Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Hjalmar Dahlgren

       Written as, Hjalmar Dalgren on the death certificate, but I think that  possibly his real name would be Hjalmar Dahlgren.
Born on the 23rd of April 1880 in Sweden; he died at Essondale,
on the 5th of July 1917  home there would have been in the West Lawn building  The certificate states that he was married, worked as an engineer, and lived in Vancouver, and that he was in the hospital since the 14th of August 1913
Cause of death: 
general paresis   and a cerebral haemorrhage  signed off by Dr. A.L. Crease

Final resting place is in a cemetery in New Westminster, probably Fraser cemetery.

        This fellow has proved elusive cannot find a definitive reference to him anywhere, or his wife, whom I assume later remarried,  and his family name is frequently misspelled or has many variations in spelling applied to it.

Here is a small sample of the Dahlgr*/ Dalgr* found in the 1912 Directory

North Vancouver: Helmer Dahlgreen, laborer ( probably the best fit to Hjalmar )
Vancouver: John Dahlgren, laborer 1810 Powell
Knut Dahlgreen, blacksmith  room at 745 Dunsmuir

Possibly a close relative : August Dahlgren ( 1874 –
1947 ) numerous references to this fellow in the Chilliwack newspaper

NOTE:   This is a classic example of the death certificates not providing much information, and the records office at the hospital doing a poor job of documenting the information, and in turn the Births, Deaths, Marriages department of the Province, not asking for more information.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Robert Percival Ogilvie

 
Robert Percival "Nip" Ogilvie  born on the 13th of September 1897  Agassiz, B.C.

Robert, served his country in WWI, signing his attestation papers on the 17th of February 1917 at Vancouver, B.C.   2203336  Vancouver Forestry Draft, C.E.F., at the time he still lived in Agassiz, and was working as a teamster.

His parents:   Robert Ogilvie ( 1861 – 1903  ) and Annie Ellen Robinson ( 1865 – 1939 )
In 1924  Robert married Dorothy Isabel Gordon  he was a tire builder, and Dorothy was a teacher. 

Robert and Annie, had two daughters, Nancy Ogilvie and Carol Ogilvie
Three brothers:  George Albert Ogilvie ( 1892  --- 1963 )  (drafted WWI:  2140437    No.2 Company, 2nd Depot Battalion, B.C. Regiment.  )  He was married to, Olla Vaughn Cheyne

Lawrence Fletcher Ogilvie / Laurence Fletcher Ogilvie 1888 --- 1919 ) married in 1916 to Violet Edith Weaver, she remarried in 1921  Violet Edith Nelmes (1894 --- 1987 )

Alvin “Bon” Easton Ogilvie 
1900 – 1950   married in 1933 ( Paper announcement ) to Annie “Ann” Alice Stewart 

The_Chilliwack_Progress_Wed__Mar_1__1950_


Four sisters: 
Anne Elizabeth Ogilvie  married in 1928  Charles William Berry ( 1899 – 1968 ) 
Ethel May Ogilvie ( 18901973  ) married in 1920
to Frederick Albert Wilson
Alice Gertrude Ogilvie ( 1893  - 1964 )    married in 1919 to,  Harry Wilson
Margaret Elmo Ogilvie  ( 1895 --- ? )     married in 1930 to,  Frederick Webster

 

Robert Percival Ogilvie  had a connection to Port Coquitlam for many years, he has the distinction of being probably the longest serving employee of the Gregory Tire & Rubber Company Limited;  and its various incarnations  from  at least 1924 to 1935 when it became the Huntington Rubber Mills.

The_Chilliwack_Progress_Wed__Mar_4__1942_

The Chilliwack Progress 4 March 1942
transcribed below


Robert P. Ogilvie

     The death occurred Saturday evening of Robert Percival (Nip) Ogilvie, in his home at Port Coquitlam. He was in his forty-fifth year.

       Mr. Ogilvie was born and educated in Agassiz and served overseas in the last war. He was an employee at Essondale Mental Hospital.

      In 1924 he married Miss Dorothy Gordon, New Westminster. He was a well-known baseball player for various lower mainland teams. (his brother Alvin also active )

     Besides his wife he is survived by two young daughters, Nancy and Carol; two brothers, George, Agassiz; Alvin (Bon) Regina, Sask.; and four sisters, Mrs. Fred Wilson, Mrs. Harry Wilson, Mrs. C. Berry, all of Agassiz and Mrs. F. Webster, Regina.

      Funeral services were held from S. Bowell & Son chapel, New Westminster, Tuesday. Internment followed in the New Fraser cemetery. Rev. W.A. Guy officiated.

Died on the 28th of February 1942  Robert is buried in the New Fraser cemetery, in New Westminster, B.C.

B.C. order-in-council  10 March 1942:
     Robert Percival Ogilvie, attendant Essondale employed since 1 March 1937, died 28 February 1942, granted gratuity to his wife of $357, since not enough time in for superannuation.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

James Milford Fleming

James Milford Fleming ( Michigan, U.S.A. 15 August 1871-  15 January 1950  Essondale  ). His parents were both born in Ontario:   Robert John Fleming, and Mary Jane Haskett ( 1851census record of M.J. Haskett )

James was a locomotive engineer for the CPR. According to his death certificate he lived in BC for 28 years; immigrated to Canada in 1876, and lived in the municipality( Essondale ) for 24 years, 9 months, and 16 days.

He was married to E
lla Brock 1871-  1943 , they had at least two daughters: Edith Gertrude Fleming ( 1903 – 1982
and, Frances Evelyn Fleming “Boyd” ( 1900 – 1969in 1931 she married: Ian Douglas Boyd ( 1904 – 1968 )

The 1911 Census  finds the family living in Winnipeg, at 863 Bannatyne Avenue.

In the 1924 directory Edith was working as a stenographer for the Bank of Toronto, and her sister Evelyn was a teacher at Selkirk School.

The following information is from the Order-in-Council records of the Province.

1943 July 27
     That arrears for the maintenance of James M. Fleming in the Provincial Mental Hospital, Essondale, amount to five thousand one hundred and twenty dollars and fifty cents ($5,120.50):
      That the Inspector of Municipalities has received the following letter from the Collector of Institutional Revenue, from which it will be seen that the Assessment Committee, after going fully into the case, recommend that the amount in question be written off the books of the Province as uncollectable:

"Re: James M. Fleming,   patient #8627
The above named patient's daughter, Edith G. Fleming was appointed
Committee of her Father's estate on the death of her Mother.
The arrears of maintenance as at May 31, 1943 was $5120.50.

     The patient's only Estate consists of the sum of $54.00 per month being pension from the Canadian Pacific Railway, this amount now being paid the Hospital in full for current maintenance charges, and the balance on account of arrears.
It now appears, as you will see by the attached Statutory Declaration, that when Mrs. Fleming was alive payments were made monthly, and were considered by the Authorities at Essondale as gratuitous payments.

     The Assessment Committee have made enquiries at the Hospital and find that Dr. Steeves told Mrs. Fleming to use the $54.00 for the benefit of herself and family. However, Mrs. Fleming was insistent that a portion of the pension should be paid for maintenance and Dr. Crease reluctantly accepted monthly contributions of from fifteen
to twenty-five dollars.
The Hospital never rendered an account, and the family had no idea a charge other than the amount they were paying would be charged.

     It is therefore recommended, that an Order-in-Council be passed wiping out the old arrears, and that Miss Fleming be only asked to pay the sum of $1.00 per day for future maintenance."
AND THAT the statutory declaration of the said Edith G. Fleming referred to in the letter from the Collector of Institutional Revenue is attached hereto:
AND TO RECOMMEND THAT in view of the recommendation of the Assessment Committee, the said arrears, totalling five thousand one hundred and twenty dollars and fifty cents ($5,120.50) be written off the books of the Province as irrecoverable.


I, EDITH GERTRUDE FLEMING of the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, DO SOLEMNLY
DECLARE:-
1. THAT I am the Committee of the Estate of my father James M. Fleming, who is a Patient at the Provincial Mental Hospital at Essondale, British Columbia.

2. THAT some time after the committal of my said father in the Provincial Mental Hospital my mother, now deceased, discussed the matter of his maintenance with Dr. Crease the Superintendent, and my mother formed the opinion that, no payment was necessary to the hospital for the maintenance of my said father.

3. THAT some time subsequent when her financial position improved she made certain gratuitous payments to the Bursar of the Provincial Mental Hospital.

4. THAT neither I nor my mother had any idea or any knowledge that my father's maintenance was being charged as against him, with the result that upon my mother's death and on my application to be appointed Committee of the estate of my said father, I was amazed to find that the Government were charging a $1.00 a day for the maintenance of my said father.

5. THAT the only income that my father is in receipt of is the sum of $54.00 per month, being his C.P.R. Pension cheque and I am desirous of having this cheque paid to me as Committee of the estate, so that the money can be used to pay for the maintenance of my father and supply him with other necessities that are required by him as a patient of the said Hospital

The council agreed to write-off the debt:

      Writing off arrears for maintenance charges in the sum of $5,120.50, in the case of J.M. Fleming, a patient.
This action, as will be seen by the Order, has been strongly recommended by the Assessment Committee for the reason that Mrs. Fleming, recently deceased, made a point of making monthly contributions towards her husband's maintenance although advised by the Medical Superintendent, in view of her circumstances, not to do so, and the family had no idea that they were being charged over and above the payments voluntarily made.

 

NOTE: This is a fairly typical report found in the Order-in-council records, where the government is trying to recover money from the patients assets, family; and then the debt collectors come to the conclusion that collecting the full government bill is futile, and they give up.   This particular record is unusual in that the family thought that they were doing the correct thing, but they were not. Typical bureaucratic quagmire.

John Arthur Garrett

John Arthur Garrett  was born on the either the 18th or 20th of May 1876 at Oso, Frontenac, Bedford Township, Ontario.   His parents: Mathew Garrett, and Elizabeth Knox

Married divorcee, Etta Jane Wilder ( 1888 - 1944 ) in December 1911; her parents Willard Benjamin Wilder ( 1841-1927  ) and Dora Bell Warner ( 1868 - 1932 )

John had at least two brothers:  William Garrett ( 1862 - 1947 ) and, George Garrett ( 1858 - 1931 )

John A. Garrett spent the last eleven days of his life at Essondale, and died on the 15th of December 1953, at the age of 77. He is buried in the Woodlands cemetery, in New Westminster, B.C.

    Home was at 1115 Pacific Highway, Surrey, B.C. ; he worked as a shingle mill operator.  John’s cause of death was attributed to:  cerebral thrombosis; generalized arteriosclerosis;  and an, old cerebral vascular accident.

 

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Edward George Wozencroft

Edward George Wozencroft, apparently he went by his middle name, George. 
He served his country in WWI, by signing his attestation papers on the 6th of January 1916 at Chilliwack, which was also where he was living.
Service Number:
760778  George Wozencroft was born on the 17th of July 1893 at WaltonRadnorshire, Wales.   He listed his occupation as, landscape gardener. He served in the 121st Battalion (102nd Battalion) , and the No.11 Special Services Company, C.E.F., reportedly he was a good shot and was a sniper.  E.G. Wozencroft was one of the first residents of Chilliwack to sign up to join the military, and the newspaper made a point of publishing many facts concerning the recruits, and their subsequent status.
The_Chilliwack_Progress_Thu__Jan_13__1916_
The Chilliwack Progress 13 January 1916
The_Chilliwack_Progress_Thu__Feb_24__1916_
The Chilliwack Progress  24 February 1916
Sadly George was wounded and was invalided back home to his adopted country.
The_Chilliwack_Progress_Thu__Sep_20__1917_
The Chilliwack Progress 20 Sept., 1917
The 1913 directory for Chilliwack finds George in  a farming partnership with,
Walter James Preddy (1884 —) he later married Daisy Lotta Baker 1884 — 1976
George and Walter appeared to have been good friends with Archibald "J." Hamilton ( 1873-1948) . The newspapers latter reported that Walter was back in Ontario; and I guess that the partnership had changed, or failed.

In the 1923 Report of the Auditor General, it was reported that George was given $217.33 for destruction of his hogs due to hog cholera. That would have hurt him financially, since the entire herd would have been destroyed.

The_Chilliwack_Progress_Wed__Apr_29__1925_
The Chilliwack Progress 29 April 1925
       In April 1925 George attacked John Ewen, lawyer ( 1867 — 1931 
John Ewen, moved to Chilliwack in 1911, and passed the B.C. Bar exam in 1912,  and practiced law until his sudden death    The  legal after-effect of the assault found George committed to the Provincial Mental Hospital, at Essondale

The_Chilliwack_Progress_Thu__Nov_5__1914_
The Chilliwack Progress 5 Nov., 1914
        Edward George Wozencroft, spent the last 70 months of his life at Essondale, dying of pulmonary tuberculosis  and Dementia Praecox on the 21st of February 1931

The_Chilliwack_Progress_Thu__Feb_26__1931_
The Chilliwack Progress  26 February 1931
George is buried in the Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster, B.C., his headstone reads:
760778 Pte. E.G. Wozencroft
1898 — 1931
102 battn., C.E.F.
Lest we forget
mother: Martha Francis, Herefordshire
father: John    b. Walton, Wales
At least three sisters:
      Rosetta Wozencroft   1881  —    7 May 1940 Saanich 
Rosetta was married to
            Robert Holdcroft ( 1887 — 1969 )

Arthur Mann ( 1878 — 1952 )   400143   Was married to two of George’s sisters,   Francis "Fanny" Margaret Wozencroft  1890 — 7 March 1920  she was six months pregnant, and contracted influenza; they were married in August 1919 .
T
hen Arthur Mann, on October 1921 married another of George’s sister’s,   Gertrude May Wozencroft   1883 — 29 April 1961 Victoria, B.C. 

NOTE:  I am fairly certain that there are more siblings that I have missed.  The Wozencroft, Wosencroft, Wozencraft family name is very common in the Radnorshire area of Wales, but not common here, and the BC Archives has a few that appear to be related; or better yet, the LDS Family Search website
 

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Arthur Mennell

       Arthur  Mennell was born on the 7th of July 1868 in England; he was christened in 1870 at Rillington cum Scampston, Yorkshire, England so there is a high probability that he was born in Yorkshire, since his friends were also from there. 
      His parents were Charles Mennell, and Jane ( Haxby ? )
Arthur immigrated to Canada in 1888, the 1891 Census captures him living in Chilliwack,  22 years old, and his occupation: farmer; 1891 was also the first time that Arthur is mentioned in the directories.  
           He settled in the Chilliwack area and worked for J.C. Henderson for many years, then later moved to Vancouver for a short period of time, where he received his Teachers Certificate, and then he moved back to Chilliwack and began his teaching career.
J.C. Henderson, is John “Jack” Calvin Henderson, a successful commercial merchant in Chilliwack.
The_Chilliwack_Progress_Wed__Nov_1__1911_
      John Calvin Henderson
   ( photo from  1 Nov., 1911 Chilliwack Progress )
           John Henderson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 27, 1847. He moved to British Columbia in 1876 and operated a general store at Chilliwack. Latter opening the first hardware store in Chilliwack, and found the time to also do undertaking. He sold his businesses in 1900 and began raising cattle and thoroughbred horses and carried on with it until 1910, when he retired.  Jack died on the 7th of July  1925.
  His parents: Arthur Colter Henderson, and Rebecca Hunter.  Jack was married to  Elizabeth Jane Stevens.
His story is fairly well documented in the Chilliwack newspapers:  A
1986 Article ---  And also Page One --- Three of a more complete biography.  A Photograph of Jack and his father with a group of people
---30---
                  First reference to Arthur living in Chilliwack is in the Chilliwack Progress 1896 November 4th edition:  
....Mr. A. Mennell has also some fine fruit, and he is quite a practical man in the line of fruit growing, doing all his own orchard work. He is preparing more land, intending to make fruit growing his chief business hereafter, believing that there is barrels of money in it. He has a very fine root crop. Mr. Mennell appears to be of a very progressive turn. But what a pity he is living all alone, with no life companion to cheer his long and lonely winter evenings.

      The newspapers continue to report about Arthur;  he passed his entrance exam for his teaching certificate in June 1900.   And the 1901 Census, finds the now teacher, Arthur lodging in Vancouver with the Thomas and Margaret Carrall, family
       The paper in January 1901 reports that Arthur is at the Normal School in Vancouver, studying; and by July he had his Normal Teaching Certificate, and by the end of July he now had passed his Second-Class Certificate, by the end of August 1901 he was teaching in East Chilliwack. In July 1902 at the East Chilliwack School, Arthur presented the top three students with an honour roll, and a Chamber's dictionary
On the 25th of February 1903 Mr. Robert Harrison of Vancouver paid Mr. Newby a visit last week. Mr. Harrison knew Mr. Newby and Mr. Mennell in England. 
In September 1904 it was reported that Arthur was the principal of the South Chilliwack public school.

In June of 1906, reported that the Royal Templars of Temperance,  past councillor(AKA Past president) was Arthur Mennell; he was a founding member( Honourable Brother ) in 1896 of the local branch of the Royal Templars of Temperance, RTT Chilliwack council No. 14 which started with 23 members.  ( Three records of the society


rtt
One of the numerous emblems that the R.T.T. used in its existence.  The Royal Templars operated a mutual benefit fund from which heirs of deceased members received a kind of insurance of about $2,000. They were strong supporters of the Temperance movement
Sadly on the 28th of January 1908 he was admitted to P.M.H. in New Westminster, and later transferred to Essondale when it was completed. The 1911 census  captures, Arthur Mennell age 42, Methodist. living at the Asylum. 

lots
Mennell-Lots

On the left is the two lots identified in the Tender call advertisement, of Sept.,9, 1908 ( see below)  Arthur Mennell farm 56 99/100 ac of Lots 279 and 280 Group II, NWD tender for sale. This would probably be what was previously mentioned in the  1907 January 9th edition of the Chilliwack Progress:   A portion 57 acres of the Stevenson property at Sardis, to Arthur Mennell.  Also to Mr. L. McDonald, 20 acres of the same estate.  Of course the land in question is a small portion of the outlined area.
 
On the far right is the lots ( Stump farm ) that Arthur received through the Crown Grant process it is today located along  Ryder Lake Road. South of  E½ of SW Section 10  Townplan 26 ECM  80 acres +-
LS 14 and 15  Section 3  Townplan 26 ECM  north of Lot 499   all told 109.5 acres. Granted on January 10, 1903.  No idea what happened to these properties, best guess would be that he sold them to acquire the better land on the floodplain.  

And the Lot outlined in blue is the farm of his friend William Newby.  William came to Chilliwack in 1884, he owned 115 acres of the NE¼ of Section 16 Twp 26 Group II. In 1885 he married Mary Lucinda Bicknell, they had 12 children .

William Newby  ( 20 July 1862 Yorkshire, England - 6 May 1945 Sardis, B.C. ) The farm was off of McGuire Road, and was sold in 1950.   ( Photo of William and Mary Newby )
 

The_Chilliwack_Progress_Wed__Sep_9__1908_
Tenders for Chilliwack Property
  9 September 1908
The_Chilliwack_Progress_Thu__Jun_25__1914_

91612392_1392420580
Note that Newby is across the top of the headstone. Newby would have ordered the headstone to be made, and apparently no Newby family members are in this cemetery.
Arthur Mennell    ( Death Certificate ) The document states that Arthur’s death was:  suicide from drowning
He had been missing since May 15th, 1914  and was found June 18th, 1914.  And was buried on the 20th of June 1908.   He had been in Canada for 26 years.


NOTE:  No mention of his underlying mental health diagnosis.  It was interesting to note that Arthur had only been in the hospital a few months, before the Government in their ruthless ways, sold his land, and probably his other assets to pay for his incarceration. And I would venture that Arthur probably was also the teacher for some of the Newby family children, since the school was very close to their farm. 

Gilbert Mathewson

Gilbert_Mathewson
undated photograph of Gilbert Mathewson (source)
Gilbert Mathewson was born on the 12th of January 1866  at Londonderry, Ireland.  He died on the 8th of November 1933 of a coronary thrombosis in his staff home on the Essondale hospital grounds; his body was cremated. He was the Chief Male Attendant of the hospital
His parents: Hugh Mathewson, and Hully Matilda Mathewson (16 June 1830 – 1907 ) were married in 1865

The 1881census  finds the family living in West Montreal .
    His father Hugh Mathewson was 60 years of age, his mother Hully 40, and Gilbert was 15 years of age. 
[ There is some confusion over his fathers death since there is a Record of a Will for a Hugh Mathewson who drowned 5 July 1866, giving his effects to Hully Matilda Mathewson. Yet here we have a Hugh Mathewson listed in the Census ]
By the 1891 Census  Gilbert is on his own in the RNMP, and stationed at Regina, Saskatchewan.
Gilbert’s RNMP 1280  service file  tells some of his story: He joined the RNMP at Guelph, Ontario, after graduating from the Ontario Agricultural College. The RNMP had him serving the force at Killarney, Manitoba;  Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan; Regina, Saskatchewan, and Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan was known as the North West Territories at the time.
     He was promoted to corporal in 1887 then sergeant in 1890, he retired from the force in 1897; and latter in 1931 he was given $300 in lieu of scrip for his service during the 1886 rebellion. Following his discharge he started work on the 1st of June 1897 at  the Provincial Mental Hospital, in New Westminster, and became the Chief Male Attendant in 1905 and when Essondale was completed in 1914 he moved there where he continued as Chief Male Attendant, and Librarian , he worked  36 years for the Provincial Hospitals.
The Hospital Annual Report in 1934 gives a better than normal obituary :

…He was one of the oldest employees on staff started 1 June 1897....he was a man of many attainments. He was an extensive reader, had more than usual knowledge of literature, and for many years was librarian at the institution, in addition to his other duties as chief supervisor of attendants. He worked very thoroughly and always did more than was actually required. From the experience gained in his life's service and his intensive reading in mental hygiene, he had few peers throughout the world; in fact, the Mental Hygiene Commission asked him to write a book on his work, but, unfortunately, during the latter years of his life he was very busy and was not able to commence the task, and this must always be a matter of deep regret, as the work would have been quite unique as well as intensely interesting and instructive.
---30---
Gilbert Mathewson, married on the 1st of November 1897 at New Westminster Margaret Ann Simpson
Margaret_Anne_Mathewson
Margaret Anne Mathewson 1867 – 1954  (photo Source)
The 1901 Census and the 1911 Census captures the growing family, living in New Westminster.
Upon Gilbert's death Margaret  recived a pension of $81.95 per month from the Province.
  
The family at one time had a road named for them Mathewson Road, sadly changed in 1986 to Mariner Way. The family had a home and property at 2627 Mathewson Road for many years; it appears that the home may still exist at 308 Mariner Way, it is hidden from view along Mariner Way, but partially visible along a back road, and  it appears to be cared for.

Children:  Hugh Patrick Mathewson ( 1901 – 1956 ) he became an RCMP supt. (RCMP 8594), married to Wanda Brintnall
Philip "Pete" Lavens Mathewson ( 1907 –1998 ) 
Mary Gilberta Mathewson ( 1899 – 1987 )  who was married in 1919 to Richard Arthur K. James

Dr.Gee, middle of picture

Dr.Gee, middle of picture

BC Penitentiary cemetery at Woodlands

Links to an article in the Vancouver Sun, about the B.C.Penitentiary Cemetery at Woodlands in New Westminster. More Cemetery information, related to the mental hospitals, can be found at the Riverview Hospital Click-able MAP just click on the Cemetery area, found in the bottom right area of the map.
BC Pen graveyard article
Bloody escape left 3 dead
How Sook Sias found his way home

Dr.Gee,Medical Superintendent's report (ca.early 1950's)

THE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

of the

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

By: Doctor A. M. Gee, Essondale, B. C.

Click on Chapter headings:
Provincial Mental Hospital, New Westminster, B.C.
Provincial Mental Hospital, Essondale, B.C.
Provincial Mental Hospital, Colquitz, B.C.
The Crease Clinic of Psychological Medicine
Homes for the Aged
Child Guidance Clinics

It will be my endeavor in this article to present to you an over-all picture of the Mental Health Services of the Province of British Columbia, but before proceeding to this I wish to give you some idea of the magnitude of the problem presented by mental illness, something of the general nature of mental illness, and finally the means of dealing with the problem of mental illness..

In Canada, as in other countries, mental illness takes a very heavy toll. Mental illness is not just a matter of sanity or insanity but rather has many gradations ranging from minor emotional disturbances to complete and total disability. In British Columbia, as in the other provinces, the number of patients in the mental hospitals is equal to the number of patients in all other hospitals from all other causes. There is in Canada at the present time a total of 50,000 patients in the mental hospitals, while in B.C. we have at the present time over 5,000 patients being treated and cared for in our mental hospitals.

In 1947, 13,085 of our citizens were admitted to the mental hospitals of Canada, while in the same year, 1,111 of our own citizens were admitted to the mental hospitals of B. C. Let us not over-estimate this admission rate, however, serious though it may be, but rather direct our attention to the data concerning discharges from the mental hospitals. Of the 1,111 patients admitted to the Provincial Mental Hospital in 1947 we were able to discharge 935, while in 1948 of the 1,260 patients admitted 1,193 were discharged to return to the community. Over half of those discharged, in 1948 were hospitalized for a period of less than 4 months duration.

The cost of maintaining Canada's 43 mental hospitals is in excess of 26 million dollars annually. It is generally conceded that one person in 20, will, during his lifetime, be a patient for a period in a mental hospital, and in addition it is estimated that one person in every ten suffers from some type of serious emotional disturbance at some time in his life history. From these few figures it is possible for one to gain a general impression of the magnitude which the problem of mental illness presents.

On the brighter side of the picture, however, I am pleased to be able to draw your attention to real progress in the field of Psychiatry. In the past few years the mental hospitals have turned increasingly from the simple custodial care of their patients to a program of active treatment and prevention. While the mental hospital still remains the focus of mental health care, the centre of gravity is gradually shifting from the mental hospital to the community where there are, at present, rapidly developing systems for treatment and prevention.

Let us now direct our attention to the general nature of mental illness. Many of you have no doubt thought of mental illness as something strange and remote from your lives, something entirely different from physical discomfort or disease. "Health” may be defined as that condition of the body in which all of the functions are performed normally. "Mental Health" "may be defined as the adjustment of individuals to the world and to each other with a maximum of effectiveness and happiness. In a broad sense this is a very good definition of democracy and we might say that Democracy and national mental health go hand in hand.

Physical health manifests itself inside of your skin. Mental health manifests itself outside of your skin, in your thinking, your feeling, and particularly in your doing and interpersonal relationships. "Mental Health" be further defined as the ability to maintain an even temper, an alert intelligence, socially considerate behaviour, and a happy disposition. Mental or ill health exhibits itself in how you react in regard to life and death, joy and sorrow, blame and praise, love and hate, and fear. All mental illnesses demonstrate disorders in the sphere of the emotions. If a person is able to handle his emotions in relation to those who live about him and be happy, he is mentally healthy.

I would now like to present to you for your better understanding the true parallel that exists between physical and mental health; physical and mental illness. There are certainly as many degrees of mental fitness as there are degrees of physical fitness. Few of us claim to be physically 100% fit all of the time and few of us reach middle age without carrying some minor or major physical disability which to a degree interferes with our ability to function at our maximum capacity. Some of us suffer from minor disabilities which may incapacitate partially or wholly for a short period. Others again suffer from time to time from major disabilities from which we may or may not recover. Again, we have a group of physical diseases which require long periods of active treatment with partial recovery or arrest of the progress of the disease leaving a definite disability and a permanent limitation of function. Such a disease is tuberculosis.

In the realm of mental disease we have exactly the same situation. We all suffer at times from minor emotional discomforts or disabilities. Some of us suffer from more severe mental reactions which may incapacitate us for a time and which require hospital treatment but from which complete recovery is certain. Again, others will suffer from mental symptoms similar in severity to tuberculosis and for this a longer period of hospitalization and treatment will be required with a good outlook for arresting the progress of the disease.

In this mental illness, however, the patient will in all probability never again regain his efficiency 100% and like the arrested tubercular patient will need assistance in rehabilitation and in reorienting himself toward his life situation.

There are indeed as many disabling conditions in psychiatry as there are in general medicine and a true parallel exists between mental symptoms and physical symptoms, mental disease and physical disease. By following this close parallel we should be able to avoid the senseless, shameful notion that mental illness carries with it some social stigma. I would like to pursue this parallel just a little further in order that you may see how the various mental health services are grouped at the active treatment level.

Physical disorders of all types may be classified under the following headings:

1. Developmental defects - i.e.,congenital disabilities.
2. Organic illnesses - (including injuries).
3. Functional illnesses.
4. Infective or toxic illnesses.
5. Degenerative illnesses.
6. Public health - (preventive medicine).

Mental disorders of all types may be classified similarly as follows:

1. Developmental defects - i.e., mental deficiency and subnormality.
2. Organic mental illnesses - (including injuries).
3. Functional mental illnesses.
4. Toxic central illnesses.
5. Degenerative mental illnesses.
6. Mental hygiene - (preventive psychiatry).
In accordance with the categories set forth above our active mental hospital treatment service naturally breaks down into four main divisions.

1. Treatment and education of the subnormal.
2. The treatment of the acutely mentally ill - organic, functional, toxic psychoses (psychotic patients).
3. The treatment of those suffering from degenerative train conditions (senile, arteriosclerotic).
4. Preventive services.

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Provincial Mental Hospital, New Westminster, B.C.

This unit of the Provincial Mental Health Services functions as a training school for the mentally defective and at the present time has a patient population of 653 with no vacant beds. The function of this unit is, of course, the training of the mentally subnormal with the objective being to develop the individual to his maximum capacity. At this hospital there is a modern, five room special school which is staffed by seven fully qualified teachers. As part of the school there is a well equipped gymnasium and auditorium as well as special classrooms designed for the teaching of domestic science and the manual arts. In the program of this school considerable emphasis is placed upon the socialization of the children, employing recreational and social activities in this part pf the training program.

At the present time there is a program or expansion underway at the Provincial Mental Hospital, New Westminster, B. C., consisting of four modern type buildings each of which will have a capacity of approximately 100. It is hoped that the provision of these new buildings will make it possible to relieve some of the over-crowding and also to admit some of the patients who are presently of necessity kept on the waiting list until a bed becomes vacant.

Out of the total population of 653 patients, 140 are participating in the academic training school program. The teaching staff endeavours to provide a special teaching program to meet the individual needs of the population rather than to follow definite grade levels. In addition to the academic program great stress is laid on the teaching of domestic science and manual arts. Cooking, food preparation and serving are, stressed along with sewing, mending, and needle work. In the boys’ division opportunities are provided for the teaching of manual arts and for the older boy there is ample opportunity for learning the various industrial skills and trades associated with the operation and maintenance of the hospital plants.

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Provincial Mental Hospital, Essondale, B.C.

This hospital is the largest unit of the Mental Health Services of the Province. It functions as the administration centre and headquarters in both medical and business administration. At the present time it is the admitting centre for all branches and all in-patients are admitted there and are transferred to other units. The first building was opened to receive patients in 1913. The Essondale unit has increased in capacity and size until at the present time it houses in excess of 3,600 patients. Consideration is being given now to the development of an entirely new hospital site to provide the increased care that will be required in the near future. The Mental Hospital at Essondale is classified by the American Hospital Association as a class A hospital. It is in all respects a fully modem hospital with excellent facilities for clinical investigation, diagnosis and treatment of all mental end neurological conditions.

In addition to medical and surgical facilities it offers the advantage of all accepted forms of psychiatric therapy. The occupational therapy program is well advanced, while the pioneering of our recreational therapy program has brought much credit to the Province of British Columbia.

Treatment within the hospital breaks down into,

(1) early and active treatment of the acutely mentally ill with a view to early recovery and rehabilitation;
(2) continued treatment for a large group of patients who will require a prolonged treatment period.
The Social Service Department is actively engaged in working with both of these classes of patients. The Psychiatric Social Service staff numbers ten and a representative of the department visits in the home of all patients admitted from the local area. Representatives of the Welfare Field Service visit in all other areas of the Province. Histories are submitted covering all contacts and activities of the patient in an endeavour to provide a longitudinal section of the individual's life in order that the psychiatrist may have understanding into all of the situational factors bringing about the illness. The individual social service worker keeps in constant touch with the patient during the hospitalization, and acts as liaison between the hospital and the home. Rehabilitation plans are worked out between the psychiatrist and the social service worker end after discharge of the patient further assistance and supervision is provided for him during the initial six month post-discharge period. To further assist in the rehabilitation of women patients a small home unit is maintained in Vancouver where the recovered patient may live a normal, unrestricted home life until she is able to find employment and be self-supporting.

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Provincial Mental Hospital, Colquitz, B.C.

A small continued treatment unit is located at Colquitz, Vancouver Island, housing some 287 male patients. There is no direct admission to this hospital, all patients in residence having been transferred from the hospital at Essondale. The Provincial Mental Home offers complete medical and psychiatric care along with a full program of occupational and recreational activities. Future plans call for the construction of a complete new mental hospital adjacent this site to serve the needs of Vancouver Island and adjacent islands.

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The Crease Clinic of Psychological Medicine

This is a new fully modem building to house 325 patients. It is an-active treatment and teaching centre, bringing active treatment to the Patient suffering from the early symptoms of mental Illness in which recovery and rehabilitation may be anticipated within a four month period. The Clinic of Psychological Medicine is a distinct advance from the usual mental hospital type of treatment and is a step closer to the community and general hospital type of care. The clinic houses group specialties representing all branches of medicine, surgery and psychiatry, as follows:

1. Complete x-ray department covering all phases of radiology, including an x-ray surgical suite and special apparatus for cranial and brain studies.
2. Complete clinical laboratories equipped to carry out all types of clinical laboratory investigation, teaching and research.
3. A department of cardiology for the investigation of the heart and cardiovascular system together with instruments for the determination of basal metabolic rate.
4. A complete eye, ear, nose and throat department.
5. A complete neurological department with facilities for electroencephalography.
6. A department of physical medicine which includes all forms of physiotherapy and hydrotherapy and electrotherapy.
7. A modern surgical suite for both general surgery and neurosurgery.
8. A department of psychiatry covering all accepted forms of psychotherapy.
9. A department of occupational therapy with division for male and female patients and providing the necessary apparatus and instructors for a wide range of interesting crafts.
10. A department of recreational therapy staffed and equipped to provide recreational activities to suit the needs and interests of all age groups.
11. A library, housing standard and more popular current works of fiction, under the supervision of a fully qualified librarian.
12. Complete facilities for teaching and lecturing.
The Clinic operates under a separate act of the Provincial Legislature, separate and apart from the Mental Hospitals Act, This new act provides for the admission of voluntary patients who may themselves terminate their hospitalization at will. Otherwise it provides for the admission of patients on the certificates of two medical practitioners without any legal certification or loss of competency on the part of the patient. The maximum period of hospitalization during which the patient may be retained is four months. It is believed that this new intensive approach to the treatment of mental illness will bring psychiatry closer to other branches of medicine and, will do much to gain the confidence of the population in seeking early advice in such matters. It should do much to place mental illness on the same plane as physical illness and help to remove any stigma which uninformed people may have regarding sickness of the mind.

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Homes for the Aged

British Columbia was the first province to set up separate institutions for the psychiatric care of those aged individuals whose aging symptoms are predominately in the mental sphere. These buildings are of special design to meet the problems of caring for the aged. They are two storey, fireproof units with special ramps replacing all stairways. The grade of the ramp is such that it will permit comfortable walking as well as the use of a wheelchair or stretcher. Front entrances are ramped to spacious lawns for outdoor activities. All floor space including ramps is indirectly lighted by coved lighting at floor level. All ramps and corridors are provided with handrails. This type of building has received favorable comment from visitors from all points of the world.

The care of our aging population is rapidly becoming one of the major considerations at the present time. Chief reasons for the increased proportion of the aged in our population at this time are the great advance in medical and surgical care which have prevented death at an early age and increased the average life span. Two thousand years ago the average life span was approximately 25 years. In 1900 the average life span was 49 years, while in 1950 it is 66 ½ years. In 1900 one person in 25 was 65 years of age or older. It is estimated that by 1980 one person in 10 will be 65 years of age or over. Individuals now reaching superannuation age at 65 can look forward to an additional 12 ½ years of life. Unfortunately there is a considerable lag in the prevention and treatment of many of the degenerative diseases associated with the aging process, and particularly in this so in reference to those degenerative diseases producing mental illness in the aged. Much is needed in the way of research into this particular problem.

British Columbia has set up homes for the aged at Port Coquitlam where some 380 patients are housed and at Vernon, B. C. where some two years ago a new unit was opened to care for approximately 250 patients. In the near future it is expected that a third group of units will be opened in northern B. C. to serve the residents of that area.

The foregoing paragraphs have presented a survey of all the facilities for the "in care" of patients suffering from mental illness as operated by the Provincial Government. I would now like to direct your attention to the second aspect of psychiatry which is the preventive or mental health aspect.

Psychiatry was born put of jails, almshouses, and superstition and consequently has had to struggle to establish itself as a scientific practice. Even more difficult has been the establishment of sound principles of mental health. General public health measures can be applied to whole communities. Legislation may be enacted to insure a safe water supply and thereby eliminate many diseases. Living conditions may be improved. There are still, however, many people who dislike being told that they have to drink chlorinated water or that they may use only pasteurized milk, or that they must make provision against the day when they may need hospital care. In spite of these difficulties, by a process of public education it is still possible to deal with people in masses in matters of public health. Psychiatry and mental health, on the other hand, are largely matters of personal tutoring and individual education. In the not too distant past the psychiatric institution was separate and apart from the community. The psychiatrist was little more than the keeper of the keys and seldom emerged from his walled abode. Today we are trying to operate mental hospitals that are worthy of the name. We are now trying to move closer into the community and give service at the community level so that it will not be necessary to remove our patients from their community environment to an isolated mental hospital situation.

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Child Guidance Clinics

In the matter of prevention, it is therefore only natural that we should turn our attention to children and their parents. From the school system we are able to contact children in large groups. In 1934 we were able to set up our first Child Guidance Clinic unit. This unit consisted of a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a nurse, a psychiatric social worker and a stenographer. This basic pattern is still followed in the staffing of the clinics. The purpose of the Child Guidance Clinic is to help normal children who are presenting problems in behaviour, social adjustment, or education. Children may be referred to the clinic from the school or any social agency, the physician or the parents. There are at the present time four clinic units functioning in B.C., as follows:

One Stationary Clinic, Vancouver One Stationary Clinic, Vancouver - working with the Juvenile Court, Boys’ and Girls’ Industrial Schools and the Borstal School. One Traveling Unit, Vancouver One Stationary Unit, Victoria. In addition, the Metropolitan Health Board in Vancouver operates a Division of Mental Health with a similar type of unit functioning in the school. A second such unit is now being formed under the auspices of the City Health Services at Victoria.

To further radiate into the school system a pilot group of teachers is being trained to act as mental health coordinators. Already two such teachers have completed the one year of training at the University of Toronto, one being stationed in the Victoria schools and one in the Vancouver schools. At the present time two more teachers are undergoing a similar course of training.

The last link in the chain stretching from the mental hospital to the community is now being forged in the formation of the Canadian Mental Health Association with headquarters at Toronto. This mental health association is being developed under the guidance of Dr. Clarence M. Hincks, an outstanding Canadian psychiatrist who has devoted a lifetime to promoting improved standards in mental health care. It is planned to set up Provincial headquarters in each province and to have similar units formed in each community. In the future you will be hearing more of the plans of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

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