Elmore E. Grim

As printed in 1902

ELMORE E. GRIM.

Dr. Elmore E. Grim occupies a prominent position among professional men of Springfield, being one of the leading opticians of that city. While yet a young man he has already given evidence of the possession of ability of a superior order that places him above the ranks of mediocrity. He was born in the city which is still his home, his natal day being September 23, 1866..

His father, W. S. Grim, was born in Pennsylvania on the 2d of February, 1830, and now has charge of the accounts of the Superior Drill Company. He was educa- ‚ed in college, became an expert accountant and is one of the best mathematicians in this section of Ohio. His has been an active and useful career, and he is a well read man, devoted to his home and family and to the best interests of citizenship. He came to Clark county in the latter part of the *50s, and since that time has been prominently identified with the interests of the city, supporting all measures for the general good. That he is patriotic and loyal is indicated by the fact that at the time of the Civil war he offered his services to the government and became colonel of the One Hundred and Tenth Regiment of Ohio Volunteers. He served for a time as commander of the regiment, and then on account of disability, received an honorable discharge. He devotes much of his leisure time to study and is a man of broad general information which renders him an interesting and agreeable companion. Of the Methodist Episcopal church he is an active and earnest member and his influence has ever been on the side of the right, the true and the beautiful. He was married in Pennsylvania to Henrietta Jacobs, who was born in that state and educated in the public schools. They now have three children: Horace, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1856; Elmore E., of this review; and William J., who was born in March, 1869, at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, where his parents were then visiting.

Dr. Grim, whose name introduces this record, pursued a public school education and afterward spent three years as a student in Wittenberg College, but left that institution in his sophomore year in order to take up the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. Jay W. Morrison, of the firm of Morrison & Kennan, who were physicians to the county infirmary. Later he attended the Jeffereson Medical College at Philadelphia, during the winter of 1884-5, and then returned to Springfield, where he entered the office of Dr. L. E. Russell, who at that time was chief surgeon for the Indiana, Bloomington & Western Railroad, the Cincinnati, Sandusky & Cleveland Railroad and the Little Miami division of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad. He was also surgeon to the police department and the Springfield Hospital. While connected with Dr. Russell, Dr. Grim became skilled as a surgeon and assisted in many complicated cases. In 1887 he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he entered the Eclectric Medical College and was graduated in 1890. He served for one year in the college as professor of the diseases of women and children, and while performing a surgiéal operation he received a bad case of blood poisoning and for several months it was thought that he could not live. He was for a long time at various health resorts in the west and south and after suffering severely for fourteen long months he eventually recovered and once more resumed his studies. While in college he won over all competitors the Norris, Higgins, Harcourt and American testimonials. In 1892 he began making a special study of the diseases of the eye, spent two years in that way and the following two years in gaining desired optical training in order to become a practical and competent optician. The last two years were spent in a wholesale house, where he learned the technical points of manufacturing lenses.

Dr. Grim then returned to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained for one year when, on account of the failing health of his parents, he came to Springfield in order to be near them, and opened his office at his present location in June, 1901. He is the only person in the city who manufactures or grinds lenses from scientific measurements. His knowledge of medicine and surgery, together with his proficiency and skill in his specialty have gained for him a prominent position among the professional men of this city. He has a large patronage, not only in Springfield, but many come to him from adjoining cities and his business is constantly increasing. His work room is fitted up with the most modern equipments known in lens work and he is thoroughly competent to fit any eye perfectly. His specialty is technical lens work.

In this city, in 1902, Dr. Grim was united in marriage to Miss Lulu Cunningham, a native of Oberlin, Ohio. She was an only child and her parents died during her infancy, after which she resided in Springfield with an aunt, pursuing her education in the public schools here. The Doctor and his wife occupy a very enviable position in social circles, the hospitality of the best homes being extended to them. He votes with the Democracy and is a supper= ter of the Methodist Episcopal church. As a citizen he is public-spirited and is ever willing to put forth his best efforts to pro-

_mote any enterprise that tends to the welfare and best interests of the people and of the community. He is a member of the Greek college fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta, of this city, and at present is sachem of Miami Tribe, No. 207, Improved Order of Red Men. Early in life he learned to be self-reliant and realized that there is no excellence without labor and that there is no royal road to learning. He therefore did everything in his power to secure his own advancement along honorable lines. He has displayed thoroughness in the work he has undertaken and is yet an earnest student, realizing that he can by continued reading broaden his knowledge and augment his efficiency as an optician. His ability being widely recognized his position in the professional world is a most creditable and honorable one.

As printed in A Biographical Record of Clark County Ohio (1902). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.