Dr. A. Louise Klehm, Skokie's First Female Physician
Skokie’s first resident doctor, Amelia Louise Klehm, began her career as a nurse. During the Spanish-American war she volunteered for duty, caring for the wounded in Florida.
After the war she attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago and later studied in Berlin and Vienna.
Dr. Klehm set up her first office in the rear of her father’s store at the turn of the 20th century. Later she moved her offices to the Klehm homestead at 8212 Lincoln Avenue. There the American Legion stands today, built around the original Klehm residence.
Answering house calls in the middle of the night, or in severe storms, was a way of life for Dr. Klehm. She traveled by horse and buggy - and sometimes just on horseback. Her fee for delivering a baby was fifteen dollars.
Louise Klehm was a gallant, brave woman who devoted her life to the service of her fellow man. On her death bed she destroyed her patient’s unpaid bills.
Her name is on a plaque in the lobby of Evanston’s St. Francis Hospital in tribute to her long period of service on their staff.
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