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DR MAHLON LOCKE: MAN OR MAGICIAN?

27/1/2016

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In my last blog I briefly mentioned the enormous popularity of Dr. Mahlon Locke, the famous foot doctor of Williamsburg, Ontario.
Dr Locke was born into a farming family on February 14th 1880.

The journey into medicine
It is not known why this farm boy decided to study medicine, although the fact that his stepfather was a doctor must have been an influence.
In 1901 he enrolled at Queens College of Medicine, graduating in 1905.  In 1907 he decided to undertake postgraduate training in Scotland, spending time at both the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

Manipulative Treatments
It is not known what or who influenced him in becoming interested in manipulating feet. What is known is that, on his return to Williamsburg in 1910, he treated Mr Peter Beckstead, the village blacksmith who was crippled with arthritis and was almost unable to work. After many sessions of Dr Locke’s foot manipulations, he regained much of his mobility and was able to return to his work.
This seems to be the first recorded treatment and the one which would set the scene for Locke’s future reputation.

By 1932 Dr Locke was giving over 2000 treatments daily.
His popularity was enhanced by his treatment of Mr Frank Coughlin of New York who was so severely crippled with arthritis that he had already made arrangements for surgery. Mr Coughlin had been told of a priest whom Locke had treated for the same disease, with remarkable success, and decided to go to him for treatment. This resulted in a complete cure. Mr Coughlin wrote a newspaper article about his experience and the Williamsburg Stampede was begun.

The hands of Dr Locke
The films we have of him working show that the manipulative procedure was rapid, lasting between 5 -7 seconds. Sometimes he would also manipulate the hands.  On and on he would go, round and round in his swivel chair from foot to foot and hand to hand, having a break every few hours for a rest (or drink).

The town and the roads became unable to cope with the amount of traffic and the numbers of people. The government actually constructed a road from the port to his practice to cope with the influx of visitors. The other consequence of this was the increased prosperity of the town.  Hotels were built, restaurants opened, and people took in boarders for the duration of their treatment.

Dr Locke’s fee was one dollar which included two sessions daily; everybody paid the same, whether millionaire or pauper. Residents and people who were unable to pay were treated free.

At this time the effects of the 1929 Wall Street crash were at their peak. It may well be that it was this had something to do with the popularity of Dr Locke’s treatments. People felt a need to keep healthy while at the same time being part of and sharing the difficulties of that time with other people.

Dr Locke died February 6th 1942. His brother-in law J. Alex Mc Gruer a Chiropractor, carried on the practice, but it did not work out and it came to an end. The magic of Dr Locke was gone.

Tony Porter Reflexology





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M.W. LOCKEĀ  The Famous Foot Doctor of Ontario

20/1/2016

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A few years ago, Filmmaker Charles Stewart his wife and I were commissioned by a T.V. company to go to Canada to research the life and times of Dr Mahlon William Locke.

Dr Locke became known internationally through his success with alleviating various diseases through a quick manipulation of the feet, and sometimes also the hands.
Each treatment took about five seconds. At his peak he would give 2000 treatments daily . This was during the 1930s
At that time I had a heavy schedule of seminars and patients, so could not spare being away for the two months the filming would have taken. Charles and Pat decided to go anyway and reconnoitre the area, interview and film people connected to Dr Locke.
They came back with a lot of film of the house where Locke worked from, plus interviews with surviving patients and with Dr Locke's Grandson.
Whether the film will eventually be made is still up in the air, but in the meantime I have been made the guardian of all the memorabilia and film that was taken by Charles Stewart. Some of which is shown here.
My Best Wishes
Tony Porter
Tony Porter seminar London February 22/23/24 2016

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REFLEXOLOGY THE BEAUTIFUL CONUNDRUM

1/1/2016

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The subject of my last blog highlighted how the structural integrity of the neck, when disturbed, imposed a marked influence on the reflexes of the feet. I also stated how the same applied to disturbed reflexes in the abdominal areas.

This phenomenon is demonstrable by examining the reflexes of the feet before and after giving specific, manual therapy to the neck and abdomen.

The reflexes of the feet are fascinating; they have something of a ‘will-o-the-wisp’ mystic about them.
By this I mean the way the reflexes reveal or don’t reveal themselves-a kind of-now you see me, now you don’t phenomena.
I call this ‘the law of the reflex’. Without having an understanding of this, we work from a strictly stereotype, view of reflexology.

This can be compared to the Indian parable of the six blind men each feeling a part of an elephant, to one it felt like a wall (its side) to another it felt like a snake (the trunk) and so forth.
Although each was partly right, all of them were wrong.
This compares to the stereotype understanding of reflexology.

It is this conundrum, which makes reflexology such a challenging therapy, particularly to those who strive to unravel its many layers.
To begin to comprehend its language, needs sensitivity of touch, combined with the mental ability to translate its idiosyncrasies.
In my next blog I shall explain the causes of this limited view of reflexology and how to transcend them.

I wish you a healthy and successful 2016
Best Wishes
Tony Porter


Tony Porter Reflexology breakthrough seminar
London February 22/23/24 2016

www.artreflex.com/seminars




 
 





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    Tony Porter

    Tony is a London-based reflexologist and founder of Advanced Reflexology Techniques (ART)

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