In 1923 “the Auxiliary added cheerfully to their responsibilities by offering to furnish the new nurses’ home” built by the Hospital Board.[1] The selected and purchased the furnishings for the home, as well, as six private wards. The cost to the Auxiliary was $1,030 (about $15, 301 in 2018 dollars). The sewing and purchasing committee, headed by Mrs. Mabel Fox and Mrs. Elvira Day, was augmented for purpose of furnishing the nurses’ home. Donations of dishes, pictures, towels, books, a gramophone where received from the community.
The nurses’ home opened May 5, 1924 on a bright, sunny day with the smell of lilac blossoms in the air. The women of the auxiliary decorated the home and hospital with flowers and presided over a tea table for the over 250 people who attended the opening.[2]
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Text excerpted with permission from Commitment to Caring: Chilliwack Hospital Auxiliary’s 100 years, 1911-2011 by Andrea Lister.