Rural nursing 1960s-style

May 07th, 2021

In 1962, newly minted public health nurse Marion McKinnon was just 22 years old when she arrived in Williams Lake. Loaded with immunization supplies, baby scales and emergency drugs, she got into her government-issued Chevy and headed out into her 9,300-square-kilometre territory. She drove in freezing temperatures with only a candle, antifreeze, chains and chocolate bars as emergency equipment. Under her full name, Marion McKinnon Crook, she tells her story of providing health care to rural communities in Always Pack a Candle: A Nurse in the Cariboo-Chilcotin (Heritage $22.95). 9781772033625

Photo by Duke Morse.

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