The Lucknow Sentinel, 1963-06-05, Page 71963.'
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WEDNESPM ,; JUNE 5th,. 1883
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LUCKNOW -SENTINEL, - LUCKNOW, ONTARIO
PAGE SEVEN
Relates Rugged Life Of Pioneer
West Coast Doctor Who Was
Raised In The Township . '0# Huron
The rugged life of .a pioneer h'
(horse-and-4buggy doctor on the
West •Coast ,is related in an in-
'teresting • artiole appearing in
The Seattle Times. ,
Chief subject of the story' is.
rthe. late Dr.` Donald E, McGil:-
livray, and .the. setting is'in the
State'- of Washington.'
One of a family of nine, Dr,
„McGillivray was _a ` son' of ,the,
"•Date Mr.' and Mrs. Neil' McGil-
livray, and was. ' raised en .Con:
4, Huron Township,
.Two of thea family, George
is first practice, he found Se-
attle a new eity'`•of 70,000 people.
Saloons' Were, wide open, dance
'halls. and vice dens flourished.
Dr. McGil"liv'ray then• took a
look at, Vancouver. It was re-
coverif,g from* a . disastrous Mire.,
At Victoria ' lie • he•ard glowing
oratory by, John Trum,bul'l..and
Charles (Cushing, :predicting•, a
rosy future.: for Port 'Angeles.
Plans for 'railroad,
railroad• building set
imagination afire. 'A , city 'of
100,000 was 'envisioned by pro-
moters,
ro moters, It sounded ,good to the
John McGillivray 'still reside in doctor, -He crossed the Strait and
Kincardine. Mrs. Oliver, McChar- hung Out • his shingle. Plenty of
les of .Ashfield . is ' a niece. 'patients.. soon•, required. This ,at-
(By Charles K. Moore) :tention
A$ Port Angeles celebrates • its In Maroh, 1903, Dr.. `tMcGil]i-
centennial this year, a look 'at vray 'went into .Partnership
wiith
the career of a 'pioneer, Port . Dr. Samuel W, Har�tt: They foun-
Anrgeles�doctor reveals the•'"Paul ded and operated the• Port An
Bunyan stature of physicians dgeles• General, first hospital in
• who .served. •the • ,Olryrnpic Penin- .Clal�la�m County. They• Continued.
sub in . a rough-and-tumbleera operating the hospital until 1909;
Dr, ;Donald: E, 1VIeGillivray be- when Dr.: Hartt's health failed
igen - medical practice, in Port andhe 'retired. Dr. 'McGillivray'
Angeles at the turn of• the gen-.operated tihe :'hospital„ alone 'un-'
.bury. In the next `three decades, ,till 1918: •
rhe' . and . other. Peninsula doctors DrWalter-, J Taylor "and Dr:
. did`':heroic service in, .treating .a Will H; Taylor; (brothers . from,
largg....number of'industrial :acoi- London Ontario, went to Port
dent ' victims—mostly. 'loggers, Angeles about' 191.0. Dr. .Walter
• :lumber and shingle-'twill..work- Taylor joined, in' a 'legal. ,part-,.
' nership in :operating: the hospital
in 1191.8.. From its' opening days..
the ihospita..iwas_:.a -success. -Dr.
Walter.. dried in -.1933. Dr. Will
died in 1.948,
Before the .haospitail ,opened, a
smallpox. epidemic ': threatened
erg;
=1n addition.,, they 'did a land-
office business patching up •the
cuts, ,hriises and:• Worse .that
• many, of : these .same men .sof`7
fared in week -end alcoholic
Memorial area - the. . east end' . of the count .., •Dr.
FFmerg eney, •eases often .
1 ni `''c ' McGillivray aocepted the ''posi-
ken to the O y pa
tion of : ahealth officer and. ro�
Hospital ern .Port Angeles .today • P
iby (helicopter.. This is a:• far/ cry
froth. • Dr... M i!llivray's, , • day,
nw.fren he rode far and'wide on
horseback or.: ibug'gy''on miser-
able roads.and .deep forest trails
to `serve pioneer 'patients .in.
Claallarn 'County. •,
'llnergency, operations • Were
performed. on hitcher .tables of
homesteader ,cabins - ifrom . Dun-'
geness' West to •Hoh 'giver "ram
forests. Dr:' McGillivrayrode his
light Opole buggy. over stump
farms•' arid •puncheoii ','swamp
roads
A typical 'caste took: him to
• Quillayute Prairie to aid ,.a -60
;year -.old Man, uncensoi,ous :and
.near. 'death; To get there the
•doetor. boarded' the packet' Gar.
Mand which smelled foua oL:.oil
and fish; for the: --voyage aTon'g•
the ,. coast . in rough 'water • to
Clallam • Bay...•
°It makes me seasick• yet''to
think of' it," ' Dr, `.'McG:illivray
tol'd' the writer several years
•ago" as' he recalled the boat, Af-
ter
f-
te; r
r disembarking, he went;, by.
Horseback.: to Sappho • '. over" ;a
trail- strewn • with `' wind -fallen
trees whidh: the horses. jumped
with diMicul, •
""Jesse ' .Maxfield; �rld-timer of
the West . End, was riding with
the as ($wide.. ` A big fir windfall
blocked., the trail.. It .was 12 feet
e
thick" We .,walked • toward the
'torp' of •the tree 'till 'a huge limb
stopped us: Jesse. took abhe lan-
tern, as it was (pitch dark 'anti.
, p
• tried to walk ' around thelixnb.
1' waited ihOlding the .'horses, as,
rain poured ' • down 'm'y neck
along . a gully of ,m Y old water
. g. $ Y
proof. "Once I ,saw the flare of
the: :lantern: •It seemed , ;hours
:'waitingI started to .•hoot ,fin-
ally. No •anewer..,.Then at bast
Jesse- heard me . and returned."
Jesse had followed the 1im�b
to another windfall and had
gotten 'comipletely lost... Trying
once ' more, ' the two, men ;:got
around' the 'tree to the tr'aral a'
gain; crossed •a black "river; and
'finally arrived et the .Qui11'atyutc cabin;, After a three-hoyr .treat-
ment with hypodermic stimu-
lants at 15 -minute inter /a1:fs,. the'
patient rallied, and later repov+
1 Was young and full of gin-
ger then, rl • Could stand getting
soaking: wet and . dead tired"
Dr. 'MeGirilavraY - 'reminisced;
Wlhenhe carde'west +farm Tor-
onto to 1900 as a 'young doptot°
looking 'for a likely . ite'gzot°e ..for
ceeded ' to quarantine, vaccinate
and 4treat victims, and: exposed'-
families: _--- •
The. Indian village..:of James
town. was .quarantined, and`. one
day .Dr.. McGillivray requested
that all:children •;i,ii the Indian.
school. be Prepared forvacein
ation. On 'arrival at the •v llage,
the ;doctor found .his way .'Meek
ed ' by three •heavy -set .. Indian,
•lmen..-They . pl=airily •awere_ opposed
;to"`the' `vaccination • idea.
One! of. them said: "L: , 'don"t.'
think it:" is' necessary." The oth=.
ers declared they felt,. the same
'way. `The slight, 135 -pound .doer,
Jot' :became .'angiry. Disregarding
his physical : disadvantage,.. he:
grabbed' `an old root, (five • :feet
long; and waved it ,about:! threat.
enirngly. Dr McGillivray then
caught the leader of the diss-
enters : by the arm. ar'd' ordered
him to, ring the..school 'be'll, He
told the other • Indians to tell
the parents .to. send the children
for vaccinations immediately..
They .all did exactly as ordered
_and .soon a- crowd of them' '.ap-:
peared with their (parents
"By this time they, were : all
nailing and not ,only. 'the. chil-
-dreri but. bhe elders wanted ^vac
cination," Drr. McGillivray
!called..
'Mud. Was knee-deep in winter
on the poor roads; .dost. 'atter-,
•nated with .mud ion the summa
There were no• telephones. ' at
•first•, 'Only a ` .telegraph line •to
_ Y •
Neah•; Bay, " Clalla7rz 13ay ; . and
Dungeness=. .Most •persons • Were
.so :poor it seemed a ' Crime to
ask thein; for .money, so no :bills
were sent out, •Dr. :McGLllivray
said. None *as mailed .for near-
ly , te'n years. If. :patients came.
in • and oaiid their accounts, , all
,well . and 'good; if„not, not, they'us-
ually were '•written off, . '..
Dr; VlcGilliv,r,ay recalled. one
instance of a patient who had
required a .skin_ graft on his
:scalp and tl°c.atment of seven
armfractu•res. • This took, months
of calls' and'; treatment. •As,. the
old 'nian was 'very. poor, th'e bill
was' 'forgotten. gotten, Three or four
iv cars 'lator, however, he appear--•
6d: rr►orev to with his wife,' carrying the
.-ay. the bill .in; a l'a�rge
1',
market basket, Tlicy" had sold
sori�e timber. and 'were now able
to pay. ,.. , • '.
.Ula nn the hon -
l .Stall have far , „
,city
of the' `t�'ont•n`ion aman, Dr,
MhGilhvray s�aitl, '"lf they .show,;
ed gratitude .for what weir were
°ugh. The doctor': ,feeling .of
exaltation in 'bringing relief' 'was:
a sufficient ;and often . the , only
recompeinsein ;those • days." •
In 1902 Miss Corrine Lane ar-
rived in Port Angeles ngeles with an
uncle and aunt from Vrmont.
Dr. McGillivray married her tihe
next year.
"Many, years: my wiife • and I
hardly saw each other., .I was
up many nights, hawing meals'
anywhere from Dunageness to
,Clailam Bay .and sleeping an the.
buggy:' Another 'doctor told 'me
he sant beside ,a sick .mother for
three days • ' giving ' chloroiform
with everyconvulsion•.. until ' the
woman recovered.
"Today,, .a doctoris surround-
e'd`` Eby'assis'tan'ts, interns, train-
ed nurses, lab 'workers:. and X--
ray. nadhines. The responsibili-
ty can be. shared aand'•.the 'work
La not ' so exhausting.,
For example; the Port Ang-
elis hoapiatal today can trasmit
a patient's 'electro -Cardiograph
iby telephone to heart Special-
ists in Seattle, • The heart-attack'
victim, thus can receive nine-
diate ; care as' • advised •'by..top
specialists 'without making a
trip. to Seattle..
"In, the early • 190.0's rhom' made
fracture apparatusl--box splints;,
Shingles, cardboard or Sipiit 'shak-
es 'w'i'th : adlhesive _ plaster and ab
sorrbent cotton was„ used an,our
hospital work:. 'Fractures ' ,,were
common, due to • the. potent com-
bination of ' 11111-1ogging, ,few
safety :deviies. .and .workers with
hangovers:"
A . +typical day in '': •the early
career' :of.. Dr:' • McG�,llivray .went
•like• tihris. H.e set a '. broken' arnl
in Clallam Bay: On :.his way
bhere, he' treated' victims Of a'
train - wreck at '.Port Crescent.
set 'a 'lbroken ,arm;'. leg;'•and :ribs;
on . one man; ; . sutured a deep
leg, wound :,in an;otlier; 'dressed
manor injuries of others..
The `doctor then . had oto wait.
at the..: dodk ' 'to • eaten, the : St:
Clair':.on . 'her return 'frons , Neah
Bay. ;On arrival. at Port Angel-
es, he had to 'go on, an• enter-
gen'cy 'call. to. Sequirn iby team
to see .a woman who had'taken
an overdose ! of chloral, He re-
vived-, hen, after :four hours :and
returned to . town to. !eonirplete
work ' at:the . office and about
Port: 'Angeles. •
One case: "wihich had :a touch'
.of a humor took place' when Dr..
McGillivray was' called to Port
Crescent to • treat ,a. Wounded
and lb -lee -ding �ding (man. The patient
Was a `worker ;;wino- had corn-
plained about. the cooking at .his:
Jogging_ carne:. The.- cook ,had:: -shit-
him over (the �h�eadwith a {heav
Y
coffee •pot,' �c.ausing' deep outs on
the lead
"Some' bright mind .suggested
este
S . b, g g►g d
:flour to step 'the. (bleeding When
I arrived,, the victim 'had a
huge mound . of flour on 'his;
head and face,:' streaked With •
,blood, end was' surrounded by
anxious helpers; It looked (like
something' out of a •.movie com-
edy.
The wound Was easily.
after . the flour was. removed,.
I,n 1910, Dr.' McGillivray
bought a'' Model T (Ford', 'which
traveled tough ''trails •and 'roads'
where nothing more. than horses
or btigagies . had gone . • (before. •
The doctor, never was one to
hive, in the pea and he' did ,riot
bemoan the. passing of the "fain,
ily doctor." .
"While. the general practitioner
was •wonderful and unselfish in..
his way;. only a (bland Man could
fail " to . observe the.' wonderful
strides of medicine and surgery,"
Dr. McGillivray'..�dec�lar•ed.
"In ' my day, if.I didn't know
what to do for a patient I did
nothing, .but 1 'always. tried. to
'know what. to do.": '
Jame Tate..Mason, fou�n
der of Seattle's Virginia ',Mason
Hospital, was •a :friend, of Dr.
:McGillivray, When, :they first
met; :Dr. 'Mason .also; had 'ainlai-
ton's to build . a 'hospital.
Dr. McGillivray recalled him.
asking, "Why can't I have a
hospital?,►
' "'Yeta scan,. 'if 'you . want: a : lot
of grief," Dr; '1VieGi1livray .
kid-
ded. l ,ate: he looked over Dr.
Masons 'bluerp�rin'ts ,for a Seattle.
hospital, '
that seemed et. In 1923 the docter Was` avteri,-.
to do that . _
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NOMINATION MEETING .•
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RULE
Progressive Conservative
Association
wilt. be held tri the
Wingham:.:T HallTown n .
Thursday,:.Juni 1 3th
at 8:30 p.m.
- 'GUEST SPEAKER +--
HON. RAY CONNELL
MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS
■
All. Venda '''s
.rogressi've.:..
■ and ypporters ' of the.' P
i Conservative 'Party.' are • urged , to attend this
A ,.' meeting,. at which : a candidate will d . h be.chosen for
■, tie forthcominprovincial !'.election. •
: g
• • THE LADIES --WILL ' PROVIDE LUNCH - ••
0
0
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luno°: a■:•imalli mums■■■miisimiimmimmismiensii■■■•
•'
•
ding .a medical .convention, A
niessenger interrupted,,: a session
• to 'hand him a .telegram. His.
Port; Ang -:les hospital had burn-
ed to theg round without !a; loss.
orf ,.il'vfe. He returned•• home to
rebuild. An old building was are-
modeled :.to ..'provide 15°(beds: The
overflow• temporarily was .hous
ed in 'a -large tent: `There . wasno problem, Large
+bankloans
for hospital ventures - 'as . Dr: Mc-
Gillivray ' Was a bank director
in: Port ' Angeles.
In -the First. World\ War, Dr.
McGillivray • drew the job of -
caring for soldier Patients'. on
ditty with :the (Spruce Production.
Division. 'This was composed of
6,009 men stationed:on ` tihe 'Peri -
processing'
Pen-processingwood 'for.air-
plane and army -cantonment'
building . '
In the Second World: W'a'r he
ser ed-Tn=-�thd
e� raft (board of;=
Clallam County : as examining
physician:
:One (hig'h. ;point:' of his career..
was an invitation • from ,Dr. Char -
:les ►Mayo to deliver' one.. of the
•:papers. : at the. ,,Pan-American
1Vled!eal .Congress, Rio:, .de' Jan-.
eiro, in July, 1935 At Rio, the.
'doctors ' were entertained royally
and Dr: 1VicGillivraythouig'ht.
that city the most• beautiful in
the' 'world.,'
•aEducation was an • enduring, in-
terest. also (for . the doctor. ° As;
President of the Board of Ed-
ucation at
Ed-ucation.at the time Port Angeles
was . considering +buiirldng 'Roos=
evelt ' High ' School, he :was a
leader in fighting fpr .passage
of the . bond issue needed to fii-
napee: • the school There . was de-
termined ' "local ;opposition, but
the (sable ,passed. •
A +$5,000, loan, fund available
to stiidents following college en-
try 'from Clalrlam 'County was
established by the doctor.. ltiie
also set up scholarships in Am-
ericanization, art 'andmusic for
high-school 'pupils, •
"They wanted me.. to ' throw
my hat in .the ring for mayor,
or the . Legislature, :but' at least
I 'had enough sense to keep out
of politics,•" the doctor said. He
id, serve as Park kBoard chair-
man
and ',coroner.
The, •doctor ;was born June' 2',
1872,, at Madoc, Ontario, one of
six brothers and three sisters
Of. 'Sedttish ;parents, Ilia ,father.
was a logger, who took log rafts
down -river.. °. to Montreal,and
Quebec, 'shooting 'the Lacline
Rapids:. The 'future doctor att-
ended high school at Kincardine,
shore' of Lake Huron,
on the... sh, , . .. ...
He later entered Trinity "Uri,
iVersity, Toronto, to stl,idy need.:
•
('cine, After three years,' his fi-
nances ran low and he left
lege : to recoup them..:H'e 'landed
a .jab as • "camp surgeon" with:
the Regina . Gold; Mine.' eGiiI11-
vr.,ay treated ;miners' :Lments,
nitroglycerine shock,' cuts,
ses-..and fractures..
• TheY ��oun medical student g
re-
turned to college to :finish his R
coiirse, and graduate with a .'
master -of -surgery deg e : in
.'1899,
Dr.' (McGillivray.. retired
1946 .after early a half century
of service to the ;Peninsula.' He
`died February 6;:1950: 'Mrs. Mc'
Gillivray died January 118;
Patricia M. McGillivray, •ail•
adopted daughter, who lives at
Port -Angeles,*'— (furnished '' ;the
writer- with much of .the; _infor
mation for this.'', article.
Looking further 1bacl 'ward, ,
before, the` arrival of •Dr: iMc-
Gillivray in Port Ange3,es;. "can-
oe doctors" were on the ,Pen-
insula,
Pen:insula, With no . roads• available
or even trails, these lhardy'; rne-
dical mer( used canoes Paddled
by Indians. ; Patients ` could goy
either . to the Hudson's Bay Co
!hospitaal. •or .'t'he.:Marine .Hospital
at ''Port Townsend:. Both .nvo
ved a along canoe voyage,:,.., •
-- .Dr' ' Geo:g e' VT, :Calhoun was
in charge . at the Marine, Hospi- -.
tat and mpved to Port Aingeles
in 1861 when the Dausto head-
- :`
quarters • and 'hospital were mov-
ed • from Port Townsend, Dr
Callhoun:apparently was Port
Angeles' ••first resident doctor
After Dr, • Calhoun returned
to Port Townsend 'when the
hospital. ' and customhouse were'
transferred back. to . that :city,• a
new doctor 'arrived, in Port An-
geles.'
n-geles." He was Dr. Freeborn S.
Lewis, a c lonist with the get , Sound 'Co-oPeraative Cqlon ,
arriving in 1885. ,• He -'became a
leader .�in community affairs.
The next year Dr A,' B. Lull,
a 'homieopathrc physician, arriv-
ed with' more ,colonists. Dr, 1VIc-.
Gorge and Dr,. Herrick •also •
arrived in the colony period:
,One of the canoe doctors, Dr,.
.Lewis,. is said. never to have
lost a mother in• childbirth in`...
42 years of practice,
, On a Balm night in :Port An-
geles, old-timers stili imagine
they hear the hoofbeats' of- Dr.
M•ct llivra -'s fastr g ,a in .
.wlmare
,and. Hainbleton an, beating a
tattoo on deserted streets at Mid-
night, ,And '. they see' in . their
minds' eyes the wheels of his
light pole.baggy spiraling Doctor
-Ave on his way to some sick
Mother or 'feverish child in: 'the
backwoods'.
•