Dr. A.L. Keim

Dr. A.L. Keim, DVM

Plevna, Indiana

This account was written by Carolyn Keim Donson, daughter of Dr. Keim, when she was asked by the Greentown Historical Society to share her father's bio with the community.

Dr. Keim delivering a foal

Dr. A.L. Keim was a veterinarian in Plevna, Indiana from 1942-1976.  His office was located in the front porch of the house when he first opened his practice.  Later, it was located in a building behind the house where they lived.  One cold, wintry Sunday morning while he was at church, the office caught fire and burned to the ground.  He then built an office onto the house for his practice.  In the 1960s he added on to the garage where it was until his death.

Dr. Keim's office in Plevna, Indiana

When he finished 8th grade, his parents made him quit school.  He worked at various jobs to make enough to attend college.  Before he was accepted into the school he had the option to go to Junior College or take a test.  If the test grade was high enough, he would be accepted.  His score was 98% and he moved to East Lansing, Michigan.

Between his junior and senior year, a Veterinarian in Waupecong became ill.  Dad had worked for him during the summers when he was home.  He asked him if he would lay out of school that year and work for him, and he would sell him the business when he graduated.  He dropped out that year and worked, but when he graduated, the doctor had sold his practice to another veterinarian.  That doctor didn't know dad, but when he made calls, farmers would ask him, "do you know that Dr. Keim is coming back here when he graduates?"  Dad visited with the doctor in Waupecong and they decided that there was enough work for both of them and Dad would locate in Plevna.  They attended church together, sang in a quartet and were good friends.  There was enough for both, as during that time animal agriculture was everywhere.

Dad had been courting Mom for two or three years and they decided to get married and she would go with him to East Lansing.  He purchased a house there that was big enough to keep boarders.  They had six students living there and Mother cooked and cleaned their rooms for them.  Their rent money made the payments on the home and when he graduated, he sold the house and paid off his mortgage.

During the last year in college, they had their first child, Carolyn (Carolyn Keim Donson).  She was six months old when they moved to Plevna in 1942 when he graduated from Michigan State College.  A year and a half later, they had Winifred (Winifred Keim Jones Wyant).  Carolyn and Winifred both currently live in the Plevna area.  His grandchildren are Lisa (Jones) Smith, LeAnne Donson, Jeff Donson and Kristen (Jones) Harvey.  Great-grandchildren are Kameron Smith, Alyssa Harvey, Kraig Smith, Blake Donson (and wife Kelsey Priday Donson), Shelby Harvey, Breann Donson and Kaden Smith.

Every farmer had livestock and many milked cows.  He would travel in Grant, Miami, Howard, and Cass counties vaccinating hogs, delivering calves and working on many horses.  He would stop at 15-22 farms many days.  His daughter Carolyn enjoyed going with him on calls.  She would be up early in the morning and late at night helping him with his work.  During those times he would get called out at night and sometimes the whole family would go with him.  Winifred and Carolyn both answered phones in his office for him.  He worked mostly on large animals, but also had a small animal practice.  

A "patient" with her calf

Dr. Keim had a great sense of humor, loved jokes, and was a great story teller.  He was a Christian and worked in his church, Kokomo Zion.  He was a Sunday School teacher, sang in the choir, the Men's Quartet, was a Gideon, served on the Board of Directors for the Kokomo Rescue Mission, and was on the Eastern Howard School Board.

Several veterinary students over the years worked with Dr. Keim in the summers when they were home: Dr. John Peters, Dr. Wayne Salsbery, and Dr. Jay Matchett.  He did tests on different medications, especially for swine.  The medication, Lincocin, was one product that he tested on his farm with his hogs for the pharmaceutical company.  He would vaccinate hogs, deliver calves, dehorn cattle, castrate bulls, horses and pigs, spay cats and dogs, among other things.

[ADDENDUM: A personal remembrance by Jane Coan Ellefson]

To continue Carolyn's story, this fits in the "among other things" category.   I loved it when my dad, Arthur Coan, asked Dr. Keim to come over!  Dr. Keim had an impressive array of medicines and huge syringes in his black bag, and he never hesitated to let us come close enough to see what was happening.  There were times, though, when we didn't want to be close; hog castrating day being one of them!  The squeals from the barn were deafening.  My absolute favorite memory of him was when we had a pet skunk, proudly brought home by my brother Dave on his scooter.  A couple of days into our adoption process it became obvious that our collie might provoke "Leo" into using his super powers.  His first little squirt was enough to convince my dad that Dr. Keim's services were needed.  We carefully loaded up Leo and took him to the Plevna office where he got "de-skunked."  Dr. Keim explained the whole process.  And we brought home our little pet who was taken on by our mother cat "Tiger."  Leo nursed right along with the kittens and clumsily tried to mimic their playful antics.  I love that my parents and Dr. Keim indulged our curiosities!