Police Padlock Nature Clinic in Connecticut

The cops in Old Lyme, Connecticut, padlocked a nature clinic run by "doctor" of naturopathy William L. Esser in a converted mansion. Esser, a recent transplant from Pittsburgh without much medical training, advocated the water diet as a treatment for obesity and diabetes. An undertaker had reported the death at the clinic of Mrs. Barbara Ortelt, 69, of Attleboro, MA, to the police after Esser had failed to provide a proper death certificate. The cause of death was diabetes. The police found seven women in residence subsisting largely on water. All of them vigorously defended the doctor and his treatment. Five of the patients were sent home and two were hospitalized. The story noted that the authorities had found books on witchcraft and alchemy in Esser’s library, an irrelevant but juicy detail.

Esser was charged with conducting a hospital without a license and practicing naturopathy without a license. He was free on $1,000 bond. The retreat had one woman attendant, who was not a registered nurse. Three New Yorkers were among the patients, Mrs. Helen Kaufman, 50, of 545 West 162nd St; Mrs. Amelia Buhler, 47, of 214 E. 88th Street, who was one of the two women hospitalized; and Miss Joan Agrinoff, 19, of 521 West 185th St.

This little run-in with the fuzz did not stop Esser, who became prominent in the natural hygiene field. Like other followers of naturopathy, he advocated fasting and a raw diet of fruits and vegetables as a way for the body to rid itself of the toxins that caused disease and to restore a natural balance. After the Connecticut mishap, he moved on to South Carolina and then in 1949 to Florida where he operated a “Hygienic Ranch” for 50 years. He died in 2002 at 91. An interview with Esser can be found at http://chetday.com/esserinterview.html. A negative assessment of naturopathy can be found at http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Naturopathy/naturopathy.html. Esser was also an avid bibliophile with a collection of more than 10,000 books, including many first editions.