Fred Bonine

Bonine was born in Niles, Michigan in 1863. His father, Evan J. Bonine, was a physician with a practice in Niles. Evan J. Had been a civil war surgeon, a diary in the Niles museum recounts his travel south by stagecoach and his history of performing many amputations. Fred N. Bonine attended the Niles public schools, he then enrolled at the University of Michigan where he received his MD degree. He received advanced training in ear eye nose surgery in Frieberg, Germany. At Michigan he was a member of the football and track teams.[1] In 1886, Bonine set a world's record with a time of 10.8 seconds in the 110-yard dash. The record stood for 35 years until it was broken in 1921 by Charley Paddock.[1][2] That same year, Bonine was the captain of the Michigan track team that became the first athletic team from the west to compete in New York.[1]

Bonine at 1885 Intercollegiate Championships.

Bonine later became a nationally known eye doctor. Each year, tens of thousands of patients from around the world reportedly sought treatment at Bonine's office above a corner drug store in Niles, Michigan.[1][3] Bonine regularly treated as many as 517 patients in one day and regularly saw 200 patients in a day. Hundreds lined up each day, none with appointments, to see him, with each being charged the same fee of two dollars for a first visit and one dollar for subsequent visits. Special buses from Chicago to Niles ran twice a week to bring patients to see Bonine.[4] Several restaurants, gift shops, and hotels in Niles reportedly "owed their existence to the patronage drawn to this small city by his fame."[5] One newspaper wrote:

"So numerous were the patients who filled his office each day, that brutally long hours were required to care for them. He never spared himself, frequently remaining until 10 o'clock or even midnight to finish. An indefatigable worker, he had the assistance of only a small office force. One of his main therapies was a treatment nonsurgically for dissolving cataracts with a proprietary solution. It was said of him that he rivalled Napoleon Bonaparte and Thomas A. Edison for going without sleep. . . . A time-worn, old-fashioned suite of office in Niles was a crossroads for that vast army of unfortunates with afflicted eyesight who came from the four corners of the earth seeking the professional assistance of Dr. Fred N. Bonine."[5]

He was reported to have seen 1,500,000 patients in nearly 50 years of practice.[4]

In 1912, he served as a medical advisor to the United States team at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. Bonine was also a member of the Michigan State Athletic Board of Control and the Michigan Boxing Commission.[2][4] He became a close friend of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey after reportedly saving Dempsey's eyesight at the height of the boxer's career.[4] In 1925, at Bonine's office in Niles, Michigan, Dempsey and African-American champion Harry Wills signed papers agreeing to fight for the heavyweight championship of the world.[6][7] (The fight never took place.[4])

Bonine also served nine years as the mayor of Niles, Michigan. He was married to Viva Thomas and a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Niles.[4] He was a 33rd degree Mason and was honored at a Masonic dinner in November 1934 on the occasion of his 50th year in the Masons.[8]

Bonine became ill with pneumonia in the spring of 1938. He suffered a stroke in June 1938 from which he recovered in part, but he was unable to return to his medical practice.[5] Bonine died at his home in Niles in August 1941 at age 77.[2][9] Stores and factories in Niles closed for Bonine's funeral, which was held at the Trinity Episcopal Church.[10]