Originally published in The Seattle Sunday Times, January 16, 1955
By The Rev. Erle Howell
First Methodist Church
BLACK DIAMOND, the little coal-mining community southeast of Seattle, has in Dr. H.L. Botts one of the few remaining medical men in King County who rightly can be termed a “family doctor.”
Dr. Botts has practiced medicine in Black Diamond since 1922. He is the only physician in the town and the residents show their confidence by consulting him not only about their bodily ailments but many other problems as well.
The doctor calls on patients in their homes and follows the many fine traditions of his profession which have endeared the rural physician to the heart of America.
The only pharmacy at Black Diamond is in the physician’s office. When he calls, along with the traditional black bag, he takes cartons of drugs. A licensed pharmacist, he dispenses medicines on the spot, filling his own prescriptions from supplies kept in the car.
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Black Diamond History 