Historic Wabana
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  • History
    • Mining History >
      • Time-line of Wabana Mines
      • Boys of Wabana
      • Bridges of Wabana
      • Commuting Miners >
        • Miners Path
      • Company Housing >
        • Housing Introduction & Contents
        • Saddle-Roof Style
        • Gable-to-street style
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        • Bunk & Mess Houses
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        • Staff Boarding Houses & Main Offices >
          • The Staff House
        • Company Family Houses for Management & Staff
      • Company Names Timeline
      • Company Payroll
      • The Company Whistle
      • Dams & Other Mining Water Bodies
      • Fatalities Related to Mining >
        • Accounts of Employee Fatalities
        • Miners' Stories of Accidents
        • Mining Accidents Overview
      • The Messrs. Butler of Topsail
      • Miners Brass / Check / Cheque Numbers
      • Miner's Working Life
      • Mining Equipment >
        • Euclid Trucks
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        • Shovels for Hand-Loading
      • Mining Operations >
        • Arthur House Article >
          • Part 1 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 1, 1939
          • Part 2 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 2, 1939
          • Part 3 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 3, 1939
          • Part 4 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 4, 1939
          • Part 5 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 6, 1939
          • Part 6 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 7, 1939
        • F.F. Jardine Articles >
          • Fortieth Anniversary of Wabana Mines, Bell Island
          • Part 1 of "Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines"
          • Part 2 of "Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines"
          • Part 3 of "Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines"
          • Part 4 of "Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines"
      • Mining Terminology
      • No. 2 Mine
      • No. 3 Mine
      • No. 4 Mine
      • No. 6 Mine
      • Patrick Harrison Co.
      • Royalties
      • Scotia & Dominion Piers >
        • Bamafash Pilot Boat
      • Shipping Season at Wabana
    • Bickfordville
    • Businesses >
      • Bank of Nova Scotia
      • Bell Island Co-Operative Co. Ltd.
      • Scotia Ridge Businesses
      • Town Square History >
        • Charles Cohen & Son
    • Churches >
      • Anglican / Church of England
      • Pentecostal Chapel
      • Presbyterian Church
      • Roman Catholic
      • Salvation Army
      • United Church / Methodist
    • Community Organizations >
      • Bell Island Poultry Association
      • Boy Scouts
      • Boys & Girls Club of Bell Island
      • Caribou Athletic Club
      • Catholic Cadet Corps
      • Church Lads Brigade
      • Clift Masonic Lodge
      • Dominion Boat Club
      • Elks
      • Girl Guides
      • Independent Order of Odd Fellows
      • Kiwanis Club
      • Knights of Columbus
      • Life-Saving Guards
      • Lions Club
      • Loyal Orange Association
      • Motor Association
      • Royal Canadian Legion, Br. 18
      • Society of United Fishermen
      • Sporty Few
      • Syrian Benevolent Society
      • Tennis Club
      • Wabana Literary Institute
    • DOSCO News (CJON Radio)
    • Education >
      • Anglican Schools >
        • Academy - St. Augustine's
        • St. Aiden's
        • St. Mary's School
        • St. Stephen's School
      • Boys Home & Training School
      • Methodist / United Church
      • Roman Catholic Schools
      • Salvation Army
      • Vocational Education
    • Electric Power
    • Entertainment >
      • Wabana Little Theatre
    • FIRES >
      • St. Augustine's School Fires
      • Staff House Fire
      • Town Square Shops Fires
    • Health >
      • Company Surgery
      • Death Practices in the Mining Years
      • Doctors Timeline
      • Epidemics in the Mining Years
      • Hospital
      • Midwives
      • Red Cross >
        • Junior Red Cross
    • Lance Cove
    • Maps & Diagrams >
      • Insurance Plan of Wabana 1954
    • Military Activity >
      • Military Service Other Than WWI & WWII
      • World War I
      • World War II >
        • Caribou Sinking-Bell Island Connections
        • NFLD Militia
        • Torbay Airport/St. John's Airport
        • U-Boat Attacks >
          • Ratcliffe Winn's Story
        • WW2 Veterans
        • WW2 Veterans Group Photos
    • Monuments & Murals >
      • The Murals Project History
      • Brian Burke Sculptures
      • Lance Cove Seaman's Memorial
    • Municipal Government
    • Operation Toxin
    • Parsonsville / Freshwater
    • Population Statistics
    • Postal Service
    • Settlement of Bell Island: Fact & Folklore
    • Sports - A Brief History >
      • Arena History
      • Bowling
      • Curling - Men's >
        • Women's Curling
      • Tennis
    • Telephone Service
    • Timeline of Amenities, Public Services & Utilities
    • Today in the History of Bell Island
    • Transportation >
      • Beach Tramway
      • Ferries & The Tickle >
        • Elmer W. Jones
        • Ice in The Tickle
        • Kipawo
        • MANECO
        • S.S. Mary
        • Timeline of Ferries & Freighters
        • Tragedy in The Tickle 1940
      • Transport & Shipping Companies
      • Motorized Vehicles
    • The Women of Wabana, Part 1: Women's Work & Social Life
  • Publications
    • Arthur House Article
    • The Book of Newfoundland >
      • "Bell Island Was Exciting For a Growing Boy"
    • Books About Bell Island
    • Early History of Bell Island
    • F.F. Jardine Articles
    • "Where Canada's Iron Comes From"
    • "A Mine Dead - A Town Stricken"
    • Morris, I.C.
    • Newfoundland Quarterly >
      • "Bell Island," V. 1, No. 1, July 1901
      • "Belle Island Boyhood," Part 1, V. 85, No. 2, Fall 1989
      • "Belle Island Boyhood," Part 2, V. 85, No. 3, Winter 1990
    • Newspapers (Bell Island) >
      • Bell Island & Conc. Bay Reporter
      • Bell Island Examiner
      • Bell Island Miner (Newspaper)
      • Bell Island Miner 1965
      • Bell Island Reporter
      • Bell Island Times
      • Bell Islander
      • Wabana Druggist
      • Wabana Star
      • Wabana Weekly
    • Notes on Belle Isle by Mrs. B.B.E.
    • Our Bell Island Budget
    • Place Where the Sun Rises
    • Submarine Miner >
      • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 1, June 1954
      • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 2, July 1954
      • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 3, August 1954
      • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 4, September 1954
      • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 5, October 1954
      • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 6, November 1954
      • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 7, December 1954
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 1, January 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 2, February 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 3, March 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 4, April 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 5, May 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 6, June 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 7, July 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 8, August 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 9, September 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 #10, October 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 11, November 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 2 #12, December 1955
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 1, January 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 2, February 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 3, March 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 4, April 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 5, May 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 6, June 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 7, July 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 8, August 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 9, September 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 #10, October 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 11, November 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 3 #12, December 1956
      • Submarine Miner, V. 4, # 1, January 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V. 4, # 2, February 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V. 4, # 3, March 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #4, April 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #5, May 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #6, June 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #7, July 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #8, August 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #9, September 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V.4, #10, October 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V.4, #11, November 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V.4, #12, December 1957
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #1, January 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #2, February 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #3, March 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #4, April 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #5, May 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #6, June 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #7, July 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #8, August 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #9, September 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #10, October 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #11, November 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.5, #12, December 1958
      • Submarine Miner, V.6, #1, January 1959
      • Submarine Miner, V.6, #2, February 1959
      • Submarine Miner, V.6, #3, March 1959
      • Submarine Miner, V.6, #4, April 1959
      • Submarine Miner, V.6, #5, May 1959
      • Submarine Miner, V.6, #6, June 1959
      • Submarine Miner, V.6, #7, July 1959
      • Submarine Miner, V.6, #8, August 1959
      • DOSCO World
    • Victor Southey Article
  • People
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      • Yvonne E. Saunders
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      • Adrian Taylor, 1918-1944
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  • Extras
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    • The Great Fossil Mystery
    • Jail Break
    • Personal Experience Stories >
      • Dave Careless: "A Rough Day at the Office"
      • Dave Careless "Around the Block"
      • Dave Careless: "Dogs & Cats of Wabana"
      • Dave Careless: "Five Minutes for Fighting"
      • Dave Careless: "My Travels on Ore Carriers""
      • Dave Careless: "November 22nd, 1963"
      • Dave Careless: "Wabana Memories, 1958-1966"
      • Al O'Brien: "It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time"
      • Gail Weir: "Ghost & Fairy Stories"
    • Unusual Occurrences
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  • Photo Gallery
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    • Winter Scenes
  • About This Site
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HISTORY
HEALTH
RED CROSS


JUNIOR RED CROSS
by Gail Hussey-Weir
Created April 8, 2022


Picture

Image above of a Junior Red Cross pin is from the redcross.ca website. According to that website, the school-based Junior Red Cross operated in Canada from 1919 until the 1980s, exposing children "to the work and ideals of the Red Cross... Teachers who chose to adopt the Junior Red Cross program usually devoted one or more Friday afternoon classes per month to its activities. Students elected officers and followed parliamentary procedure, directing their own work with light guidance from their teacher. A national Junior Red Cross magazine and health-related resources for teachers supported the program. Junior Red Cross members pledged to follow the 10 to 12 rules of 'The Health Game,' undertook local community service and school beautification projects, and corresponded with Juniors in other countries. Until the 1960s, the money Juniors raised usually went into the provincial 'Crippled Children's Fund,' paying for medical and surgical treatment for Canadian children with orthopedic and other physical disabilities. Membership in the Junior Red Cross reached its all-time peak in the late 1950s to early 1960s when much of the Baby Boom generation was of school-attending age."

My own vague memories of Junior Red Cross activity was during the 1950s and early 1960s at St. Augustine's and resembled some of the things mentioned above, with the emphasis on good health/hygiene practices, such as the need for regular teeth-brushing, clean hair and fingernails, and clean clothing. I remember it being a Friday afternoon thing, for which we brought pennies to school to donate to the Crippled Children's Fund, and received a small round badge featuring the Red Cross symbol to attach to our blazers or tunics. There was usually some sort of fun activity involved and was a less-stressful way to end the school week.

The Church of England Academy on Bell Island seems to have incorporated it into the curriculum in 1942, as implied by the following reports from the 1943 Academician school yearbook. (Academician ​images courtesy of Glenda Bursey.)

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The 1953 Academician yearbook had reports from Grades 2 to 7 of the Junior Red Cross activities in each of those grades during the past year. Meetings were held every second Friday. 

In all but Grade 2, each class elected a slate of officers for the school year. According to their report, the second graders were too young to have officers, so their meetings were guided by their teacher. Officers elected included President, Treasurer, Secretary, Program Convenor, and Health and Cleanliness Convenors, although not all grades mentioned all of those positions in their reports, and one mentioned having a Vice-President.

Most of the grades gave themselves a name:

Grade VI: Jolly Helpers;
Grade V: Happy Helpers;
Grade IV: Happy Helpers;
Grade III: The Butterflies;
Grade II: The Wee Workers.

Some of the activities during meetings included:

Business;
Collection of pennies, which were sent to the "Crippled Children's Fund" at the end of each year, with some
     being used to purchase First Aid Kits for the classroom;
Health inspections and discussion of good health habits; obeying the health rules seemed to be a main
    objective of the meetings;
Games; songs; jokes; story telling; recitations; exercises; and Spelling Bees.

Meetings were closed at 3:15 with the singing of the national anthem.

 

The 1955 Academician (courtesy of Yvonne Saunders-Sinnott) had reports of the Junior Red Cross from Grades 2 to 4. 

As in 1953, all but Grade 2 elected officers.

The Grade 4 boys' "Ever-Ready Branch" had a meeting every third Friday. They had a Junior Red Cross Shirt that each pupil in the class took home, sewed a patch on and placed money inside the patch. The class opened the patches in December and bought used some of the money to buy a pencil sharpener for the classroom and a box of chocolates for a classmate who was in hospital. The plan was to "send the shirt away soon," presumably with the remaining money inside for the "Crippled Children's Fund." After the business part of each meeting, the pupils participated in a short entertainment of singing and recitations. The aim of the meetings was "to get boys to do their part in learning and carrying out the rules of the branch, then try to impress upon them the part they must play in their service to mankind."

The Grade 4 girls' branch were the "Willing Helpers," who met every second Friday. "At each meeting, the President calls the meeting to order. The Secretary reads the minutes of the last meeting. The Treasurer gives her report and takes the collection. We discuss our business and then we have our programme. We close by singing the National Anthem."

The Grade 3 girls' "Jolly Workers" branch met every second Friday "learning good health rules, telling stories, playing records, having spelling bees, dramatization, etc. During the first part of the year, we packed several health kits which were sent to children in Korea."

The Grade 3 boys' "Willing Helpers" were "packing a health kit which we hope to send very soon to children in far countries and we are saving our pennies to go toward the 'Crippled Children's Fund.' Every second Friday, we have a meeting when we sing songs, have a spelling bee, read stories or have a health lesson."

The Grade 2 girls' "Wee Workers" and boys' "Happy Helpers" branch also sang did recitations and had heath plays. "We made several school kits which were sent to children in the far east, and we are now saving our money to buy a First Aid Kit."


In the 1961 yearbook, by now called Focus, St. Aidan's School, West Mines, reported that Junior Red Cross was active in each classroom from Grades 3 to 6. "While their activities were under the direction of the teacher, yet each branch had its own officers, who carried on the business of the meetings and provided the programme." They held fortnightly meetings and money collected went to help crippled children.


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