In our collection at the GCHS we have some real showstoppers. These items always grab people’s attention during tours. One of those items is the Texas Longhorn chair formerly owned by Rear Admiral (Ret.) Vane Hoge.
During the late 20s or early 30s, a friend from Texas gave Van Hoge the Texas Longhorn chair. It sat in his boyhood home several years, before Vane gave it to the museum in the early or mid-40s. (Information provided by his niece, Alberta Main.)
Admiral Hoge was born on February 17, 1902, in Center Township in Greene County, near the community of Rogersville. He was a son of Samuel M. and Margaret Yeager Hoge. His early life was spent on the family farm in Center Township. He attended elementary school at the village of Oak Forest, also in Center Township, and graduated from the former Center Township High School in Rogersville, which is now a component of West Greene High School. He entered Waynesburg College in 1921 – the same year in which Dr. Paul Rich Stewart became president. During his senior year at Waynesburg, he served as student laboratory instructor in chemistry.
Following his graduation in the class of 1925, Hoge entered Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, where he graduated June 1, 1928. Shortly afterward he was accepted into the United States Public Health Service, where one of his early assignments was to be in charge of research activities in psittacosis (parrot fever). Hoge was also in charge of special studies and surveys on community historical requirements. His responsibilities included the final approval of all civilian hospital construction projects during the restricted conditions which prevailed during World War II. In recognition of his special achievements in better hospital administrative practices he was one of only five persons ever to be awarded the Award of the American Hospital Administrators Association.
After getting involved in hospital administration, Hoge spent a year’s study at the University of Chicago to earn his master’s degree in the field of hospital administration. In 1960, he was a consultant in Liberia, North Africa during the construction of a government hospital.
He was particularly interested in Waynesburg College and served as a trustee for many years. Commenting on his death, Dr. Paul Rich Stewart, chancellor, Waynesburg’s former president and longtime friend of Admiral Hoge said, “He was a member of the finest class to enter Waynesburg under my administration in the fall of 1921. He continued ever since as a warm friend and loyal alumnus. His achievements in public health and hospital administration have brought honor and high credit to Waynesburg College and to himself. His passing is a severe loss.”
