May 24, 1937
Clocklike Habits Prolonged His Life
he major concern of John D. Rockefeller's late years was to live as long as possible.
His entire existence was ordered to the end that life be prolonged. Physicians constantly checked upon his health. At Lakewood, N.J., his last physician was Dr. Robert Buermann. At Tarrytown it was Dr. R.T.B. Todd. He had other physicians at Ormond Beach.
These men kept one another posted, sometimes by long-distance telephone, of details of Mr. Rockefeller's food, care and general condition. The medical history of his advanced years was detailed to the most minute points, and always available to all his physicians.
During his last two years, nurses were on twenty-four-hour duty.
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The physicians would not make available the details of Mr. Rockefeller's diet. It was known, however, to have consisted during the last few years of at least 75 per cent vegetables. He received green vegetables from all over the world and many were grown in his own gardens at Lakewood, Ormond Beach and Tarrytown. The variety was maintained to avoid tiring his palate.
Last October, when Mr. Rockefeller left Lakewood for Florida, his equipment for the journey consisted, in part, of three baskets of lettuce and other fresh greens.
The lamb that was made into broths and soups for him was grown on his own places. He also produced, on his estates, the fresh milk he drank, in order to be assured of its purity and quality.
He drank also a great deal of a special cultured milk.
All his homes contained elaborate medical equipment for checking his condition. There were machines for taking his basal metabolism, fluoroscopes--the equipment of a small hospital. He always had on hand, for special circ*mstances, small tanks of oxygen and he carried tanks with him when he traveled.
His homes in New York, New Jersey and Florida fitted in with his determination to preserve his life as long as he could. He traveled with the seasons, seeking the best that could be found in climatic conditions. Dr. Buermann said, however, that Mr. Rockefeller always felt that his home in Lakewood provided the atmospheric conditions that he thought best for him.
Exercise Carefully Regulated
For years his exercise was carefully regulated, and dictated by his physicians with an eye to prescribing the degree that afforded him the proper amount of movement and resultant relaxation. This was altered from time to time, and finally, during his last several years, his golf was discontinued.
During the last years he used wheel chairs or was carried from one place to another in the arms of his male nurses in the constant effort to hoard every calorie he possessed toward the increase of his days.
He had elevators installed in his homes and used them exclusively. Sometimes he operated them himself. His playing at golf, which he loved, was followed by the milder exercise of taking a daily drive in his automobile. Wrapped in blankets and protected still further against the wind by a paper vest worn under his clothing--the paper was used for its wind-deflecting qualities--he rode for half an hour every day. He had a specially made automobile for this purpose, one that ostensibly was an open car but which, in a moment, could be converted into a closed one with a heating apparatus.
Regularity was the watchword of his household. He arose regularly at 7 A.M. He retired regularly at 9. His recreation period occurred regularly at a specified hour. He ate regularly at specified times, and a regular quantity of food carefully measured for energy and vitamin value. So his physicians ascribed his longevity to the clocklike habits of his life, to his seeking the favor of climate, and to the incessant supervision of food and exercise rather than to any one thing.
he major concern of John D. Rockefeller's late years was to live as long as possible. 