MOOSE JAW — With over three million Ukrainians now refugees because of the war in their country, one Moose Jaw resident is recalling her time working with similar refugees just after the Second World War.
Gwen Boivin was around 15 years old when she began working at the former Providence Hospital in 1949; the building opened in 1917. Her two sisters were already working there, and since the hospital was having trouble finding employees, her siblings recommended that she apply.
She became the youngest employee ever after acquiring a job as a housekeeper, but management — nuns ran the hospital — put her in the kitchen on her first day since they also needed help there.
“And I thought it was OK. I thought, ‘The main kitchen? I can cook, I can do whatever … ,’” recalled Boivin, 87. “Providence Hospital used to do all the cooking for all the patients. They had a big kitchen — a big kitchen. Actually, they had a pot that was bigger than me.”
Many of the people for whom Boivin cooked were Ukrainian refugees, who had come to Moose Jaw after the Second World War as part of a resettlement program that ran from 1945 to 1951. All the refugees who stayed there were young girls of various ages.
“They were scared. These people … didn’t have families. Some of (those) younger kids are just like what you see on TV today,” she said.
Many of the refugees lived in a big room in the hospital’s basement, which is also where the laundry room, kitchen, dining room and staff room were.
Boivin recalled that many girls gained jobs at the hospital and eventually started families after marrying Saskatchewan men. She noted that, within the past year, she read the obituary of a former Ukrainian refugee who worked at Providence Hospital and later married a farmer.
Although she was a young woman herself, Boivin helped train some refugees and worked with them daily. The hospital was clean and well-kept since the nuns were strict in that area. Staff jumped when the Sisters told them to clean a certain room or hallway.
While many refugees couldn’t speak English, they attempted to learn the language. When language failed, the English-speaking staff used hand motions to communicate with the Ukrainian staff.
Boivin recalled that some refugees were still working at the hospital when it closed in 1995, including one Ukrainian woman who worked until she acquired her pension. She thought what the refugees did was amazing since they integrated after gaining experience.
Asked what she thought of the situation in Ukraine today, Boivin replied, “It’s just history repeating itself … . This guy (Russian President Vladimir Putin) is doing so many things like (former German leader Adolf) Hitler did. And it’s sad. … He’s just killing these people off.”
“History is repeating itself,” she added, “and it’s scary. And now they’ve got a lot worse bombs (than the Second World War). They’ve got bombs that can hit the target, a way, way, way far away.”
