It's hard to believe that we are more than half way through the Royal Columbian Hospital's 150th anniversary year, one in which the institution's history continues to be being marked in a variety of ways.
We have been involved with many of these and have been pleased with your response to the historical information provided.
You - the reader, listener, participant or observer - so far this year, have enjoyed many gatherings, slide shows, historical talks, walking tours, articles, online resources, website (www.RCH150. wordpress.com ) and a popular "RCH150" blog.
Your interest also varies, but you always enthusiastically welcome the tales from the past and how things have evolved during the hospital's decades.
The hospital buildings themselves from 1862, 1889, 1912 to the big changes in the 1950s to 1980s, draw much of your attention.
You greatly appreciate the facilities of today and the marvellous things that can be achieved in a modern hospital setting, and you look forward to hearing how this whole "hospital business" played out in the past, in the earliest years of the Royal Columbian.
The 1862 hospital at Fourth Street at Agnes is for many people a simple, twin-gabled curiosity on the muddy hillside of New Westminster. Stories of the bathtub on wheels, the Royal Engineers' medicine chests, the early treatments, and the fact that at least one patient "ran away" are always favourites.
The 1889 hospital on East Columbia Street in Sapperton fascinates many as it sat near the main road, street-car tracks eventually close by, its broad verandah looking out towards the Fraser River, an important element in the city's northern neighbourhood.
This building served well until population growth and the evolution of hospital care meant a new, modern and much larger facility was an urgent and pressing need.
While the cornerstone of the new, modern and much larger facility was laid in 1912, it actually opened in 1914, and formed the base of the ever increasing medical complex that is the Royal Columbian of today, with its current discussions about expansion once again.
The stories seem to be endless as we chronicle the hospital's history.
If you haven't discovered the "RCH150" blog as of yet, please have a look at it. We think you will be pleased with the weekly stories you find there.
And there are two more items for this RCH 150 anniversary year - two cemetery tours - each with a different storyline.
The first is on Sunday, Aug. 12, starting at 3 p.m. in front of the Fraser Cemetery office at 100 Richmond St. Lots of stories of early people and medicine will all link together with the community and the hospital's anniversary.
We hope you will continue to follow the story of the Royal Columbian Hospital - it is an important part of our community and its heritage.
