Interview with Mary Goodacre
https://search.bvmuseum.org/link/descriptions12248
- Date Range
- October 25 1994
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- GMD
- sound recording
- electronic record
- Scope and Content
- Interview with Mary Goodacre (nee Ryan), recorded on October 25th 1994 by Randy Jacobs. Includes raw and edited .WAV files and an MP3 access file.
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- Creator
- Randy Jacobs
- Fonds No.
- C5
- Item No.
- 2021.21.41
- Accession No.
- 2021.21
- Physical Description
- 907 MB of digital records
- Date Range
- October 25 1994
- History / Biographical
- Mary Ryan Goodacre (1928-2018) was born in Colliers, Newfoundland to Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ryan. After graduating from nursing school in 1949, she moved to Smithers to work at the Bulkley Valley District Hospital, and later at the office of Dr. Hugh Prouse. She married Clarence ‘Slim’ Goodacre (Jr.) in 1952 and had four children: Teri, Tom, Bob, and Betty.
- Scope and Content
- Interview with Mary Goodacre (nee Ryan), recorded on October 25th 1994 by Randy Jacobs. Includes raw and edited .WAV files and an MP3 access file.
- Type of Record
- Archival Description
Audio Tracks
Interview with Mary Goodacre - October 25 1994
Interview with Mary Goodacre - October 25 1994
https://search.bvmuseum.org/media/Digital%20Fonds%20and%20Collections/C5%20BVM%20Oral%20History%20collection/2021.21.41_Goodacre,%20Mary/Goodacre,%20Mary%201994_10_25.ACCESS.MP3
Mary Goodacre (nee Ryan) describes her childhood and youth in the small town of Colliers, Newfoundland.
boarding school; carpenter; children; Colliers, Newfoundland; Conception Bay, Newfoundland; holiday; logging; Mahers; nursemaid; rheumatic fever; sawmill; St. Bride's College; St. John's, Newfoundland; stories; storms
childhood; Newfoundland; parents; school
Goodacre discusses training to be a nurse in late 1940s Newfoundland, including how she and her peers were treated by the doctors, what duties they had, and what they were taught. She then explains why she decided to move to Smithers after her training was complete.
Christmas; deaths; doctors; lectures; magazine advertisement; mental hospital; Newfoundland; nurses' home; payment; Salvation Army Hospital; Sisters of Saint Anne; Smithers; time off; training; tuberculosis sanatorium; tuition; uniforms
health care; nurse training; nurses; nursing school
Goodacre tells of her work as a nurse at the Bulkley Valley District Hospital in the 1950s. Topics include: what hospital care was like at the time (11:51), what occurred during a typical nursing shift (13:23), how patients were transported to hospital (15:40), experiences with the Sisters of Saint Anne (18:28), and what pay the nurses earned (22:15).
aides; baths; bedrest; blood transfusions; church; Cronin Mine; Dr. F. H. (Hugh) Prouse; Father LeRay; helicopter; hospital care; Houston; injured miner; mail; medications; mining accident; nuns; overtime; patients; pay; practical nurses; prayer; routines; schedules; shifts; Sister Mary Barbara; Sister Mary Joseph; Sister Mary Loyola; Sister Mary McClare; taxis; transportation; wages; wedding reception
Bulkley Valley District Hospital; health care; nursing
Goodacre recounts working for Dr. Hugh Prouse, the only doctor between Burns Lake and Hazelton, during the early 1950s. She includes stories of a man who died from a self-inflicted gunshot, a dog which had been hit by a car, and a man experiencing drug addiction.
addiction; BC Police; dog; drugs; emergencies; gunshot wound; Houston; injuries; patients; railyard
doctors; Dr. F. H. (Hugh) Prouse; health care
Goodacre describes how she continued working for a time after her marriage to Clarence ('Slim') in 1952, and later on a casual basis once her children were older. She mentions the infrequency of female nurses (including her sister-in-law Margaret) continuing to work after they were married. Also talks about doctors who practiced in Smithers after Dr. Prouse, and how patients requiring surgery were flown out of the community to larger cities.
Dr. Austin; Dr. Findlay; Dr. Howard Mellich; Dr. Layton; Dr. Max Weare; Dr. Ryan; flights; injured logger; Margaret Goodacre; payment; planes; surgery; Vancouver
careers; doctors; employment; health care; marriage; nursing; work
Goodacre describes the hospitality and gratitude of Smithers residents during her time as a nurse, and the spirit of camaraderie and fun that existed among the hospital staff. She ends by summarizing her nursing career.
canasta; career; entertainment; movies; Mrs. Pearce; New Year's Eve dance; nurses' home; parents; parties; recreation
nursing; Smithers