Volume 9 • 2022 • Issue 5

DidYouKnow? Dentists inCulturalHistory O n September 15, 1910, Dr. Bessica Faith Raiche, a dentist in Hempstead Plains, New York, became the second woman to pilot a solo airplane flight in the US. Blanche Stuart Scott had flown solo 11 days earlier. Dr. Raiche and her husband had built a Wright-type biplane out of bamboo and silk at their home and assembled it in their yard. Before Amelia: Women Pilots in the Early Days of Aviation M ontreal dentist Dr. William George Beers, who played lacrosse as a teenager, codified the written rules of the modern game of lacrosse and believed it should be the national sport of Canada. In 1876, he brought a lacrosse team to Europe to showcase the sport, and Queen Victoria said the gamewas “very pretty to watch,” which popularized the sport in some English girls’ schools. thecanadianencyclopedia.ca I n Brandon, Manitoba, a downtown park is named for dentist Dr. Stanley William McInnis, who arrived in the city in 1899. He became involved in local politics and represented Brandon in the Manitoba legislature. He also served as president of the Canadian Dental Association in 1906–07. In 1907, at the age of 42, Dr. McInnis died of appendicitis, but not before writing a last letter dedicated to the Manitoba city that began, “I love Brandon, and all its streets, and all its people.” brandonsun.com D r. Leonie von Meuseback-Zesch was a pioneering dentist who served with the U.S. Army after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. She also provided dental care in Alaska for 15 years after trying her luck mining for gold. She often flew to islands in the Bering Sea to serve remote communities. She survived an airplane crash and once rescued a team of sled dogs who had fallen through the ice. alaskawomenhalloffame.org 34 | 2022 | Issue 5