Every year at Christmas, we all enjoy the large outdoor Crib that is on display in front of Providence Motherhouse in Kingston. The Statues were purchased by Sr. Mary Roberta, General Treasurer, in 1961 and she requested that a stable be built to display the statues.

BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST St. Vincent de Paul Hospital Brockville was opened in 1887 and five years later, in 1892, the hospital had outgrown its Schofield Hill location and the hospital moved to a former convent at 42 Garden Street. Over time several additions were built in 1896, 1912, 1924, and 1948. In 1958 a new four storey wing was added and in 1968, the old wings were demolished and replaced with a four-storey addition, which...

Kingston and the Islands riding election debate for 2005 Canadian Federal Election.BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST In light of the recent federal election, let’s take a look at the Sisters of Providence’s history of voting in federal elections. After obtaining suffrage in 1919, the first Canadian federal election in which women could exercise their right to vote was 1921. The congregation was unsure at first whether to let the Sisters exercise...

Sister Mary Raphael is noteworthy on several fronts. She was especially well known for her 42 years of service at Providence Hospital in Moose Jaw and was much beloved by the people of Moose Jaw. She was also the first Sister of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul to reach the age of 100. Sister Mary Raphael was born in 1877 and died at the ripe old age of 102 in 1979. And she is the only Sister of Providence who almost had a lake named after her!

BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST Those of us who live in cities, take for granted that our water is provided by the city and not by a private corporation. This was not always the case in Kingston. According to the Kingston Pumphouse Museum website, the Kingston Water Works was owned by a private corporation from 1849 to 1887 when it was purchased by the City of Kingston. In 1889 the City replaced half of the pipes in Kingston with larger pipes...

BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST The School of Nursing at Providence Hospital in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan was founded in 1917 by Sister Mary Raphael McCann. There were 14 students in the first class. Conditions were crowded and instruction was carried on by the doctors as they went about visiting their patients. The following September, when the new hospital opened on Lillooet Street, classrooms were on the ground floor and living accommodation...

BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST Mother Mary Clement was General Superior from July 1927 to July 1930. She wrote a letter to all the Sisters for Lent in 1930 that was sent to all the convents and missions. Here are a few extracts: Dear Sister Superior and Sisters:- I notice that all the Sisters are writing to their loved ones, so I thought I would do like-wise. For many reasons, my letter must be short, and for this, I know you will pardon me....