Some artifacts are artifacts because they are unique; others appear amazingly ordinary until their place in history becomes evident.
What appears as a simple Igloo-brand cooler, the kind used for family picnics and fishing trips became a life-saving tool and a step into a new medical world at Seton Medical Center in Austin. On February 2, 1986, Doctors Jim Calhoon, John Oswalt, and Emery Dilling completed the first open heart transplant at the Hospital, beginning its time as one of the most respected heart health programs in the country. The cooler was used to transport the heart during the life-saving procedure.
Once the procedure was complete and the patient declared safe, the three doctors fully made their mark on the artifact and signed the cooler.
The cooler was a frequent showpiece of the archives at Seton Medical Center. When the Hospital was transferred to the auspices of Ascension healthcare in 1999, many of the materials in the Archive were transferred to the Archives of the West Central Province in St. Louis, which then came to Emmitsburg in 2011. It was discovered a few years later, however, that an entire roomful of materials had never been transferred, including the legendary cooler. Thankfully, the entire collection was able to be reunited in 2019.
The cooler was on display from 2022-2023, and we will occasionally pull it out for special displays for visiting groups from Austin or from the health care field. We are looking for ways to display it for the wider public again within the next few years.
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