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Local figure

O. David Garvin

Garvin was the health officer for the district covering Orange County from 1944, and by 1959 was health director for Orange, Person, Chatham, Lee and Caswell counties. He resigned effective June 15, 1959 to rejoin the U.S. Public Health Service. He was a native of Wagner, South Carolina.

Source: DigitalNC: The News of Orange County, April 30, 1959, page 1 (Dr. Garvin Resigns As Health Officer)

Orange County Indexed has not yet linked an indexed work directly to O. David Garvin. The biography and the dated events on this page provide sources about O. David Garvin’s life and work.

Search works on Public health in rural Orange County Research sources View background reading ↓

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

Fluoridating Chapel Hill’s and Hillsboro’s water, 1951–19641951–1964 · 13 events · Chapel Hill's aldermen voted in 1951 to add fluorine to the town water, which the University ran, but a lawsuit held fluoridation up until 1964. In Hillsboro, after the State Board of Health cited a survey finding twice as much tooth decay among Hillsboro and Chapel Hill children as in Dunn, which had fluoridated, the water works began adding fluoride in September 1960. In Chapel Hill a University poll in 1960 favored it about three to one, but a resident sued to stop it and the University held off. The aldermen pressed the trustees, the suit was dismissed in 1963, and Chapel Hill's filter plant began adding fluoride on February 28, 1964.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 33 dated events in the chronology →

  1. O. David Garvin becomes health officer of the district covering Orange County Garvin came to the district in 1944 on assignment from the North Carolina State Board of Health and the Public Health Service during the war emergency, after a year and a half in Scotland and Richmond counties. A later account of his resignation gave his starting date as September 4, 1944.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 30, 1959, p. 1 (Dr. Garvin Resigns As Health Officer)
  2. Health officer Garvin warns that Orange County's tuberculosis rate runs well above the state's Speaking to the county Agricultural Workers Council, district health officer O. David Garvin said Orange County's reported tuberculosis rate had run between 50 and 60 per 100,000 against 36.5 for the state, and that 134 of the 165 cases reported in the three-county district in five years had died. He warned that many cases were not reported until too late to treat. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 15, 1945, p. 6
  3. Chapel Hill's Black community health club runs a neighborhood clean-up campaign The community health club in Chapel Hill's Black neighborhoods opened a clean-up campaign with a meeting at the colored school, where county sanitarian F. P. Brendle showed films on mosquito and fly control. Residents fixed up their homes for prizes for the most attractive and most improved, schoolchildren made posters, and the drive closed with a May 9 meeting at St. Joseph's church addressed by health officer O. David Garvin. People: O. David GarvinSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 3, 1945, p. 1
  4. Chapel Hill aldermen order a blinker light and street work after a Black civic club petition Adolphus Clark asked the board, for the Negro Civic Club and Community Health Club, for sewer service on Sunset Drive, trash cans, drainage, street markings and a traffic light. The aldermen ordered a blinker light at the Hazzard Motor Company corner and had the street marking and drainage done at once, but said sewer lines had to wait for a new system. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 17, 1946, p. 8
  5. A mass chest X-ray survey screens Hillsboro and West Hillsboro The district health department and the local tuberculosis committee X-rayed residents free at West Hillsboro and at the Agriculture Building in Hillsboro. Some 1,460 small films found six previously unknown cases of tuberculosis, and the Lions Club voted full cooperation. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 14, 1946, p. 1
  6. The district health department schedules its X-ray unit for free chest X-rays in Chapel Hill The Orange-Chatham-Person Health Department announced that its X-ray unit would operate at the Chapel Hill health department from March 13 to 20, 1946, offering free chest X-rays for tuberculosis to any Orange County resident. Health officer Dr. O. David Garvin urged residents to use it. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 7, 1946, p. 1 (X-Ray Unit to Move to Village)
  7. The West Hillsboro Civic Organization starts a monthly well-baby clinic A well-baby conference sponsored by the West Hillsboro Civic Organization opened at the West Hillsboro elementary school, to meet on the first Tuesday of each month. Public health nurse Elizabeth Robertson ran it under district health officer Dr. O. David Garvin, offering diphtheria, whooping cough and smallpox protection. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 29, 1946, p. 1 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 26, 1946, p. 5
  8. The Public Health Service gives the district health department a mass chest X-ray unit The U.S. Public Health Service assigned the Orange-Person-Chatham district health department a 35-millimeter photographic X-ray unit that could take two to four chest pictures a minute without anyone undressing, after a 1946 survey showed the need. Its first clinics were set for January 23 to 25 at the Hillsboro health office and at Eno Mill in West Hillsboro. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 2, 1947, p. 1
  9. The district health officer takes over birth and death registration for Orange County Under a State Board of Health order, district health officer Dr. O. David Garvin became registrar of vital statistics for Orange County, ending the appointments of the local registrars around the county. Undertakers were named sub-registrars, and physicians were to send birth certificates to a county deputy. People: O. David GarvinSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 3, 1947, p. 1
  10. Polio fears call off Hillsboro's first high school band festival On the night of July 1, 1948, Exchange Club president Lucius Brown announced that the club's first high school band festival, set for July 5 at Occoneechee Speedway with about eight bands and an 82nd Airborne drill team, would not be held, on the advice of county health officer O. David Garvin. Bands were told by telegram the next morning, and the club hoped to stage the festival in the fall. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 8, 1948, p. 1
  11. Health officer urges typhoid shots after a case in Hillsboro District Health Officer O. David Garvin urged Orange County residents to take the health department's typhoid vaccinations after a case of typhoid fever occurred in Hillsboro. Clinics were held at the Chapel Hill and Hillsboro health departments on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings, and he advised sound privies and tested water.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 8, 1948, p. 1 (Health Officer Urges Typhoid Shots)
  12. Chapel Hill places its children under a polio quarantine By July 22, 1948, Chapel Hill had put a tight quarantine on the movements of its children: swimming pools were closed, theaters were asked not to sell tickets to children 16 and under, and newsboys needed permits to run their routes. Health officer O. David Garvin declined to order a quarantine in Hillsboro after its first case but urged that children stay away from shows and crowds. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 22, 1948, p. 1
Show all 33 dated events
  1. Polio postpones the opening of Orange County schools twice With 12 polio cases counted in the county by early August, Superintendent Glenn T. Proffitt, on the advice of health director O. David Garvin, moved the school opening from September 1 to September 7. After a second postponement the county schools opened on Monday, September 13, 1948, for about 4,000 pupils. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 26, 1948, p. 1 ("Opening of Schools Is Delayed Because of General Polio Threat")
  2. Chapel Hill's polio quarantine on children is lifted The month long mandatory quarantine of children sixteen and under, imposed during a polio outbreak in Chapel Hill and the vicinity, was ended, though District Health Officer O. David Garvin asked parents to keep children close to home and discouraged trips to the movies. He and the university physician notified the Veterans' Club and Graham Memorial that they could reopen.Search the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 6, 1948, p. 1 (quarantine of children ended)
  3. District health department takes UNC public health students for field training Health officer Dr. O. David Garvin announced that the district health department would serve as a field training center for eight UNC public health students, four in health education and four in public health nursing, working for ten weeks across Orange, Person, Chatham and Lee counties. People: O. David GarvinThe Chapel Hill Weekly, April 1, 1949, p. 4 (8 Students to Study in the Health Dept.)
  4. Polio reaches Orange County for 1949 Two Orange County children came down with mild cases of polio, the county's first of the year, and were treated at Watts Hospital. District health officer O. David Garvin asked for calm, noting that the cases were far apart and that neither child was paralyzed. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 21, 1949, p. 1
  5. Health officer closes the University pool as polio cases rise in Chapel Hill After an emergency conference with six Chapel Hill physicians, District Health Officer O. David Garvin ordered the University swimming pool and all recreational facilities closed, with six polio cases in Chapel Hill and three more in the county. He asked parents to keep children at home or on their own block but did not recommend cancelling University classes or closing nursery schools. People: O. David GarvinThe Chapel Hill Weekly, August 11, 1950, p. 1 ("6 Polio Cases in Town, 3 More in County; Swimming Pools Close")
  6. Grand jury relays a warning about Eno River pollution and the Eno Mill village sewers In its report to the March term of Superior Court the grand jury passed on word from the health department that pollution of the Eno River and poor sewage at the Eno Mill village needed attention. District health officer O. D. Garvin said he knew of no such report and praised the mill's program of replacing sanitary facilities in village homes. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 22, 1951, p. 1
  7. Chapel Hill aldermen approve adding fluorine to the town water After four months of study the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to add fluorine to the community water supply, on a proposal by health committee chairman Kenneth Putnam. Dental school dean John Brauer and district health officer O. David Garvin backed the plan, and the University, which ran the water system, was to seek State Board of Health approval before it began. People: O. David GarvinSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 29, 1951, p. 1
  8. The district health department moves to a five-day, forty-hour week With approval of the district and state health boards, the Orange-Person-Chatham-Lee district health department changed from a 39-hour week to a five-day, 40-hour week, closing its Saturday office hours and keeping the Chapel Hill and Hillsboro offices open from 8 to 5 Monday through Friday. Sanitarians remained available Saturday mornings by appointment. People: O. David GarvinSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 14, 1952, p. 1
  9. The Orange County health department wins the state public health association's merit award At the close of its convention in Asheville on October 11, 1952, the North Carolina Public Health Association gave its 1952 Merit Award to the staff of the Orange County division of the Orange-Person-Chatham-Lee District Health Department for a simplified records system that cut the forms for medical, nursing and related services from thirty-eight to six. The citation said copies had already been requested by health workers in twelve other states, two national agencies and eight foreign countries. People: O. David GarvinSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 16, 1952, p. 1
  10. The district health department hires its first full-time dentist The Orange-Person-Chatham-Lee district health department hired Dr. John T. Hughes, a Pittsboro dentist, as a full-time district dentist to take charge of oral hygiene in the schools of the four counties from March 1. Health officer Dr. O. David Garvin said it was the first time a dentist had been assigned permanently to a single district. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 20, 1955, p. 1
  11. First Salk polio vaccinations given to Orange County first and second graders Local physicians working under the county health department gave the first round of Salk polio vaccine to more than 1,150 Orange County first and second graders. The work began on Monday, April 18, 1955 with about 500 Chapel Hill area children and finished on April 21 with the Hillsboro, Efland and Aycock schools. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 21, 1955, p. 1 (Salk Vaccinations for 1150 Orange Children Is Progressing Smoothly)
  12. Health officer calls tuberculosis Orange County's number one health problem Asked about tuberculosis, County Health Officer David Garvin said it was the county's number one public health problem. He said drugs, surgery and better treatment had cut the death rate sharply over ten years, but that as many cases were being found as when deaths were four times as great, and that finding unknown cases was the department's biggest problem.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 1, 1955, p. 10 (TB Is Orange County Health Problem No. 1)
  13. Caswell County joins the Orange-Person-Chatham-Lee district health department Caswell County became the fifth county in the district health department led by Dr. O. D. Garvin, joining Orange, Person, Chatham and Lee after its former partner Rockingham left to form its own unit. Caswell brought two nurses and an office clerk and a share of $21,000 for 1957-58, against Orange's $25,000. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 1, 1957, p. 1
  14. An influenza epidemic empties classrooms in Hillsboro and Chapel Hill Influenza and colds reached epidemic levels in October: absences at Hillsboro High School rose as high as 153 pupils a day before falling to 69 on October 23, and the University infirmary counted about 1,500 sick students in 13 days, about 13 of them treated at Memorial Hospital for complications. The district health department had said it would not give flu vaccine, which was to come only from family doctors. People: O. David GarvinSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 24, 1957, p. 1
  15. The health department reports 1,038 births and 305 deaths in Orange County for 1957 District health officer Dr. O. David Garvin's annual report counted 1,038 births in Orange County in 1957, 55 more than in 1956, and 305 deaths, among them 30 infants under a year old. Heart disease caused 137 of the 261 adult deaths, cancer and related diseases 33, and accidents 23. People: O. David GarvinSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 27, 1958, p. 4
  16. The county commissioners adopt a meat inspection ordinance The Orange County commissioners adopted an ordinance requiring that beef, veal, mutton, lamb, goat and pork sold or processed in the county be inspected by an approved veterinarian within a day before and after slaughter, approved an official county meat stamp, and named Dr. W. H. Vanderbilt of Durham county meat inspector. It took effect at once. People: O. David GarvinSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 6, 1958, p. 1
  17. O. David Garvin resigns as health director of the five county district, then withdraws his resignation Garvin, health director for Orange, Person, Chatham, Lee and Caswell counties since 1944, announced in April 1959 that he would resign effective June 15 to rejoin the U.S. Public Health Service. In June he withdrew the resignation and stayed, after the district health board raised his salary. The paper described him as a native of Wagner, South Carolina.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 30, 1959, p. 1 (Dr. Garvin Resigns As Health Officer) · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 11, 1959, p. 1
  18. Health officer asks county commissioners for money to buy polio vaccine District health director O. David Garvin asked the Board of County Commissioners for a special appropriation to buy Salk vaccine for schoolchildren and pregnant women who could not pay, after federal vaccine allotments were cut and shots became required for school entry. The board agreed to provide funds if needed but told him to seek March of Dimes money from the county polio chapter first. People: O. David GarvinThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 16, 1959, p. 4 ("Garvin Asks Appropriation For Polio Shots")
  19. An influenza outbreak sweeps the Hillsboro area and its schools A wave of influenza-like illness swept the Hillsboro area, with doctors working night and day, about 10 percent of county pupils absent and several teachers sick. District health officer Dr. O. David Garvin called the situation dangerous and urged that teachers be vaccinated and sick children stay home. People: O. David GarvinSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 28, 1960, p. 9
  20. Chapel Hill Human Relations Committee asks for a Black nurse on the district health staff At a Chapel Hill Human Relations Committee meeting, Esther Atwater said the district health department needed a Black nurse on its staff. Chairman Dr. William Joyner said he would take the request to District Health Officer Dr. O. D. Garvin. People: O. David GarvinThe Chapel Hill Weekly: Aldermen Asked To Take Action, June 28, 1962
  21. Orange County puts a medical examiner system into effect with Dr. Hubert Patterson as examiner After final approval by the commissioners, who met on the night of March 4 with the doctors, the coroner and law officers, Orange became the sixth North Carolina county with a medical examiner system. Chapel Hill surgeon Hubert Patterson was confirmed as the first examiner, with five physician assistants to look into unnatural and unattended deaths, and coroner Allen Walker Jr. would call juries only when a crime was suspected. People: O. David GarvinSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 5, 1964, p. 12

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows the 2 with a known location.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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Background on Public health in rural Orange County

Background reading on Public health in rural Orange County. These works cover the broader subject and may not discuss O. David Garvin. Follow a link to find a copy or view the material.

Community health assessment, Orange County, NC

2011 · Orange County Health Dept.

Orange County Health Department's community health assessment for the county, dated December 2011 and published in Hillsborough. A public health report of 240 pages plus 124 unnumbered pages, with color illustrations and maps.

UNC

Cedar Grove, Orange County : an action-oriented community diagnosis : findings and next steps of action

2002 · Dept. of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Graduate students in health behavior and health education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill produced this action oriented community diagnosis of Cedar Grove in 2002, completed for a course in the School of Public Health. It sets out findings on community health services, public health and economic conditions in that part of Orange County, with next steps for action. Seventy-three pages.

UNC

Annual report

Orange-Person-Chatham District Health Department (N.C.) · 1964 · Orange-Person-Chatham District Health Department

The 1964 annual report of the Orange-Person-Chatham District Health Department, the joint public health agency that served the three counties from offices in Chapel Hill. Public health in Orange, Person and Chatham counties runs through the series.

UNC

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