An old copy of the Boston Herald lies on top of box, surrounded by other cardboard boxes with plaster dust. Headline reads: TAFT WINS DELEGATE TESTS, FIGHTS EISENHOWER SURGE; HOOVER BIDS FOR AIRPOWER"

Joseph Garland

For the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of MGH in 1961, writer Joseph Garland was engaged to publicize the milestone. One of the fruits of this effort was a slim volume titled Every Man Our Neighbor: A Brief History of the Massachusetts General Hospital, 1811-1961. Although there were at that point four detailed, period-specific histories of the MGH, by 1961 it was agreed, as Garland states in his preface: “A bird’s eye view was needed, and I agreed to be the bird.” It seems entirely appropriate that Garland’s byline greeted the virtual tour team as they prepared to mark a new milestone.