ยท , DR. J.E. WHITING Dr. Ted Whiting Hospital ) was administrator for many years. Dr. Whiting says, He retired "Hazelton older than other communities at the Wrinch in 1976 and moved to Penticton. is a very old community around here. Prince Rupert which were just railroad situated Memorial at the forks of the Skeena Older than Smithers towns." Hazelton and Bulkley, and has gone on for many generations. - much and is has good fishing There was no railroad and no rails - just trails. Around the turn of the century Port Essington river boats started was one of the old Indian Villages to run. and it became the head port for the river boats that came from Port Essington to Hazelton. Horses The nearest place to the east was Fort George. and dog sleds were used for transportation. as pack animals the year round. Dogs were used A good pack dog could carry 40 pounds. White whites. traders between 1850 and 1860 and later, other With them came white man's diseases and tuberculosis. village arrived Small pox would wipe out almost an entire in those days. Steamers Whit~also brought came next and ran until the was the head town for navigation. certain, but Dr. Whiting and was probably growing here. - small pox, measels feels named because Hazelton - named Gold was discovered dance halls and bars. railroads it's a white man's ran overland to Babine Pack horse trains with various stayed at Madison Creek in the late 1800's. course, One of the most and Tatlow important Lake and on to Madison Cree~A' to Fort Babine. Cataline's and pack Snow came early in the fall and The snow was heavy and "snow shoes" feet. These were not regular but sacks filled with bulky hay and tied on. bulK to the horse's take-off The trail into every man's tale of pack horses late in the spring. feet so they couldn't It but there was a Creek gold field was Hazelton. additions. were tied on the horses bushes for it's NUTS! trains ran from Hazelton name seems to be woven name for sure of the many wild hazelnut rush of mirr=Ers into the creek. for the Madison Hazelton Where the name came from isn't was not as large as the gold rush to the Yukon, points came. sink deeply snow shoe~ of This gave into the snow. 2 Dr. Whiting everything: Pianos recalls, mining machinery, even sometimes made In 1899, Dr. Wrinch medical as others missionary do, that pack horses disassembled was -ken in on horses. it. arrived in Hazelton. with the Methodist work here. He was the only doctor Kam1oops. Dr. Wrinch He was a pioneer, Church who started in the country was from Belleville, Ontario assumed at that time of year. interrupted the steamer's Dr. Tomlinson, run; low water, winter another while with Dr. Wrinch. Hazelton. running doctor canoe. boat traffic ceased. Dr. Wrinch. In 1931 Dr. Wrinch When the ra;/way All this brought This was an L shop, built started was built a in to Prince Rupert operating, the river more w9rk and patients planned around Many things to corne to the area, worked In 1913 the first train from Montreal Hazelton. It is or logs in the water. In 1~01 the first hospital carne through here and and carne to the by Indian dug-out weren't the medical between coast by rail, then to Hazelton steamers carried to and built the next hospital. the two sides of the old hospital leff:. ~Q... which was later torn down.IhQi.-f,baSement of the old hospital the ground floor and put a roof over it. as a drying shed for years and years, was used as a fruit cellar and They used the ground floor for drying linen. The basement for years after the new hospital was in operation. Frances Willar training was one of the graduates school for nurses after her graduation. Dr. Wrinch M.L.A. here. Frances hard. Bridge in the 1930's. son, Dr. Leonard Wrinch, carried Dr. Eric Austin followed. and historia. a history of the area. in Prince Rupert to work here was in Vancouver. was an active man in the community. for the area and worked A bridge returned Part of her training of the Hagwilget member from Dr. Wrinch's He was Liberal He officiated at the opening He retired in 1935 and his on for a while. Dr. G. Large and Dr. Large was also an active community He wrote After "Skeena, River of Destiny'!, which is leaving here, he practiced medicine and Bella Bella. from New Hazelton to Qld Hazelton was built. The main way to get to the railroad from Old Town was to cross the low level bridge crossed the Bulkley River over to then up to South town. This bridge was washed Mission at Old Town which Flats, in the late '40s by a big flmod and was never rebuilt. out Hazelton 3 Dr. J.E. WHITING was left with only the Hagwilget number Bridge after co-existing for a of years. Dr. Whiting became interested was a mission hospital. from Toronto. He and Marjorie in Wrinch Hospital because He and his wife carne to Hazelton it in 1939 drove out here and arrived January 9, 1939 to get his first glimpse of Wrinch Hospital and Hazelton. There were no paved roads and no black top north of Ashcroft. snow covered gravel give them trouble in Houston road didn't and they were forced to overnight til the snowplough On his arrival, of getting give them any trouble. cleared Dr. Whiting around was to walk. urse's Snow did and a day roads. found few cars and the main way Al Benson this was used a lot to transport In 1939 the clogged The did have a taxi and patients. residence was built and an addition put to it in 1945. Dr. Whiting the old doctor recalls, filled "I think Dr. Lenoard in for two years. very long for he left this world like Kitwanga other than the railroads. highway, just a dirt road with grass growing when you got to Kitseguekla speaking, to Rupert to places in those days more or less, but it was up between If you wanted Kitwanga One of Dr. Whiting's the two ruts. And You to go to Kitwanga, early, to the hospital village would have been,there dug-out of twin girls. have progressed remarkably unusual cases was when a woman Dr. Whiting in the meantime the races have improved long canoes. on a speeder on the railroad to be delivered between Transportation This is what we used to do all the time. They would have thei~ was brought I think when we were that was the end of the road. drive any further. you had to go by train. ago. stay retired You could drive as far as Kitseguekla along the route of the present But actually son of and all kinds of places along the way were entirely by rail. There was no road from Hazelton couldn't He didn't in 1939. here that we got word that he had died. Wrinch, greatly. tracks says "The Indian people since 1939. Relations The races mix socially u .much better. When asked whether Dr. Whiting' answered, drug abuse is on the decline or increase, "If in drugs you mean alcohol, or this sort of thing, we do have some of the other drugs. There's been a lot 4 of talk about other drugs, marijuana, worst drug and the biggest problem heroin and so on, but the by far is alcohol, and it is a drug and it is the cause of many times as much heQrfache other drugs, and they are sad things, the real heartbreaker as these too, the other drugs. is the way alcohol But, is used and abused all the time, every week. First of all people health make the alarming three. that are concerned statement that alcohol That in one way or another: alcohol cause of death in our society cancer is the next commonest highway deaths British Columbia, because the government of alcohol, about alcohol is killer number is the third commonest and heart disease is the commonest, and alcohol diseases, related and so on is the third commonest which we would violence, cause of dea+~. In expect to be fairly conservative likes to think it makes money but according and statistics published just two or three years ago, there are 70,000 alcoholics in B.C. This is chronic to government out of the sale alcoholism. My personal opinion is that man's a sinner and this works itself out in so many ways. The profit motive has done so much to promote and still is. the sale of alcohol beautiful coloured 'ads~ J[n the liquor other drinking custom as a glamorous young people. Of course, Time magazine ads invariably has the most they present thing, very attractive to the they never show any of the heartaches that goes along with this. It's the thing to do and everybody abt is the saddest thing you see in our the drunk. society The drunk and you see it all through. but everybody "Tobacco laughs at someone who is drunk. is a killer, " says Dr. Whiting. too, put a warning in the advertising It is harmful to health. the number he had delivered baby. that smoking But no such warning "I'm glad they is harmful to health. is in the liquor ads, retired, was presented in the mother having a book of pictures to him. Coola, while says Dr. Whiting, the baby, not the doctor having gift, and it's got pictures that were born in the hospital of a hundred babies "Although," But, anyway this book that was presented a lovely to laugh at three killer." When Dr. Whiting "I believe It's not something jokes to me, and it's just of several hundred here and in the hospital I was there for fourteen the years between babies at Bella 1940 and 1955. 5 DR. WHITING I was away from Hazelton in 1955. There for those fourteen years and then returned is a long list of the names of the Bella Coola babies in the book and I think there are more people on the list than have pictures." Dr. Whiting retired and is still enjoying to the Okanagan his retirement to his 160 fruit trees there with his wife, Marjorie.