought him to Nashville
as teen, perhaps so that he would have access to good schools. Aurora
Miller soon found a job at Lebecks department store as a salesperson. Aurora left Lebecks after a few years and went on to work
for many years at Cain Sloan department store. Listed in the 1920 census, Aurora and Cleo were
living at 1621 Holly Street in East Nashville. Late in 1920 Aurora married Elmore Hill. Their son Elmore, Jr. was born in 1922.
Cleo's half brother, Elmore Hill, Jr., graduated
from Duncan Preparatory School and Vanderbilt
University, just as leo had done.
He went on to University of Louisville Dental School.
Aurora's second husband
died in 1935 and in 1940 she was living on Scott Ave in East Nashville with her
18 year old son Elmore. In 1971, a local newspaper featured Aurora in
a story about her 90th birthday party. She did not believe in telling her age but
had 9 candles on her cake, plus one to grow on.
She was still living in East Nashville on North 12th St. She celebrated her birthday with her 94 year
old sister Katie and other family. She
was a member of City Road Methodist Church and played piano for bible classes
there and at Hobson Methodist Church. Aurora died in 1972.
Cleo Miller married Kathryn Cotten soon after he
graduated from medical school. By the
time Dr. Miller built the home, Ivy Hall in Inglewood, the couple had two sons, and a daughter was born the next year. The
beautiful Tudor Revival home was built on property that had been part of the
Inglewood Golf Club. Today the home is on the National Register of Historic Properties. The family lived in
the house until the early 40's, when Dr. Miller entered military service to
support the war effort. His family
traveled with him during his time in the service. At the end of the war, the Miller's moved
into a home on Belle Meade Boulevard and never returned to Ivy Hall. They moved to the Belle Meade area to be
closer to Montgomery Bell Academy, where their sons Jimmy and Jack would attend.
Long after he had moved to the west side of Davidson
County, Dr. Miller was a welcome and busy presence in East Nashville and
Inglewood. He worked as a physician and
surgeon in East Nashville from 1930 until 1971.
He began his first medical practice in a home at 1308 Stratton Avenue, with Dr. Young Haley. He and Kathryn lived in an apartment at the office for the first year
or so. Miller Clinic, which he found in
1937, was the nearest medical facility for East Nashville residents. It was a white frame building with three physicians and facilities for surgery and inpatient treatment. The building was added onto many times and more doctors joined the practice. In 1977 a new building was erected and Miller Clinic became the Miller Medical Group with more than twenty doctors. Dr. Glenn Hammonds and Dr. Russell Ward, both on staff at Miller Medical Group for many years, grew up in East Nashville and attended grade school and high school with some of their patients. Pediatricians, Dr. Philip Elliott and Dr. Dewey Nemec are remembered very well by those who grew up in East Nashville. Dr. Miller remained as
director of the Miller Medical Group until 1971 when he resigned because of illness. Miller Medical served the East Nashville community for about 60 years, well into the 1990's.
Dr. Miller added a small hospital to the clinic in 1962. This building was eventually replaced and became became a full service hospital. In 1968, Hospittal Corporation of American purchased Miller Hospital and the name was changed to Edgefield Hospital.
Dr. Miller was a member of the Men's Club at
both Isaac Litton High School and East Nashville High School. For many years, Dr. Miller was the team
doctor for the Isaac Litton football team.
He was involved in many community organizations, both in East Nashville
and across the city. He was chosen, in
1965, as Man of the Year, but the East Nashville Exchange Club.
Dr. Cleo Miller had a lifelong love of the game of
baseball and athletics in general. His
interest in athletics, led him to be team doctor for the Nashville Vols
baseball team. He was also team doctor
for the highly acclaimed women's basketball program at the Nashville Business College. In 1959, a group of fourteen Nashville
businessmen, which included Eddy Arnold, Herschel Greer, Dr. Cleo Miller and
his son Jimmy Miller, purchased the Nashville Vols. The group formed Vols Inc.,
and sold shares at $5 each in an effort to save the team. Both of the Millers was served on the board
for Vols, Inc. in 1959. The effort
failed and the Vols were soon disbanded but
Cleo Miller continued to support baseball in Nashville. He and son Jimmy Miller were long time
members of the Nashville Oldtimers Baseball Association.
Dr. Cleo Miller died on January 7, 1973 after a long
illness. His name is still remembered, fondly
and with respect, by many Nashvillians.
-------------------------
Sources:
Nashville's Inglewood, Crystal Hill Jones, Naomi C. Manning, Melanie J. Meadows.
Arcadia Publishing 2009.
Baseball in Nashville, Skip Nipper. Arcadia
Publishing 2007.
The
Congressional Record, Vol. 119, February 5, 1973.
Register of Vanderbilt University, 1921 -1922. Vanderbilt 1922.
Litton School Zone, Betty Hadley. Nashville History Blog, 2010.
http://nashvillehistory.blogspot.com/2011/02/litton-school-zone-inglewoodeast.html
Photograph
of Aurora Woll Miller Hall from Piper-Wolf family tree, ancestry.com
Nashville
City Directories, Ancestry.com
United
States Census Records, Ancestry.com
This is the Dr. that delivered my sister and I he dropped my sister and broke her arm. boy, that was a long time ago. LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks for including pediatrician, Dr. Philip Elliott. I've been trying to remember his name for some time. I surely remember the house calls he made, complete with a penicillin shot for me.
ReplyDeleteDr. Miller removed my tonsils sixty years ago. I distinctly remember him carrying me in his arms from my room to the OR. His nurse, Dukie, was a friend of my mother and was such a sweet, lovely lady. Going to the white frame clinic never was scary because of her and Dr. Miller.
ReplyDeleteI worked in the ER at Miller Hospital as a teenager from 1968 to 1972. Dr. Cleo was the perfect embodiment of what what a physician should be: fearless, tireless, optimistic, compassionate, serene, and ever cheerful. As a surgeon, his repair of even the most severe facial injuries was nothing short of magic. I went on to become a physical myself, and I never found a better role model than Dr. Cleo.
ReplyDeleteDr Nemec saved my daughter’s life in 1985. She had stopped breathing and I rushed her to the ER at Miller Clinic. They gave her shots of Epinephrine to stabilize her. They had paged Dr Nemec and he came in dressed in a full Tuxedo. He had been attending a formal event downtown but rushed to the hospital. He had my daughter moved by ambulance to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, where she spent 3 days in an oxygen tent. I wrote the city leaders when Dr Nemec died, asking them to honor him for his years of service, but they refused.
ReplyDeleteDr. Nemec was the best! RIP
Delete