The arrival of Dr. Fred and Patricia Foerster's second child on Nov. 13, 1950, received newspaper coverage. Susan Foerster was the first baby born at the city's modern $3.1-million hospital 70 years ago.
"Since the St. Joseph Hospital birth centre was full, my dad called the General, which was not officially open (sic), but my mother was in labour," said Susan Foerster Cameron.
Cameron, who now lives in Orillia, shared the story told by her mother.
The hospital was so new, "the ambulance attendants were discussing whether to remove their winter boots (before entering), but my mother (a nurse) told them there was no time. I was born shortly afterward."
Many readers like Cameron shared memories of Sudbury General Hospital with Sudbury.com for its Memory Lane feature.
Sudbury General Hospital of the Immaculate Heart of Mary officially opened in October 1950, but did not admit patients until November. Colloquially referred to as the General, and for a time officially known as the St. Joseph's Health Centre, it closed 10 years ago, but memories are still vivid for people who worked there and for former patients and their families.
As a child, Cameron visited the hospital often with her father, who at one time was a doctor on the medical staff at Inco, when he made his rounds. Cameron attended the hospital's 10th anniversary party and won a portable TV, a big deal for a pre-teen in 1960.
She became a nurse. When she married Sandy Cameron, the son of a doctor, in August 1975, the ceremony was held at the General.
Her father was in failing health and would not have been able to walk her down the log aisle at Christ the King Church. Arrangements for a smaller wedding were made at the hospital chapel with a reception at Cassio's.
The General closed in March 2010. One of its last patients was Rachel Jerome.
"In January of 2010 I was wheeled into the operating room of the Sudbury General Hospital," she said. "I was about to have a large incision cut into my abdomen and I was nervous ... I said a prayer, hoping everything would be OK. Right before the anesthetic took effect, the radio that was in the operating room announced a truck had overturned and 10,000 honey bees had escaped. For some reason, the thought of those honey bees and how they are known for their hard work and service, made me aware of all the staff that surrounded me, of how caring they were and how I felt safe in their hands ... then I drifted off.
"I felt gratitude toward the staff at the hospital as I reflected upon the hard work that went into caring for me and for others who were going through difficult circumstances.
"Just a few short months afterwards, the hospital closed its doors. It was the hospital I was born in, along with all my siblings. I can’t imagine how many memories both sad and joyous have taken place within its walls."
Three generations of memories
"Sudbury General Hospital was a very important place for me. First of all, I was born there on a cold December day in 1953 and happily, years later, my daughter and son were also born at the General," wrote Ann Lisk. "Over the next 50 years, countless trips were made to 'emerg' for all kinds of problems, large and small. My son and I had surgeries there and the care was always the best. We felt that when we went to the General, it was like visiting an old friend. It wasn’t too big, the parking was close and never too full, and even 'emerg' wasn’t too busy.
"We were familiar with every nook and cranny and the gift shop was a destination, where smiling volunteers were happy to see us.
"No stretchers clogged the hallways and rooms were always available when needed. You could feel the efficiency in the air and the nuns who managed that hospital were dedicated and smart. Patient care was their No. 1 goal.
"As time went by, we were blessed with the arrival of five grandchildren at the General ... more good memories. We knew many nurses and staff who worked their whole careers there and they loved it too."
Dad spent many nights in ED
John Lindsay remembered, "Like many in our community, we visited the hospital on many occasions — some happy visits like the birth of my daughter (premature). I spent a few nights in the emergency department on occasion with no complaints. Rushes to the emergency for the kids on what seemed like numerous occasions for a variety of ills and mishaps, again all well attended to. There were the more sombre visits to those friends and relatives who would not recover. The hospital was well built and those fortunate enough had windows overlooking Bell Park and Ramsey Lake. We advocated that the facility be turned into a nursing home, which would have alleviated the then and continuing long-term care crisis."
Some readers sent emails, others phone and, because it is 2020, some chose to share their memories on Facebook.
Jack Dardick wrote, 'In talking about General Hospital, it would have been nice to say it was designed by architect Louis Fabbro, who designed many buildings in Sudbury and who was a major force in local architecture."
Kayla Lamoureux said, "My grandmother, Dianne Piper, was a nurse in labour and delivery. My favourite memory was of her taking me to the hospital as a kid to see all of the babies in the nursery. Probably couldn't do that these days! When she passed away, she had a room at the hospital named after her in her memory."
Beverly O'Donnell remembered, "My mom worked there for many years in the maternity ward looking after the babies. Even today people still say she was such a caring nurse."
Ed Collin wrote, "I was born there in October 1956. My biological mother's last name was Lebreton. l apparently spent some time there with yellow jaundice. The ward nurses would sit me outside much of the day as a treatment. I often wonder how many stories there are like that."
Ginette Tobodo said, "They used to do this cool thing. On the walls they painted certain colours — one colour for the lab, another colour for the cardiac department, etc., and you just followed the colour to where you needed to go. Easy to find your way around."
Tammy Peters remembered, "Ended up there on my wedding night. After we got married in our home, right before turning in for the evening, my hubby — we knew he possibly had heart issues and were very cautious — ended up there for surgery."
Darren Malott's twin boys were born there. "They were called the miracle babies at 2 lbs. 10 oz., and 2 lbs. 14 oz. (They are) my heroes and best friends today. But I will never forget the beautiful nurses in the maternity ward and doctors at the General," he said.
Joanne Bossey wrote, "My brother swam out too far in Ramsey Lake one day. He was just a young boy and couldn’t get back. A nurse saw him from a window and ran out and saved him. My brother is 75 and this something I’ll never forget."
Courtney Lapointe's three brothers were born at the General. "I wanted a sister so bad, I bawled my eyes out at the hospital when each one of them was born."
Pitina Alison Guenette shared good and bad memories. "My brother passed there after a bus accident in 1996. My mother was born there, I was born there as well as my two daughters. My youngest daughter was born there at the end February before they closed down."
Jeuls Gia Baronette's first two children were born at the General. "When I went into labour for my youngest, dad drove me to this hospital and I got out of the car, he went to park. We both then realized that it had been closed down that every week. That was 10 1/2 years ago."
Work of Art?
Many readers commented on the mural painted on the vacant building in the summer of 2019. Some were favourable, some not.
Karen Peterson Reid said, "My sister and I, as well as my two boys, were born in that hospital. I also lost my sister there. Personally, I think the mural painting is better than a dreary red building with broken windows."
Ann Sokolowski wrote, "I worked in the lab office in the 1960s and later I had my first born at the hospital. Now … it looks like the rainbow unicorn threw up on it. It's awful looking."
John Liba said, "My four-year-old grandson says, 'they should tear that place down,' every time we drive by it. What was our city thinking when they allowed them to destroy that landmark?"
Stefberry Moon wrote," My little daughter … used to be able to say that she was born in a creepy, abandoned haunted hospital, but now she has to say she was born in the cute rainbow unicorn hospital."
"My husband and I call it the Trump Towers in its present state, disgraceful," said Maggie Moriarty.
Carol F. Somerset noted, "It’s become a great movie set, see movie trucks there."
"The mural on the hospital is art and art tells a story," said Tom Leduc, president of Sudbury Writers' Guild. The guild has collected stories and poems about General Hospital with plans to publish an anthology.
"The hospital is in its last chapter and we wanted to capture some of the building's stories. The guild's project has received almost 50 pieces of prose and poetry from the community, including historical pieces and firsthand accounts from doctors, nurse and patients.
"We also have a futuristic look of the hospital grounds and many opinion pieces on the mural and what it means to people, both good and bad," said Leduc."
"We are hoping to put together a coffee table book with stories, poems and pictures. We received a small grant from the City of Greater Sudbury for editing and gratitude for authors but the finished product depends on further funding and partnerships."
Missed opportunity?
Sudbury General Hospital, owned and operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie, closed when the one-site hospital, now Health Sciences North, was completed.
Many Sudburians had hoped the city would purchase the prime piece of real estate for redevelopment. It is generally considered to be an unfortunate missed opportunity. The building was sold to Panorama Properties to be developed into condos and apartments but the project has not come to fruition.
Ghost stories
The late Bob Stevens, a local history buff, got permission from the Sisters of St. Joseph to visit the hospital with photographer Greg Taylor in the spring of 2010. They had hoped to publish a book.
Taylor's eerie black and white photographs of the abandoned hospital's interior were featured in the Spring 2013 issue of Sudbury Living. The photographs showed hospital staff had autographed and wrote memories on the walls before they left.
Journalist Mick Lowe, who wrote the article that accompanied the photographs, called it, "the largest going-way card in Sudbury's history."
Stevens, referred to the hospital as "sacred ground, “with a mystical allure." He described feeling light energy in the maternity ward and a "very heavy, very dark" energy in the ICU.
Calling his visit "totally surreal", Stevens said he heard a child giggling and what sounded like a bag of marbles dropping to the floor.
On his first visit, the digital sign in the emergency department read, "Now serving #89." On the final visit, the sign said, "Now serving #91." There was no electricity in the vacant building.
Lowe, an award-winning journalist and author, referenced the building's sale to a private developer and the role it played in the defeat of mayor John Rodriguez in 2010 by concluding, "the ghosts of the old General not only affect Bob Stevens but haunt us all."
Sudbury.com's history series Memory Lane is made possible by our Community Leaders Program. At the beginning of every month, we'll post an image from the Nickel City’s past and invite readers to share memories. It could be a person, a building or an event. The image will be posted to Sudbury.com’s homepage and to Facebook and Twitter.
Vicki Gilhula is a freelance writer in Greater Sudbury who writes about local history for Sudbury.com.
