Snowshoe Kate and the Hospital Built for Pennies

Dr. Kate Pelham Newcomb (or “Dr. Kate,” as she was known to her patients) was a doctor in rural northern Wisconsin during the early 1900s, a time when very few women practiced medicine.

Because the nearest hospital was over two hours away and the snowy roads were often impassable, Dr. Kate frequently traveled many miles by snowmobile or snowplow to reach her patients.

Sometimes she even went by snowshoes, which lead to her nickname, the “Angel on Snowshoes.”

In her years as a doctor, she delivered an astonishing 4,000 babies, and those same children later played a key role in the “Million Penny Parade,” a massive grassroots fundraiser inspired by Dr. Kate’s lifelong efforts to build a hospital in her community.

Dr. Kate’s dreams of being able to better serve her community finally came to fruition in 1954 when Lakeland Memorial Hospital opened―with Dr. Kate serving as chief of staff.

From Newbery Honor–winning author Margi Preus and illustrator Jaime Zollars, this picture book biography celebrates a woman who defied gender expectations and dedicated her life to helping the farthest reaches of her community.