If you’re a local history buff, you might see Paul Kirby’s new book as just what the doctor ordered.
The Bancroft historian’s latest work chronicles the history of physicians in North Hastings. It’s called Cradle to Grave.
Kirby took on the project at the request of Dr. Carolyn Brown of the Bancroft Community Family Health Team. It ended up being a book that tells the stories of dozens of physicians who worked in the area from the 1800s to present day.
Kirby says the book will help readers appreciate their important work, which was particularly brave in the days before modern hospitals.
“The doctors went wherever they had to go,” Kirby says. “If there was an accident on a farm or a lumber camp, they had to go out there. If there needed to be an organ removed or an appendix, they went to the house and, literally, did it on kitchen tables.”
The book can be purchased at the Bancroft Family Health Team’s clinic, as well as Ashlie’s Books, The Old Hastings Mercantile and online through paulkirby.ca . Proceeds support the Family Health Team, which is a non-profit.