It is quite unusual for anyone to make their mark in life in two entirely different fields. Such a rare man was Dr. Robert Martin Fales, whose profession was in medicine; his avocation was the sharing with his fellow citizens his vast knowledge of the history of his home town.

Robert Martin Fales was born on February 25, 1907 in Wilmington, North Carolina, the eighth and youngest child of James Benjamin Franklin Fales (1859-1925) and Magdelene Delena "Maggie" Hewlett Fales (1867-1944). Both of his parent's families were descended from some of the earliest residents of the Lower Cape Fear Area - the Hewletts having lived on Masonboro Sound since before the Revolution.

His father was the owner and operator of Fales Fish House, a wholesale establishment located on Wilmington's riverfront. His early childhood home was on the southwest corner of Sixth and Castle Streets. In 1922, the family bought from Johanna Runge's estate a large house at 311 South Fifth Street. They remodeled the new home and moved in shortly afterwards.

Dr. Fales entered Union (Elementary) School on the corner of Sixth and Ann Streets in 1913. Later, he was in the first freshmen class of New Hanover High School, when it was newly completed in 1921.

After finishing high school in the Class of 1925, he graduated from Wake Forest College and Jefferson Medical College. His residency was completed at the Episcopal Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. In 1935, he opened his surgical practice in Wilmington, with his first office located in his mother's home on Fifth Street. Not only did he pursue his surgical practice, but treated almost every other imaginable medical problem, including delivering babies.

Dr. Fales quickly became a leader in his profession. In the late 1940's, he moved his office to one of the upper floors of the Murchison Building. Later, he became President of the New Hanover-Pender-Brunswick Medical Society.

Sometime in the early 1950's, it became apparent to Dr. Fales that the medical facilities at James Walker Memorial Hospital were grossly inadequate and would need a total overhaul. The original building had been constructed in 1901, with funds given by a wealthy Scottish building contractor and named for its benefactor. Additional structures were added in the ensuing years. By the middle of the century, all of the facilities were in desperate need of repairs and updating. In 1956, Dr. Fales communicated his concerns to the local Medical Society. The outgrowth of this proposal was that advances were made to the New Hanover County Commissioners and a bond issue to build a new hospital was scheduled for a vote. The first attempt at passing the bond issue was defeated.

Another attempt was made in November, 1961. The issue was one of the most hotly contested in County history. The previous summer, the Atlantic Coastline Railroad moved their General Offices to Jacksonville, Florida, Wilmington was in a state of shock at losing its most valuable payroll. It was Dr. Fales' contention that besides the obvious medical reasons for a new hospital, without adequate medical facilities, the city would not recover from the substantial financial blow. He involved everyone he knew in the campaign. A phone bank to canvas voters was set up in the vacant Wilmington, Savings and Trust Building in the 100 block of Princess Street. There was no one in the county that did not hold strong opinions about the issue.

The Bond Issue passed by a few hundred votes. One of Dr. Fales' first cousins was heard to remark, "It would have been terrible for the county if the hospital issue had failed, and what would we have done with Robert?"

The successful bond referendum was to set the stage to build New Hanover Memorial Hospital on south Seventeenth Street, which opened in June of 1967. It has become a premier Regional Medical Facility, caring for not only citizens of New Hanover County, but for the whole Cape Fear area. The Health Services Library at the hospital is named for Dr. Fales.

Prior to 1967, the area south of Seventeenth and Dawson Streets was an undeveloped heavily wooded tract. With the impending completion of the new hospital, other builders began to complete offices for doctors who had been located all over town. Dr. Fales was one of the first to move into new quarters in front of the hospital, on the newly created Medical Center Drive. After his retirement, his former office became the Hospital's Hospitality House, which is the host for out of town families with loved ones in the hospital.

In the early seventies, Dr. Fales began a project to accumulate photographs of physicians who had practiced in Wilmington. Early on, he decided to have slides made of the photographs. Over the years, the focus of the collection enlarged to cover not just those related to the Medical Profession, but to photographs relating to old Wilmington. The culmination of this endeavor was the collection of over 1300 slides. He developed his patented talk and armed with his trusty Kodak slide projector spoke to gatherings countless times including civic clubs, newcomers, and church groups.

Dr. Fales wrote several historical articles and books. A Hundred and fifty of his photographs were included in Wilmington, Yesteryear (1984), chronicling his home town. Memories Yesteryear was published in 1988. In 1993, the Staff of the North Carolina Room at the New Hanover Public Library put together his additional recollections in Memories Yesteryear, Volume II. For his literary efforts, the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society awarded him the Clarendon Award in 1985 and the Society Cup in 1988.

In 1940, he married Sarah Taylor, the daughter of John Mercer and Sudie Mills Taylor and a native Wilmingtonian. The union was blessed with two children - Alice Martin Fales (Mrs. William Stanfield) and Robert Martin Fales, Jr. In later years, Dr. Fales took great pride in his five grandchildren.

After his retirement from his medical practice in 1985, Dr. Fales became the elder statesman of the North Carolina Room at the New Hanover Public Library. Indeed, his almost daily visits to the library caused some to wonder if he was setting up office hours there. He was usually found in his favorite spot at a desk just outside of the historical room's doors on the second floor, writing on yellow pads in his peculiar scrawl. He was never too busy to answer questions from library patrons about old Wilmington. During one of his library visits, David Brinkley, the distinguished national newsman, interviewed him for a book about his early years in Wilmington.

Everyone said he had a very professional manner when dealing with his patients. Off duty, he was a warm and witty man. He told delightful stories in colorful language about his life's adventures and was particularly proud of Jeff Davis, a dog whose talents included "singing" and "playing" the piano.

Failing health caught up with Dr. Fales in the early months of 1995. His visits to the Library became less frequent. On August 2, 1995, his life ended in New Hanover Regional Medical Center, the same hospital he helped make possible. His funeral at the First Baptist Church, of which he was a long time member, was attended by a large crowd of family and friends. He was interred in Oakdale Cemetery.

After his death, Mrs. Fales donated his extensive slide collection to the North Carolina Room of the New Hanover Public Library. Dr. Fales numbered and wrote notes about each slide before his death. These notes with the addition of an index will make it possible for Library Patrons to use the items in this collection for research. The legacy of Robert Martin Fales, M.D. is measured by the lives he touched in the medical profession and as a historian. New Hanover Regional Medical Center and his historical writings and slide collection will continue to serve the citizens of his beloved native county for years to come.

Ann Hewlett Hutteman February, 1997