By Cindy Schroeder
Enquirer staff writer

COVINGTON - For 59 years, Dr. James Randolph practiced medicine from his Greenup Street office in Covington's Eastside neighborhood.

The pioneering African-American physician made house calls for $9. Office visits were $7.

"If he would have collected all the money owed to him, he would have been a millionaire," said Eastside resident Mary Northington.

Northington paid tribute to Randolph Friday, as Eastside residents joined state and local dignitaries to dedicate a Kentucky historical highway marker to the beloved physician who died at age 93 in 1981. The marker is on the grounds of St. James AME Church, where Randolph was a longtime member and trustee.

"Dr. Randolph was a giant in the church, as he was in the community," recalled church trustee Melvin Marshall. "In his quiet unassuming way, he got things done."

Born in Missouri, Randolph earned a medical dein 1917. Five years later, he opened his Greenup Street office. From there, he cared for thousands of patients on both sides of the Ohio River and delivered countless babies.

In 1971, Randolph became the first black physician to join a Northern Kentucky hospital when he joined St. Elizabeth's staff. That meant he could send his patients there and care for them. He also was the first black physician to be admitted to the Campbell-Kenton Medical Society.

During his lifetime, Randolph saw a neighborhood park named for him and received the La Salette Academy's Gold Medal for service to the community in 1976. In 1997, he was posthumously inducted into the Northern Kentucky Leadership Hall of Fame.

But in the community where many were named for the humble physician, residents prefer to remember him for his generosity and his caring for others.

"He was the nicest man," said 103-year-old Eastside resident Etta Cowan. "He would get up at all hours to deliver women's babies. ... Most of all, he was a friend to whoever wanted him to be a friend to them."

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E-mail cschroeder@enquirer.com