Celebrating 65 years: Father opened the practice in 1947

By Steve Ritchie  

In 2011, Dr. John Schmidt, DC, marked his 40th year of practicing chiropractic care in Silverton, and in 2012 will celebrate the 65th anniversary of Schmidt Chiropractic’s establishment.

John Schmidt joined his father, Dr. Ralph Schmidt, DC, in his practice in 1971, and they worked together for 28 years until Ralph Schmidt passed away.

Ralph Schmidt began Schmidt Chiropractic in 1947, when John was six months old, and he practiced as a chiropractor for 56 years.

Ralph Schmidt also served in many professional leadership positions, including serving as president of the International College of Chiropractic for a quarter century.

John Schmidt said that he and his father are part of a long history of chiropractic care in Silverton.

“At least two chiropractors practiced in Silverton prior to my father’s arrival here in 1947. Silverton has had a chiropractic doctor in practice continuously since the early 1900s,” he said.

One of the first chiropractors in Silverton was Dr. A.L.D. Smith, who practiced in Silverton for about 30 years into the 1950s.

Smith had two or three massage therapists working in his office during at least part of his tenure, which was unusual in that era.

John Schmidt said Smith also used some pioneering and, perhaps, exotic forms of physiotherapy in his practice.

Physiotherapy is the use of heat, light, sound and electric currents to stimulate healing of the body.

Ralph Schmidt was licensed as both a chiropractor and a naturopathic physician.

John Schmidt said his father used a lot of homeopathic remedies, and also performed minor surgeries, which chiropractors were allowed to do in that era by the licensing board.

“He had a totally different kind of practice than I have today,” John Schmidt said.

Dr. John, as he is known by his patients, focuses on holistic care that touches on mind, body and spirit.

He treats patients who are suffering from pain due to injuries or chronic conditions, but he strongly promotes chiropractic as a way to restore wellness and reduce the risk of illness or chronic health problems.

John Schmidt also recognizes the value of other treatments and health care approaches which are outside the boundaries of traditional medical practice.

In addition to chiropractic care, he would include acupuncture, massage therapy, Oriental medicine, herbal therapy, and naturopathic care as “alternative” care options, and he says alternative care is thriving in Silverton.

“What I have seen happening over the years since I came into practice is there are a significantly greater number of alternative care providers in the Silverton area,” he said.

“Per capita it seems to me there are way more alternative care providers in this small town than there are in similar small towns in Oregon. We have a large number of them, and a lot of them are very busy,” he added.

“I think there are a lot of people in this community that seek alternative care. That’s my conclusion.”

John Schmidt sees the increase in the number of licensed massage therapists in town as a good example of this trend.

“In addition to the seven or eight LMTs who work in chiropractic and acupuncture offices, there are several more who freelance and have their own massage studios or work out of their homes,” he said.

Sharyl Ingram has worked for 17 years as a licensed massage therapist at Silverton Massage Therapy, which has space at Eng Acupuncture Clinic on North First Street, agrees with Schmidt.

“We have four LMTs who work in this office, and there are at least 15 and maybe as many as 25 massage therapists in the Silverton area,” Ingram said. “We stay as busy as we want to be here . . . we have been really fortunate.”

Ingram notes that the number of elderly clients they see at Silverton Massage Therapy “has skyrocketed” in recent years.

“It is hard to get them in the door,” she said, “but once they experience it they are sold.”

Both Ingram and Schmidt say that the recent existence of two now-closed massage schools in Silverton – Massage U and A Touch of Therapy – may be part of the reason for the popularity of massage therapy in Silverton.

But it is striking to those within the alternative care professions, that a small town like Silverton can support four chiropractor offices, three acupuncturists, 15-25 licensed massage therapists, an Oriental medicine practitioner, herbal therapists, among others.

Schmidt said that when he and his fellow Silverton chiropractors talk to others who practice in different parts of the country about the number of alternative practitioners in this town of 10,000, they are met with astonishment.

“They can’t believe it.”