Late Career and Retirement (1945-1956)

Chapter eleven

PART IV – …and Sudden Death

The war in Europe ended May 5^th, 1945. Japan surrendered on August 15^th1945. The rejoicing over final victory was world-wide. In Britain, there was rejoicing in the streets. Pubs reopened and people tried to contemplate a new world. There were still shortages of food and most other things so rationing in the UK did not end for several years. In France, conditions were probably worse. The destruction was vast and recriminations against ‘collaborators’ caused much civil unrest. Both countries were beginning the massive job of cleaning up and rebuilding war damage.

Troops from the war in Europe were asked to sign up for a further period to aid the Americans in the South pacific. But the war ended just a few months later so this was cancelled. The troops in the UK were being demobilized but it was a slow process. In the Soviet Union, Stalin had tightened his grip on Eastern Europe. Pre-war borders had been changed so that the map of Eastern Europe was dramatically changed, prompting Churchill’s famous phrase: “The hot war is over. The Cold War is about to begin”.

President Harry Truman invited Churchill to speak about his concerns at Westminster College in the president’s home town in Fulton Missouri. Truman would introduce him. The speech was given on March 5^th, 1946. It created quite a stir as many Americans thought that when the war was over, they could go back to their peacetime lives. But others had pointed out that the Soviet Union had taken over most of Europe east of Berlin and now saw this as part of their territory. Good old ‘Uncle Joe’ was not the benign leader that he was made out to be.

Grim Reminders

When Germany collapsed, the allied armies found some of the death camps that Hitler had set up as part of his ‘final solution’. He intended to eliminate ‘non-Arians’, mostly Jews. There were six camps, mostly in occupied Poland. All were on a similar plan, low buildings in an enclosed area with a perimeter fence and guard towers. The central building was the gas chamber, the method of death for all.

The allied occupying force came across shocking scenes of emaciated corpses crudely stacked in open pits because the retreating Germans had not had time to bury them. Before the days of television, these grisly scenes appeared in movie newsreels but were so distressing that before long they had disappeared from the screen and we did not see them again until the Nuremburg Trials that started late

in 1945. Germany was accused of war crimes and cultural genocide. Twenty one of the surviving leaders of the Third Reich were on trial and most were found guilty. This was unorthodox for the time but it led to the concept of ‘international criminal law’.

Other countries were trying to get back to normal. There were celebrations across Europe and many other countries. In Canada, there were celebrations in major cities, accompanied by marching bands and cheering crowds. in Burlington, people were riding up and down the street and even on the sidewalks. The joy and relief was quite evident.

The devastation in Europe and the far-East was massive. Although the Allies had demanded ‘total surrender’ the American Government instituted the Marshal Plan in Europe that provided money and help to Western Europe. The Soviets had similar supports in Eastern Europe. It was a salvation for many countries. But most people wanted to return to normal and forget about the war. They wanted to get married, have a family, buy a house and settle down. I remember a film from that era that showed dramatically how American troops: ‘The Best Years of our Lives’.

Cars

The auto industry took a while to shift from producing war munitions to building cars. When they did, they were mostly 1942 models, sans parts such as metal bumpers. Packard and Nash were soon gone. Willy’s produced the Jeep but their other models disappeared. The Detroit ‘big three’, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler made 1942 models for several years. Graham Paige had been bought by the Kaiser Corporation that had built Liberty Ships during the war began producing cars. The Kaiser Fraser was popular for a few years then finally faded from the market. So did Graham Paige and some other makes.

General Motors and Chrysler were turning out cars as fast as they could but often trim and other parts were unavailable. Willys survived because they had produced the General Purpose vehicle (Popularly known as the Jeep) and this market continued for many years. None of the other models were produced. Packard and Studebaker survived but the competition was becoming stiffer. Packard slowly faded. Studebaker brought out a new model in 1947 that had a pointed nose like a fighter aircraft. It continued to be produced for many years. Nash was gone.

People had more money to spend so the economy models of the depression were less popular and styling became a dominant force. In Europe, car production took some time to recover. The British auto industry was producing a wide range of makes and models and they began exporting to Canada by 1947 but they were relatively expensive and did not sell well. The Volkswagen in Germany brought out a pre-war model but it was not exported to North America until 1949. Reliability was a problem for all makes and repairs were expensive and spare parts were hard to find.

The U.S. protected their own brands and constricted their imports for years. But it was an exciting time for everyone. The Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto was held from mid-August to Labour Day every year and people rushed to see what was on display in the Automotive Pavilion. Everyone was trying to get back to more normal times.

Back Home

Bill Deadman was very busy during the war but as peace returned, he found that he still had a heavy workload in the Lab and many of his colleagues had not returned from the war. He retired from his military career and concentrated on his work. As a doctor he was on the short list for a new car. He bought a Dodge Special Deluxe from Virtue Motors in Burlington but it was hardly deluxe. Many parts were unavailable; the bumpers were wooden, to be replaced when metal ones became available. Other parts were gradually replaced over the next year. The Willys 77 was also in poor shape but Uncle Eric drove it so little that it was used for local trips. It was also the car that I used to learn to drive. I got my driver’s licence at age 16.

Bill was very involved in his son’s education and he was not satisfied with the education at Burlington High School. We discussed it and he decided to apply at Trinity College School in Port Hope. I would be starting at Trinity College School in September. It was a busy time for all. I recalled that in the remainder of the summer at home, they were busy preparing me for school. I remember that father bought me two suits at Eaton’s because the school required it. As I recall, they cost $39 each. I also needed white dress shirts and a lot of other things and mother was busy sewing name tags in all of them.

Trinity College School

When it was time to go, we packed all my things in a large steamer trunk that had travel labels on it that made me think of mother’s trip to Europe in 1923. We were planning to drive down to the school but we sent the trunk by express because it would not fit in the car. I was in the dormitory on the 3^rd floor of Bethune House and my room-mate was Donald Gilley from Toronto. When my trunk arrived, it was unpacked into a wardrobe area at the end of the dorm and all trunks were stored in the basement.

In Second Year I was assigned to a 4 man room just down the hall from the dorm. There were two beds and a double bunk. My room-mates were Don Gilly, Richard Hogarth and Charles Bronfman, a Jewish boy from Montreal. Jews were not accepted in those days at TCS but Charles had attended Selwyn House School in Montreal where the Bronfmans’ were very influential. His father, Samuel was the owner of Seagram’s Distillery and had a small fortune so money was no object. We saw them a couple of times when they came to visit Charles in their big Cadillac but they always took him out so we never met them.

The year did not go well. When I came that year, I took one of the beds but when the others arrived, I was forced to give that up and take the lower bunk. Richard got the other one. I was forced into the upper bunk with the idea that Richard and I would switch at Christmas. This never happened and he decided to lie on his bunk and kick me at night until the springs began to give out.

When I went home for Christmas holidays I was so upset because I felt that no-body liked me and I asked my father to take me out of the school. He replied that he would do that if I insisted but he wanted me to finish the year. He also asked if I had other friends at the school. He added that there must be other boys at TCS that were shunned and I should seek them out and that way I would be in the room only at night. I found a group that met regularly in one of the senior boys’ room on the ground floor and was warmly greeted. The year went much better after that.

The house master, Rev. Bagley, had asked me if I wanted to be moved after the disastrous experience the year before but I told him about my discussion with my father and he understood. In my third year he put me in a 2 man room and my room-mate was Stuart Morgan, from the family that had Morgan’s Department Store in Montreal and we got along fine.

The next ye was even better. I roomed with Bill Carroll, whose father was Leo G. Carroll, a famous character actor in Hollywood. In 6^th form, we studied in our rooms and by Speech Day I won some prizes for my work. After that most students went home but those writing the Departmental exams stayed on for an extra week. When the results of the exams came in later in the summer, I had excellent marks in maths and sciences, but had failed Latin Authors. My father was upset and decided to appeal. The appeal was granted on the basis of my good marks in science subjects.

University College

I started in the fall of 1949. It was a very heavy course with 6 hour days¹ any of my colleagues at TCS went to Trinity College on Hoskin Avenue, Toronto. Father and I discussed this and decided that I should go to dad’s old college and take a course that was equivalent to the one that he took. And so that was what I did. I registered at U of T and payed my tuition and registration fees in cash. I had never seen $100 bills before. I moved into the men’s residence at 73 St. George Street and met several people that were in Physiology and Biochemistry as I was and we got acquainted. My meals were at the Hart House cafeteria and in my first year they cost 45 cents for lunch and 55 cents for dinner, a total of $1.00 a day. I had breakfast in my room. The price was raised later but only by a bit.

We had a histology course at 8am every morning so it meant that I was up at about 6, had breakfast and headed across the campus to the Anatomy building just beside the Medical School. I remember the famous lecture in the Physics Building (next to Convocation Hall) by Professor Satterly on catenary curves. When we entered the lecture hall, there was a stream of water from the physics counter arching over everybody to a receptacle in the top tier of seats. After the lecture, he turned the tap off slowly and the stream of water came down through the students under it.

I have another recollection of our studies on electricity. We were to set up a circuit that would allow us to measure the heating effect on water over a set period. Everyone had started but my partner was slow in setting up so I didn’t check his circuit. It was a dead short and when he turned it on, there was a loud scotch and all the lights went out. There was no time to start the experiment again so we were not popular in the class.

.It was a long trek to the Anatomy Building, especially in winter. Other courses in the day were in the same area so I was out for the day, arriving back at the residence to pack books and go for dinner. In the second year, we took physiology at the Best Institute on College Street and botany at the Botany building on College Street. Physical chemistry was in the Chemistry Building, also on College Street. It was a very heavy year and we were tired at night so I concentrated on too many subjects, leaving Physical Chemistry to the last. I took a couple of bennies and di an all-nighter and the next day I blew the exam.

Failing an exam in an honours course meant that you could not continue in the course. I talked to my father who was sympathetic and supported me in continuing in the General Arts Course. I could still complete the pre-requisites for medicine and still enter with advanced standing.

University Naval Training Division

I enrolled with my friend Burf Kay at the Naval Reserve barracks on Front Street and we were duly signed up as cadets. I would go to Stadacona in Halifax in the Executive Branch. Burf had glasses so he went to the Supply Branch in Esquimalt BC. The first summer we had training every day and a two week cruise on a navy frigate. At the end of the summer, we returned home in time to register for the next year in our courses.

I applied to the University of Toronto in Medicine. However, in 1948 the veterans from WWII were granted priority for university admissions and I found that my chances of getting into Medical School at U of T were not good. I decided to repeat 6^th form to try to improve my marks. I had a room with Bill Carroll, the son of Leo G. Carroll, a famous character actor in Hollywood. Bill brought many insights about life in California and a world traveller that I found had broadened my world. We often lay awake nights talking about all these things. In the Departmental exams in ’49, I improved my marks but not that much so over the summer, my father and I discussed how to approach this.

Dad recalled that when he went to medical school in 1909 he had been unable to get into medical school so he took Biology and Physics that gave him advanced standing and 2 years credit allowing him to complete his training in 6 years instead of 4. He suggested that I do the same thing. Medical schools had 6 years, 2 years in Pre-meds and 4 years in medical training. The equivalent course to Biology and Physics now was Physiology and Biochemistry, a 4 year course that would give advanced standing into medicine. I decided to take Physiology and Biochemistry and I enrolled in University College and booked into the residence on St. George Street. It was on campus and very close to everything I needed. I found the work in P & B very demanding. We were in lectures or labs from 8:00 in the morning until 5:00 at night. I was very tired and I know that I didn’t study as much as I should, so in Second Year, I pulled an all-nighter and blew the exam in physical chemistry. In an Honours Course, this meant that you had to repeat the year or transfer to a Pass Arts Course. I chose the latter and enrolled in the 4 year course.

Back to UC

The Arts program was much less demanding than P and B. I decided to take a range of subjects including Political Science, Anthropology, English, Organic Chemistry and a couple of other subjects. The English course was given by Dr. Claude Bissell who was also the Dean of residence so I had met him before. There were essays assigned every term and I, being a procrastinator, left them to the last night and then went to the Library to pull something together. In my third year in the course, I found the topic particularly interesting so I spent much more time on it and I got an A-. Mrs. Grey would have been proud of me. My love of the English language has been strong ever since.

I had joined a fraternity because my former room-mate at the residence rushed me. It was ??? at 126 St. George Street and the second year, decided to move in. I met several people who would be friends for the rest of my life. I still keep in touch with many of them. Again there is much more to the tale that I will not describe here.

I joined the student governing body at UC and took part in campus politics. In my fourth year, I ran for 4^th year President and won. My father was the President of the UC Alumni Federation so at the Graduation Banquet, we sat side by side as father gave his speech on what we could expect as we ventured into the wider world. Afterwards we had Dinner at the University Club on University Avenue and I invited several friends. It was a great occasion.

The Dick Trial

The story of the Evelyn Dick trial was described in detail in the Prologue. It was an important part of Bill’s reputation as a forensic pathologist but he never regarded it as a high point in his career. His testimony was excellent and could not be questioned by the defense but the prosecution’s case fell apart in the Appeal that was heard In April, 1947. It is not clear what Bill’s feelings about it were, but he always thought that another case that he did many years later while with the Attorney General’s Lab in Toronto was better.

Presentations and Speeches

Bill began his speaking career in the 20s and 30s but these were mostly issues related to public health. In 1940, he addressed the Lions Club about tuberculosis, a serious, often fatal disease that was inadequately treated. During the war, he gave speeches supporting the war effort. He had an article in the Globe and Mail (G&M) arguing that Canada was not supporting Britain strongly enough at a perilous time. He gave an address to the annual meeting of the Ontario Association of Pathologists on the same topic. In a letter to the Globe and Mail in December 1941, he pleaded for Canada to provide medical officers to Britain where they were badly needed.

Bill published an article in the G&M entitled ‘Canada and the Commonwealth’ in which he argued that the Commonwealth was the strongest defence against totalitarian powers. Always an anglophile, Bill also recognized that Canada had close relations with the USA, but he considered that the position of Americans was very changeable and he suspected that many still regarded Canada as their 14^th colony. The Commonwealth was much more reliable. He gave talks on this topic to several groups. Another article argued that Canada should have a population of 50 million people over the next few generations and that immigration must be encouraged.

At the reunion of the 5^th Field Ambulance In 1948, Bill replied to the Toast to fallen comrades. He stated that the war was only over for a few years and we have to be aware that it is still a dangerous world. Brigadier G. W. D. Farmer, C.O. of the RCAMC responded. He stated that we must not relax our guard. Members must be prepared to take responsibility and meet the challenges that are coming. This was Bill’s theme for many years. It was only confirmed in his mind and the minds of many others when the Korean war broke out in 1950.

In April 1948, the U of T Alumni in Hamilton organized a rally to which Sidney E. Smith President of U of T was the honoured guest. They became close friends over the next few years. Bill’s wife Helene poured tea and assisted in the proceedings. The President announced a fund raiser for $6 million to be used for expanding the campus. Bill had known Dr. Smith through his membership on the Senate.

In November, 1948, Bill had a letter in the G&M stating that the Royal Canadian Navy needed to tighten their discipline, more like the Royal Navy. He called it ‘the Nelson Touch’. The reaction of the RCN was not recorded but many were unhappy because of their exemplary record with the North Atlantic convoys in WWII.

Bill wrote to Dr. Harvey McCullouch, the Crown Attorney in Hamilton to enquire about problems with consent or authority to perform autopsies when there is no coroner’s order, or when there is no next of kin available. On September 25^th, he received a reply from C. A. Magone, the Deputy Attorney General giving a range of tests that they expected regional pathologists to perform. Bill was invited to a meeting of the Association of Regional Pathologists in Kingston on October 26^th-27^th. In attendance would be Dr. W.L. Robinson, Pathologist at the Toronto General Hospital, Dr. Nobel C. Sharpe, Prof. Joslyn Rogers and Dr. Ward Smith at the A. G.’s Medical Laboratory in Toronto. These were people whom Bill would work with after his retirement and move to Toronto.

University College

I started in the fall of 1949. It was a very heavy course with 6 hour days² any of my colleagues at TCS went to Trinity College on Hoskin Avenue, Toronto. Father and I discussed this and decided that I should go to dad’s old college and take a course that was equivalent to the one that he took. And so that was what I did. I registered at U of T and payed my tuition and registration fees in cash. I had never seen $100 bills before. I moved into the men’s residence at 73 St. George Street and met several people that were in Physiology and Biochemistry as I was and we got acquainted. My meals were at the Hart House cafeteria and in my first year they cost 45 cents for lunch and 55 cents for dinner, a total of $1.00 a day. I had breakfast in my room. The price was raised later but only by a bit.

Failing an exam in an honours course meant that you could not continue in the course. I talked to my father who was sympathetic and supported me in continuing in the General Arts Course. I could still complete the prerequisites for medicine and still enter with advanced standing.

University Naval Training Division

The second summer, we had a cruise to England on HMCS Swansea. We visited Portsmouth and the big naval station there. We had 48 hours leave and visited London and had an overnight with the Spencelys and the next morning, we drove to Putings and met Sir Philip Manson-Bahr. It was a rush to get back to the ship by noon but we made it. Then it was north through the Irish Sea to Lamlash on the Isle of Arran where we had a flotilla regatta. Then it was on to Belfast where we had a brief visit to the Festival of Britain site. The next day we sailed to Londonderry where we refueled and headed home. I had lost my sea legs by then but we went through the tail of a hurricane that quickly brought them back. We arrived in ‘Slackers’ and HMCS Stadacona. In early September, we took the train to Toronto and back to school.

Back to UC

U of T Faculty of Medicine

I was accepted in the school because the flow of veterans had slowed somewhat by that time and I had a good record at UC. The class had 150 students but few women. Dean Macfarlane believed that with the expense of a medical education, only about ¼ of the cost was paid by tuition, it as a waste to have many women who would drop out to have families and practice part-time or not at al. after that. Our class was unusual as there were 13 women, slightly more than some previous years, and all of them practiced close to full-time throughout a long career.

The lectures in psychiatry were given by Professor Aldwyn Stokes. He had slides that showed an early version of the bio-psycho-social model, a concept he had brought with him from the Maudsley Hospital in London where he had trained and worked for years before coming to Toronto. This model was new to North America but soon became popular here.

Junior Internship

I applied at Toronto Western Hospital where I had done some work as a medical student. I started in June. There were four rotations of 3 months each. The first rotation was in surgery and in the Emergency Department. There were two interns assigned so it was 28 hours on and 20 hours off. When I was not there, I was expected to cover private surgery for my staff-man. I began to understand why the internship was so brutal – also, why juniors so often made serious mistakes during surgery. This problem was not fixed until many years later when working hours were limited and pay was increased.

The second rotation was Obstetrics and Gynecology. Three internes were assigned so the pace was much easier. The third rotation was Internal Medicine. At that time, the old Western Hospital had open wards with 30 beds down each side. There were two interns on this rotation and they were so busy that they only had time to follow the head nurse on her daily rounds and complete other tasks. The fourth rotation was on the Hospital Blood Bank. In those days, donors were paid for their blood and interns made a bit of extra cash by acting as a donor.

Senior Internship.

I had applied to Veterans’ hospitals in Montreal and Vancouver. The Montreal placement came through first, so I was off to Queen Mary’s Veterans’ Hospital on the first of June 1958. I had the old Vauxhall that I got from dad and it was not in good shape. Even so it was slow going. This was before the 401 had been built so most of the way was on the old Hwy #2. When I got near Cornwall, I ran into a huge traffic jam. Cars were stopping beside the road and climbing the embankment at the top. I was told that this was the day that the St. Lawrence Seaway was flooding the big reservoir behind the Cornwall dam and everyone wanted to see the huge flood of water. I did not get to Montreal until almost 9 o’clock and everything was closed. Another intern let me into the residence, got my key. I collapsed without even unloading the car.

The next day, I joined my colleagues for a tour of the hospital. There were only senior interns at the veterans’ hospitals and the pay was $200 a month, a nice increase from last year. Three rotations of four months each with choices: Internal medicine, neurology, psychiatry and chronic care at the chronic care centre at St. Anne de Bellvue.

In my first rotation I worked with veterans many of whom had been gassed in the First World War. I recalled that my father had been a heavy smoker after his war service so I understood that soldiers all smoked heavily. The second rotation was with two of the top neurologists at McGill. The quality of research seemed much better than I had seen at U of T. I remembered several incidents.

That winter there was a call that a veteran had had a heart attack at home and I would accompany the ambulance to pick him up. It was one of those classic Montreal walk-ups with an outside spiral staircase. We struggled on the icy steps to get the stretcher to the second level and when I examined him, he had classic signs of a heart attack. We strapped him onto the stretcher and then tried to struggle him down the icy steps. The ambulance attendants kept saying: “Careful, I’m slipping” and “Damn, don’t push” If he had not had a heart attack before, he would have had one then. The fourth rotation was to the chronic care centre at St. Anne de Bellvue. I did not want to go there so I arranged to be transferred to psychiatry. On March 1^st, I started his psychiatric career.

Other Activities

Bill was the President of the University College Alumni Association so he was involved in discussions about the building of a new men’s residence on St. George Street. Apparently the provincial government had promised funding but it was not forthcoming and Mr. Justice J. A. Hope of the Ontario Supreme Court invited Bill to a meeting to discuss it.

Dr. Levinson at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences wrote to Bill and to Ward Smith inviting them to arrange a symposium on these topics for the Canadian group. Bill said that his work was too heavy for him to do this and suggested that Ward Smith be the chair and he would serve on the committee. Ward Smith also declined for similar reasons and suggested that there be regional committees in several parts of Canada. This was accepted.

In January 1953, Bill sent a sample of blood to Prof. H. Ward Smith from an autopsy that showed that the deceased had a carbon monoxide level of 22% and was probably the cause of death. We do not know if an inquest was called. Bill often had to decide these cases without one.

Bill had written to Prof. R. M. Janes, Professor of Surgery at the Banting Institute requesting that he meet with son John about a career in pathology. He replied that he would not be professor at that time but his replacement would certainly be interested. As it turned out, the replacement was to be Dr. John Hamilton. I spent the year 1959-60 as a resident at the Banting. This is discussed in later chapters.

Citizen of the Year

Bill’s work in the Hamilton Laboratory Service and Hamilton Public Health was commended in the Hamilton Spectator in 1949. He was nominated by the Advertising and Sales Club as Hamilton’s Citizen of the Year for 1949. At the annual Gala, held on January 9^th 1950, Bill was praised for so many contributions to Hamilton over many years. In his acceptance speech, he declared that he wasn’t sure if he deserved it but it was the greatest honour he had ever received. He said many people had helped him but the only one he would mention was his wife and helpmate. He said “She has praised me and blamed me and is responsible for everything I have done over many years”. The evening and the speech was recorded by radio station CKOC on ’78 records and these are treasures in the family collection.

The Spectator article went on to describe the many honours and important posts that he had held from WWI and WWII as well as scientific research, clinical teaching and public affairs. It also described the standing ovations that he got as his accomplishments were told to the audience. The article showed a picture of him in the Lab seated at his desk with the microscope that he used throughout his career. The microscope is in our treasures at home along with many other items that he used. Pictures of Lab staff working in the Blood Bank and in the Pathology Museum were also shown.

He was a strong conservative but as a public servant he eschewed direct political involvement although he was approached once or twice to run for parliament. He was well known as a public speaker and after the war he sent his paper entitled “Canada’s Fundamental Reconstruction” to Prime Minister Mackenzie King who acknowledged it politely.

Family Affairs

Cousin Mary had gone overseas as a Nursing Sister in 1942. While there, she had met and married Lieutenant Styffe, from Port Arthur. In 1944, just after D-Day, he was lost in action, presumed dead. His body was never recovered. Mary was very depressed after she returned home in 1945. She stayed with her Aunt Madelaine in Hamilton for a while and then stayed with us at Two Acres. Bill never took holidays from the Lab but he did attend conferences in many places. His idea of a holiday was to add a few days onto his conference time in an interesting city and take the family along. Our trip to Montreal and Quebec in 1939 was a typical example.

In 1949, he planned to attend a forensic conference in Washington D.C. He took the family including Mary with the idea that when in Washington, he would be at the conference while we toured the city. We drove the Plymouth, staying overnight in Harrisburg and we toured the sites of the American Civil War. The next day we arrived in Washington and stayed in a downtown hotel near the White House. We toured the Mall, the Capitol Building and the Smithsonian Institute. Helene was teased because she referred to the Congressional Library as the ‘Transgressional Library – a slip of the tongue, no doubt.

When the conference was over, we still had a few days in hand, so we drove to Colonial Williamsburg. It was a big tourist attraction and was crowded but we managed to visit several buildings and then it was ‘hit the road’ to be back to Washington for a late dinner. On the return trip, we went to Harrisburg and then took the newly opened Pennsylvania Turnpike to Pittsburgh and stayed overnight. At that time the steel mills produced so much smoke and dust, we were cautioned to keep our windows closed in the hotel. The next day, we drove to Buffalo and then Home. It had been a good trip.

Later in 1949, Bill was looking at the English cars that were being imported. He decided on a Vauxhall from Hamilton Motor Products because he had bought cars from them before. The Vauxhall had an overhead valve 6 cylinder engine that went back to the 1920s. It was much more efficient than the flathead engines that were common in American cars. General Motors bought the company to get the patents for the engine that they would use in the Chevrolet models. It was interesting to see a bigger version of the Vauxhall engine in a Chevrolet.

The Miss Canada Pageant

In 1955, Bill was approached by the organizers of a new pageant that was organized for the summer of 1955. They persuaded him that this was not a cheesecake affair. The contestants would not wear revealing costumes and would be carefully chaperoned. Bill was well-known in Hamilton and would add considerable prestige to the event. The pageant would be held at the Brant Inn in Burlington with a selected audience. The distinguished musical critic Deems Taylor was to be one of the judges. He stayed at our house, Two Acres and I met him.

This was great news for me and my friends who would help to entertain the contestants while in town. They took them to local sites and went swimming in a nearby lake. They also were invited guests to the pageant. The event was planned to be held again in 1956. At that point some of Bill’s friends got to him and persuaded him that he should not be associated with this kind of event. They were very critical and with some embarrassment Bill resigned. He never referred to it again.

Keeping in Touch

Bill had active correspondence with many old friends, people like Philip Manson-Bahr, He also received several letters from various friends about the good times they had when visiting Two acres. One letter complements them on having a cottage in Haliburton. Bill wrote to Professor S. Beatty congratulating him on his selection as Chancellor of the U. of Toronto. He received a pleasant reply from Beattie saying that his main duty would be to gain the affection of the graduating students as they made their way in the world. Bill also asked him if he would introduce the members of the Class of 1903 which is honoured that year.

Bill received a letter from the Principal of University College, F.C.A. Jeanneret, thanking him for the loan of a book which he had enjoyed. Bill was invited to address the members of the executive and supervisory staff of the HGH School of Nursing on the retirement of Miss Constance E. Brewster. He praised her for her many fine qualities and her hard work in making the school one of the best in Ontario.

The Hamilton Department of Pathology had been accepted by both the U. of T. and the University of Western Ontario as training placements for pathology residents, one of the only non-teaching hospitals to be so recognized. There were two placements each year. Over the years, Bill had worked with many residents from all over Canada and he kept in touch with them as they qualified in pathology and took positions all over the world. In July 1954, Bill received a letter from an interne at the Toronto East General Hospital asking about openings at HGH for 1954. Bill offered an interview.

Bill had many friends in politics and was a strong supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. He knew Ellen Fairclough, the MP for Hamilton East, quite well. In December 1956 she wrote to him about the leader of the party, George Drew, who was forced to retire due to illness. This was a blow to the party that otherwise stood a good chance of replacing the Liberals in the next election. She also raised the point as to whether they should drop the name ‘progressive’ and go back to the original name Conservative Party.

Bill replied that he was very busy with his new job in Toronto but later he met with Ellen and said that there were many PC Party groups across Canada and changing the title would not be advisable. He also supported the appointment of John Diefenbaker as the new leader. Bill sent out his speech ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ to many friends and got positive responses from all of them.

He was active in many areas of life. Besides his work as a pathologist and a medical examiner, he presented and published many articles on pathology, and had started on his memoirs which still remain in his inimitable hand on the backs of old voters’ enumeration forms which he used as scratch paper.

He was for many years a member of the University of Toronto Senate. During the Second World War he was the editor of the Canadian Army Medical Journal and retired from his involvement with the reserve military at the end of the war when he was 60. He was a Rotarian and a Mason of the Scottish Rite. At the time of John’s graduation from University College in 1953, John was the President of the graduating class and he was the President of the U.C. Alumni Association. Both were at the head table at the graduation banquet.

Retirement

In January 1950 he reached age 65 and by Hamilton’s pension rules he was required to retire. Unfortunately, there was no replacement in sight and the City and the Hamilton General Hospital had been advertising for over a year. My father was trying to persuade the city officials that the salary of $12,000 was grossly inadequate but it took hard experience to persuade them that this would not be considered a princely salary. The attitude among bureaucrats—and most working people—of any stripe throughout history has been:

“If he is paid more than I am, he’s paid too much. And if he is paid a lot more, he’s got to be ripping off the system.”

They asked Bill to stay on for a year, and he only agreed if they would pay him the same amount as they were offering to prospective replacements and give him his city pension as well. The pensions in Hamilton were a matter of some contention. During the Great Depression, Mayor Sam Lawrence had declared that everybody must contribute to the pension fund but the pensions at retirement were to be capped at $3,000 regardless of one’s final salary. Sam figured that in the ’30s this was a very good wage and no-one should get a pension that was more than that.

As a result, Bill came into a salary of $15,000 ($12,000 plus $3,000) which was increased as the salary offered for the position was increased. By the time his replacement was finally hired—at a salary of $18,000 to be increased to $21,000 after a year – Bill was advanced also to $21,000, far more than he had ever earned in any year previously. Of course there were some mutterings at City Hall about double-dipping, but they were so relieved to have a new pathologist for an increasingly busy service that these notions were quickly suppressed.

These were great years for the family. After Bill had missed out on the trip to Mexico in 1958, Helene was able to persuade him to go to the Carribean and to Bermuda where they had not been since their honeymoon. Then Bill arranged to go to an international meeting of pathologists in London, England and they toured the British Isles and saw many old friends.

In subsequent years, they went to France and Italy, back to the UK and to the Lesser Antilles. This was a real change for a man who seldom took a holiday during his professional life.

Planning for retirement, Helene had the house divided into three apartments. They planned to live in one, and rent the others for some extra income. By this time Bill had already taken a position with the Ontario Medical Association as Director of the Erythro-blastosis Foetalis project. They set up a Task Force in Toronto and Bill was an active member for a year. He commuted from Two Acres during that year, but it was quite stressful, so they moved to Toronto and he resigned his appointment at the Hamilton General. This will be discussed in the next chapter.

1 This was in the faculty of Arts. But science and mathematics were there. The faculty was later renamed Arts and Science but that was after my time. Most courses in the Arts program had 5 or 6 subjects, an average of 4 or 5 hours a week. The Physiology and Biochemistry course had full days, with about 30 hours a week, about double the amount in other courses.

2 This was in the faculty of Arts. But science and mathematics were there. The faculty was later renamed Arts and Science but that was after my time. Most courses in the Arts program had 5 or 6 subjects, an average of 4 or 5 hours a week. The Physiology and Biochemistry course had full days, with about 30 hours a week, about double the amount in other courses.