DR. MARIANNA BERTOLA

Dr. Marianna Bertola, also known as Dr. Crusade, was an Italian-American teacher, obstetrician, political activist and social reformer who lived in San Francisco. She delivered more than three thousand babies in her career: "Child welfare has been my big life work", she used to say. It was something of an understatement. Her father was a miner who became one of the pioneer grape growers of Contra Costa County. Marianna attended school in Martinez, California, and began a career in education that led her to become the principal of her school, although her dream was to study medicine. She kept (more)