![['<p>Heritage Corner with Pat Crowe</p>']](https://saltwire.imgix.net/heritage-corner-with-pat-crowe-3080078.jpg?cs=srgb&fit=crop&h=568&w=847&dpr=1&auto=enhance%2Ccompress%2Cformat)
Amherst April 14 – Because patients for the Municipality of Cumberland had been treated without cost by All Saints Hospital, a delegation from the Springhill hospital’s board of commissioners asked the County Council to give every thought to the possibility of paying some of the bills.
The request for help from the municipality came after the council had earlier passed a motion protesting the proposed amendment to the Hospital Act which would have committed the county to pay four dollars per patient, in place of the present amount of three dollars.
E.B. Paul, chief spokesman of the three-man delegation, told the council that treatment for the residents of the municipality in the past year had amounted to 2,700 patient-days. Each day a patient was treated it cost the hospital a loss of two dollars, he said.
The hospital was established 70 years ago and for 64 years it had received no help from any organization. Mr. Paul admitted that whole-hearted attempt had been made to make collections on delinquent accounts, but he said, when the hospital was started its first thought was to give public service.
The present revenue from an endowment fund brings in $11,000 a year, the Dominion Coal Company pays it $1,100 a year, and the Town of Springhill makes an annual grant of $500. Outside of that there is a grant from the province of Nova Scotia.
Recently the management of the hospital was completely reorganized and in the last four months there was some indication the hospital would operate out of the red, he said.
However, the board still does not intend to take legal action to force the payment of delinquent accounts. Its first objective is still public service and the hospital does not intend to profiteer on human lives, said Mr. Paul. But he thought the municipality had a moral obligation to help pay for municipal patients admitted to the hospital in the last three or four years.
“The municipality has paid out many thousands of dollars to other hospitals in the past years and received much less service than that supplied by All Saints Hospital at little cost to the municipality,” he said.
J.O. Fairbanks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Board, presented a report which showed how the hospital lost two dollars a day on each patient.
G.W. Stevens outlined the auditor’s report which showed each patient cost the hospital $8.56 a day. Since the county only paid three dollars the hospital lost $5.56 on each patient treated from the county who was not able to pay the expenses.
April 27, 1950 – New Highway Routed Through Springhill
The announcement by Hon. Merrill D. Rawding. Minister of Highways, that the new TransCanada Highway would pass through the Town of Springhill was enthusiastically received by the citizens. The decision makes Springhill the hub of road transportation in Cumberland County with both hard surface routes leading out from the town towards Oxford and Parrsboro.
While the announcement will be somewhat of a disappointment to Parrsboro, it will be recalled that the shore town is already served by a permanent road offering the public and tourist one of the most scenic drives in the province. The new road through Oxford will open up the beautiful Wentworth valley and reduce the distance to Truro by many miles.
With the completion of this highway Cumberland County will be well served by hard surfaced roadway, offering the tourist and our own residents many scenic drives.
Pleased with Highway Announcement
“The Springhill Board is well pleased with the routing of the TransCanada Highway through the Town of Springhill and the scenic Wentworth Valley,” commented C.R. Murray, President of the Springhill Board of Trade, this morning on the announcement made yesterday by Hon. Merrill D. Rawding, Minister of Highways.
“The local Board of Trade has always contended that the main highway should pass through Cumberland’s second largest town and had made such representation to the Provincial Government,” continued Mr. Murray, who pointed out that if the flow of tourist was maintained at a high level, an improvement should be reflected in local business.
Keep Springhill on the Map
Deputy Mayor Wm. T. Noiles, in the absence of Mayor A.J. Mason, M.L.A., expressed pleasure with the announcement, made by the Minister of Highways, Merrill D. Rawding, that the TransCanada Highway would pass through the Town of Springhill.
“The routing of this new road,” said the Deputy Mayor, “makes Springhill the Junction point for Cumberland County and provincial traffic using hard surfaced roads converging on Springhill from Amherst, Parrsboro and Oxford. It is anticipated that much new business will come to the town as a result of the new road and it keeps Springhill on the map.”
Wilbert Farnell Takes Over New Business
Wilbert Farnell announces in this week’s issue he has taken over the concrete block business formerly operated by the late Harry Newcombe and will go into immediate production. This business should work in well with Mr. Farnell’s bowling alleys, taking up his slack period in the summer months.
Pat Crowe is a member of the Springhill Heritage Group. To learn more or read past article of the Heritage Corner, visit www.springhillheritage.ca.
