When I attended the dedication of a historical marker at Francesca Morgan’s Interiors on East Ocean Boulevard, I realized that the last time I had been inside her building was when I was a dental patient of Dr. Carl Fogt.
When my husband, Tom Thurlow, and I returned to Stuart in 1965 after living in California at Travis Air Force Base for three-and-a-half years, there were only four dentists in Martin County. They were Dr. Fogt, Dale Hipson, and Bill Robson in Stuart, and. Dennis Renaldi who had recently opened his office in Jensen Beach.
In the mid -1940s there were just two dentists in Martin County. One was Dale Hipson’s father, Dr. H. H. Hipson and the other Dr. Carl Fogt who came to Stuart right after he left the Army. In fact he filed his discharge papers in the Martin County Courthouse on March 7, 1946,
There are many, many Stuart News articles about Dr. Fogt and his wife Barbara. They were outstanding golfers and fishermen. Or was Barbara a fisherwoman?
The most amazing things I discovered from newspapers.com were connected with Dr. Fogt’s service in WWII. I had no idea such a hero was working on my teeth.
After graduating from the Loyola College of Dental Surgery in Chicago in 1942 and enlisting in the Army Dental Corps, rising to Captain, he served as a training officer for the Combat Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Here, he was responsible for training the division’s front-line medics. Because of a shortage of physicians, he was sent to Europe in 1944, where he participated in the Christmas 1944 Battle of the Bulge.
He was quoted saying: “The only dentistry I did in the Army was emergency surgery. I spent all my time giving plasma and morphine, stopping hemorrhaging, suturing and applying splints.”
According to his obituary: “He was awarded the Bronze Star and three battle stars, the Combat Medical Badge, the World War II Victory Ribbon and Arms of the City of Folmar, France award.”
The Fogts first home was a little house now known as “Eighteen Seminole Street,” a popular Italian restaurant today.
After opening his dental office in the Greene Dry Good’ s Building, an announcement appeared in the Stuart News on November 25, 1948 saying his office had moved into the building, now owned by Francesca Morgan.
Barbara and Carl Fogt had three sons, Mike, Dan, and Tom. Carl was a Boy Scout Leader and Barbara was a leader in the PTA. They were an admired and popular couple. How could they not be? Both were Club Champions at the Martin County Golf Course. Dr. Fogt even got two “holes in one” within ten months! Barbara fished in one of the first Women’s International Fishing Association Tournaments out of Palm Beach in January 1956, Both Dr. and Mrs. Fogt were avid sports fishermen whose catches were featured in the Stuart News.
Carl and Barbara Fogt made good use of their cruiser “Duchess,” sharing fishing excursions with their friends and extended family. In August 1962, they were in the Gulf Stream with their three sons when they heard that five fishermen were adrift. When the Fogts located the boat that was in distress they were too heavily loaded to pull it to safely, but Dr. Fogt, who had served as Commander of local U. S Coast Auxiliary, supervised the rescue by radio.
Since this blog was inspired by the historical recognition of the building that now belongs to Francesca Morgan, I will return to it and its connection to the Fogts.
In October 1955 Dr. Fogt’s mother, Laura Fogt, moved to Stuart from Ohio and made her permanent home in the apartment above Dr. Fogt’s 4th Street office. Numerous newspaper articles reveal her church and social activities. She hosted numerous gatherings above her son’s dental office.
On a cold February 2nd morning in 1960 Laura Fogt noticed smoke coming from St. Joseph Church. She immediately telephoned her son who called the Stuart Fire Department. An oil heater caused a fire in the wooden building that had originally been a chapel at Camp Murphy.
The Fogts’ three sons followed their parents’ example and became pillars of the community. Mike became an optometrist, after serving in the Coast Guard, Dan became a building contractor, and Tom became a prominent attorney. They, and their equally outstanding wives , live locally.
Dr. Carl Fogt’s sold his practice to Michael Sohl in 1981 after having his office in what is now Francisca Morgan Interiors for 33 years. That is why I will always think of the building as ”Dr. Fogt’s Office.”