December 28, 2016
Blog by Jodith Janes
Archives Volunteer
Today marks the 80
th anniversary of the founding of the Cleveland Health Museum (CHM), the first health museum in the United States. In 1940, the Cleveland Health Museum opened its doors under the direction of Bruno Gebhard, formerly of the
Deutsches Hygiene Museum in Germany. In the early 1950’s, one of the museum’s most memorable icons, a transparent woman, arrived from a workshop in Cologne, Germany. She was unpacked under the watchful eyes of CHM President Dr. R.M. Stecher, and CHM Director Dr. Bruno Gebhard, along with U.S. Customs Chief Examiner Lee Mantel, who made sure her crate carried no stowaways.
The model for the transparent figure was a 28-year-old woman, who was coated with a rubber composition. When the shell hardened, it was peeled off to form the mold for Juno's transparent skin. This clear, plastic skin revealed Juno's underlying skeleton, blood vessels, organs, nerves and lymphatic system. Accent lighting and audio recordings helped museum visitors better understand the human body. Her bones were metal, her organs plastic and her network of arteries, veins, nerves and lymphatic system were red, blue, yellow and green plastic-coated wire. Combining the network of arteries, veins, nerves, and lymphatic system, along with the old lighting system, there was enough wiring to reach from the Cleveland Health Museum to Cleveland's Public Square and back again, or across San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge eight times!
More than 500 readers of the Cleveland Press entered a contest to name this first transparent woman. The winner, Mr. James Narey, suggested "Juno" after the Roman goddess who, even though a bit jealous, was the sublime embodiment of virtue and the protectress of women everywhere. Other names submitted included: Electra, Daphne, Claire d’Illume, Translucy, Visibella, Lucid Lil, Transparentia, Muttering Myrtle, Luminous Lu, and Cassie the Lassie with the Glassy Chassis!
Juno’s first public appearance was on November 13, 1950, at CHM's 10
th Anniversary Civic Luncheon, an event sponsored by the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. Upon return from the luncheon, Juno was installed in her very first home, the Science Theater within the Cleveland Health Museum.
Juno was voiceless until October 1951, when
Tone, the Cleveland Health Museum’s newsletter for members and friends, announced “Mrs. Bill Gordon is ‘the Voice’ for CHM’s talking transparent woman.” Mrs. Chris Nelson Gordon, the wife of Bill Gordon, a Cleveland television and radio personality, and mother of two, could be heard by tape recording explaining all of Juno’s organ systems one by one as they lit up. She served as the voice of Juno from 1950 to 1960.
To operate Juno, a museum staff member manually worked a series of push-buttons while coordinating with the voice recording on a tape machine. In 1954, Jack Mowry, a budding young engineer, came up with an automated system for Juno. The new "automatic cabinet," controlled by the push of a button at the receptionist's desk, operated all of Juno’s turns and lighting, as well as the lighting of the Science Theater, and the starting, stopping, and re-winding of the voice recording.
Before moving to her next location, the Wonder of Life room in 1958, Juno underwent a major overhaul. With a combination of efforts from Frederick Schlein, Eugene Bodell and Louis Regalbuto, the museum’s medical sculptor, she was renovated and brought back to life.
By 1960, due to a case of laryngitis from her sound track being played so frequently, Juno's voice was in need of repair. The Cleveland Health Museum and local AM radio station KYW Cleveland ran an on-the-air search for the second “Voice of Juno." Mrs. Stephanie Fields of Brookpark, Ohio, was chosen from over 150 contestants.
In the early 1970’s, a $2.5 million CHM expansion was planned. At this time, the museum’s name changed from Cleveland Health Museum to Cleveland Health and Education Museum. In preparation for this move, Juno underwent a second major overhaul from 1973 to 1974. Louis Regalbuto dismantled her delicate plastic skin, which consisted of hundreds of pieces. Marking each piece like an archaeologist on a field expedition, Regalbuto then cleaned each internal organ of her intricate body systems. He added all new lighting which made her sparkle. Meanwhile, Bob Davidson, Director of Technical Services, with the support of CHM Director Lowell Bernard and Roberta Jones, Director of Education, made the working drawings for her new home, the Gebhard Theater. Once again, her voice was recorded. This time, the voice of Cleveland actress Dorothy Silver brought her to life. After 200 hours of repair work and all new lighting, she was ready to face the public once more.
In January 1989, Juno had been at the museum for 38 years and four months, and she was really showing her age. Comparing cost projections for her restoration needs with the cost of a new model, it was decided that the time had come to purchase a second Juno. Juno II would be the same as the original, except her arms would be raised. A Juno Forever Fund was established to raise $50,000 to purchase Juno II.
Juno II arrived in 1990, but her plastic skin was damaged during her trip from Germany; she was sent back for new skin and other minor repairs, and she eventually landed safe and sound in the museum in 1993. The same year, CHM underwent another name change to the Health Museum.
For the next several years, not only was Juno II on display at the museum, but she was also used as a traveling exhibit. In 1997, Juno II came home after her time on the road. With her inner workings repaired and her voice recorded one last time by actress and motivational speaker Donna Fox, she returned to the Gebhard Theater, where she stayed until 2001.
Age not only took its toll on Juno II, but also on the building where she resided. In 2000, the Board of Trustees decided to construct a new building for the 65-year-old institution. From April 2001 to November 2003, Juno II resided in the White Mansion until the new building was completed. In 2002, the organization's name was changed to HealthSpace Cleveland. That same year, Juno was a participant in Cleveland Museum of Art's popular "Parade the Circle." When construction was finished, Juno II moved to the new building, greeting people as they began their journey on the "Road to Good Health." No longer automated, she remained a link to the roots of the original Cleveland Health Museum.
In 2007, HealthSpace Cleveland merged with The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, adding human health to the Museum's mission. Since 2008, Juno II has been positioned in the Health Education Classroom. Unfortunately, she is unlit and silent. The bulbs that used to illuminate her are no longer manufactured.
Another Juno, with arms down, arrived in Cleveland in 1952 and stayed in her original packing crate until May 2011, when she was loaned to the
Dittrick Museum of Medical History. She now greets visitors to the medical history museum as they arrive on the third floor of the Allen Library on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.
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