Kern, Lester C., M.D.

DUNN, BARBER

Posted By: BCGS
Date: 1/20/2010 at 10:34:30

Dr. Lester C. Kern, one of the representative and leading physicians in Bremer county, controlling a large practice in Waverly, was born in Neosho, Wisconsin, July 29, 1871. He is a son of William s. and Emma (Dunn) Kern, the former a native of Madison county, New york, and the latter of Wisconsin. The paternal grandfather, David Kern, moved to Wisconsin in his early life and met death there by drowning when the father of the subject of this review was only twelve years of age. The latter was reared in Wisconsin and engaged in farming there until 1878, when he moved to Iowa, locating at Reinbeck, Grundy county. There he engaged in farming for a number of years but is now living retired in Plainfield.

Dr. Lester C. Kern acquired his early education in the public schools in Reinbeck and after graduating from the high school taught for several years. In 1892 he entered the State University of Iowa City and was graduated in medicine March 13, 1895. He located immediately in Plainfield, this county, and began the practice of his profession, remaining there for three years and a half. At the end of that time he went to New York and entered the Post Graduate School, where he took a complete post-raduate course. Upon his return he sold his practice in Plainfield and came to Waverly, where he has since remained. His skill and ability in his profession have become widely recognized and he has drawn a large clientele from the city and the surrounding districts. He possesses a comprehensive and exact knowlege of the underlying principles in medicine and he keeps in close touch with the most advanced medical thought, his progressiveness being indicated in his membership in the Clinical College of Surgeons of North America. This association was founded in 1910 and has met annually since that time. Each congressional district elects a representative physician to be known as the congressional delegate to the next meeting and the honor of this choice has fallen on Dr. Kern, who represented his district at the meeting held in Chicago November 10-15, 1913.

On the 7th of September, 1899, Dr. Kern was united in marriage to Miss Edith L. Barber, of Grinnell, Iowa. She is a daughter of J.D. Barber, a veteran of the Civil war, who lost an arm on the field of Gettysburg. He has passed away and his wife survives him, making her home in Grinnell. Dr. and Mrs. Kern have two children: Wendell Barber and Geraldine. The parents are members of the Congregational church.

Dr. Kern is active in Masonic circles, holding membership in Tyrrell Lodge and Jethro Chapter No. 24. Along professional lines he is a member of the county and district medical associations, the Autin-Flint District Society, the Iowa State medical Society, and the American Medical Association, and his ability is widely recognized in the profession. He is also a member of the Clinical Congress of North America. He was instrumental in building and organizing the hospital and is recognized as the most conscientious physician and surgeon here.

History of Bremer County, Iowa Vol. II 1914