John Philip Sousa Visited This Doctor in Ambler
- Yen Ho
- Jul 16
- 3 min read
On August 25, 1921, American conductor John Philip Sousa and his Greatest Band was expected to perform at the Willow Grove Park. By just a few days before the concert, he was experiencing hearing issues while indistinctly listening to the music notes during rehearsals. He underwent treatment by a local physician in the area. That area, specifically, was in Ambler.
Who Were the Doctors Who Saved Sousa?
The physician who cured Sousa's partial deafness was Reverend Dr. George W. Tupper (1866-1962). Dr. Tupper was born in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. In the state, he was licensed to preach the gospel as opportunity presented. George traveled to Chicago where he was medically trained. He then went to Louisville, Kentucky where he took courses in theology. As a result, he received his first pastorate in Sullivan, Illinois. George continued to travel around the United States from Indiana to West Virginia, and ending up in Pittsburg, PA.
In the spring 1916, George accepted the call to the pastorate of the Cold Point Baptist Church in Plymouth Township, PA. He and his family lived in the church's parsonage until 1921 when he decided to focus on his medical career. George planned to open a sanatorium in Ambler with Dr. George D. Noeling of Philadelphia. His new sanatorium would be at the old Haywood mansion.
Aftermath of Sousa's Treatment
After Sousa visited Drs. Tupper and Noeling, they described his case like this:
"As a patient grows older, he contracts a so-called condition of catarrhal deafness, a sort of outgrowth of adipose tissue lining the air passages in the nasopharynx. With an ordinary person this might not be such a serious matter, but with a musician it is vital."
Tupper and Noeling instructed him to have surgery on his finger that was "breaking up this tissue and causing the blood to circulate, thus restoring a normal condition in those parts which affect the hearing." When his surgery is complete, Sousa would be able to go back to normal, being able to bring back the style that made him famous in the first place.
Sousa officially recovered from his hearing the day after his scheduled performance at the Willow Grove Park. But... he and his band remained in the area and was able to perform at the park.
Fun Fact # 1: The sousaphone was named after Sousa himself.
Sousa praised Tupper and Noeling for their efforts to save his hearing. He even discussed about the beautiful scenery Pennsylvania offered him during his motor travels. He even traveled to Ambler several times a week while temporarily staying at the Huntingdon Valley Country Club.
One year after Sousa was treated, Dr. Tupper moved to Southampton, Bucks County, PA to become a pastor of a baptist church there. The Haywood property was left alone for a while until the Artman Lutheran Home moved to Ambler from Bucks County in 1924.
Bibliography
"Cold Point's New Pastor." Ambler Gazette. March 2, 1916. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_8981.
"John Pkilip Sousa Suffers From Deafness." Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News. August 23, 1921. Page 3.
"J. P. Sousa In Ambler." Ambler Gazette. August 25, 1921. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_9126.
"Sousa Can't Hear His Own Music, Directing Players By Instinct." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 24, 1921. Page 3.
"Sousa Recovers Hearing, His Manager Declares." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 27, 1921. Page 1.
Smith, J.L. Montgomery County 1893, Ambler Borough, 1893.
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