The Maid and The Socialite

A GREEN BAY HISTORICAL TRUE CRIME STORY

At the turn of the 20th century cities around the world were rife with syphilis yet no blood test could prove it. Two women in Green Bay Wisconsin found their lives destroyed by that simple fact. Mary an illiterate maid and Mollie a college-educated socialite fell victim to the physical violence and mental abuse of celebrated surgeon Dr. John R. Minahan. To silence them he claimed they had that shameful and dreaded disease. But as medical science advanced and suffragettes marched for their rights Mary and Mollie found the courage to stand up for theirs.

This is the only full account written about Dr. John R. Minahan whose family dominated Green Bay's professional business and political arenas from 1892 to 1954. Dr. Minahan's wealth built a college stadium science hall and six-story office building-all named for him-while history lost or perhaps erased Mary's and Mollie's heroic stories. Until now.

Disturbingly these women's intimate narratives embody the same battles dominating headlines today: men's entitlement versus women's liberty wealth versus poverty and false information versus scientific fact. This is a story of power abuse and seeking justice. It is the story of Dr. Minahan versus the maid and the socialite.

Lynda Drews, a Brown County Historical Society board member, is the author of three books including her most notable, Run at Destruction: A True Fatal Love Triangle. She and her husband Jim have lived in Green Bay since 1974, eighteen years in the Astor Historic District where The Maid and the Socialite takes place.