Marpole Women's AuxiliaryWomen's Auxiliary to the Marpole Infirmary and the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre, History, 1939-1971 is a charity in Vancouver, British Columbia that supports residents at Oak Care Centre (formerly George Pearson Centre until 2025) and G. F. Strong Centre. It was established in 1938 to support The Marpole Infirmary, located in an area of Vancouver referred to as Marpole.
History In 1938, when Miss. C.M. Motherwell took over as Matron of the Marpole Infirmary, she was appalled at the dressing conditions and low morale that existed. Realizing the pressing need for an auxiliary to help alleviate these conditions, she invited Mesdames Rose, Woodward, Grinnell and Strong to have lunch at the Infirmary and it was during this Luncheon that Marpole Women's Auxiliary was born.
These four women invited friends to join and were amazed at the interest and enthusiastic response they encountered. Miss Motherwell served as the guiding light and moving spirit in their endeavours. Mrs. Strong served as the first president and a quotation from her 1938-41 report sums up better than anything just how dedicated these early pioneers were:
"Many times while at the home I felt I couldn't take it - then I would see Miss Motherwell's cheeriness and serenity and felt that if she could take it day after day we certainly could carry on. It has been gratifying beyond words to watch a mental attitude of liveliness and interest begin to take the place of the patient's previous apathy, and their appreciation for the things we have done has been expressed in many ways, not so much in words as by the pressure of the hand or a look. It is hard to see so many things crying to be done - our exchequer is definitely not up to the requirements but with patience and hard work we will eventually make this place - maybe not a haven but a better place to be in."
For many years, the new president was announced in the newspaper in May, along with their upcoming year's budget and plans.
Provincial Infirmary The Provincial Infirmary had been established in 1937 to take care of those people who required institutional care for chronic diseases, many of an incurable nature, but who would not benefit from treatment offered in a general or special hospital. Patients came from all parts of the province and after being screened through the Vancouver General Hospital or Maple Ridge Hospital at Haney, BC were sent to one of three branches: Marpole Infirmary at Vancouver with 124 beds for both male and female ambulatory cases Allco Infirmary at Haney with 84 beds for ambulatory men Mount St. Mary Hospital in Victoria with 90 beds for both male and female bed cases. These beds were under contract from the Sisters of St. Anne and the Auxiliary did not extend aid to these patients.
Marpole Infirmary The building stood at the corner of Hudson and SW Marine Drive, then one of Vancouver's busiest suburban traffic centres. It was built in 1912 as a hotel and in 1917 was taken over by the Vancouver General Hospital as a home for incurables when wounded veterans were returning from World War I. The provincial Government took it over in 1923 as a temporary measure until a new institution could be built.
The building was most unsatisfactory in every way—dark, noisy and overcrowded. Bed patients could not see out the windows, there was no provision made for bed lamps and privacy was an unheard of luxury. Following a visit to the Infirmary in January, 1947, the Vancouver Province newspaper described it thus:
"There are a lot of things wrong with the Marpole Infirmary...the building is a firetrap and at a recent fire drill it took thirty minutes to evacuate all the patients. There are no proper facilities for the treatment of the patients. There is no resident doctor, no full-time physiotherapist, no dietician no laboratory, no space to use what sketchy equipment is available. For treatment of all cases the infirmary offers: one small medical room equipped with one infra-red and one ultra-violet ray lamp, a circulex machine, one microscope, a sterilizer, a wooden examination table and a medical cabinet. There is one bathroom for forty-four patients on the first floor, two for sixty on the second floor, three for forty women patients on the top floor. It was stated a year ago that the Marpole Infirmary lacked decent privacy for either living or dying on medical, economic and humanitarian grounds it should be replaced."
Allco Infirmary Bad as the conditions were at Marpole, they were even worse at the Allco Infirmary at Haney. It consisted of a series of huts, once the logging camp of the Abernethy Lougheed Logging Company, and later used by the City of Vancouver as a relief camp for the medically unfit.
The Provincial Government took it over in 1935 and in 1942 it became a branch of the Provincial Infirmary. Men of all ages suffering from chronic or incurable ailments were sent out there away from family and friends and were provided with little else but shelter and food. There was a twenty-bed hospital unit for the more seriously handicapped but medical treatment and therapy were at a minimum. In January, 1947 a report described it best when she said "Surely one of Canada's strangest and most primitive hospitals".
Marpole Women's Auxiliary 1946 presentation to the Government The Government's neglect of these elderly and chronically sick people was perhaps understandable during the war years, but in 1946 the Auxiliary made personal representations and presented a brief to the Government describing the appalling conditions and asking for a new 500-bed institution to replace the scattered units then operating.
The presentation of this brief alerted the newspapers to the conditions in the infirmaries and there appeared a spate of editorials condemning the Government of this supposedly enlightened province for allowing these conditions to exist. The clamor became so insistent that finally some members in Victoria were moved to comment on the need for new facilities. One member went so far as to actually visit Marpole Infirmary and was visibly shaken by what he saw.
Early in the spring of 1947 the Minister of Finance announced that money had been set aside and plans were being drawn up for a new hospital but when the budget came down there was no mention of such funds or plans and there the matter rested.
Pearson Hospital (now Oak Care Centre) was built in 1952 for tuberculosis patients at first, then an extension was built for polio patients. It wasn't until May 1964 that the Allco patients were transferred to Pearson Hospital and those from the Marpole Infirmary in April of the following year.
Oak Care Centre, formerly George Pearson Centre The staff at Pearson Hospital were notified late in 1963 that the patients in the three infirmaries were now its responsibility. By April, 1965 all the patients had been transferred into Pearson and it was quite a task getting them all settled and getting the Marpole Infirmary staff and the Pearson Hospital staff working together harmoniously and efficiently. Some of the patients came to Pearson with some fear that they would not like their new surroundings, but in a very short time all of them settled down and appeared quite happy.
The next year presented quite a number of difficulties, as the Activity Wing had not been built and the Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Departments had insufficient working space. The Auxiliary was influential in obtaining the Activity Wing and this helped greatly in the care of extended care patients.
When the patients were transferred to Pearson from Allco and Marpole Infirmary, the Auxiliary moved to Pearson too. They started visiting people already living in Pearson which included the Polio Pavilion and Tuberculosis Wards, totaling 179 patients. Each week the Auxiliary would write letters, do small sewing jobs and generally aided in the patients comforts, especially those who had limited visitors. The visiting time each month averaged over 100 hours. Christmas was a very busy period for the Auxiliary. Each year a committee purchased and wrapped gifts to be placed beside each patients bed. Flowers were donated for the chapel, wards and Activity room.
The Marpole Women's Auxiliary continues to support residents at Oak Care Centre. The Auxiliary turned 87 years old in 2025 (70 years old in 2008).
Bargain Mart When the Auxiliary was formed in 1938 one of the major fund-raising programs was a rummage sale, named Bargain Mart in 1952. The countless hours of work accumulating items to sell from clothing to furniture, along with running the event proved to be successful. Bargain Mart was held in a hall on Broadway in April 1939, expanding to a fall bazaar in which tea and goods were sold.
One day sales were held annually in various halls throughout the city until 1949 when the then fifty members decided to pioneer. From the Federal Government they secured the use of a vacated cafe at the corner of Burrard and Pender. It was filthy but the members attacked it with brooms and mops and soon had it presentable. The sale was kept open for the months of February and March and the members worked under the most difficult conditions. It was very cold with much snow and ice and there was no light, heat or water in the building. City Hall was prevailed on to grant a license and a permit for one light in the sorting room which was big enough to accommodate two members at a time. One member brought a small coal and wood heater in and the Fire Marshall promptly threatened to close the building. Another visit to City Hall straightened this out and husbands were recruited to get down an hour before the doors opened to light the stove. The lack of water did not present too much of a problem as just a block up the street the YMCA offered adequate washroom facilities.
The day after the sale opened, it was discovered that during the night thieves had broken in and stolen all the good men's suits. The members rectified this situation promptly by raiding their husband's wardrobes.
The President appointed herself chief swamper and could be seen for days on end, attired in slacks and gumboots, shoveling snow from the sidewalk so the customers could be in. When the thaw came she made it her job to mop up the floor and wring out the merchandise, as the roof leaked in a multitude of places. One member had a station wagon and it was her duty to pick up the rummage. When a load provided too big for the station wagon, she borrowed the ambulance that was used to transport patients from Allco to Marpole. For lack of storage space, the rummage was kept in members' cars until there was room for it on the counters.
The next two years the sales lasted just two weeks and were held in the downtown area, but from then on they were held in the Marpole Infirmary where the patients loved the crowds and excitement. Again, there was no room for storage and garages and vacant stores in the area were rented for this purpose.
The Bargain Mart continued after the Auxiliary moved to Pearson Hospital.
This continued, eventually shrinking to a one day 'Mini Mart' by the 1980s.
From 1939 to 1971 Bargain Mart generated $298,551.23.
Calendars Calendar sales started in 1939 when 500 were ordered. In latter years 20,000 were ordered and sold. In 1969 the sale price of the calendar rose from 50 cents to 75 cents. From 1939 to 1971 Calendar sales generated $84,086.11.
Marpole Women's Auxiliary Early Donations to Pearson Hospital