DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker is my guide on this one, folks, so let me tell you what it says about a man who was something else entirely. Dr. John R.
Brinkley. Born in North Carolina in 1885, and if you think you know where this story's going, I promise you don't. Not yet.
First, he opens a medical clinic and a radio station up in Kansas. Reasonable enough start. But here's where it turns — the man made his name, and a considerable fortune, promoting controversial medical practices.
The centerpiece of his enterprise being a procedure that used goat gland implants to increase sexual, and I'm quoting the marker here, pep in men. Now. The American Medical Association had thoughts about this.
The Federal Radio Commission had thoughts about this. None of those thoughts were kind. But criticism and John R.
Brinkley were not exactly strangers, and he kept right on going. Then comes 1933. He moves his family to Del Rio, Texas — right here in Val Verde County — opens a hospital, and sets up a radio station just across the river in Villa Acuña, Mexico.
That station had a name: XER. And it was powerful. The marker says so without a lot of elaboration, but the word powerful is doing real work there.
During the Great Depression, when Del Rio needed every bit of help it could get, Brinkley buoyed the local economy and brought the town considerable attention. He was known as colorful and charitable, with a lavish lifestyle to match his reputation. Fame, wealth, the attention of the whole border region — the man had built something remarkable.
And then, in 1938, authorities shut the Brinkley enterprise down. Just like that. John R.
Brinkley died in 1942. The marker doesn't editorialize much beyond that, and maybe it doesn't have to. Some stories land all on their own.
What the marker says
North Carolina native John R. Brinkley (1885-1942) opened a medical clinic and radio station in Kansas and promoted controversial medical practices, including one that used goat gland implants to increase sexual "pep" in men. He became rich but was criticized by the American Medical Association and the Federal Radio Commission. In 1933, he moved his family to Del Rio, opening a hospital and setting up the powerful radio station XER in Villa Acuña, Mexico. He was a colorful, charitable individual, known for his lavish lifestyle. He buoyed the local economy during the Great Depression and brought much attention to Del Rio. Despite fame and wealth, authorities shut down the Brinkley enterprise in 1938. (2004)