Results for ‘Doctors’
[Welland Tribune June 7, 1978]
By Dorothy Rungeling
In a pretty 42 year old house on Canboro Road in Fenwick there lives a man who, after graduating from medical school 52 years ago has his sights on becoming a “big city doctor”. Instead he has practiced for 50 years as a country general practitioner in Fenwick and has loved every minute of it.
Dr. Joe Dowd, one of seven boys. Four of whom became doctors, graduated from McGill in 1926, went to Ottawa Civic Hospital and then to New York City to gain experience in obstetrics. It was common occurrence for him to be called out at three in the morning to a house in the lower east side of New York—a tough part of town—He says: If it hadn’t been for my doctor’s bag I’d have been shot for sure,” but everyone respected the “Doc”.
It was while he was in New York that he decided this free living, bright lights life was for him and he decided he would never be a farmer’s doctor—no sir—he would be a city doctor. But fate had other plans for him.
During this time his brother Ken had purchased a medical practice from Dr. Page in Fenwick, but Ken had an opportunity to go on to bigger and better things so he fired off telegrams to Joe in New York imploring him to come to Fenwick and buy him out. Joe did.
The first week in June, 1928, Dr.Joe Dowd moved into Fenwick and started his “big city practice” in the quiet of a rural area. Shortly after this he moved his office from the Dalrymple house to the A.N. Armbrust house where he lived in a room over his office. Then he met and married his late wife,Charlotte, who was then the night supervisor at Welland County General Hospital, and they took over the whole house.
Dr. Dowd can’t recall who his very first patient was in Fenwick, but remembers that Mr. and Mrs Charlie Elliott and Mrs Grace Brown were among the first, and are still his patients. Asked who his most interesting patient was he replied without hesitation: Ethelwyn Wetherald! And recalled a story. He had instructed her to get lots of rest. The next time he called on her she greeted him with “I’ve been resting like fury!”
His mode of transportation in 1928 was a four year old Model ‘T’ Ford, but in wintertime he found himself getting to his patients any way he could, after getting a farmer to open snowbound roads. He recalls one trip west of Fenwick to deliver a baby. He had to get the roads opened, took his nurse Bernice Swayze with him, delivered the baby and then had to stay all night at the house because they couldn’t get back to Fenwick.
The Dowds had three children, Joyce, Richard and Ronald who followed in his father’s footsteps to become a doctor. In 1936 they built their new brick home. It was furnished just when Ronald was born so”my wife and Dr. Ron had a brand new house to come home to.”This was a milestone in the life of a country doctor.
During the “dirty thirties”—the depression years—Dr. Dowd found it hard going. People got sick but had no money. Nonetheless he answered their calls and took vegetables, fruit, eggs or poultry as payment. Babies were delivered at home. No one could afford the hospital. The charge was $5 a day. St Catharines General put on a “special” to induce mothers to come. It was $27 to look after both mother and child for the ten-day hospital stay. Still no one could afford it.
During his first few years in Fenwick Dr. Dowd had two to three hundred patients, but this number swelled as the years rolled by until five years ago when he semi retired.
He was our family physician for years and a good, kind doctor he was. Of course in those days there was time to be spent with a patient. Sitting down for a friendly chat before getting down to the actual doctoring was a large part of the therapy.Dr Dowd could even be talked into rendering a violin solo on my violin, although he had not played since college days. And he did a pretty good job on scraping out Humoresque on those strings.but politics was a subject to be avoided. He really had his convictions on who was right and who was wrong, and once on the subject he didn’t let go until he had panned out all the “bad ones” right out of the park.
In the thirties an office call was $1.25 and a house call was $3.00—and would you believe that this amount also covered the medicine? Yes, just a visit from the doctor and all was taken care of—physically, mentally and emotionally.
He was not one to put an elderly patient through the rigors of painful practices if he could bring them back to near normality without it. My mother broke her hip when she was in her 70s. He decided against putting her in traction. His evaluation of the case was that it would be easier on an elderly person to skip the pain, even though one leg would be shorter. A built up shoe fixed that and she lived her remaining years in comfort
Dr. Dowd is now one of the senior doctors on the staff of Welland County General and although he modestly denies it, at 82 he must be one of, If not the oldest practicing physician in the peninsula.
He thinks the most significant change In medicine in the last 50 years is the drop in tuberculosis and wiping out diseases such as smallpox and diphtheria.”Do you know that there isn’t one case of smallpox in the world today?” he asked “ “And there is no one in the Niagara Sanatarium? Thirty years ago it was full!”
Before I left I asked: “Are you still using the same cough medicine you used in the 30s?” “Sure,”he replied impishly. “My it was good,” I said. “There must have been some really good things in it.” “Sure”, he said again, but wouldn’t say what.
So, after 50 years and bringing 1200 babies into this world, Dr. Joe Dowd is quietly going on a semi-retired practice. He says he likes to look after his senior patients “because I understand them- I know their troubles—I know what to give them” He has often been known to put a patient in his own car and take them to Hamilton or Welland Hospital for surgical attendance.
A patient leaving his office as I was going in stopped to chat, and said “Dr Dowd has looked after my family for 50 years and I sure would not want to change.”
Fenwick is proud of it’s. longtime doctor., and if well wishers hold any away, he will be around another 50 years.
Pelham Herald, Tuesday, March 25, 1980.
Dr. Joseph Everett Dowd, prominent physician in Fenwick for the past fifty two years, died at the Welland County General hospital on March 18 at the age of 84.
Dr. Dowd was born in Quyon, Quebec. He was a graduate of McGill University in 1926 and did post graduate work in Ottawa and New York City. During the First World War he served in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. He began practising in 1928 at his busy office on Canboro Road. He was the Medical Officer of Health for 38 years and retired in 1965. Dr. Dowd was a member of the Fenwick United Church.
He is survived by three children Joyce Lenz of Tonawanda, N.Y. Richard of St Catharines and Dr. Ronald Dowd of Fenwick, eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Charlotte (Burton) Dowd in 1964.
A memorial service was held at the Fenwick United Church on March 21st. Cremation took place.
Dr. Dowd was born December 3, 1896 in Quyon, Quebec. His parents were Margaret and Stewart Dowd. There were seven sons. His father owned a flour mill. In 1907 the family moved to Ottawa.
1914 to 1918 Joseph served in the Canadian Armed Forces in England. In 1926 Dr. Dowd received his medical degree from McGill. He had a one year internship at Ottawa Civic Hospital and then to New York City where he trained in obstetrics.
1926-28 his brother Dr. Kenneth Dowd had a medical practice in Fenwick and was in charge of medical care for men in the construction of the Welland Canal.
Joseph took on the medical practice in Fenwick June 1, 1928, while his brother Kenneth became chief medical officer of C.N.R.
In 1930 Dr. Joseph Everett Dowd married Charlotte Burton R.N., a nursing supervisor at Welland County General Hospital.
In 1936 they bought a lot from William B. Bown on Canboro Road Fenwick. They built a home with an office where they lived until 1980.
They had three children, Joyce born 1932, Richard born 1935, Ronald born 1936.
For 38 years Dr. Dowd was medical officer of health for Township of Pelham.
They attended the Fenwick United Church.
Sydney Raymond Dalrymple was born April 25, 1878 in Wellandport. He was theson of John Dalrymple and Minerva Heaslip of Bismarck. He went to school in Gainsboro. He became a teacher and taught at Boyle school. In 1905 he graduated in medicine from Toronto. He then went to England for further medical studies.. In 1907 he came to Fenwick to practice medicine at 807 Canboro Road. He took over the practice of Dr. Birdsall.
On June 27, 1908 Dr. Sydney Raymond Dalrymple married Martha Elizabeth Henderson, born February 8, 1880. Her parents were Walter Henderson and Abigail Van Wyck.
April 23, 1909 their first child was born, John Henderson Dalrymple, he died at age two in 1911 and is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Wellandport
October 8, 1911 Sydney James VanWycke Dalrymple was born. He became a medical Doctor. He died January 16, 2001 at the age of 90.
Dr. Sydney Raymond Dalrymple attended Bethany Presbyterian church, was a member of the Fenwick Oddfellows Lodge. He was a member of the Niagara District Medical Association and the Ontario Medical Association
He cared for patients in the influenza epidemic of 1918-19
He practiced a short time in Fenwick.
On April 23, 1921 Dr. Dalrymple died of complications after an appendix operation, at the age of 42. Over 700 people attended the funeral. He is buried in the Riverside cemetery in Wellandport.
Dr. Haney was the first Doctor in Fenwick. The Haney family came from New Jersey. Isaac Haney in 1789 was near St John’s. He purchased land on Holland Road near Hurricane Road. Isaac was married to Hannah Drake, who was said to be related to Sir Francis Drake.
Isaac’s son was Matthew Haney, he fought in the War of 1812. He married Hannah Mains. Their children were Henry Ryan Haney and Matthew Haney. Both became doctors. There was another brother Stephen. Henry and Matthew went to school in St. John’s. The father Matthew ran a grist mill in St John’s.
Henry Ryan Haney taught school then attended the Faculty of Medicine at Buffalo University, graduating in 1856.His older brother Matthew attended the same school and graduated in 1851 and settled in Humberstone.
After graduation Henry Ryan Haney moved to Fenwick.
He was inspector of the schools in Pelham, entered politics in 1872 for the riding of Monk, for the Librerals and in 1875 won again.
Dr. Haney’s office and residence was located on Canboro road. It was a two storey home later moved to Ridgeville. In 1979 it was demolished.
In 1878 Dr. Haney was joined by Dr. Birdsall.
On March 2, 1875 Dr. Haney married Charlotte Woods of St. Catharines. They had no children.
Dr. Haney died November 17,1876 at the age of 43. He died from cirrhosis of the liver.
He is buried in Hillside cemetery, Ridgeville beside his father Matthew Haney.
Dr. Glasgow was born March 30,1855 at the Stamford farm. His father was William Glasgow born on the same farm. The grandfather, Rev. Samuel Glasgow was born in Scotland and educated for the ministry in Belfast Ireland. He came to Canada prior to the War of 1812 and settled in Stamford.
Dr. Glasgow went to the old school house on Lundy’s Lane, five years at Drummondville graduating with a teachers certificate. He taught for two years. In 1878 he received a licence to practice medicine from University of Toronto. The same year he began a medical practice in Welland.
On March 29, 1888 he married Nancy C. Fortner, born December 1854, from Bertie. They were married in Welland. They acquired a residence on Burgar Street, Welland for a residence and office.. His horses were kept in a barn at the rear.
In 1877 Dr. Glasgow was Sergeant 2nd Battalion Queen’s own Rifles for Volunteer Militia. In 1882 he was appointed assistant surgeon in the 44th battalion.
Dr. Glasgow was mayor of Welland 1895-96. He served on the high school board, was medical officer of health for Crowland, president of Ontario Medical Council.
In 1885 he received the appointment for jail surgeon of the county of Welland and was the division surgeon for the Grand Trunk Railway and president of the young mens’ Liberal club.
Dr. Glasgow’s mother was Mary Elizabeth Lundy. She was the daughter of James Lundy and granddaughter of William Lundy for whom Lundy’s Lane took its’ name.
It is claimed that Glasgow in Scotland took its name from the ancestors of this branch of the family.
Dr. Sinclair Holden Glasgow died March 13, 1909.
Advertisement from Welland Tribune 1892
Dr. Glasgow corner Burgar and Division streets, Welland. Special attention paid to diseases of females and children, and to diseases of ear, nose and throat.
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