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Not
all COs doing hospital work served in mental institutions. Some
worked in general hospitals, especially at St. Boniface Hospital
in Winnipeg .
Peter
Schroeder knew he wanted to do hospital work even before he appeared
before Judge Adamson.
“I
was the first of the group to appear. My case went very smoothly
since I, along with my cousin, had obtained the orderly job on
our own before the hearing…. The judge knew of the St. Boniface
appointment and granted CO status.”
“I,
along with other COs, were gladly received by the hospital administration
because we worked hard (12 hr. shifts) and demanded little. The
other staff members ridiculed some, especially the young Medical
Corp interns. One doctor prescribed that I should scrub the base
of the operating table (which I cleaned after an operation) just
as clean as my CO soul was. Generally I was treated well and got
to like the work very much.” [MHC, 1015-11]
David
Schroeder, also an orderly at St. Boniface, has similar memories.
In general, the COs were treated well, but there were always a few
exceptions.
“I
had no knowledge of orderly work and had to be trained. Our work
was appreciated and generally well accepted. Occasionally we met
with hostility on the part of nurses or doctors where members
of their own family had to go to war. The hospital administration
did not take advantage of our compulsory service with them.” [MHC,
1015-1]
Though
the experience of the COs at St. Boniface was good, there was one
particularly sad incident. David F. Friesen recalls that moment.
“We
did have some difficult days. Willie Unrau, from the Lowe Farm
area, worked on maintenance. The hospital had a huge incinerator
to dispose of garbage. Somehow a container of ether was part of
the garbage and when Willie put it into the incinerator it exploded.
Willie died a few days later. I remember how his father came to
pick up the body. It was a sad moment.” [ASP, 83]
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| Four COs at the Manitoba School in Portage la Prairie |
St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba |
On
the whole, though, the three years that Friesen worked at St. Boniface
Hospital were a positive experience.
“It
was a tremendous experience for me especially in the hospital
work. It changed the direction of my life as I decided to go back
to school during that time. It was also during this time that
I became an active Christian. The opportunity to meet people who
had a different culture was valuable.” [MHC, 1015-56]
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