WLMH History Runs Deep

Hospital’s history runs deep in the community

A Jan. 29, 1948 fire destroyed the original WLMH site, the former clubhouse for Deer Park Golf Club, which was donated by C.J. Eames. (Photo provided by John Allan)

By Dorothy Turcotte

When the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital opened on Jan. 6, 1946, residents of the surrounding area were elated. When seriously ill or injured, they no longer had to rely on homecare from their family doctor or make a long, painful journey by car or train to a hospital in the city. No longer need they be separated from family and friends when they needed them most. At last! They could receive the best medical care right here in their own community.

It all began on Dec. 6, 1942. Two of Grimsby’s best known citizens stopped by to chat on the steps of the post office. They were Dr. J.R. MacMillan and Alexander (Sandy) Globe. In the course of their conversation, the need for a hospital in the community was discussed. It was all an idea that had been “going around” for a long time. Now, it seemed that its time had come. Both men left the brief encounter with an agreement to pursue the matter.

Sandy Globe was a member of the Lions Club, and his enthusiasm for the project rubbed off on the entire group. When C.J. Eames, owner of both the Hamilton department store and the Deer Park Golf Club, offered the clubhouse for a hospital, plans for fundraising began immediately. The Deer Park property got its name from the days when it was owned by the Hewitt family who had fenced it in and turned it into a private deer sanctuary. Mr. Eames had later turned it into a golf course, and now he offered to donate the club house for use as a hospital, providing the community could raise enough money to convert the building.

It was wartime, when manpower and supplies of almost everything were in short supply. Yet the people of Grimsby and the surrounding area began to offer their help as soon as they heard of plans for the hospital.

In Sept. 1943, the first fundraising drive was announced with the goal of $15,000. Further drives were held, to raise a total of $50,000 to cover the necessary alterations and equipment. Everyone, including local doctors, gave generously. Local municipalities - Beamsville, Winona and the townships of North Grimsby, South Grimsby, Caistor, Louth and Clinton – were asked to provide an annual grant, and they all came through.

The Women’s Auxiliary was formed in 1944 with 39 members. Another auxiliary was organized in Beamsville, and eventually the two groups became one. They provided the new hospital with 300 bed sheets, 200 pillow cases, 56 baby blankets, 181 bath towels, 49 bedspreads, 89 crib sheets, 100 bedgowns and 24 doctors’ gowns.

The Deer Park clubhouse was to be converted to an 18-bed hospital with an operating room, X-ray facilities, and labor and delivery rooms. There were to be ten general staff and ten nurses. It was decided to call it West Lincoln Memorial Hospital to honour the memory of past generations who laid the foundation for the development of Grimsby and the surrounding area.

Sandy Globe, who had worked so hard to make this dream a reality, was presented with the Lions Club Citizenship Award, in honour of his part in establishing the hospital. The first patient was admitted on Jan. 7, 1946. During the balance of that month a total of 46 patients were treated. Eleven were from Grimsby, 18 from Beamsville, two from Smithville, five from Grassies, five from Winona and five from Clinton.

In Oct., 1947, it was announced that the hospital would need to expand.

During the first nine months of the year, 1,111 patients had been treated, compared to 927 for all of the previous year. Plans were underway for a new 10-bed wing.

On Dec. 18, the following advertisement appeared in The Independent under the heading “The Hospital on the Hill”.

“The directors and staff and Ladies’ Auxiliary of YOUR hospital extend best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Another utility owned and operated by the people of West Lincoln.”

The need for a new wing soon became redundant. On Jan. 29, 1948, a patient in the obstetrical ward heard flames crackling in the walls of her room. In spite of prompt action by the fire department and hundreds of citizens who came out in the below-zero Fahrenheit weather, the building could not be saved.

Within an hour it was reduced to rubble.

Eighteen patients and babies were quickly

DOROTHY TURCOTTE

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moved to safety in nearby homes. Citizens who rushed to help were able to save thousands of dollars worth of precious equipment.

The superintendent, Miss Douglas MacRobbie, telephoned Pearl Walker in Florida to ask for permission to use Nixon Hall as a temporary hospital. The Walker home had been used for farmerettes, but at that time it was standing empty. Permission was quickly given.

By Monday, Feb. 23, Nixon Hall had been converted into a temporary hospital, and opened its doors to patients. There were two four-bed rooms and one three-bed room. The operating room was set up downstairs, with delivery and nursery upstairs. Local people brought fruit, vegetables, eggs and staples to supply the kitchen.

Some utensils were boiled on the kitchen stove, but the Grimsby Distillery on Oak Street helped with sterilization. Operating Room instruments were kept on the mantelpiece of the OR which had been the living room. Conditions were far from ideal, but staff and patients alike took to it all in good spirits.

Fundraising began all over again. Encouraged once again by Sandy Globe’s enthusiasm, 160 canvassers set out to cover the area from Jordan to Winona, and south to St. Ann’s and Gainsborough. Among the first to donate was J.A.M. Livingston, son of James Livingston, the founder of The Independent, who sent a donation from Toronto. The London Life Insurance Co. gave $1,000.

Radio Station CHML broadcast a three-hour appeal which brought pledges of $5,600 from all over the province, and even from across the border.

N.J.M. Lockhart, MP for Lincoln, sent a large cheque, along with a letter that said “I was always proud of the people of West Lincoln for their aggressive and progressive action in establishing West Lincoln Memorial Hospital. Please accept my ‘Widow’s Mite’...It is in times like this that I wish I were a millionaire.”

In spite of blizzards, the canvassers plunged on through snowdrifts to cover the surrounding countryside. On March 31, the Grimsby Branch of the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians presented a special program in the high school auditorium. The guest speaker was the Hon. Russell T. Kelley, Minister of Health, with music and dancing provided by the Hamilton AUUC String Orchestra and dancers in national costume.

Admission was $1 for adults, 50 cents for children, with all proceeds to the hospital building fund. It was well attended.

In May, the Main Street East site for the new hospital was approved.It consisted of three acres, with a 400’ frontage. The Board had unanimously agreed that the new hospital should not be “on the hill.”

Although the old site had been perfect for convalescence, there had been many disadvantages. Low water pressure, difficulty in obtaining gas and sewage systems, and the hazards of vehicles negotiating the icy hill were all good reason for having the

new building in a more central location.

Plans were prepared by architect Chester C. Woods. The new hospital would cost about $180,000.

Stone salvaged from the fire ravaged Deer Park building was to be used around the entrance to the hospital, and can still be seen today. Fortunately, the previous building had been fully insured.

Sod was turned on Aug. 12, and the cornerstone was laid on Oct. 3, with the Hon. Russell T. Kelley, Minister of Health, doing the honours.

The cornerstone contains a jar of wheat from Smithville, a bottle of wine made from Grimsby grapes, a jar of peaches from Beamsville, and a bottle of tomato sauce from Winona – tokens of the importance of this new building to all those communities.

To remind future generations of “things spiritual”, a copy of the New Testament, salvaged from the fire, was also put in the cornerstone. More than 1,000 interested people attended the ceremony.

Originally, plans did not include a basement. However, the government insisted on a full basement in the interest of civilian defence.

So soon after the devastating Second World War, Ottawa was very aware of the need for civilian protection against disaster. An extra $33,000 had to be found for the addition of the basement.

Only a small section of it was finished as a laundry, a maintenance shop and fruit storage room. The rest was left with a dirt floor, with watercourses running through the space in some places.

Meanwhile, plans were made for operation of the new hospital. Some of the 15 nurses hired would be from out-of-town, so a nurses’ residence was arranged in the Aitcheson home, two doors west of the hospital. Local residents donated furnishings.

Members of the Dietary and Maintenance staffs worked hard all summer canning and preserving food for future use. Some of this food was donated. Some was picked by the staff in their spare time.

Permission was received from the Department of Highways to pick crab apples from the trees in the median of the Queen Elizabeth Highway. This produced a beautiful jelly which was called Queen Elizabeth Crab.

In March, 1949, the Hon. Paul Martin announced a grant of $77,332 to help build the hospital. Half of this sum would be provided by the provincial government. In making his announcement, Mr. Martin pointed out the importance of this hospital, which would serve 10,000 people.

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The new 34-bed hospital opened on Oct. 23, 1949. There was a religious dedication by Rev. R. Leonard Griffith of Trinity United Church, then a brief address by Sandy Globe. The key to the hospital was then presented to Miss MacRobbie by Warden of the Lincoln County and Reeve of Caistor Township, Leslie M. Lymburner. Over 5,000 people toured the hospital, having a look at the spanking new facilities which included two operating rooms, X-ray department, laboratory, a Quiet Room, and the modern feature of Oxygen in every patient’s room.

On May 12, 1954, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birthday, a new nurses’ residence was opened in the Alexander Globe Building next to the hospital.

The residence housed 12 single rooms, as well as a large living room. The building is now called the Alexander Globe Social Services Building, and houses offices of the Niagara Regional Health Services Department, Family and Children’s Services of the Niagara Region, Canadian Red Cross and the Victorian Order of Nurses.

B Ward with 25 new beds was opened in 1961. That same year, an elevator was added, giving the hospital the distinction of being the only building in Grimsby with a passenger elevator. Over the next 10 years, hospital expansion was rapid, taking place in three phases. A new Emergency Wing was added, as well as an Intensive Care Unit, two X-ray rooms, two emergency rooms, two general operating rooms, a physiotherapy department, renovated laboratory and an additional 68 beds.

Once again, dedicated men and women set out to raise $495,000 toward this massive project. Federal and Provincial grants through OHSC were $1,595,335, while the county debenture was $360,000. The balance of the nearly half a million dollars was to come from the community. With the assistance of more than 400 volunteers, the goal was reached.

In 1968, the cafeteria was opened, as well as D Ward with 26 surgical beds and a four-bed Intensive Care Unit. That year, Grimsby was celebrating 101 years of Canada’s Confederation, and the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, W. Ross MacDonald came to officially open the festivities. He also made point of visiting the hospital where he enjoyed afternoon tea, a tour and a happy time spent in the Children’s Ward.

Later that year, C Ward opened, making 32 more medical beds available. Expansion was complete, including the new emergency and admitting wing, by the end of 1969. Of course there have been many changes since. New equipment added, new services provided. Several doctors have located their offices in the hospital so Whole wards, services & that they can practice their specialties “on the equipment have been spot”. added to the mix over the Deer Park Villa retirement and nursing home years, making WLMH was added at the rear what it is today. of the hospital in 1986. Wards have been closed, or converted to other uses. Through it all, from the very first struggle to get that 18-bed hospital established, the devastating fire, rebuilding and expansion, the staff, past boards of directors of West Lincoln Memorial Hospital and now the board of Hamilton Health Sciences have provided Niagara West and the surrounding communities with the finest health care services one could hope for. Our hospital is our heart.

(Dorothy Turcotte is a noted Grimsby historian, published author and long-time contributor to Niagara West community newspapers.)

Every time West Lincoln Memorial Hospital needed the residents of Niagara West, our friends and neighbours delivered. The result of thousands of hours of behind-the-scenes work has put us in a position to see a ground-breaking for a new WLMH next Spring. Our community and all hospital staff are very deserving of this new facility! Congratulations to all. We are very proud to say we live and work in a community as great at Niagara West!

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From birth and illness to stitches and broken bones, members of The Lynn Fee Team owe a lot of their health to Grimsby’s amazing West Lincoln Memorial Hospital!

66 Main St E | Grimsby, ON | L3M 1N3 905-945-6494 | 905-975-1055 team@lynnfeeteam.com |www.lynnfeteam.com

My fellow residents and neighbours,

It is with great anticipation that our community is watching the new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital begin to move from concept to reality. The past year-and-a-half has underscored the importance of our healthcare workers and community based healthcare which WLMH continues to successfully deliver. Like many of you, WLMH has always been an important institution for both myself and my family. I was born at the hospital in 1962, my grandfather was a former Chair of the WLMH board and my grandmother was a long-time president of the WLMH Auxiliary. I have regularly participated in the many important community events for the hospital including the February 1997 candlelight vigil at GSS. Alongside with the other mayors of West Niagara, I have focused that life-long commitment to WLMH and a passion for our community into ensuring the new build is delivered on-budget and on-time. Together we successfully secured an important contribution, amounting to $10.5 million towards the new build from the Region of Niagara. Both as Mayor and resident, I will continue to do my utmost and make certain the new WLMH comes to fruition and delivers the high-level of care residents of Grimsby and surrounding areas have come to expect.

Sincerely,

Mayor Jeff Jordan Town of Grimsby

As your Niagara Regional Councillors, we continue our many years of dedicated support and service to our communities.

We made the case and ensured the Region provided a fair share contribution to the building of our new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital of $10.5 million. ONE TEAM / ONE DREAM

Albert Witteveen Wayne Fertich Robert Foster