Our comfortable sense of isolation is
over. An uneasy anticipation of impending change is in the air. The general
upheaval will begin with the arrival of the Prospero,
which is expected to bring a part of the summer contingent. We hear rumors of
hordes: collegians, volunteers, nurses, medical students. There will also be an
exodus. Mr. Evans will leave us and is already inspecting locks on his trunk
and suitcase. His feeling savors of emancipation. Mrs. Grenfell plans to go
home for a visit and return in late June with visitors for the summer. Miss
Kennedy, after long and devoted service, is going home for a much-needed
vacation. Mrs. Manager departs with her baby in June, and Mr. Manager will
travel from place to place on the schooners to oversee business affairs at
little settlements connected with the Mission. The Doctor will stay here but
plans to go north on the Strathcona
after Dr. Little returns in June with one of his sisters.
An interesting arrival will be Mr.
Jesse Halsey, a Presbyterian minister who after an intensive course in plumbing
and kindred practical crafts is to serve the Mission by superintending drainage
installation. He will arrive with his bride in June to stay for a year,
probably located at the Guest House. Also in June, Dr. Wakefield will reappear
with his bride, and still another reappearance will be Dr. Grenfell’s cousin,
Mr. Spencer, who is returning to direct agricultural development and enlist
enthusiastic co-operation from the students if anyone can. He has the
personality to bring results. The semi-annual kaleidoscopic shift of personnel
is beginning. It will be interesting to see how the pieces fall into place and
what the ultimate picture will be.”
from Jessie Luther at the Grenfell Mission, an annotated edition of a travel journal that Luther wrote from 1906 to 1910, edited by Ronald Rompkey (2001)
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