The Canora Hospital Auxiliary is celebrating not only the holiday season but also its history with its annual carol festival.
The Canora Hospital Auxiliary’s Carol Festival, which was to be held on Sunday at Canora Composite School, celebrated 60 years of carols, according to Lorie Wasyliw, the Canora Hospital Auxiliary president. The first carol festival was held in 1955, but the Canora Hospital Auxiliary has existed a bit longer.
According to information from the Auxiliary, Canora established its first hospital in 1914, when the wife of Huge Waddell donated funds for a 38-bed hospital. The Canora Union Hospital District formed in 1944 and purchased the Hugh Waddell Memorial Hospital while planning for the building of a new hospital.
Part of the Canora Union Hospital District was the Community Club, which was organized in November of 1948. It appointed a hospital committee to carry out functions for the hospital. The group began carrying out tea socials, mending and sewing hospital fabrics, establishing a library, buying equipment and visiting the hospital.
The hospital administration re-organized the Canora Hospital Auxiliary after the committee’s continued success, and on September 29, 1955, 35 members attended the first meeting. Paula Danylchuk was elected president, Bess Kushnir, vice-president; Olga Stusek, second vice-president; Grace Cunningham, secretary, and Ann Swerhone, treasurer.
The Auxiliary’s goal was to promote better public relations between the hospital and community and provide comfort for the patients and staff of the hospital, and thus began many projects to accomplish both goals. Annual Hospital Day Tea events were held, visits to the hospital were made, gifts were given around Christmas to patients and staff, birthday presents were given to New Year’s babies, fashion shows were held, and most importantly, the Carol Festival was organized.
The first Carol Festival was organized by Jean Valiant and held in the Rainbow Hall on December 18, 1955. Audience members donated $75.74 for the event, which soon became a major fundraising event.
The event soon became a tradition that the Canora Hospital Auxiliary encouraged to provide necessary equipment needed for the hospital. It was events such as this one that assisted the Auxiliary in providing equipment for the current hospital, which was built in 1968.
The Canora Hospital Auxiliary has provided various equipment to the hospital, including furniture, televisions, physiotherapy apparatuses, walkers, baby carriers, high chairs, incubators, lifts, hospital beds, whirlpools, fetal monitors, infusion pumps and feeding apparatuses.
Today, the Canora Hospital Auxiliary has 21 active members, including two chartered members. Lil Crotenko was a founding member alongside Susie Kopelchuk, who recently celebrated her 104th birthday.
The Auxiliary is run by Wasyliw as the president, Deborah Barteski as the vice-president, Angie Drobot as the treasurer and Sylvia Korol as the secretary. The members hold many events, such as a spring tea with Mother’s Day gifts, an October pie and coffee, presentation of Christmas gifts to patients, a bottle recycling program, and the Carol Festival.
The Canora Hospital Auxiliary members said they hoped all will enjoy the 60th annual Carol Festival, and acknowledged the community for its support over the years.
