Harlem Hospital House Staff, Dec. 6, 1930 My father is on the far left, second row. (ENLARGE)

As a Harlem Hospital Intern, my father had a number of duties: analyzing lab cultures, making hospital rounds, and responding to outside emergency calls as a member of a three-person ambulance team.

Shifts for ambulance workers varied between 12 and 48 hours. Each day, three on-duty teams averaged 125 calls during a 24-hour period. He spent a lot of time suturing knife wounds, delivering babies, and dreaming of starting his medical practice.

My father and his ambulance crew take a break

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