ARCHIVES and SPECIAL COLLECTIONS QUEEN ELIZABETH II LIBRARY MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY, ST. JOHN'S, NL Grenfell Labrador Medical Mission COLL-281 Website: Archives and Special Collections Author: Sara Flaherty Date: 2000 Scope and Content: This collection consists of over 100 photographs, postcards and magazine clippings relating to the Grenfell Mission at St. Anthony, Newfoundland during 1920's. There are images of the children under the care of the Grenfell mission, the day to day activities of the people of the area, photographs of the school and hospital established by the International Grenfell Association, and pictures and postcards depicting the rugged beauty of Northern Newfoundland and Labrador. Custodial History: The photographs of the Grenfell Mission at St. Anthony, Newfoundland, were acquired from Schooner Books of Halifax, Nova Scotia in December, 1990. The cover of the album indicates that Evangeline Given was the original owner of the album and she was likely an employee of the Grenfell Mission at St. Anthony during the 1920's Restrictions: There are no restrictions on access. Copyright laws and regulations may apply to all or to parts of this collection. All patrons should be aware that copyright regulations state that any copy of archival material is to be used solely for the purpose of research or private study. Any use of the copy for any other purpose may require the authorization of the copyright owner. It is the patron's responsibility to obtain such authorization. Biography or History: In 1892 the medical missionary Sir Wilfred Grenfell arrived in Newfoundland and began his passionate attempt to bring medical care and social welfare programs to the people of Northern Newfoundland and Labrador. Grenfell, the son of a Church of England minister, was heavily influenced by a chance encounter with an American evangelist named D. L. Moody who preached that religion should be expressed by rendering services to mainkind. At that time Grenfell was a young medical student at the University of London. Upon completion of his medical studies, he was persuaded by his professor of surgery, Sir Frederick Treves, to join the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fisherman (RNMDSF), where he provided medical and spiritual aid to the fishermen of the North Sea. In 1892, while still involved with the RNMDSF, Grenfell made a trip to Newfoundland and Labrador to determine the need for the Mission's services there. He arrived in St. John's that summer and saw the destruction caused by a fire earlier in the year. After spending a few days tending to those in need, he embarked on his journey down the Labrador Coast. Grenfell travelled as far north as Hopedale and was amazed by the poverty and the sickness of many of the people in the communities. Medical care of any kind was extremely rare in Labrador so people turned to folk remedies to treat injuries and illnesses. This often did more harm than good. Over the course of that first summer, Grenfell treated more than 900 people and dispensed all the supplies he had brought with him. In that short time he developed a reputation among the people of Labrador as a great healer. He would be known as this for the rest of his life. Newfoundland and Labrador has requested help from the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen many times before but had not received aid because of a lack of funds. When Grenfell arrived back in St. John's in the Fall of 1892 fundraising efforts to support the mission were already underway. Grenfell returned to try to procure as much funding as possible for hospeitals, medical personnel and supplies. He began a speaking tour in which he vividly described the hardships endured by the people of the Labrador Coast. The tour was a great success. Proceeds from it provided enough funding to build two hospitals and buy a steam vessel. When Grenfell returned to Labrador in the Summer of 1893 he brought with him two doctors and two nurses recruited from the London hospital to help bring medical services to the people scattered throughout Northern Newfoundland and Coastal Labrador. Grenfell established his first hospital at Battle Harbour and the second at Indian Bay. Over the course of the next few years he divided his time between tending to the sick and injured in Northern Newfoundland and Coastal Labrador and raising funds in Canada, the United States and Europe. Although he was receiving acclaim for his good work, the Mission decided Grenfell should return to the North Sea, as he was devoting too much time and money to the Labrador mission. Over the next three years he would return to Labrador only occasionally. In 1899 Dr. Willway, who had replaced Grenfell on the Labrador coast, had to leave but suggested that Grenfell be sent back to resume his duties. When Grenfell returned to Labrador he brought with him not only his medical skills and supplies but the belief that with social programs and improved economic conditions, the lives of the people he tended improved dramatically. His interest in social programs led to the establishment of an orphanage at St. Anthony on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula, a third hospital at Harrington, Labrador and the first Grenfell nursing station at Forteau. Grenfell continued to recruit medical personnel and volunteers to work with him. In 1909 the first inter- denominational school in Newfoundland was established at St. Anthony. Grenfell believed that children should not be segregated on the basis of religion and that it was better to have one large, well equipped school than several small, inferior ones. Grenfell also attempted to improve the economics of the region. In 1896 he founded a cooperative store at Red Bay which did very well. Several others were also started but did not meet with the same success. In 1904 a sawmill was built at Canada Bay and it operated successfully for several years. Grenfell wanted to over throw the credit system under which fishermen and merchants operated because he believed that the system kept fisherman impoverished and powerless. Grenfell advocated for diversification of the economy through industrial works projects which would give people cash employment. He promoted the production of marketable commodities as an extra source of production. By 1914 there were fourteen industrial centres in operation. In 1912 the International Grenfell Mission was founded to oversee the running of the works Dr. Grenfell had undertaken. After this Grenfell spent most of his time away from Labrador, across the ocean in Europe finding funding to keep the mission going. By now, Grenfell was also the author of articles and books which told of his adventures in his adopted home. One particularly popular publication was Adrift on an Ice Pan, which told of one of his most dangerous experiences while in Labrador. In attempting to answer a call, Grenfell became stranded on a piece of ice which had started to drift out to sea. Grenfell survived the night on the ice pan but in order to keep himself alive he had to sacrifice three of his dogs for their fur coats. The next morning he was saved by some fishermen. Grenfell's unfailing courage and determination to help others earned him many accolades and awards, including an Honorary Doctorate of Medicine from Oxford University, the first ever awarded. In 1907 he was appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George. In 1928 he was chosed as fifth Honorary Knight for Life of the Loyal Knights of the Round Table, a rank reserved for men who have done great service to humanity. In 1911, he was awarded the Murchison Prize from the Royal Geographical Society for his maps and chart of Labrador. Dr. Grenfell retired from his years or service to the people of Northern Newfoundland and Labrador in 1935 at the age of seventy. He and his wife, Anne McClanhan, a wealthy American he had married in 1909, went to live in Vermont. By that time there were in operation five hospitals, seven nursing stations, two orphanages, fourteen industrial centres, four summer schools, three agricultural stations, twelve clothing distributing centres, four hospital ships, one supply schooner, a dozen community centres, several cooperative stores, a cooperative lumber mill and a haul-up slip for ship repairs. Sir Wilfred Grenfell died at his home in Vermont in 1940. His ashes, along with those of his wife who had died two years before, were brought back to Labrador. 1.0 Grenfell Photographs 1.01 Grenfell Photographs, 1920's 1.01.001 Two little girls, one holding ... 1.01.002 Young boy in snow 1.01.003 Huskie dogs 1.01.004 S.S. Newfoundland 1.01.005 Captain Westgarth 1.01.006 Bowring Park, St. John's, 1925 1.01.007 Bowring Park, St. John's, 1927 1.01.008 Ships in a frozen harbour at Exploits 1.01.009 People identified as Patey, Sally and Van walking in snow with backs turned 1.01.010 Three women on the balicasters 1.01.011 Women wearing snowshoes 1.01.012 Man identified as Steve Pilley with his dogs 1.01.013 Two women sitting on slabs of ice on Ireland Bight 1.01.014 Ice pan in the shape of a mushroom at St. Anthony 1.01.015 Girl and woman identified as Evie and Cleave 1.01.016 Woman identified as Dot 1.01.017 Child identified as William Henry 1.01.018 Seven girls from the Ex-Nursery 1.01.019 Child identified as Flossie Maid 1.01.020 Nine children from the Nursery 1.01.021 Trader ship in St.