In January 1929, Clarence's mother, Mary, died. Clarence wanted to create a memorial for his mother in Cincinnati. In a discussion with her gynecologist, the highly respected Elizabeth Campbell, he learned that his mother had wanted a maternal health clinic in Cincinnati. Dr. Campbell may have related to Clarence the case of a woman who had been pregnant 22 times in 21 years and had 14 surviving children. Clarence became a member of Dickinson's Committee on Maternal Health and through it made his first “pathfinder” grant. With that $5,000, Dr. Campbell opened the Cincinnati Maternal Health Clinic in November 1929 and began dispensing information on birth control to Cincinnati women. At that time, few other birth control clinics existed, other than one in Cleveland, one in Chicago, and Margaret Sanger's Clinical Research Bureau in New York City.