Suitable for the Wilds: Letters from Northern Alberta, 1929-1931

by Mary Percy Jackson, Janice Dickin (Editor)

Overview

The plea was advertised in the British Medical Journal in February 1929: seeking "strong energetic Medical Women with post-graduate experience in Midwifery" for "country work" in western Canada. A young Dr. Mary Percy was intrigued. After graduating with degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of Birmingham in 1927, she had been searching for the kind of opportunity which would offer both adventure and practical experience. She answered the advertisement and set off for the Peace River region of Northern Alberta in June of 1929. Little did she know that her "adventure" in the Canadian north was to last more than seventy years.

Suitable for the Wilds : Letters from Northern Alberta, 1929-1931, is a collection of Dr. Mary Percy Jackson's letters written to family and friends in the early years of her practice, from 1929-1931. The letters offer a fascinating glimpse at life in northern Alberta at the beginning of the Depression, when the area was being farmed and settled by new European immigrants. These homesteaders, along with the area's Aboriginal and Métis population, were Dr. Percy's patients, scattered throughout a territory covering nearly 400 square miles. Vigilant about vaccination, nutrition, and preventive medicine, she quickly proved to be a talented physician who was truly ahead of her time, particularly in the area of tuberculosis treatment and prevention. Dr. Percy's dedication, good nature, and unfailing sense of humour shine through in her letters. This delightful and captivating collection is a tribute to her indomitable spirit.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781552381694
Publisher:	University of Calgary Press
Publication date:	06/01/2006
Series:	Legacies Shared , #17
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.76(d)

About the Author

Dr. Mary Percy Jackson was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence in 1983 and inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1990. She received both the Alberta and Canadian Centennial Medals and was a lifetime member of the College of Family Physicians. She died in 2000 at the age of 95.

Janice Dickin is professor emerita in the Department of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary. Her areas of study include medical history, life writing, and Canadian social history.

Editorial Reviews

The letters of Dr. Mary Percy, who at the age of 25 left home in Birmingham to take on responsibilities as a doctor, dentist, public health officer, and coroner in the Peace River area of Northern Alberta, ministering to the Metis and Native people, as well as to increasing numbers of immigrant families. The introduction by editor McGinnis provides a detailed discussion of Percy's life and an assessment of the value of her letters in terms of the historiography of women, of medicine, and of the North. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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