Volume 1, Issue 17
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
FREE
LDMH Auxiliary celebrates 60 years By Sheila McBrayne
Getty receives golfing honours... Page 9
Autism Awareness... Page 8
The Leamington District Memorial Hospital Auxiliary celebrated its 60th ‘diamond’ anniversary at a spring volunteer luncheon held on Wednesday, May 19 at the Roma Club. Approximately 150 of the 240 volunteers of the LDMH Auxiliary enjoyed the luncheon, fashion show and presentation of service pins. LDMH Auxiliary President Maureen Sutherland welcomed the volunteers and introduced the head table. LDMH Chaplain Liz Chaplin said grace before lunch was served. The dessert course was accompanied by a fashion show commentated by Sybil Wales. Models in the show included Rosemary Bradford, Anita Bradt, Betty Brown, Trudy Colasanti, Dominique Darowski, Jenny Darowski, Jo Evans, Joan Garceau, Jean Harrison, Muriel McGuire and Irene Meyer. Alysia Therrien treated the volunteers to Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady. Auxilian Ruth Pike took the volunteers down memory lane with her presentation of Memories of LDMH Auxiliary. Jo Evans, Membership Convenor, handed out the years of service pins. Receiving pins for five years service were: Maria Aguiar, Ann Beattie, Anita Bradt, Betty Ceman, Heather Collins, Carole Dibbley, Sue Gaffan, Betty Hatch, Maureen Sutherland, Lyle Smith, Marjorie Vanden Brande and Marie Wigfield. Ten-year pins were presented to: Rosemary Bradford, Elizabeth Baumann, Annette Whitesell, Erica Hamm, Delores Jakob, Mary Jane MacVicar, Joyce Nicol and Audrey Nicholson. Fifteen-year pins were presented to: Madeline Butler, Trudy Colasanti, Linda Derbyshire, Audrian Hutchinson and Dolores Tracey. Susanne Darowski received the only 20-year pin. Receiving pins for 25 years of volunteering were: Ruth Brown, Elsie Neufeld and Vi Pepper. Thirty-five year pins were presented to Shirley Bigelow, Hazel Brown and Dorothy Latam. Two special ladies were honoured with 40-year pins – Claudia Brown and Jo Parsons. LDMH Auxiliary has a shared history with the hospital including its anniversary and celebrating 60 years of working together. The following is an excerpt from the Auxliary’s history, which can be found in its entirety on the LDMH website (www.leamingtonhospital.com). “In its infancy, the hospital experienced a period of adjustment as staff grew accustomed to their new surroundings, and the community got used to having such a modern medical facility at their disposal. During the first 18 months of operation, its beds were only half occupied and it faced a deficit of more than $25,000. Continued public support through subscription, however, helped offset the losses, and municipal grants helped clear debts. By the end of the first summer, the Women’s Auxiliary had raised the community’s awareness as well as over $1,000 by staging a tag day and garden tea at the home of the Board Chairman’s wife, Mrs. H.M. Bradley. Early Auxiliary purchases included tables and lamps, fire extinguishers and a $250 donation to help beautify the hospital
Mary Bocian, 2nd Vice President of the Hospital Auxiliaries of Ontario, centre, presented Maureen Sutherland, Leamington District Memorial Hospital Auxiliary President, right, with a certificate in recognition of the 60th anniversary of the LDMH Auxiliary. At left is Jenny Darowski, Manager of Volunteer Services at LDMH. The LDMH Auxiliary has approximately 240 men and women who volunteer their time and expertise to the Auxiliary. (Sun Photo)
Two special volunteers were recognized for their 40 years of dedicated service to the LDMH Auxiliary during the anniversary luncheon. Pictured here at left, Jo Parsons receives her pin from Mary Bocian, 2nd Vice President of the Hospital Auxiliaries of Ontario, and Claudia Brown receives her pin from Maureen Sutherland, LDMH Auxiliary President. (Sun Photos)
grounds. In April of 1951, they provided the hospital with a $700 oxygen tent to ensure one was always available for emergency use. In 1952, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Horace Brown saluted the fine work of the 164 members of the Women’s Auxiliary, on his coast-to-coast broadcast of Bod’s Scrapbook. He hailed them “the homemakers of the day.”