"A Heritage of Friendship"*
The familiar themes of forming friendships and furthering medical education have shaped the APCMS of today. The first recorded report of APCMS states that "On May 17th, 1949, an organization meeting of the physicians' wives throughout Penobscot County was held at the Bangor House, Bangor, Maine, for the purpose of creating an Auxiliary to the Penobscot County Medical Society." What had formally been the wives casual get-togethers coinciding with the monthly meetings of the Penobscot County Medical Society became an auxiliary whose role was to assist PCMS with the political issues concerning them at the time. Originally dues were paid to the local auxiliary, as well as to the state and national auxiliaries. The roots of our on going support of medical education can be traced to the use of national dues to support the American Medical Educational Fund and the state dues to support the Maine Medical Education Fund. In 1950 our auxiliary's project for financial grant-in-aid to a nursing student continued that focus locally. In 1970 and 1979 respectively the obligations to the national and state auxiliaries were eliminated.
APCMS continues to have as its primary objectives (1) the promotion of friendship among the medical families of Penobscot County, and (2) the support of medical education through scholarships.
*This article was taken from the September 1991 APCMS newsletter, written and researched by Jane Shubert and Jill Brown.
