My Archbold Story: Sonja Kay Herring

When it came time for Sonja Kay Herring to be born, there were many questions for her family.

“We lived in rural Jefferson County, Florida, and were about 25 miles from the hospital,” Herring shared. “My mother told me many stories about the night that my grandfather, Miles E. Groover, rushed her to Archbold.”

The family’s rural home wasn’t the only concern. In the era of segregation, this African American family had to seek out a hospital where they believed they would be accepted and cared for equally.

“This hospital may have been one of the only hospitals in the area of South Georgia and North Florida that admitted and served Black patients during this time,” Herring said.

Archbold’s longstanding mission to serve every member of the community, regardless of race, was a personal mission of its founder, John F. “Jack” Archbold. Although treatment areas were originally segregated, Jack insisted that truly equal facilities and treatment would be made available to all who came to Archbold for care.

When the Herring family rushed to its doors soon after midnight on July 4, 1946, they knew they would receive the care they deserved.

“We were never treated with disrespect or what I felt was discrimination,” Herring recounted. “Archbold was and is an exceptional hospital in so many respects and a true treasure to the Thomasville community. It has provided care to all people through its 100 years, even when doing so was frowned upon and unheard of by the larger southern culture and society.”

Archbold remained near and dear to the family beyond that night.

“During my lifetime, Archbold has treated several members of my close family. Dr. Palmer was my baby doctor and the Watt brothers and Dr. Murphy were our family doctors,” said Herring. “The most difficult time was during my mother's terminal illness with a rare blood cancer. She got excellent care from both doctors and staff.”

In those early days, Archbold wasn’t just a place where Black patients knew they would receive equal care, it was a place where aspiring nurses and physicians of all races could pursue a career.

Herring’s granduncle Henry Groover, brother to her grandfather, worked at Archbold. He was on the job when he met Estella Hadley, herself an Archbold employee, who would become his wife in 1942. Estella Hadley Groover, “Aunt Stell” to Sonja Herring, lived to be 101 years old. She passed away at Archbold Memorial in 2023. 

The John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital Training School, opened in 1925, trained Black nurses. According to a former hospital director, the training of young Black women in the nursing profession “was one of the objects very dear to Mr. Archbold’s heart and this was one of the reasons he had for establishing the hospital.” 

Dr. John Zeigler was the first Black physician to work at Archbold, serving patients in the Black wing of the hospital from 1926-27. “In view of his known professional capabilities,” Dr. John A. Davis-James became the first Black member of the Archbold medical staff in 1928 and worked at the hospital for the remainder of his life. 

It has been 100 years since Archbold was founded and 79 years since Sonja Kay Herring was born in the early morning on the Fourth of July. Archbold’s mission remains consistent—to provide safe, innovative, and compassionate care to all.

“Congratulations to Archbold, a true trailblazer in the health care industry,” said Herring.