Coastal Women - Outside World, Women Coming to NL

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two nurses and the boss of the house

The Rooms Provincial Archives, VA 17-24.2, “Two nurses and the boss of the house': Mission volunteers Edith and Louise Hegan and S.M. Carr-Harris, Battle Harbour, Labrador, 1909, International Grenfell Association photograph collection

Additional Information  In the summer of 1909 Louise Hegan, then age 30, and her sister Edith, 28 years, volunteered at Battle Harbour. The Hegans left Saint John on 10 June, arriving in Battle Harbour ten days later. The nurses attended to more than 100 in-patients, as well as many minor injuries and illnesses. The Hegans were assisted by Miss S.M. Carr-Harris, a fellow Canadian from Kingston. The Hegans left Battle Harbour on 11 October and reached home two weeks later. They were interviewed by the Saint John Sun (25 Oct. 1909) and the article was later reprinted in the Mission periodical, Among the Deep Sea Fishers (Jan. 1910, p. 16-24). The interview noted that "the lady missionaries brought home many valuable snap-shots, which include a number of striking groups and some peculiarly interesting scenes."