1. Administrative 2. Board of Trustees 3. Sisters of St. Ann 4. Bulkley Valley District Hospital Ladies’ Auxiliary 5. Bulkley Valley District Hospital Society 6. Construction and engineering records 7. Legal records Fonds is organized into seven series: Other records not organized under these serie…
The Bulkley Valley District Hospital was first established in 1920 and occupied a pre-existing building on the corner of Second Avenue and King Street. It housed 13 beds, an operating room, an office, a kitchen and a dining area. The hospital continued to expand throughout the decade until 1933, when its ownership was transferred from the Hospital Board to the Sisters of St. Anne, and a new building was constructed. A 30-bed wing with an emergency operating room was added in 1955. By 1968, this building was ruled obsolete and work began on a new modern facility, to be run by the province after the Sisters relinquished control. The new Bulkley Valley District Hospital was opened in 1969. A major renovation project was launched in 1973 and the original 1934 building was demolished. The formation of the Bulkley Lodge Society through the Smithers Society of Concerned Citizens in 1982 replaced the need for extended care beds in the BV District Hospital. Today, the Hospital acts as an acute care facility with 25 beds, servicing communities from Houston to Hazelton, B.C.
For more detailed information on the history and development of the Hospital, see finding aid.
Custodial History
Records that were created both by the original Board of Directors (1920 – 1934) and Sisters of St. Ann (1933-1969) were passed on and kept by management until their donation to the Archives. Records in this collection from the Ladies’ Auxiliary were kept by Jean Maskiewich whose sister-in-law, Jean Kilpatrick, was the former Treasurer of the Auxiliary. Maskiewich then donated these records to the Archives.Three photographs (P7894-P7896) were found in collections in October 2020, having been submitted to the Interior News prior to 2003 and transferred to the museum at an unknown date.
Scope and Content
1. Administrative
2. Board of Trustees
3. Sisters of St. Ann
4. Bulkley Valley District Hospital Ladies’ Auxiliary
5. Bulkley Valley District Hospital Society
6. Construction and engineering records
7. Legal records
Fonds is organized into seven series:
Other records not organized under these series include a reports and orders ledger, a physicians journal and day book, donations for the Hospital’s first x-ray machine, x-ray reports, event programs, a photograph, and donations for a L.B. Warner memorial.
Series include records created or collected by the Ladies’ Auxiliary, including donations and hospital accounts, a history of the Ladies’ Auxiliary, and 2 photographs (P7894 & P7896).
The Bulkley Valley District Hospital Ladies’ Auxiliary was formed on June 11, 1920, after the Hospital Board was founded. Mrs. A. Kilpatrick chaired the first meeting and was the first Auxiliary member appointed on the Hospital Board. The first Auxiliary executives included Mrs. James MacDonald (President), Edith O’Neill (Vice President), Mrs. W.F. Boyer (Treasurer), and Mrs. David Jennings (Secretary). Twenty-three women paid their memberships of $1.00 at the first meeting. From 1920 to 1934, the Auxiliary provided the Hospital with linens, towels, etc., made gowns for surgeons and nurses, pneumonia jackets, bath robes, baby clothes and night shirts, and often helped pay the nurses’ salaries. They also hosted fundraising events for necessary furnishings and equipment for both the Hospital and Nurses’ Residence.
Custodial History
Records with accession number 1997.51 were kept by Jean Maskiewich whose sister-in-law, Jean Kilpatrick, was the former Treasurer of the Auxiliary. Maskiewich then donated these records to the Archives. The two photographs (2020.36) were found in collections in October 2020, having been submitted to the Interior News prior to 2003 and transferred to the museum at an unknown date.
Scope and Content
Series include records created or collected by the Ladies’ Auxiliary, including donations and hospital accounts, a history of the Ladies’ Auxiliary, and 2 photographs (P7894 & P7896).
