A Visitor's Guide to the Red Lake/Ear Falls District
Medical History
|
In June 1926, there were over 1,000 men and ten
women in
Red Lake. They lived in wall-to-wall tents along the shoreline of
what became known as Howey Bay. To serve the camp, the Red Cross
Society opened a medical outpost. |
 The first medical party en route to Red Lake, 1926.  The Red Lake Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital |
Devastating Fire
In June 1945, the Red Lake Hotel, a four storey wooden
structure, burned to the ground in the middle of the night.
Eleven guests were killed and 20 were injured. The closest hospital at
the time was on McKenzie Island.
Determined never to have to
go
through such an ordeal again, the day after the tragedy Red Lake
residents started planning for their own hospital. The Howey Mine
donated a bunkhouse, and the community raised $50,000 through bingos,
bake sales, penny drives, and contributions from the mines. "We
four nurses donned shirts and slacks and cleaned and scrubbed and
painted and varnished for days," said Nurse Edith Chapman, Nursing
Supervisor.
The
Red Lake Margaret Cochenour
Memorial Hospital is a 28-bed acute care hospital with a full staff of
seven physicians. Emergency services are provided, as well as
Obstetrics, Emergency and Selected Day Surgery, a comprehensive range
of diagnostic services appropriate for the size and scope of the
Hospital.
The inter-connection with the provincial Telehealth
Network has enabled
our doctors to arrange on-site consultations for patients, involving
specialists in Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton and London. A
sophisticated Medical Transport System enables the efficient transfer
of victims of major accidents and major medical conditions.
Visiting medical specialists and professionals in training
contribute
to a highly professional atmosphere in which the quality of service is
constantly improving.
| Aboriginal
Medicine The Ojibway people used many plants found in their environment as remedies. Much of the healing and preventative medical knowledge was tied to spiritual beliefs. Medicines that came from the earth were considered a gift from the creator, and were therefore sacred. In the Ojibway culture women were considered life-givers and healers; men were the "medicine people", who doctored the sick with medicines and spiritual ceremonies. |
 Taken by Dr. A.
Irving Hallowell at
Poplar Hill, 1932, of brothers (left to right), John Owen, James Owen, and Joseph Owen Moose with Fairwind's drum. |
Fairwind and his descendants used the drum in the
Poplar Hill
and Paungassi area until the mid 70s. Over the years, traditions
such as the drumming ceremony declined and the drum was no longer used.
Fairwind's Drum, the biggest drum in the region, was passed on to the
Red Lake Museum in the early 90s. Today, Aboriginal people who
are going back to traditional ways, come to the Museum to pay their
respects to this drum. Considered by some to still have a life of
its own, the drum is the Museum's most prized artifact.
Romance Buds Quickly: Hospital Can’t Keep Nurses
With five mines in full production, by 1950 Red Lake was booming. Recruiting and keeping professionals was an ongoing challenge, as this excerpt from the Toronto Daily Star indicates.
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Red Lake, July 5, 1952 - With bachelors at eight
to one
for every unattached female in the gold mining town of Red Lake, the
Red Cross hospital outpost is fighting a losing battle to keep its
nurses single and working. Since February, the entire staff has
married, with the exception of the nurse in charge. |
 Today, the ratio of men to women is about even. Many young teachers, nurses and pilots who come here "for a year or two", meet lifelong partners, and never return to the city. |
The Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre is a charitable organization, funded by the Municipality of Red Lake and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. Reg # 87315 2714 RR001
