The Past
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~ City Hall
~ Fire Department
~ Health Care
~ ~ Dr. Keith
~ ~ Dr. Kope
~ ~ Nursing in
Enderby
~ ~ Public
Health
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Peace
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Transportation
Dr. Keith was born in New Brunswick in
1873, and lived there for all of his early life. From there he went on to McGill
University to pursue a career in medicine. He was married, and when their daughter,
Dorothy, arrived, in 1906, the Keith family decided to move to Enderby.
The family lived in a house built by the former physician, Dr. Bentley. The house, located
on the corner of Cliff St. and George St., occupied a full city block. A barn stood in the
back yard, complete with an ice-house, stables for his horses, and a spot for his buggy.
The house itself was used for a hospital as it had a waiting room and a surgery room. The
grounds were filled with a flower garden and a vegetable garden which were separated by a
stone walkway.
When he was not practicing at home, Dr. Keith would be making house calls with his buggy
when many of his patients were very ill. He went as far away as Mabel Lake and Mara Lake,
and would be away for several days.
Many of the Hindu workers, who were employed in the Okanagan Sawmill, used to come to Dr.
Keith to receive a prescription for medicine. They would receive this medicine at the
drugstore, for 1 dollar a month paid by the mill. The Hindus insisted on something in the
form of medicine whether they needed it or not. So Dr. Keith and the pharmacist concocted
a dose of slightly sweetened colored water which kept everyone happy.
Dr. Keith practiced in Enderby until 1933. He will always be remembered as "Old
Doc", and the one who helped the Hospital get started and gave so much to the
community through his unselfish actions.
Several doctors succeeded Dr. Keith: Dr. Munro (1933-35), Dr. Killman (1935-1937), Dr.
Haugen (1937-1939), and Dr. Coltart (1939-1940). Not until Dr. Kope (1940-1967) arrived,
was there ever such a caring and unselfish doctor that was so vital to the growth of
Enderby as a community.
Kris Verhoeven, Philip Baker
ALF School 1989