Arnold's Story: July 1950 Newfoundland

Arnold arrived in Twillingate, Newfoundland, Canada, at the beginning of July 1950. Twillingate is off the northeastern shore of the island. 

Here are some of his postcards. They all had unfranked Newfoundland stamps on the back but I only scanned the one back side. Newfoundland was a separate Dominion from Canada in the British Commonwealth until 1949, when it joined the Dominion of Canada. They issued their own stamps through 1949. This two-cent stamp of King George VI may have been issued as early as 1938.

Arnold related an incident from a home visit where his colleague Clem Hiebert delivered a baby in Newfoundland. The family requested some grace. Somewhat surprised, he happily said a prayer for the baby. The family thanked him for the prayer, but again requested grace. Finally he came to understand they were saying grease, but it sounded like grace to him; he offered some ointment for the new-born baby. In Clem's book Seldom Come By: A Surgeon's Stories, 2003, that delivery was actually of twins.

Notre Dame Bay Memorial Hospital and Nurses' Home, Twillingate, Newfoundland (postcard)

This two-cent stamp with King George VI was issued in or after 1938 by the Dominion of Newfoundland
 and certainly before it entered into confederation with Canada in 1949 when NFL stopped issuing stamps.

Decades later Clem Hiebert wrote of his residency experiences in Newfoundland, when he, Jerry Foster and Arnold interned at Notre Dame Bay Memorial Hospital in Twillingate under Dr. John Olds for two–three months.

"Seldom Come By: The Worthwhileness of a Career in Surgery,"  Archives of Surgury, 1989, vol. 124, issue 5, pages 530–534

Here is a photo of Clem Hiebert, Arnold and Jerry Foster from an article on the the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) site about a special collection in the Twillingate Public Library. 

 

Clem Hiebert, Jerry Foster, Arnold Nevis, 1950

Clem Hiebert's photo of Arnold operating with Jerry Foster and an unidentified nurse, 1950,
from the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Library collections

1950 photo by Clement Hiebert of a very tired Arnold Nevis
returning from rounds by boat, Twillingate Harbour

Originally presented as his presidential address for the New England Surgical Society at the end of his term in 1989, Hiebert later published his memoire as Seldom Come By: A Surgeon’s Stories (Blue Publications, 2003).

next post  July 10, 1950

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first post in blog  Leonard's Story: May 29, 1943

Arnold's Story: March 18, 1949 Pat

Pat's spelling is bad in a few places. For example, I think illuminate in the second paragraph is eliminate. Pat spent time in Winnipeg, Canada, and sometimes it shows up in the language, such as with "eh?" at the end of one sentence.

Leonard is having doubts about getting into medical school, so he might try engineering. At the same time he and a friend are inventing a new diving unit. 

I do not see a movie from the 1940s for Man and Superman. In the mid 1940s the George Bernard Shaw's 1947 comedy "Man and Superman" was playing on Broadway and may have made it west to California. Or Pat is talking about the 1946 BBC broadcast of the play by radio.

I am uncertain which Flavell Pat is talking about: Arnold and Leonard knew both Ed Flavell and Kenny Flavell.

The return address for Pat is 3056 Shasta Circle North, Los Angeles.

next post  March 21, 1949 

previous post  March 18, 1949 MHN

first post in Arnold's Story  July 1943

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Leonard's Story: August 21, 1948

Leonard's wife Pat writes to his family about the remainder of their itinerary and about some things they bought in Canada and sent from New York State.

next post  August 22, 1948

previous post  Leonard's Story: August 20, 1948 two letters

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Leonard's Story: July 19, 1948

The two brothers Leonard and Arnold have their rustic East Canada experiences about a year apart: Leonard and Pat in 1948 and Arnold in 1949.

next post  Leonard's Story: July 20, 1948

previous post  Leonard's Story: July 17, 1948

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Leonard's Story: July 11, 1948

The Eastern Corporation has operated under a number of names over the decades, but may be the same as "Eastern Paper Corp" because it is located in Brewer, Maine, across the Penobscot River from Bangor. "The fire" may refer to the Great Fires of 1947, burning the fancy mansions of Bar Harbor in October of that year.  

next post  July 15, 1948

previous post  July 9, 1948

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Leonard's Story: May 22, 1948

In his letter to his brother Arnold, Leonard outlines their ambitious camping trip through Canada and part of the northern U.S. With less detail he offers the same to his mother Hazel.

next post  June 1, 1948 Chuck Cutler

previous post  May 19, 1947

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first post in blog  Leonard's Story: May 29, 1943