I was born on July 19, 1923 in Orange, New Jersey, the only son of Agnes and James Russell. I had one older sister Nancy. At the age of two years, my family moved about twenty miles from Orange to a small rural township called Livingston.
It was in Livingston that I spent my growing up years, attending public schools through grade eight. Because Livingston was too small a township at that time to support its own high school, we attended West Orange High School, where I graduated in 1942.
On January 3, 1943, at the tender age of eighteen and a half, I was drafted into the U.S. Army and assigned to a 155mm heavy artillery unit. After basic training at Ft. Lewis, Washington, and Maneuvers in the Mojave Desert, California our unit was shipped to await the invasion of France. On D-day plus 4 (June 10, 1944) we landed on Utah Beach and were in continuous combat until war’s end in May 1945. On November 30, 1945, I was honorably discharged from the service and returned to my family’s residence in Livingston.
My first awareness of Chiropractic came from a boyhood chum who had an uncle and cousin that were practicing chiropractors in New Jersey. It was his intention to become a chiropractor also and we had much discussion about this new, to me, form of healing, as our family had never used chiropractic in my growing up years. Because of the influence of this chum, I decided to make chiropractic my career. We planned to enroll in the Texas Chiropractic College together, but about a week or so before we were to leave for San Antonio, he changed his mind. He is now a practicing attorney in New Jersey. I enrolled at chiropractic college in April 1946 to begin a career about which I knew absolutely nothing. Within a month or so after starting classes, thanks to the late Drs. Jim and C. W. Drain, Drs. Weiser, Lofting and Turley, I realized I had found what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. How many times since 1945 have I thanked God and my boyhood chum for bringing my attention to this great work.
During my years at T.C.C. I served as President of Delta Sigma Chi Fraternity and was elected President of my graduation class. I received my Doctor of Chiropractic Degree in December 1948.
Immediately following graduation, I was accepted as an Intern at Spears Chiropractic Sanitarium in Denver, Colorado. This was an experience of great value to me in my private practice, as I observed and treated cases that I would not likely see in my private practice. It was also a great source of confidence for me when I did begin my own practice.
In April of 1949 I had the opportunity to begin my private practice in Freeport, Texas and made the decision to do so. I submitted my resignation to Dr. Leo Spears on April 15, 1949 and began my first day of private practice since that date. I am presently in my thirtieth year of practice and it has been a great source of satisfaction to me.
On December 21, 1951, I married Sammie Charles Jackson and we have one son James Neal Russell who was born on March 8, 1956. He is now aa junior at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas.
During my twenty-nine years as a resident of Freeport, I have had many opportunities to serve my community in a civic way. I have served on the Velasco Tax Board of Equalization, was elected a councilman and later Mayor of the City of Velasco. (Velasco consolidated with Freeport in 1957). I was the last Mayor of Velasco and the first Mayor of the newly consolidated cities, serving as Mayor of Freeport from 1957 to 1959.
I have also served as President of the Brazosport Chamber of Commerce and was named its “Outstanding Citizen” in 1957. I have also served as President of the Freeport Kiwanis Club, the Velasco Elementary P.T.A., the Freeport Pee Wee, Little League and Teenage Baseball Associations. My last civic office was serving as Chairman of the Freeport Urban Renewal Agency from 1969 through 1976.
In 1955 I was appointed to serve as Vice Chairman of the newly formed Foundation Board of Texas Chiropractic College. In 1961 I was elected Chairman and served in that capacity until my resignation in August 1977. I believed it was during these seventeen years as Chairman of the Board of Regents that my opportunity to repay Chiropractic arose, for the many blessings it has extended to me.
Texas Chiropractic College became a non-profit institution in 1948 when the Alumni Association purchased the college from Doctors Drain, Weiser and Lofting. This was the first necessary step in the long road toward federal accreditation, which the college felt was essential if it were to survive the demands of society in the years ahead. At this particular time the college was heavily in debt, the physical properties were in very poor condition, the student enrollment was down and the alumni showed very little inclination to support the school financially. In brief, the college showed very little survival potential and in fact was really bankrupt financially, as our liabilities were in excess of $95,000.00 and we had assets of little over $45,000.00
With the total dedication of a unified Board of Regents, plus the undying faith of two Presidents, the late Dr. Julius C. Troilo, and President Emeritus William D. Harper, the condition of the college slowly began to improve from 1954 to the present.
In 1965 the old college properties were sold, all outstanding debts paid and we had a total net worth of $25,000.00 when we left San Antonio for our new 18 acre campus in Pasadena, Texas. This new campus was the result of financial efforts by the late Dr. Jodie Baier, Dr. E. O. Fields and a host of chiropractors and friends in and around the Houston-Pasadena area.
With conditions at the college steadily improving each year since our move in 1965, both financially and increases in the student body, it was necessary to build a new public clinic and a research facility so the beautiful William D. Harper Clinic and Research Center was completed in 1974 and named in honor of Dr. William D. Harper the sixth President of T.C.C. who had done so much during his presidency from 1965 to 1977, to ensure the survival of this great institution.
As the growth of the college continued, it was again necessary to enlarge our facilities once again, so another building was constructed containing an auditorium-cafeteria, library, bookstore on the first floor and a student lounge, two labs and two classrooms on the second floor. The building was completed in January 1978 and was named the James M. Russell Education Center. I shall not attempt to explain the feeling I have each time I think of this great honor which the Board of Regents bestowed on me.
At this writing, the total physical assets of the college are valued at $2,500,000.00 with liabilities of $800,000.00. This far cry from the $25,000.00 assets the college had when it moved to Pasadena in 1965. The student body this September 1978 will be about 330 students compared to 65 students in 1965. In addition to the above, the greatest accomplishment of all was that with all the above, we were able to obtain full accredited status from the Office of Education of H.E.W. and we are one of only four chiropractic college to attain this goal at this date.
In summary, I feel that I have had some part in the above accomplishments during the last seventeen years as Chairman of he Board of Regents, which has helped insured the survival of Texas Chiropractic College for the future generations.
On June 8, 1978, at the annual convention of Texas Chiropractic Association held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Houston, Texas, I was presented the Keeler Plaque as “Outstanding Chiropractor” for 1978 for my efforts in behalf of Chiropractic and the Texas Chiropractic College and I shall be forever grateful for this honor.
