Showing 435 results

This series consists of a variety of records created by various provincial mental health institutions from 1872 to 2008. Records relate to the administration and operation of Riverview Hospital and related mental health facilities at the Essondale site in Coquitlam, as well as other facilities across the province. These mental health institutions include: Victoria Asylum, New Westminster Provincial Asylum (later Public Hospital for the Insane or Provincial Hospital for the Insane), Home for the Aged Coquitlam (later Valleyview), Home for the Aged Terrace (later Skeenaview), Home for the Aged Vernon (later Dellview), Crease Clinic, Colony Farm, Colquitz, Woodlands School, Tranquille and other medical facilities.

The names and administrative structure of these institutions changed over time. Mental health functions were originally part of the Provincial Secretary’s mandate; they were transferred to Mental Health Services when it was created in 1950.

These government records were collected by the Riverview Historical Society and include a wide variety of subject matter and media. This includes subjects such as: early development of the Essondale lands and Colony Farm; the construction and expansion of the facility; admissions, transfers, and discharges of patients; administration of patient care; administration of therapy programs; patient and staff recreation; staff and nurse training; operation of the audiovisual department; library services; research into new medical and therapeutic practices; research by staff regarding mental health practices at Riverview and further afield; community involvement; volunteer activity; policy development; the redevelopment of the Riverview lands; general administration; and, administration of other services at the site such as postal, food, laundry, banking, transportation and safety services.

The collection has been arranged into the following series based on record types:

GR-3924 - record books
GR-3925 - operational records
GR-3926 - newsletters
GR-3927 - photographs and other graphic material
GR-3928 - films and videos

Classified as 20000-20 in Operational Records Classification System (ORCS) schedule 144007.

This series consists of a variety of operational records created by various provincial mental health institutions from 1882 to 2005. These records were created by mental health institutions including: New Westminster Provincial Asylum (later Public Hospital for the Insane or Provincial Hospital for the Insane), Essondale (later Riverview), Home for the Aged Coquitlam (later Valleyview), Home for the Aged Terrace (later Skeenaview), Home for the Aged Vernon (later Dellview), Crease Clinic, Colony Farm, Colquitz, Woodlands School and other medical facilities.

Together these records provide details of the hospital's operations from their creation to closure. Internal records document the mandate and goals of the hospitals and how they changed as the government and society's attitudes regarding mental health care shifted over time. External documents such as articles written by Riverview staff demonstrate how the hospital chose to publicize information about its treatment practices and research.

There are many different kinds of records in this series intermingled together. Many of the reports and studies were held by the Riverview Hospital Medical Library. These may be identified by library call numbers or stamps. The records are grouped into subseries. Note that there may be some overlap and repetition between them due to the physical arrangement of the records. The following subseries are included:

1. Publications. Includes copies of published articles in a variety of academic psychology and medical journals written by hospital staff from 1955-1979.

2. Reports, programs, and procedures. This includes many different types of records which address topics such as: treatment methods; patient care; rehabilitation; patient services; the creation, evaluation and implementation of various programs; facility management; patient rights; general policies for medical staff; staff bylaws; staff training and orientation; child guidance (including original papers and speeches by Dr. Crease on multiple subjects); geriatric care; staffing; and the administrative review of the hospital’s organization. The bulk of the records include policies, procedures, manuals, unpublished studies, statistics, strategic plans, training materials, forms, pamphlets, and surveys and questionnaires from staff, patients and patient’s relatives.

3. Conference and Committee Records. Includes records of the Provincial Mental Health Services Headquarters monthly or bimonthly conferences held by branch executives. Records include agendas, meeting minutes, budgets, copies of reports, statistics and other records discussed at the conference. Riverview Hospital medical advisory committee records include minutes and some reports or other records discussed in meetings. There are also some additional records included related to legislation and the Civil Defense Committee.

4. Miscellaneous records. Includes records related to facilities, finances, correspondence and early hospital records. This includes some of the earliest records related to the creation, construction and operations of the hospitals and Colony Farm, such as financial records recording the purchase of supplies, maintenance of facilities or grounds and staff perquisites. There are correspondence or subject files on a variety of topics, including: Mental Health Services headquarters; Provincial Secretary Collection Office; the operation and construction of the Boy’s Industrial School; and Indian Affairs regarding Indigenous patients. Additional records include agreements with the Canadian Pacific Railway for use of hospital land; records marking hospital events and anniversaries; provincial Mental Health Services business management monthly reports; and other miscellaneous records.

5. Riverview replacement records. Includes plans, reports and other records related to the changing makeup of mental health services on the Riverview lands. Beginning in the 1970s, the role of the hospitals began to be assessed and plans were developed to downsize, consolidate, replace or close various facilities. These records document that process. Contains various reports, planning documents and records of consultation with stakeholders.

6. Annual reports. Covers a wide range of years. There are reports for the Asylum for the Insane, New Westminster from 1882-1885; BC Mental Health Hospitals Annual Reports (under several names) from 1901-1972, plus some later years; and federal government Annual Report of Mental Institutions for the Dominion Bureau of Statistics from 1932-1960.

This series contains New Westminster Supreme Court orders from January 1940 to May 1945 and January 1948 to December 2004 (predominantly up to April 2001). Orders are the formal expression of the ruling of the court and judgements are the final orders issued in a case. Records relate to a variety of civil matters including divorces, bankruptcies, foreclosures, probates, and some adoptions.

Records are arranged by volume and folio number as assigned by the court registry. Beginning in May 1950, orders and judgements were separated and volume numbers 49-108 are duplicated. Beginning in March 1976, orders and judgements are interfiled. Between October 1990 and December 2004, orders, default judgements, certificates, and determinations related to financial cases were separated into their own volumes, 148-204, once again creating duplicated volume numbers. Researchers are encouraged to check volume numbers against dates when searching for specific records. Most, but not all, volumes include indexes or volume file lists. However, beginning in July 1990, volumes include a file list by case number only. The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 51400-25.

This series consists of photographs, negatives, slides and architectural drawings created by various provincial mental health institutions from 1901 to 2002. These records regard the following institutions: New Westminster Provincial Asylum (later Public Hospital for the Insane or Provincial Hospital for the Insane), Essondale (later Riverview), Home for the Aged Coquitlam (later Valleyview), Home for the Aged Terrace (later Skeenaview), Home for the Aged Vernon (later Dellview), Crease Clinic, Colony Farm, Colquitz, Woodlands School, Tranquille and other medical facilities. Most records were created by the Essondale or Riverview Hospital Audio Visual Department.

Photos, negatives and slides cover a broad range of subjects which may overlap with or relate to other series of mental health photos at the archives. There are three broad categories of subjects: photos of institutions, pathological photos, and staff and patient photos. Images from these categories may all be intermingled together and specific subjects may be duplicated over multiple media types.

Photos of institutions include interior and exterior images of the buildings, facilities and grounds. This includes the construction and renovation of facilities. Most publicly operated mental health facilities in the Province are represented, as well as some additional medical facilities.

Pathological photos include images of adults and children with various mental and physical conditions or injuries, including full body shots and close ups. This includes close ups of human anatomy, dissections and brain samples. There are also images demonstrating various medical treatments patients underwent.

Staff and patient photos cover many aspects of daily patient and employee life. Many of the images document public events at the hospitals such as sports days, parties, dances, parades, graduations, opening ceremonies and other events. Additional subjects include patient leisure activities; recreational therapy; occupational therapy such as woodworking and sewing; patient care; hospital services such as laundry, food series, pharmacy and dentist; a variety of patient and volunteer programs; patients working at colony farm; staff demonstrating their work; passport style headshots of patients and staff; and group photos of staff from as early as the opening of the hospital.

Each media type is organized separately. They are represented by the following subseries:

1. Photographs. Most photos date from the 1940s to 1970s, though altogether they range from the early 1900s to early 2000s. Almost all photographs are black and white, but some later ones are in colour. There are duplicates and copies of some images throughout the collection.

Each photograph will include varying amounts of information on its back. Some photos are unlabeled and include no information. Photos may be labelled with numbers, descriptions and/or dates. Many are stamped with Audio Visual Department, Mental Health Services, Essondale or Riverview. Some photos indicate the folder they were originally stored in and are labelled with an item number. These numbers likely relate to the organizational structure used by the Audio Visual Department and may correspond with the organization of other Mental Health Services photographs in the Archive’s holdings. It appears that when, or before, these photos were collected by the Riverview Historical Society they were removed from this organizational system and filed alphabetically by subject. The files are currently arranged alphabetically in two groups (one for each accession number).

2. Large format photographs and albums. There are some large format prints and framed photos which were on display in the hospitals or Historical Society building. These photos are of patients and staff, including an early group photo of staff. These may be prints of older photos. There are also large scale prints of furniture sketches for the for the "Provincial Mental Hospital Mount Coquitlam", likely the Male Chronic Building.

Of the photo albums, three of them include similar photos of the interior and exterior of the Male Chronic Building, the first hospital built at Essondale, around its opening in 1913. The fourth album includes early portraits of patients labeled as having been diagnosed with Dementia Praecox, the original name given to Schizophrenia Kraepelin.

3. Negatives. Most negatives are stored in their original envelopes, unless they required rehousing. Envelopes contain images related to a specific topic and may be labelled with a title, date and four digit number. Negative envelopes are arranged chronologically by this number up to number 3160. Many envelope numbers are missing. Negatives in container 972114-0009 were transferred separately but appear to have numbers which fit into this numbering system. Some envelopes are unlabeled or are missing some information. Envelopes may also include some associated photographic prints.

4. Slides. Slides date from 1949 to the 1980s. They have been arranged into several groups based on the numbers written on individual slides. Slides are arranged chronologically by this number, or their date if they were not numbered. Note that there may be gaps in numbering. Slides in file boxes 3 and 4 have a variety of numbering systems, no numbers or only contain a date. They contain similar subject matter to A, B and P slides in the other file boxes. Numbers with A and B prefixes include images of institutions, staff and patients. Numbers with P prefixes document pathological images.

5. Architectural plans. Plans date from 1920 to the 1980s. They cover Crease Clinic, Valleyview and other buildings on the Riverview/Essondale site at various points in time. There is also a master list of the Provincial Mental Hospital cemetery.

The series consists of original wills probated between 1986 and 1999 in the New Westminster Supreme Court registry.

The wills are arranged by probate number, which can be found from 1993 to 1999 by using the nominal file list associated with GR-3006. Request assistance from BC Archives staff for probates for other years. Not all probate records have an accompanying will. The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 51460-30.

This series consists of grants of letters of administration with will annexed (form B) from the New Westminster Supreme Court from 1925-1977. The series also includes letters of administration with will annexed orders from 1992-1999.

This series consists of a variety of registers and record books created by various provincial mental health institutions from 1872 to 1998. These records were created by institutions including: Victoria Asylum, New Westminster Provincial Asylum (later Public Hospital for the Insane or Provincial Hospital for the Insane), Essondale (later Riverview), Home for the Aged (later Valleyview), Dellview, Skeenaview, Crease Clinic, Woodlands School and others. Not all volumes clearly identify which building or institution they are associated with.

The subjects of the volumes and their contents vary greatly. Many of them relate to other series in the BC Archives. The registers have been arranged in the following subject based subseries:

1. Casebooks. This subseries only includes one volume providing a description of each of the first patients at the hospital, including how and why they were admitted, their history and treatment. Later casebooks can be found in GR-1754.

2. Death and Cemetery records. This includes death registries, morgue records, cemetery record books showing the plots individuals were laid in and some medical certificates of death. Volumes may include information such as: name, date of death, date of burial, name of Minister, name of Undertaker, lot and block of cemetery plot, patient number, time in asylum, age, religion, cause of death, form of insanity, gender, and marital status.

3. Admissions records. These volumes provide basic information about patients entered on their admission. Many of these volumes likely relate to the Home for the Aged (later known as Valleyview) based on patient demographics listed in the records. Recorded information may include patient number, name, residence, date of admission, relatives, religion, nationality, occupation, age, gender, marital status, level of education, physical state, date of transfer, date of death or discharge, form of admission, ward, and remarks.

4. Number registers. These records relate to and may overlap with Admission registers. Upon admission each patient was assigned a mental health service number. This number system was used across all provincially operated mental health institutions. It appears that only a single register was used at any given time until about 1960, when individual hospitals began each using their own registers. Each hospital received a block of 100 numbers from the central registry. When they had assigned all numbers to their new patients they requested a new block of numbers. This means there is no single register in this group of records after 1960. Instead, blocks of numbers are spread among multiple registers. Number registers may record: patient number, name, address, date of admission, type of admission, and ward/building.

5. Discharge registers. These record how a patient left the hospital’s custody and may specifically note death, various types of leave, escapes and transfers. These may record: name, patient number, gender, date of release or death, date of admission, term of residence, condition, ward, gender, diagnosis, who or where released to, and remarks.

6. Treatments – operations. Record information about operations patients underwent. Includes: patient number, date, ward, name, age, diagnosis, operation, surgeon, assistant, nurses, anesthesiologist, anesthetic, specimen, and remarks.

7. Treatments – x-rays. Records x-rays conducted on patients and staff. May include name, region, doctor, date, ward, and x-ray number.

8. and 9. Treatments- miscellaneous. Each book records different treatments used in the hospital. This includes Electroencephalograms (EEGs), physiotherapy, behavior therapy, lobotomies. Subseries 8 relates to dentures.

9. Treatments – doctor’s orders and consultations. List the date, patients name and orders or notes.

10. Census and statistics. Note the date, number of patients in each building, staff on duty (including if away or late), patients died, admitted, discharged, on leave, from leave and transferred, as well as some notes on unusual occurrences.

11. Miscellaneous. Includes a variety of other registers related to the operations of the hospitals, and appeal examinations for patient release.

The series consists of probate/estate files from the New Westminster Supreme Court between 1949 and 1996.

Records include 13766-42729 (1949-1976), 1-3900 (1977-1981), NWH823902-NWP000990 (1982-1992), and NWP000991-NWP004830 (1993-1996).

The series consists of criminal orders created between 1978 and 1991 by the New Westminster Supreme and County courts. Orders are the formal expression of the ruling of the court. Records relate to a variety of criminal matters, primarily motor vehicle violations and appeals. Series also includes a 17 Aug 1978 memorandum to all district registrars and regional administrators regarding amendments to the County Courts Act.

Records are arranged by volume and folio number as assigned by the court registry. A nominal file list is included at the beginning of each volume. Supreme and County records are interfiled. The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 52400-30.

Series consists of original divorce decrees nisi, decrees absolute, and orders created between 1972 and 1990 by the New Westminster Supreme Court registry. Also includes some divorce-related custody, access, maintenance, and property orders. Between 1968 and 1985, a judgement by way of decree nisi required a three-month waiting period before a judgement by way of decree absolute could be applied for. During this time, a divorce was not legally in effect without a decree absolute. After 1985, divorce orders automatically came into effect 31 days after the divorce was granted, barring an appeal.

The records are arranged by volume and folio numbers, as assigned by the Court Registry. Records from 1972-1983 are not indexed, but BC Archives staff have access to internal indexes. Nominal file lists are available from mid-Dec 1983 onwards. The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 51440-25.

Fonds consists of administrative and operating records of British Columbia Forest Products Limited in British Columbia between 1946 and 1986, pertaining particularly to plywood production, 1952-1986. Incorporated are records of predecessor companies including Industrial Timber Mills of Cowichan Lake and Douglas Plywood of Vancouver. The fonds illustrates the operating data and composition of working documentation for single plant operations that formed part of a multi-plant company. The fonds is comprised of the records of two of the corporate divisions involved in plywood production: Victoria Plywood and Sawmill and Delta Plywood. Topical files, financial statements, working files, equipment documentation, ledgers and registers, technical drawings and cartographic material predominate. Content pertains to all aspects of division and plant operations including, but not limited to, products, finances, suppliers, clients, markets, partners, facilities, equipment, supplies and human resources. Records from the Victoria Plywood and Sawmill division pertain to operations at Victoria, BC. They were created between 1942 and 1988 and are in three series: 1. Manager's Office files, ca.1950 to 1988, ca. 3.5 metres; 2. Accountant's Office files, 1942 to 1987, ca. 4 metres, and; 3. Cowichan District plans and drawings, ca.1950 to ca.1975, ca. 120 items. The Cowichan Division operated an affiliated veneer plant and sawmill at Youbou on Cowichan Lake, BC. Records from the Delta Plywood division consist of operating files for the plant at New Westminster, BC and pertain to administration and finance. Series are: 1. Administration,1970-1985, ca. 1.5 metres; 2. Accountant's Office, 1972-1985, ca. 3 metres and 3. Douglas plywood project financial files. Alphabetical-chronological filing arrangements have been retained and reconstructed. The fonds also contains a scrapbook of construction photographs.

Series consists of records created by the Delta Plywood division and consists of administrative records in the form of general office files and plant manager's files pertaining to management of the British Columbia Forest Products plywood plant at New Westminster. The series consists of two sets of records: A. General office files from 1970 to 1985; and, B. Plant Manager files from the office of W. H. Pumfrey, in two runs dating 1977 to 1979 and 1985 to1987. Both sets pertain to all aspects of plant operations including products, finances, suppliers, clients, markets, partners, facilities, equipment, supplies and human resources. Alphabetical-chronological filing arrangements have been retained for these records.

Series consists of records created by the Delta Plywood division and consists of Accountant's Office financial records from the British Columbia Forest Products plywood plant at New Westminster. The records are annual budgets, working papers, financial statements and other files. They pertain to all aspects of plant operations including products, finances, suppliers, clients, markets, partners, facilities, equipment, supplies and human resources. Alphabetical-chronological filing arrangement has been retained for these records.

The item consists of an audio interview with Lillian Emdall recorded in New Westminster, B.C. on July 31, 1984.

Tape summary:
Track 1: Lillian Emdall grew up in Queensborough near New Westminster. She had 2 sisters. Her father was from Wales and he worked as a carpenter. Her mother was from Ottawa and the only paid labour she ever did was before marriage, as a switchboard operator from 1906-1908. She describes her childhood home and the kitchen in detail. They had a wood stove but the house had electricity, hot water, and a telephone. A hot air furnace was installed later. Laundry is discussed. Food preparation and meals, canning, home deliveries, baking, garbage, and church teas. Starching and bluing are mentioned.

Track 2: Domestic science in grade 6 (1927) at the age of 11 is discussed. The classroom is described. The foods they made are listed and what she thought of the course. She worked for 2 years as a psychiatric nurse from 1936-1938. She married in 1938 and her husband was a deep sea captain. Their home is described, appliance acquired over the years are mentioned, and more details of the kitchen in her childhood home are given.

RECORDED: Clearbrook (B.C.), 1982-05 SUMMARY: Emery was born in Idaho; his family moved first to Calgary and then to BC. There were nine children in his family; he took jobs in New Westminster and Vancouver to help out. At one time, he and his three younger brothers were put into an orphanage in Vancouver; later the family settled in the Cariboo at Mahood Lake.

RECORDED: Abbotsford (B.C.), 1981-08 SUMMARY: Mr. Ross tells stories of early life in the Fraser Valley. Mr. Ross was born in 1896 in a home on Ross Road, which had been named after his father. In 1907, the Great Northern Railway came through the Fraser Valley; he was twelve years old before he saw New Westminster, only 30 miles from his home. When electricity came to the Fraser Valley in 1910, people had to install their own power poles if they lived too far from the main line.

RECORDED: [location unknown], [1979?] SUMMARY: Emmanuel Ronse interviews Howard Hume, who discusses his father Fred Hume, the founder of New Westminster radio station CFXC (which later became CJOR).;

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Dennis Cocke: Tribute to Rae Eddie, former NDP MLA for New Westminster RECORDED: [location unknown], [1977-02-07?] SUMMARY: NDP MLA Dennis Cocke (New Westminster) pays tribute to former New Westminster MLA Rae Eddie on his death, 07-Feb-1977.;

CALL NUMBER: T2796:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): The Gruhs family of Horsefly, B.C. RECORDED: [location unknown], 1977 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Gruhs family history. Homesteading. Stores and successive owners. Food. Social activities: community hall; gopher dance. Severe winters. Stove. TRACK 2: Religion. School teaching. Engagement; and marriage to Ben Gruhs. Esther's early childhood in New Westminster. Education. Preserving. Bridge in Horsefly. Road building. Fire in 1934 that almost destroyed home. Cars.;

CALL NUMBER: T2796:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1977 SUMMARY: [No content summaries or documentation available for this tape.];

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1977 SUMMARY: An oral history interview with Mrs. Marien Starnes, who emigrated from Norway to Canada in 1905. She talks about the journey to Canada, Arrowhead B.C. (1905-1911), New Westminster in 1911, May day celebrations, Haley's comet, 1907 depression, her father as a fisherman, Girl Guides, teaching experience, work at Coqualeetza Indian school, journey to Peace River 1919-1920, Rolla B.C., the trapping camp, gold panning, birth of first child at Red Cross outpost hospital.

Series consists of 8 volumes of divorce cause books created by the New Westminster Supreme Court between 1968 and 1977. The cause books are arranged chronologically, and cases are assigned a number in the cause book. Cause book entries generally consist of the names of the parties, their solicitors, a list of the proceedings, and a volume and folio number which can be used to obtain a copy of the divorce order. Cause books are a particularly valuable source of information, as they list proceedings for divorce trials that were ultimately dismissed or abandoned. In these instances, the only surviving evidence that the case took place is found in the divorce cause books, as no final order would have been issued.

The series consists of alphabetical indexes from 1881-1977 for New Westminster Supreme Court civil cause books and case record cards found within GR-1564. Indexes provide only a case file number. They do not provide volume and folio numbers necessary to locate civil orders and judgements.

The volume marked "8. Front index" has not been found to index New Westminster Supreme Court cause books (GR-1564), orders (GR-1606 and GR-1806), assize minute books (GR-1818), or judgments (GR-1892). It is assumed that this volume indexes a cause book that has not yet been transferred to BC Archives custody.

Series consists of civil cause books and case record cards from the New Westminster Supreme Court from September 1881 to April 1977. There are no cause books for November 1947 to August 1949 or for July to December 1975 and volume 11 (1956) is missing. Cause books and case records cards provide the framework for Supreme Court civil action cases and may include the names of parties, the dates when proceedings occurred, and can be used to determine volume and folio numbers for locating final orders and/or judgements. Cause books were used by the courts until approximately the mid-1970s. They were replaced by case record cards, which were replaced by digital systems in the 1990s. They are often the only source of information for divorces that were not finalized since no final order would have been granted and case files are destroyed.

Records are arranged chronologically by the date a case was initiated. Case file numbers were then assigned sequentially and include the year a case was initiated. Original textual records prior to 1949 were destroyed after microfilming. Retrieve records using microfilm reels The records were scheduled for retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 53200-20.

Assize calendars for criminal cases, 1923-1974.

The series consists of six volumes of divorce trial record books created by the New Westminster Supreme Court between 1957 and 1977. The books are arranged in a similar manner to divorce cause books, but list the Central Divorce Registry file number rather than a volume and folio number. Divorce trial books also provide a list of exhibits used in the case, and the names of individuals who provided affidavits.

Similar to cause books, trial books provide evidence of divorce proceedings that may later have been abandoned or dismissed, thereby not resulting in a divorce order. In these cases, the trial record book and cause book may be the only evidence that still exists of such cases.

Records in the trial books are arranged chronologically from the back of the volume to the front, and are assigned a four-digit number in addition to the number provided by the Central Divorce Registry. Please see GR-3748 for alphabetical indexes to these volumes.

Researchers should note that the volumes were frequently referred to as "Divorce and Matrimonial Causes record books." This is in reference to legislation which governed divorces in BC until 1972, and does not refer to the type of court record known as a cause book.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): First white woman in the Central Canadian Arctic PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1930 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-06-17 SUMMARY: TRACKS 1 & 2: Marjorie Robertson was born in New Brunswick in 1903, and moved to New Westminster as a child. She married C. Hugh Clarke, a partner in the Canalaska Trading Company, and returned with him to the western Arctic in 1927, remaining there for three years. She associated with native people, and travelled to Herschel Island once a year for supplies. She describes trading in the Arctic, and competition with the Hudson's Bay Company. She also recalls New Westminster in the 1910s and 1920s.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Dr. Hugh M. Rae : A United Church minister in BC PERIOD COVERED: 1900-1970 RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1975-11-06 SUMMARY: END OF BUNT INTERVIEW (continued from T1991:0005): visits to Indian missions. REV. DR. HUGH M. RAE: Childhood in Scotland. Recruitment to fields in Canada, near Kamloops. Further education: McGill, B.C., Westminster Hall. First United Church B.D. Rosedale charge in 1917. Knox Church, New Westminster, and church union. Dunbar Heights, First Church in Ottawa. Retired supply in Vancouver. Anecdotes about experiences as a minister, including the coal miners' strike at Extension; Depression conditions; Japanese relocation; work on Evangelism And Social Service Committee, and others. Church music.

The series consists of a variety of record books created at Woodlands School (later known simply as Woodlands) between 1908 and 1974, with the majority of the records dating from the late 1930s to the 1950s. The records relate to both staff and residents, although the majority of the records pertain to residents. Staff records include “position vacant” cards, lists of staff and the dates they joined and left Woodlands, and ledgers detailing absences and sick time for both male and female staff members. The staff lists are not comprehensive and frequently appear to provide a snapshot in time.

Records relating to patients provide evidence of the day-to-day functioning of the institution, including one- or two-sentence long hourly reports by nursing staff. Researchers should note that while specific individuals are named in the records, the records do not include case files. Some “propensity” ledgers provide alphabetical listings of patients, their admission dates and patient number, a brief one- or two-word description of why they were admitted, information about clothing, religion, and whether they left Woodlands. However, these registers do not cover the entire period of time that Woodlands operated and should not be seen as admissions registers.

The series includes a set of record books with daily shift reports that list disturbances, illnesses, numbers of residents employed in certain tasks, outings to movies and concerts, and any other noteworthy occurrences. The series contains ledgers relating to residents’ health, and other books related to their day-to-day lives. Records related to health care include those detailing medicine dosages, notes on blood pressure, and ‘doctors’ orders’ books. Records relating to daily life include notes on clothing and shoes sent to be cleaned, repaired, or discarded, numbers of residents sent to the ‘airing court’ for recreation, and records relating to the sewing and knitting done by residents. In some cases, ledgers provide assessments of the knitting skill of residents, and it appears that patients did sewing for both themselves and for staff. Records relating to shoes and clothing appear to be carbon copies of receipts issued when items were sent for repair or cleaning, and many are difficult to read. The series also includes general ward counts and statistics as well as a ward inventory listing everything from brooms to medical equipment. Some ledgers provide information on residents who were transferred to or from institutions at Essondale, Tranquille, and Colquitz.

There appear to have been three staff shifts in Woodlands, and records are often annotated with the time of the shift. Shifts ran from 7 am to 3 pm, 3 pm to 11 pm, and 11 pm to 7 am. It is common to see annotations such as 3-11 next to a report.

Many of the ledgers were not labelled and do not have original titles on them. Titles in square brackets were supplied by the Archivist on the basis of the file list that accompanied the records when they were transferred to Archives custody. Where the assigned title does not appear adequate, a further explanatory note has been included. Explanatory notes have also been included in square brackets when the title on the ledger book was vague or potentially misleading.

Within the ledgers, the bulk of the records are organized chronologically. Some books contain indexes or are arranged alphabetically by surname, although due to the nature of the records it is more common to see chronological progressions.

Records in this series were selected for retention by staff working with the Records Management Branch in the early 1990s.