In Episode 3 of The Home, we explore the hidden history of funeral homes as America’s first ambulance providers. Before 911, families in rural Missouri turned to Holman-Howe Funeral Home when emergencies struck. Using specially designed “combination cars” that served as both hearses and ambulances, the Howe family and others filled a vital gap in community health care until new federal standards in the 1970s shifted the responsibility elsewhere.
Featuring firsthand stories, historic details, and the legacy of Dorsey and Bethel Howe, this episode traces the end of an era and the beginning of modern emergency response.
Chapters:
0:00 Babies delivered in the ambulance
0:25 Dorsey and Bethel Howe’s legacy begins
1:06 Forgotten chapter: ambulance service
3:02 The “combination car”
4:31 The 1966 White Paper and Highway Safety Act
5:15 Funeral homes step away from ambulance service
6:22 Lasting stories and memories
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