Dr. Hugo J. Strieder

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for Dr. Hugo J. Strieder, standing in Lavaca County.

Now, some stories start with a destiny already written, and this just might be one of them. On March 21, 1907, in a small farmhouse four miles east of Moulton, near the hamlet of Komensky, Hugo J. Strieder came into the world.

And from a young age, the marker tells us, he knew he was destined to be a doctor. That's not me editorializing, that's just the plain shape of how things unfolded. Hugo came from humble beginnings, but he was sharp.

Sharp enough to graduate salutatorian of Moulton High School, class of 1926. And while he was still in those school halls, a local dentist named Dr. P.O.

Puck took notice. Puck was more than a dentist to the boy. He was a mentor, and he encouraged Hugo to attend college and study medicine.

Sometimes one person at the right moment is all the fuel a story needs. Hugo didn't waste the encouragement. He attended Baldwin's Business College in Yoakum, picking up skills that would later help him pay for school.

Practical thinking from a practical young man. Then in 1932, he graduated from St. Edward's University in Austin, and by 1934, he had his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School in Galveston.

After completing his internship and residency at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin, Dr. Strieder was offered a position there. He declined.

He was going back to Moulton. You can take the man out of Lavaca County, but apparently you cannot take Lavaca County out of the man. In 1936, Hugo married Lillian Migl and started a private practice in Rowena.

By 1940, he had set up his own practice right in Moulton, on Elm and Arnim Streets. He spoke fluent German, which in that part of Texas was no small thing, and he became the area's country doctor. He was also active in the Volunteer Fire Department, the Knights of Columbus, and St.

Joseph's Catholic Church. The kind of man who, when there was work to do, simply showed up. Then the war came.

Dr. Strieder served in the Navy Medical Corps during World War II, and it sharpened him. The marker says he honed his diagnostic and surgical skills in that service.

When he came home, he came home with more to offer. In 1946, he bought land and opened a clinic and hospital. His practice, the marker says, provided a bridge between the pre-war doctors and the advances in medicine that came out of World War II.

Everyday wounds on one end. Outbreaks of polio on the other. He handled it all.

But the work was enormous, and even the most capable men have limits. In need of rest, Dr. Strieder closed the hospital in 1953 and eventually took a job with the Atomic Energy Commission.

He died on December 11, 1955. And here is where the story lands, quiet and full. Dr.

Hugo J. Strieder is buried near his beloved hospital on the hill. The place he built.

The place he came back to, when other doors were open. That farmhouse four miles east of Moulton never really let him go, and he never really tried to leave it behind.

What the marker says

BORN ON MARCH 21, 1907, IN A SMALL FARMHOUSE FOUR MILES EAST OF MOULTON NEAR THE SMALL HAMLET OF KOMENSKY, HUGO J. STRIEDER KNEW AT A YOUNG AGE THAT HE WAS DESTINED TO BE A DOCTOR. FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, HE GRADUATED AS SALUTATORIAN OF MOULTON HIGH SCHOOL IN THE CLASS OF 1926. WHEN HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, LOCAL DENTIST AND MENTOR, DR. P.O. PUCK, ENCOURAGED HUGO TO ATTEND COLLEGE AND STUDY MEDICINE. HUGO ATTENDED BALDWIN'S BUSINESS COLLEGE IN YOAKUM WHERE HE LEARNED SKILLS THAT WOULD LATER HELP HIM PAY FOR SCHOOL. IN 1932, HE GRADUATED FROM ST. EDWARD'S UNIVERSITY IN AUSTIN AND THEN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL SCHOOL IN GALVESTON IN 1934. AFTER HIS INTERNSHIP AND RESIDENCY AT BRACKENRIDGE HOSPITAL IN AUSTIN, DR. STRIEDER WAS OFFERED A POSITION, BUT DECLINED IN FAVOR OF RETURNING TO MOULTON. IN 1936, HUGO MARRIED LILLIAN MIGL AND BEGAN A PRIVATE PRACTICE IN ROWENA. BY 1940, HE STARTED HIS OWN PRACTICE IN MOULTON ON ELM AND ARNIM STREETS. SPEAKING FLUENT GERMAN, DR. STRIEDER BECAME THE AREA'S COUNTRY DOCTOR AS WELL AS BEING ACTIVE IN THE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT, KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS AND ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH. DURING WWII, DR. STRIEDER SERVED IN THE NAVY MEDICAL CORPS, HONING HIS DIAGNOSTIC AND SURGICAL SKILLS. AFTER THE WAR, DR. STRIEDER BOUGHT LAND IN 1946 AND OPENED A CLINIC AND HOSPITAL. HIS PRACTICE PROVIDED A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE PRE-WAR DOCTORS AND THE ADVANCES IN MEDICINE FROM WWII. DR. STRIEDER MADE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT IN THE AREA FROM EVERYDAY WOUNDS TO OUTBREAKS OF POLIO. IN NEED OF REST, HE CLOSED THE HOSPITAL IN 1953 AND EVENTUALLY TOOK A JOB WITH THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION. HE DIED ON DECEMBER 11, 1955, AND IS BURIED NEAR HIS BELOVED "HOSPITAL ON THE HILL." (2019)