By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Between the cake in the waiting area and dangling Christmas ornaments decking the halls, it looks like a holiday birthday party at Dr. James R. McCanse's chiropractic office on M-51 South in Pokagon Township.
The occasion is today's 30th anniversary of his practice in Dowagiac, which he mans Monday, Wednesday and Friday while devoting Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to his Decatur office.
When McCanse first started 30 years ago the Oregon native practiced from his home on Green Street.
The ornaments first hung in Decatur. They flourished when he started suspending them from ceilings on paper clips.
"I've probably been collecting them for 28 years. I must have more than 2,000," he said Wednesday. "People give them to me. When we go on vacation, we try to pick one up from that area. Auctions. Goodwill. I don't even remember how it started. I just like the variety of Christmas ornaments."
There seems to an unusual number of skiers.
"Downhill skiing is my one hobby," he said, adding about his 30th anniversary, "Sometimes I can't remember not being here, but on the other hand, it seems to have gone really fast."
McCanse began practicing in Buchanan with another chiropractor.
"I was there with Dr. Jones from October 1975 through May 1977 – part-time after I opened this office."
The building which houses his office was built in 1980 for Dowagiac Health Systems.
"They abandoned it in '85 and we bought it in '87," so it's also the 20th anniversary of his current location.
"For some reason lately we've run into more thyroid" problems. "Things run in bunches. We're also finding more chronic conditions in young kids – a lot of it because of diet. I would say southwestern Michigan, just from what I've read, has a higher incidence of cancer. I don't know why. There are theories, such as all the pesticides used for different crops and so many chemicals going into the water and air. That may be part of it."
Born in Oregon, he moved to Washington state, then Illinois, where he obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois.
"The year I graduated from chiropractic college (at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa), about a month before graduation, Dr. Jones from Buchanan was on campus for a meeting and we just ran into each other. I had to wait almost nine months to take the Illinois boards, but Michigan gave its boards four times a year, right after everyone graduated, so if anyone was interested they could come and get in a practice. So rather than go home and work in a factory for a year until I could get my boards, I came up here."
Southwest Michigan felt like home because "I grew up in Oregon with fruit – red raspberries, peaches, apples – and that's what they had here, which we didn't have in Illinois."
McCanse intended to become an architect. He was working nights to make money for school and had just married Donna, who was teaching special education.
"One night I came home and woke her up and said, 'I'm supposed to be a chiropractor.' I'd never considered it" before that epiphany. "I just knew it, even though I had no idea why."
Destiny also seemed to steer them to the former Mack home, which they came across driving down the street.
Calling Realtor Max Pugsley, they learned he would also be their neighbor.
McCanses have five children. Betsy, of St. Joseph, teaches natural childbirth classes, has been accepted at Palmer and is considering chiropractic college. Kate lives in Watervliet and gave birth to twins a few weeks ago. She has four children.
Andrew attends chiropractic college in California.
Emily is in Florida, where her husband attends pharmacy school.
Megan is a senior at Grace Christian in Watervliet.
They have five grandchildren.
He credits chiropractic for one family accomplishment.
"In 30 years, with five kids, we've only needed one prescription," he said. "My kids have been extremely healthy because their nervous systems have been checked since they were born. They've never had an ear infection, tonsillitis or high fever. We have kids come in with asthma, ear infections, allergies, colic and headaches. We're getting more kids with headaches. And growing pains. They're probably the biggest ones. For kids, most things we see are related to the neck."
Retirement isn't in his plans.
"Most chiropractors I deal with never retire," McCanse said. "Nobody else does what we do. The people who came in with thyroid problems have already been to the best medical doctors, endocrinologists and specialists who tell they they're going to teach them how to live with it best as possible with drugs."