It’s Museum Week!
You might not have even known there is such a thing, but there is, and it starts today, and we think it’s perfect to roll into our Museum At Home / Daily Dose of History stuff that we’re doing. So…
Each day of Museum Week has a theme, and today’s is “Heroes.” We’d like to take this opportunity to recognise our modern-day heroes: the medical professionals and front-line staff who have been working so tirelessly to keep us all safe and to keep the community running during the COVID-19 crisis. Thanks to you all!
We’d also like to invite you to chime in with your stories of local heroes. To get things started, here’s a special story from guest contributor Olga Standidge:
Margaret Standidge Front-line health care worker
Creston Valley Hospital 1948-1977
It is with great honour that I submit this article in recognition of an important piece of the Creston Valley puzzle.
The Standidge family moved to Wynndel in 1943 and in 1948 Margaret was called to work at Creston Valley Hospital. She had no car as cars were in short supply and she relied on friends for rides to and from work.
In 1950 she bought a car, learned how to drive it and now could get back and forth to work. She went on staff in 1950 and in 1952 accepted the positon of Director of Nursing staying for twenty-five years.
This meant she was on call 24 hours a day. Crawling out of a warm bed and into a cold car to drive to the hospital at all hours quite often spending several hours then coming home only to return for 8:00am. The roads were often treacherous covered with snow and ice.
After 15 years this came to an end with the hospital expansion and more staff. She no longer took calls.
Her code of ethics were very high but at her retirement celebration she said “No man walks alone” and over the 25 years many walked with me. She thanked her hospital staff for their support also the trustees and medical staff.
I called her “Florence Nightingale” and my everyday hero as she would be the one in the “front-line” if she were here today.
Written with love, Daughter in law, Olga Standidge
Your turn!
Who would you nominate as a local hero, past, present, or future? Send us your stories, your photos, a picture you drew, a memory jar or box with things that make you think of that person – whatever you want. We’ll collect them all and create some kind of an exhibit (real or virtual) to recognize them!
