A few clouds. Low 51F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

A few clouds. Low 51F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.

Janet Schroeder working on sculpture of her husband, Dr. Henry Schroeder, from Janet Schroeder's book, "The Challenging Path."

Dr. Henry Schroeder at Ginseng Hill, from Janet Schroeder's book, "The Other Side of the Coin."

Janet Schroeder working on sculpture of her husband, Dr. Henry Schroeder, from Janet Schroeder's book, "The Challenging Path."

Dr. Henry Schroeder at Ginseng Hill, from Janet Schroeder's book, "The Other Side of the Coin."

BRATTLEBORO — Henry and Janet Schroeder moved to Brattleboro in the 1950s. They married in 1949 and began summering in Vermont shortly afterwards. Henry, who went by the name of Harry, was a physician. He had spent most of his career as a researcher and retired from the Washington University School of Medicine in 1958. They moved to Ginseng Hill on Hinesburg Road in West Brattleboro.

Dr. Schroeder’s first major contribution to medical science was his development of the low sodium diet. He investigated the causes of high blood pressure from 1937 to 1956. His research into salt as an important trace element in the human body was groundbreaking. He was able to establish a link between salt in the human body and high blood pressure.

In 1951 Dr. Schroeder developed the first effective drug treatment for high blood pressure. His work with trace elements and how they impact human health led to foundational scientific research for the National Heart Institute, U.S. space program and the atomic energy industry.

Janet Schroeder was a renowned sculptor with five stone and bronze works included in Washington’s National Portrait Gallery. A subject of one of the sculptures in the Gallery is Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker. She was also commissioned to create a World War II memorial statue in Cincinnati, Ohio and her sculptures are on display in museums around the country.

In the 1989 publication, “The Challenging Path,” Mrs. Schroeder described how her artwork emerged from interactions with her children. She had always enjoyed drawing but it was when she played with her children as they modeled clay that she found a medium to express her creativity. Clay gave her the opportunity to break free from the two dimensional world of drawing and became her medium of expression. When the couple moved to Ginseng Hill Mrs. Schroeder established her own art studio and Dr. Schroeder had a metal-free environmentally controlled animal laboratory built near their home as well.

Dr. Schroeder continued his studies of trace elements and how they impact the human body. He became director of research at the Brattleboro Retreat and had a research laboratory at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Dr. Schroeder also became an associate professor of clinical physiology at Dartmouth Medical School.

Dr. Schroeder used rats in his research to study heart disease and to further his examination of trace elements. This meant he needed a supply of lab rats for his experiments. Dr. Schroeder hired William “Tim” Vinton to help with the experiments and work as a lab technician.

On February 24, 1961 Vinton noticed that a mother rat and her 17 offspring were consuming a great deal of water. Together, the Dr. and Mr. Vinton quickly determined that some of the babies were drinking way more water than normal because their kidneys were not functioning properly. These animals were transferred to Dartmouth College where it was found that they had genetically mutated. They had a diabetic disease which also is present in humans.

The rats naturally lacked a hormone that is common in both rats and people. The lack of this hormone meant the rats were valuable as test subjects. They were bred to continue with this abnormality and became a major international research tool. The “Brattleboro Rat” is now a separate laboratory strain within the species and is presently used for scientific research in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

More than 40 years ago the lab animal was so important to the scientific research community that a three day Brattleboro Rat Symposium was held at Dartmouth College to celebrate the scientific contributions of the Brattleboro Rat.

Over the years, the Brattleboro Rat has been used to develop treatments for many challenges humans face, including diabetes, schizophrenia, memory loss, alcoholism, high blood pressure, stress reduction and lung cancer. As the Chairman of the Dartmouth Physiology Department reported in 1981, the Brattleboro Rat was “one of the first animal testing models for human diseases.” Brattleboro Rats now number in the thousands and can be found in scientific labs around the world.

Dr. Schroeder was known worldwide for his research studies. He was a pretty remarkable person who battled through cancer and lived with muscular dystrophy for most of his life. He published over 100 scientific research papers and seven books. His most famous book focused on the toxic effects of metals and the negative consequences of trace element deficiencies in our diet. Forty one years ago Dr. Hilda Sokol, a biology professor at Dartmouth College called the Brattleboro Rat “the most celebrated rat in history.”

Brattleboro Historical Society: 802-258-4957, https://bhs802.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brattleboro.history/

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/bratthistoricalsoc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brattleborohistoricalsociety/

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., holds a meet and greet in Keene, N.H., after filing papers for her reelection in Concord, N.H., on Friday, June 10, 2022.

Students at NewBrook Elementary School, in Newfane, Vt., learn about where their food comes from during their Community Farm and Field Day on Friday, June 10, 2022.

A group of locals with a French Canadian background have a tune session on the Creamery Bridge, in Brattleboro, Vt., on Thursday, June 9, 2022.

Rosie Schulick, the owner of Rosie Wonders Connection Cards, works on a new card design inside her studio at the Cotton Mill, in Brattleboro, Vt., on Thursday, June 9, 2022.

A team installs a new monument with a plaque on the Brattleboro Common, in Brattleboro, Vt., on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, to correct the incomplete information on the Civil War statue. The new monument was created by Abbiati Monument.

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.