EBENSBURG — Dr. Alexander Martin was a company doctor in a company town, but he also was somewhat of a visionary.
A native of Canada, he ran the small hospital in the coal-mining village of Colver for 47 years.
He operated the facility as the area’s first HMO-style medical facility, with monthly fees of $2 for the hospital and $1.50 for doctor’s fees and medicine.
Doing everything from delivering a baby to removing an appendix, Martin and his hospital were as much a part of the mining heritage of Colver as the mine itself.
A snapshot of the rest of the building’s history:
n The hospital was built in 1914 by Eastern Coal Co., which founded the village of Colver and built the houses and company store.
n Martin ran it from 1924 until 1974.
n The United Mine Workers union owned the building from 1940 to 1974.
n The facility was converted to a clinic in 1975.
n Dr. Aragam Subbarao, who then lived in Hollidaysburg, bought the hospital in 1986 for $30,000, promising to convert the building into a modern medical center.
By 2000, he was not paying any property taxes and had left town, leaving the hospital in Colver empty and his other phone numbers in Blair County disconnected.
In 2004, with $7,197 owed in back taxes, the building was on the verge of being sold at a county tax sale. At the last minute, a representative of the owner paid a portion of back taxes, but nothing has been remitted since then, county records show.
Later that year, Subbarao turned the building over to Cambria County Redevelopment Authority, which did some initial cleanup but little else.
Today, the county-owned building remains abandoned and vandalized, with no apparent prospects for the future and with fire officials calling it a hazard.
Local News
Beloved coal doctor ran HMO-style facility in Colver
- Local News
-
-
Proposed bill would expand use of traffic-light cameras
Some call it the hand of “big brother,” others are convinced cameras at signal lights would be effective in curbing red-light runners and ultimately saving lives.
-
Minister's trial date set
An issue has been resolved over the report from an examination of a girl allegedly taken by her mother to a Bedford motel to have sex with a traveling minister, clearing the way for a trial.
-
AP: Almost half of new veterans seek disability
America’s newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.
-
Geistown beginning crime watch program
Residents will patrol Geistown streets in the coming weeks as part of a community watch program.
-
Persons of the Week: Nanty Glo vets will remember fallen comrades
Michael Kurtz, Tom Kasecky and Steve Kasecky will be among members of the Loy A. Douglass Post 3489 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Nanty Glo who will be honoring fallen veterans today, Memorial Day.
-
AG candidates face potential conflicts of interest
Both candidates for Pennsylvania attorney general have family ties that could pose a conflict of interest for the one who is elected as the state’s next chief legal officer.
-
Lawmakers: Capitol rallies unpersuasive
Nancy Richey stepped to the podium with a microphone at the Capitol rotunda with the hope that the right people would hear her message.
-
Richland closer to new chief
The search for Richland’s next police chief is winding down.
-
In brief: Thunderstorm downs trees, knocks out power
A late Sunday afternoon thunderstorm brought high winds, hard rain and hail to the Cambria-Somerset region.
- District Deaths May 28, 2012
- More Local News Headlines
-
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
