DECADES OF DOCTORS
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that patients would often babysit his daughter in the waiting room while he tended to patients . Reflecting on this intimacy of a smalltown community and the involvement of his family in his practice , he felt he instilled the love of medicine in his children . One of his children , Dr . Ralph “ Buddy ” Cash , Jr . returned to practice medicine alongside his dad after graduating from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 1975 . The elder and junior Cash doctors practiced medicine together from 1978 to 1996 , similar to the generation prior . They joined the Trover Clinic in 1988 which allowed expansion of their offices and reach within the community . Dr . R . L . Cash , Jr . continued his commitment to Caldwell County , opening his own private practice after Trover divested from the Caldwell County community in 2010 and continued to practice until his retirement in 2019 . His practice was acquired by the local hospital and continues as Caldwell Medical Associates to the present day .
Small town medicine runs at the core of the Cash family in Princeton and has been a platform for care of the community and civic leadership through the years . Dr . W . L . Cash laid the foundation for civic engagement , serving as mayor of Princeton from 1926 to 1950 . His son Dr . R . L . Cash , Sr . was equally involved in the community , donating his time as the team physician for Caldwell County High School sports teams from 1946-1978 . He served as a 3rd District Trustee for the Kentucky Medical Society and served on the Princeton and Caldwell County Boards of Education from 1948-1956 . Remarking at his 50th Anniversary in Medicine Celebration in 1996 , he noted , “ As a child I was taught the Golden Rule by loving , community-minded parents .” He found this quality , too , in his wife , Ruby Lee , who he described as “ a wonderful wife who was my helpmate and was dedicated to the patients we served and
the community to which we belonged .” A long-term dream , along with his son , Dr . R . L . Cash , Jr . was to open a sports medicine and fitness facility for the town . Dr . R . L . Cash , Jr ., after his father ’ s passing , saw the project to fruition . Admitting the dream “ was just too big for the two of us ,” he worked with Trover Clinic to secure the funds and complete construction on Caldwell ’ s County ’ s only fitness facility in 2003 .
Caldwell County was well served for over one hundred years by the Cash family physicians . Their legacy and care of the community has been foundational to the stability of one of Kentucky ’ s bucolic small towns , Princeton , and surrounding Caldwell County . The Cash generation currently serving in the workforce have become leaders in psychology , law , dentistry , engineering , veterinary medicine and business . Their success is grounded in that which Dr . R . L . Cash , Sr . gleaned from his parents and expounded upon at his retirement : “ Self-discipline , a strong work ethic , the strength to persevere and perhaps most importantly , a deep respect and reverence for the gift of life .” Dr . Kolter is a practicing internist with Baptist Health .
12 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE