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"I always wanted
to be a nurse, even as a young girl.
I always enjoyed helping people, and always enjoyed nursing."
Gertrude remembers always being interested
in the nursing profession. She said, "My interest in medicine probably
began because I admired my Aunt Gladys, who was a nurse. I also
looked up to my cousin Darwin, a close friend. He was a year older
than I was. Two things about Darwin may have increased my interest
in health care: first, he fractured some vertebrae in the spring
of 1929, and ended up temporarily paralyzed and in a body cast.
Our family didn't think he would walk again, but he did, and started
university that fall. This was an amazing turnaround." Later,
Darwin became a doctor, and worked in Quesnel.
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| Nurse Marion Ferry,
Dr. Baker, Nurse Gertrude Watt, Quesnel General Hospital, 1938 |
Her nursing career began in 1929. After
her mother died, when Gertrude was 17, she went to nursing school
in Estevan,
Saskatchewan, for three years. She recalls, "I didn't think
that I was being particularly independent or 'modern'; it was the
depression, and work and money were not so easy to find. I had to
support myself. At 21, in 1932, I graduated and began my nursing
career." Until 1936, she nursed in Bienfait, SK and Winnipeg,
MB.
As a newly graduated nurse, Gertrude
lived above the hospital in Bienfait in rooms that were "not very soundproof.
We could hear the patients' bells and phones. But the bedrooms and
living rooms were nice. I was on the night shift for a year in Bienfait.
If everything was quiet, I could take a rest." There were
no more than ten patients at a time at the Bienfait hospital.
Nursing in those days was similar to the work nurses
do today. However, it was also different, in some significant ways.
Gertrude and her co-workers would
- Carry patients from one floor to another
on stretchers,
- Make housecalls,
- Deliver babies if a doctor wasn't available,
- Get bodies ready for burial,
- Prepare the operating room,
- Stoke the furnace fire and the kitchen range at
night,
- Take x-rays,
- Administer anesthetics,
- Accompany doctors on their rounds, and
- Write down the doctors' patient orders.
The job had its nights of high drama,
as well. "One
stormy winter night in Bienfait, I bundled up and walked over to
a house to deliver a baby. The doctor was attending an emergency
at a mine, and was unavailable. The pregnant mother was from a ranch
outside town, but had come to stay with a friend who lived close
to the hospital to deliver her 10th baby. That night, a large, nine-pound
baby boy came into the world. There were some complications - the
placenta wouldn't expel from the mother. Somehow, I got her through
the night. The doctor came to the house to finalize the procedure
when he got back to town in the morning," Gertrude remembers.
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| Dr. Baker, Dr.
Darwin Oliver (in doorway), and Nurse Battram, in operating
room, October 21, 1938, Quesnel General Hospital. |
The story doesn't end there. "About 30 years
ago, I was with my husband, Alex, at a dinner in Clinton. I overheard
the people at the table next to me talking about where they were
each born. One man, who looked to be in his 30s, said to his companions,
'I am sure that none of you have ever heard about the place where
I was born; I'm from Bienfait, Saskatchewan.' I approached the table
and mentioned that I had overheard the conversation. I told the
man that I knew where Bienfait was, and that I was also from there.
I asked him if he was born in the hospital. He said no, that he
was born one night during a storm, and that his mother had delivered
him in a house near the hospital. I asked him his last name, and
he told me. I said, 'I believe that I was the nurse who delivered
you that night!' This man, in Clinton, 30 years later, was the baby
born that stormy night in Bienfait." Gertrude marvels at the
quirkiness of this story, and loves to meet "her babies" as
adults.
Nursing in Quesnel
Gertrude recalls, "I only expected to visit Quesnel, not
to move here. I planned to work here for three months and return
to
Vancouver. Soon after I arrived, though, another nurse took a leave
of absence. My cousin Darwin asked me if I wanted to take her
place.
I decided to stay because I had met other young single people and
liked the town."
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| A letter from
Dr. G.R. Baker, recommending that Gertrude's Saskatchewan nursing
license be recognized in British Columbia, as her services were
required in Quesnel. |
Reflecting on the prospect of living
in a small community on the edge of the frontier, Gertrude stated
that she saw it as
a nice change from the Lower Mainland. "I felt closed in by
the mountains in Vancouver. The city seemed so big to me, since
I was from the Prairies. Quesnel was snow and sunshine. People
in
Quesnel were always friendly; you didn't feel like a stranger.
I thought the winter was pretty. Vancouver's late fall fog and
rain
didn't appeal to me. Also, this was a friendly town, and Darwin
was here."
Working with Dr. Baker
The young nurse's first few months in Quesnel were spent working
in Dr. Baker's busy Avery Clinic. Quesnel's famous doctor was very
popular, a skilled physician, and a well-respected man in the Cariboo.
The Quesnel hospital is named after him, and he is the focus of
the mural in its lobby.
Dr. Darwin Oliver also worked at the clinic at that
time. On Tuesdays and Fridays, patients came to town from communities
like Alexandria and Kersley to the south. They would often stay
in the clinic for hours, waiting their turn. The day was passed
socially in the waiting room.
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| Dr.
Baker and his dog, "Curly," on the hospital grounds,
1938 |
Since most of these patients didn't
have phones, they also didn't have appointments. The nurses dealt
with the lack of
structure like this: "To call the next patient, I would poke
my head into the waiting room, and say 'who's next?' … They'd
all know whose turn was next," Gertrude remembers. The patients
returned to their outlying communities in the evening, when the
train retraced its journey.
The constant demand for nurses created
a memorable date for Gertrude and Alex one night. Gertrude recalls, "I
was in my room at the residence, and was just about to leave on
a date with Alex. Dr. Baker came by, and said, 'I'm awfully sorry,
awfully sorry, awfully sorry, we have a patient … we need your
assistance in the operating room.' It was unusual for Dr. Baker
to come to the nurses' residence himself, but this was an urgent
case. He asked Alex if he would like to witness some surgery, so
Alex and I started out our date in the operating room," Gertrude
said. She has other fond memories of the great doctor: "I was
very privileged when Dr. Baker gave me away at my wedding. He was
a great friend." Dr. Baker gave the newlyweds a crystal pitcher
and glasses set for their new life together.
The nursing life
Gertrude remembers that the job wasn't always easy. "When we
had time off, if we had emergencies, we had to go back to work;
there were no other nurses to call. We had a half-day off a week,
if we could leave. Nursing was enjoyable, but it was also a large
responsibility. We worked long hours, seven days a week. Our days
lasted from 8 am to 8 pm, with a three-hour break. The pay was $66
a month for regular nursing, and $85 a month for the Matron. Nursing
benefits also included room and board." Gertrude remembers,
"We were understaffed, but the hospital couldn't afford very
much." At that time, the hospital would treat people whether
they could afford medical care or not.
The article "Busy Year for Quesnel Hospital" printed
in The Vancouver Sun on February 1, 1937, notes that 1936 was
the most eventful year to date for the young facility. There
were 4,417 patient days recorded, with a per capita cost of $2.35.
Thirty-four major operations and 86 minor ones had been performed.
There also had been 53 births and 15 deaths.
Nurses in those days were all single women. In Bienfait,
and in Quesnel before the upper story was added to the hospital,
the nurses lived in rooms above the wards. Later, Gertrude and the
other Quesnel nurses lived together at their residence, which is
where the upper parking lot of the hospital is now.
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| L to R: Dr. Kovach,
Nurse Dorothy (Willis) Grice, Dr. Baker, Nurse Joan Barrett,
Dr. Summer, Nurse Gertrude Watt (later Fraser), Norma Plant,
about 1940 |
When nurses married, they generally
left their paid employment behind. Besides taking care of their
husbands and children,
Gertrude thinks that married nurses left the job because giving
up their position was a way to help single nurses. However, single
nurses couldn't always fill all of the hours they were required: "When
we were extra busy, we would hire local married women who would
fill in."
Gertrude asserts, "Nursing isn't an easy job;
it's taken for granted that you know things, and you do it. We would
always accompany the doctors on their rounds … I don't think
nurses do that any more. Sometimes the doctors wrote their own
orders,
and then we could hardly read them."
Rural northern nursing had its hazards. "On Wednesdays
and Saturdays, Dr. Darwin Oliver and I went to Wingdam, which was
a community on the way to Wells. We had a clinic there on those
days. There was a gold mine at Wingdam, and quite a number of people
lived in small cabins nearby. Winter driving was sometimes eventful,
with snow and storms. There was only one lane, with big snow banks
on the sides. I asked Darwin what would happen if we met another
car. He said, 'Don't worry, we'll just drive into the snow bank,
and they'll pull us out,'" Gertrude recalls.
"Mr. Seymour, the maintenance man, and I made
the first incubator in Quesnel for a premature baby, as we now had
a nursery," Gertrude said. "We no longer put the babies
in baskets on a board placed on top of the tub in the bathroom."
One of the most significant changes
in medical care in the late 1930s was the availability of penicillin.
Gertrude said, "When I was nursing, penicillin cut down
our work a lot because it cured the patients much faster than
they would have been cured
without it."
Hard-earned free time wasn't squandered. "In
the summer, when we had time off, we enjoyed riding nice horses
that were lent to the nurses by Ceal Tingley's family. The horses
were kept on the flat along the river where the houses on Walkem
Street are now. Some of us would take the horses and go up Two
Mile
Flat or all the way to Dragon Lake for picnics. At the time, Two
Mile Flat was a big hill on the river side."
The Matron's Role
In 1937, the hospital had an interim Matron until the fall. Gertrude
applied for the Matron position and was accepted by the Hospital
Board.
Gertrude relates, "As matron, I
was basically in charge of the hospital. This included preparing
the operating
room, ordering medical supplies, supervising staff, and managing
patient care. I was in charge of the nurses and their duties.
There
wasn't much money in those days to pay extra nurses. I think I
had two nurses with me during the day, and one nurse was alone
at night.
I was always on call."
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| Gertrude (right)
with another nurse and a young patient, 1938 |
Director of Nursing Linda Arnold feels
that Gertrude took on a huge responsibility when she became Matron
at only 25. "She was progressive. Taking on the duties in
those days at her age means she was a leader. It was expected
that people like
her would make the best decisions for the community, and they did.
Long before there were courses in human resources, people like
Gertrude
went into leadership positions and did the job. She was also courageous.
The ability to manage a group of people to deliver the best patient
care in those days, there had to be lots of creativity, adaptability
and a sense of humour, which she still has."
Mrs. Arnold portrayed Gertrude as Matron in a Hospital
Auxiliary skit a few years ago. The skit depicted Gertrude standing
her ground and making the head of the Hospital Auxiliary in the
late 1930s send back the new, very heavy china purchased for the
hospital. Gertrude told Mrs. Arnold that the administration bought
the cups thinking that they were economical, because they wouldn't
break. Gertrude thought they were impractical, and they were returned.
Gertrude's responsibilities also included
hiring nurses, which had a lasting effect on some of the young
men in Quesnel.
She explains, "When they were building the addition to the
hospital in 1938, the Hospital Board asked me to recruit two additional
nurses. I hired them when I went to Vancouver to visit my Aunt
and
Uncle. The nurses agreed to come to the Cariboo for only a year,
since they both had boyfriends in the big city. They didn't want
to commit to being away from Vancouver for too long. These nurses
both married locals and started families, and a number of their
children still live here. The nurses were Dorothy Grice, who married
Bill Willis of Willis-Harper, and Victoria Holley, who married
Dr.
Holley's brother, Bill Holley. I also worked with Flora Ryan, who
passed away recently."
The Frasers' daughter Bonnie Joy heard
many stories about her mother's nursing days. She said, "I'm
sure she would do it all over again. I never heard her complain
about the job.
She was very dedicated. She expected a lot from the nurses under
her, but she didn't expect them to do anything she wouldn't do.
I've heard from Dr. Holley and others that she was a very good
nurse.
But, she doesn't think of the work she did as particularly important,
because she did it. She categorized the nurses she hired by how
hard they worked. She remained friends with the hard workers.
She
was extremely clean, and didn't like the nurses who weren't tidy
and good to the patients."
Nursing after her marriage
After war was declared, Gertrude said, "the tune changed"
about employing married nurses. Gertrude nursed in Vancouver while
Alex was working in Little Mountain, near Shaughnessy. He was posted
to supplies duty. Mrs. Fraser recalls that it was difficult to find
accommodation because of all the troops in Vancouver. She remembers,
"We had a living out allowance, and lived with friends for
a while. Eventually, we found a little apartment in the West End.
It was in a big old house that had been turned into suites."
Nursing older people in the Quesnel area
While she was a nurse, Gertrude cared for "the Vaughans, the
Hutchcrofts, old Mr. and Mrs. Moffat, Tommy Moffat's grandparents,
and Mrs. Cotton from the Cotton Ranch near Williams Lake. There
aren't many of the old people left, the old-timers. I also nursed
Dr. Alex Holley when he was 15 and had meningitis. Later, he became
a very close friend of ours, and he was our most trusted physician
during Alex's years of illness."
Taking care of others long after her nursing career ended
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| Gertrude
and a small patient, whom the nurses nicknamed "Shug." |
Gertrude nursed her husband through a number of illnesses
during their marriage. His niece Marjorie recalls that when Alex
was hospitalized for his throat cancer a few months before he died,
What amazed me more than anything about Auntie Gertrude
was that she went from having her own life to being a 24-hour
nurse. This happened in one week when Alex got so sick. Whatever
life she had, it changed overnight. I can remember going to Victoria
and visiting him when he was sick. When Auntie Gertrude would
leave to run an errand, if she was away from the hospital for
longer than she said she would be, he was frantic. She spent probably
16 hours of every day at his side before he died. There was never
any question that that's what she would do. She has more strength
than I can imagine.
Others also admired Gertrude's stability
during those difficult days. Linda Arnold remembers, "Gertrude was totally
involved in Alex's care, which was impressive for her age." At
the time, she was 78. Nurse Carol Weremy remembers,
Gertrude was often the primary caregiver for Alex.
She just had a very 'good old nurse' attitude. She had a sick
husband, but at the same time was using her professional hat in
looking after him. She was excellent. She exemplified to me the
nurses that I had met when I first went into training. A very
down to earth, matter-of-fact person who just dealt with things.
She was very professional in her handling of the
whole situation. Her emotions were very well controlled. I am
sure that there were many times that she went home and cried on
her own. She was protective of him and diligent that he got the
best care possible.
When he died, she gave me the privilege of helping
to prepare his body the way that we used to do them. We washed
his body and he was dressed in the clothes that he would wear
to the undertaker. I felt very privileged to help with that. She
also was a support person for their daughters as well, and helped
them to deal with the fact that their father was dying. This was
a very strong person; gentle, but strong. I would have liked to
have worked with her. She is very respectful of people. She's
a gentlewoman.
Niece Heather Collins remembers, "I
had the impression that she (Gertrude) didn't want other people
to see Alex so sick,
so if she didn't want other people to be there, she had to stay.
Alex was not impressed when I showed up. He didn't want anyone
besides
Gertrude to look after him."
Gertrude also cared for Lillian Fraser, Alex's mother, before she
died. The senior Mrs. Fraser lived with her son and daughter-in-law
during this time. While traveling with their good friend Pan Phillips,
Gertrude, in her 70s, once again jumped into action. Pan had a heart
attack at the airport. She took off his belt, took out his dentures,
and kept him breathing until the paramedics arrived. The medical
professionals told her that she had saved his life.
Gertrude also helped two neighbors, Evelyn Stonehouse
and Frances (Marg) Allison, in their later days. Neither friend
drove, and Gertrude frequently chauffeured them around town. These
ladies, both widows, lived in the houses on either side of Gertrude's
on Walkem Street. They were all friends for many years, and worked
together on the Hospital Auxiliary.
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