Ogden has long been described as an untamed and wide-open town where people could indulge in any vice within walking distance from the train station. It was said that Twenty-Fifth Street was so well known across the country that one could just address a letter to Twenty-Fifth Street with no city or state and it would arrive in Ogden. Along with the reputation came health issues that the city and state governments struggled to deal with. The rise in venereal diseases during the 1940s and 1950s was so prevalent that the federal government became involved in order to protect the health and wellness of the servicemen traveling through Ogden or stationed at one of the military installations in the area.
During the Progressive Era in the United States, health care began to highlight preventative medicine. Most medical professionals felt that it was better to avoid illness than treat it. They...
