Old Dad Chiro comes to Portland: rediscovering DD in Oregon, 1908-10

This paper sketches Palmer's Portland period, and relies upon five issues of DD's periodical, the Chiropractor's Adjuster, to supplement traditional sources. The early activities of the D.D. Palmer College of Chiropractic are reviewed, and Palmer's travels throughout the region are noted. Old Dad Chiro's widespread influence in the profession is apparent from the diverse correspondence reprinted in his magazine, including letters from chiropractors in at least 22 states. During his Portland years his intent to "adjust" the "mistaken" ideas of chiropractors and his anger at son BJ became plainly and painfully evident. The founder's activities in Portland gave impetus to chiropractic education in the Northwest, and his schools' successor, the Oregon Peerless College of Chiropractic & Neuropathy, continued to operate for several years until its merger with another forerunner of today's Western States Chiropractic College. Most importantly, Palmer's stay in Oregon saw perhaps the first publication of his final theories of chiropractic, and gave rise to his classic text, The Chiropractor's Adjuster: the Science, Art and Philosophy of Chiropractic.