C. Barker (00:00):
This recording is being made at the residence of Dr. James Gillies, OVC 1926, whose present address is Five Northgate Drive, Orangeville, Ontario. Dr. Gillies and I are sitting in his living room and we're going to discuss some of the events in his life, beginning when he was born, I think... were you born in the village of Cedarville, is it?
James Gillies (00:24):
Cedarville.
C. Barker (00:26):
Where's Cedarville? I don't know it.
James Gillies (00:28):
Well it's half way, as the way the crow flies, between Mount Forest and Dundalk. Grey County.
C. Barker (00:36):
So the nearest town would have been?
James Gillies (00:38):
Mount Forest.
C. Barker (00:40):
Mount Forest. And what year were you born?
James Gillies (00:42):
1901.
C. Barker (00:43):
So, that's like a long while ago.
James Gillies (00:47):
I'm 91 now.
C. Barker (00:49):
You sound a lot younger than that.
James Gillies (00:54):
Oh no.
C. Barker (00:54):
So you would have gone to school in Cedarville or near there, one of the township schools?
James Gillies (00:59):
Yup. And just a small country school.
C. Barker (01:04):
One room?
James Gillies (01:05):
One room. That's all.
C. Barker (01:09):
And then for high schooling you'd go where? Mount Forest?
James Gillies (01:11):
Mount Forest.
C. Barker (01:12):
And how long did you go to high school, Jimmy?
James Gillies (01:14):
Oh, four years.
C. Barker (01:17):
Four years, so you had, uh, a leaving certificate or a high school certificate?
James Gillies (01:23):
Uh-
C. Barker (01:24):
When you left school?
James Gillies (01:25):
Yup, yup, high school certificate.
C. Barker (01:27):
And that was good enough to get you into the veterinary college?
James Gillies (01:30):
No. I went... I started... I enrolled in medicine at University of Toronto and I was so disgusted with, with one year in Toronto and I met some of the veterinary students down there and they told me they were moving to Guelph. I said, "You may see me there next fall." So I was.
C. Barker (01:54):
Good. What encouraged you to go into, into medicine in that first year at Toronto?
James Gillies (01:59):
Well, I had one aim to be a, uh, missionary to China.
C. Barker (02:04):
And the way to get there was to go through medicine?
James Gillies (02:09):
Medicine, yup.
C. Barker (02:10):
But medicine didn't turn out the way you thought it should be.
James Gillies (02:13):
No, Toronto didn't turn out the way I wanted.
C. Barker (02:16):
Now, you weren't married at that time?
James Gillies (02:18):
Oh no.
C. Barker (02:19):
So you left Toronto and came to Guelph?
James Gillies (02:21):
Yup. 1922.
C. Barker (02:27):
22. And how did you support yourself while you were doing this? You must have been a financial wizard at that time. This is, this is right after the war when things were maybe a little bit tough.
James Gillies (02:36):
Oh, [inaudible] what we liked... joining the farm life or to pay for your education at home.
C. Barker (02:48):
Your father and mother?
James Gillies (02:49):
Yup.
C. Barker (02:49):
And they were farming then?
James Gillies (02:52):
They were farming then, 400 acres.
C. Barker (02:54):
Beef farm?
James Gillies (02:55):
Yup, and horses.
C. Barker (02:56):
And horses.
James Gillies (02:57):
Yup. Everything.
C. Barker (02:59):
So you got your way pretty well fixed up then going to college?
James Gillies (03:02):
That's right. They were good.
C. Barker (03:05):
Who did you preceptor with when you were coming through the school?
James Gillies (03:07):
Uh a fellow by the name of Dr. Dunn in Barrie.
C. Barker (03:13):
Jack Dunn?
James Gillies (03:13):
Jack Dunn.
C. Barker (03:16):
I remember him. He was, he was a first world war veteran.
James Gillies (03:20):
Yup.
C. Barker (03:21):
And he opened the clinic in, in Barrie.
James Gillies (03:23):
In Barrie.
C. Barker (03:24):
About 1922 or 21, somewhere around there.
James Gillies (03:27):
21 I think.
C. Barker (03:29):
Yes. So, when you finished school, what did you decide to do?
James Gillies (03:35):
Well, I, uh, I just, I'll tell you, months be- in April, graduated about April or May, and the late Dr. Macintosh came to me and said, "Where are you going to start up?" I said, "Oh, some little place." He said, "Oh no," he says, "You're not." He says, "I want you to go to Guelph." So that's where I landed.
C. Barker (04:04):
And you stayed there how long?
James Gillies (04:06):
55 years.
C. Barker (04:08):
You must have known the town and the community around there pretty well.
James Gillies (04:11):
Oh, for miles around.
C. Barker (04:13):
Now, you mentioned Dr. Macintosh and I have with me some of the college calendars of 1922, 23 and so on and, uh, maybe you can tell us something about the faculty at that time. I notice here I have open the calendar for 1923-24 and the first year class is shown here for 22-23 and I noticed the names, uh, of Barthem or Bartelm. Do you remember that fellow?
James Gillies (04:41):
Yup. Bartholomew.
C. Barker (04:41):
Oh, you called him that, did you?
James Gillies (04:42):
Yeah.
C. Barker (04:45):
You call him, uh, Bartholomew, but it says he was from Kansas.
James Gillies (04:53):
Yup.
C. Barker (04:53):
And there's a fellow named Burdick from Rhode Island.
James Gillies (04:55):
Yes.
C. Barker (04:55):
And Chapman from Toronto.
James Gillies (04:58):
Right.
C. Barker (04:59):
And Silly?
James Gillies (05:00):
Schilly.
C. Barker (05:01):
From Concord, New Hampshire.
James Gillies (05:02):
Right.
C. Barker (05:03):
F.J. Cody.
James Gillies (05:05):
F.J. Cody, Frank.
C. Barker (05:06):
From Guelph.
James Gillies (05:07):
Yup.
C. Barker (05:08):
And a fellow named Gillies, J. Gillies, Cedarville.
James Gillies (05:11):
That's right.
C. Barker (05:13):
And then another one named Hamilton-
James Gillies (05:14):
Yup.
C. Barker (05:14):
From Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.
James Gillies (05:16):
That's, that's him.
C. Barker (05:17):
Laury from Toronto?
James Gillies (05:19):
Yes.
C. Barker (05:20):
Martel from Ottawa??
James Gillies (05:22):
Yup.
C. Barker (05:23):
Another fellow from Washington, D.C., called Panel or Pannel.
James Gillies (05:27):
Pannel.
C. Barker (05:27):
And then there was Reckon. Is it Carl Reckon?
James Gillies (05:31):
Carl Reckon.
C. Barker (05:32):
From Wireton.
James Gillies (05:33):
Yup.
C. Barker (05:34):
H.S. Smith from McKeesport, Pennsylvania.
James Gillies (05:37):
Yup.
C. Barker (05:38):
P.C. Underwood from sci- from Kansas.
James Gillies (05:41):
Right.
C. Barker (05:42):
Vern Walker from Ingersoll.
James Gillies (05:44):
Right.
C. Barker (05:44):
And a guy named Zachary from Pratt, Manitoba.
James Gillies (05:49):
Yeah.
C. Barker (05:50):
Now that's a pretty small class.
James Gillies (05:54):
12. Finished off it.
C. Barker (05:55):
12 finished off?
James Gillies (05:55):
Yeah.
C. Barker (05:56):
Some of them left to go for another year somewhere else or?
James Gillies (05:59):
Oh, or dropped out.
C. Barker (06:00):
Didn't make the grade or dropped out.
James Gillies (06:01):
Dropped out anyway.
C. Barker (06:02):
Yes. Well, when I turn right page here, I see the other classes were much larger than yours.
James Gillies (06:10):
Oh yes.
C. Barker (06:10):
Was there some reason for yours-
James Gillies (06:12):
We were just the first class, you see.
C. Barker (06:15):
Oh I see. You went in in '22. So you went in in the fall of '22.
James Gillies (06:18):
Fall of '22.
C. Barker (06:19):
You would be there when the college would be opened.
James Gillies (06:21):
That was open, opening of the new college.
C. Barker (06:25):
Of the new college.
James Gillies (06:26):
Yep. From Toronto.
C. Barker (06:28):
And... From Toronto. It had moved that, uh, that summer or that fall.
James Gillies (06:31):
Yup.
C. Barker (06:31):
Now then, I have some of the faculty listed here and I suppose you can remember something about most of these, uh, faculty members. Charles McGilvray was the principal at that time.
James Gillies (06:43):
Right.
C. Barker (06:44):
C- C.D. McGilvray. Do you know a fellow named Pringle?
James Gillies (06:47):
Pringle, yes.
C. Barker (06:49):
Do you remember anything about him?
James Gillies (06:51):
Well, I think he was of English de- he was of English descendant and, uh, he, he lectured there for quite a few years.
C. Barker (07:02):
Yes, he was, it shows here, doing sporadic diseases-
James Gillies (07:05):
Yup.
C. Barker (07:05):
Dentistry and physiology.
James Gillies (07:07):
Right.
C. Barker (07:08):
And that brings up the question how much dentistry would you really get?
James Gillies (07:12):
Very little.
C. Barker (07:13):
Was it because the horse population was going down in numbers or just that it wasn't a very important subject?
James Gillies (07:21):
Wasn't a very important subject.
C. Barker (07:22):
You didn't have much really to do-
James Gillies (07:24):
No.
C. Barker (07:24):
With dentistry-
James Gillies (07:25):
No, no in the, uh... mostly lectures, that's all.
C. Barker (07:30):
But after you got into practice, did you ever have much dentistry to do, Jimmy?
James Gillies (07:33):
Quite a bit.
C. Barker (07:34):
Did you?
James Gillies (07:34):
Oh yes.
C. Barker (07:35):
Late horses or heavy horses?
James Gillies (07:36):
Both. And I used to do them mostly in the blacksmiths shops.
C. Barker (07:42):
(laughs) What was your reason for doing that?
James Gillies (07:45):
Well, they were in there getting their horses shod and I... they said, "Come and do our horses teeth. File 'em while they're here."
C. Barker (07:54):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (07:54):
So that's the way they got 'em done.
C. Barker (07:56):
So in the blacksmith's shop, what would you do? Back 'em into a corner or-
James Gillies (07:59):
No, no, just anywhere in the blacksmith's shop.
C. Barker (08:05):
No, no, no great problem?
James Gillies (08:05):
no. no, they weren't hard to handle.
C. Barker (08:09):
Well, you know, I was in Simcoe practicing for a long time with Dr. Bert.
James Gillies (08:14):
Oh yeah.
C. Barker (08:15):
But I had heavy horses there that would keep you guessing. You'd have to be standing up on a step ladder to get into them, you know?
James Gillies (08:22):
Right.
C. Barker (08:23):
Big heavy headed horses, if they ever shook their head at you.
James Gillies (08:26):
I'd pull their head down.
C. Barker (08:29):
Well good for you. I wouldn't do, I didn't like doing them anyway. It was nasty work. Same as cleaning feet. Now, here's R.A. Macintosh and he was doing diseases of cattle and-
James Gillies (08:41):
That's the man.
C. Barker (08:41):
Pharmacy therapeutics. He had a number of subjects to do.
James Gillies (08:44):
Yup.
C. Barker (08:45):
And he ran the clinics?
James Gillies (08:47):
He ran clinics, too, yeah. Postmortems and all that kind of thing.
C. Barker (08:52):
He was busy.
James Gillies (08:53):
He was a busy man.
C. Barker (08:54):
Then there's Fowler, W.J.R.
James Gillies (08:56):
He's surgery and-
C. Barker (08:57):
And lameness?
James Gillies (09:00):
All surgery mostly with him.
C. Barker (09:02):
Now, did he really give you much on surgery, Jimmy, or not?
James Gillies (09:05):
Oh yes. We had quite a bit... it was a lot of horses brought in.
C. Barker (09:09):
I see.
James Gillies (09:09):
For surgery.
C. Barker (09:10):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (09:11):
And he performed all this surgery and lectured on it afterwords.
C. Barker (09:16):
I think maybe he was living in Toronto at that time and coming to Guelph to do it.
James Gillies (09:20):
The first year.
C. Barker (09:21):
First year.
James Gillies (09:21):
Yeah.
C. Barker (09:23):
Now there's Herman Nelson, anatomy.
James Gillies (09:26):
Anatomy.
C. Barker (09:26):
Did you know Herman very well?
James Gillies (09:28):
Really well.
C. Barker (09:30):
What can you tell me about Herman?
James Gillies (09:32):
Well, he had the natural hands of a surgeon himself. He knew his anatomy all right. Yeah.
C. Barker (09:43):
Well I have, I, I've known him, or I knew him, he's deceased of course, I knew him, uh, reasonably well. He used to be a drug salesman of a sort.
James Gillies (09:52):
That's right. He was a... he worked at it on the side.
C. Barker (09:56):
And after he left the college, he did several things, I think.
James Gillies (10:00):
Yup.
C. Barker (10:00):
Drug sales was one of 'em.
James Gillies (10:01):
Yup, one, I used to get a lot of drugs from him.
C. Barker (10:03):
Through him.
James Gillies (10:04):
Yup.
C. Barker (10:04):
And he also did some, some, uh, cryptorchid oper- operating.
James Gillies (10:10):
He did a lot of cryptorchids. He was good at it.
C. Barker (10:12):
He was a traveling surgeon.
James Gillies (10:13):
He sure was.
C. Barker (10:14):
He only had one fault.
James Gillies (10:20):
Well I didn't, I didn't find out what the faults were.
C. Barker (10:23):
Didn't you? (laughs) Well, I don't need to mention what it was, it was. Now, there was Ronald Watkin.
James Gillies (10:31):
Bacteriology.
C. Barker (10:32):
Bacteriology.
James Gillies (10:33):
Wonderful guy.
C. Barker (10:34):
You liked him?
James Gillies (10:35):
Oh yes.
C. Barker (10:37):
He taught milk hygiene it says, too.
James Gillies (10:39):
That's right.
C. Barker (10:41):
And then there was H.E. Bat.
James Gillies (10:43):
H.E. Bat.
C. Barker (10:44):
Meat hygiene, histology, zoology.
James Gillies (10:47):
That's right.
C. Barker (10:48):
Did you have much to do with Henry?
James Gillies (10:50):
Just lectures.
C. Barker (10:51):
That's all.
James Gillies (10:52):
That's all. Yeah, that's all we had to do was lectures. And slide, you know, we did slides.
C. Barker (10:57):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (11:00):
Pathology.
C. Barker (11:00):
Yes. Now that brings us to Schofield, pathology and parasitology.
James Gillies (11:07):
Yup.
C. Barker (11:07):
Would he give you very much on parasitology or would it be mostly-
James Gillies (11:11):
Mostly lectures.
C. Barker (11:12):
Lectures.
James Gillies (11:12):
Yeah.
C. Barker (11:14):
Was he doing postmortems at that time?
James Gillies (11:17):
Not very much.
C. Barker (11:18):
Not very much.
James Gillies (11:18):
No.
C. Barker (11:20):
He had sh- shortly, uh, arrived or returned from Korea I think.
James Gillies (11:25):
Korea.
C. Barker (11:25):
I think at that time.
James Gillies (11:26):
Yup.
C. Barker (11:28):
Now old Dr. Grensite. Do you remember him?
James Gillies (11:31):
Yeah, but we didn't have him much.
C. Barker (11:33):
Didn't you?
James Gillies (11:33):
No, no, we didn't have him much. Very little.
C. Barker (11:37):
He's listed here as horsemanship.
James Gillies (11:39):
That's right.
C. Barker (11:41):
I guess-
James Gillies (11:41):
He lectured on horses.
C. Barker (11:43):
He used to own a stable I think in... or livery or something in, in Guelph.
James Gillies (11:48):
Yeah.
C. Barker (11:48):
It was a trucking business or something I remember.
James Gillies (11:53):
Yeah. He knew his horses all right.
C. Barker (11:54):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). He was one of the old time graduates.
James Gillies (11:58):
Yup.
C. Barker (11:59):
Now, there's one name, J.G. Harvey.
James Gillies (12:02):
Yeah, I, we hadn't, uh, we didn't have him.
C. Barker (12:06):
Canine and feline diseases.
James Gillies (12:08):
Yeah, we didn't have him very much.
C. Barker (12:10):
I see. He was living in Guelph, do you know or not?
James Gillies (12:13):
I couldn't tell you where he came from.
C. Barker (12:15):
Yeah. Then there's George Drew on jurisprudence.
James Gillies (12:19):
Jurisprudence, oh yes.
C. Barker (12:21):
And the guy you might remember pretty easily was little Alex Shepard.
James Gillies (12:28):
(laughs) Oh yes.
C. Barker (12:29):
The head executive clerk.
James Gillies (12:31):
Yup, good guy.
C. Barker (12:32):
You liked Alex?
James Gillies (12:34):
Yup.
C. Barker (12:34):
He hadn't been very long with the college in Toronto.
James Gillies (12:37):
No.
C. Barker (12:38):
He was only about two years with the college there, but then it moved.
James Gillies (12:41):
Yup, he was a great guy.
C. Barker (12:43):
Now there's some people from the ag- agricultural college and I don't know what you had to do with them. Uh, Wade Toole, Steckley, R.G. Knox.
James Gillies (12:54):
Yup. They were, uh, mostly, uh, lectures on showmanship and, uh-
C. Barker (13:02):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (13:03):
And judging, how to judge the stock.
C. Barker (13:05):
Judging animals.
James Gillies (13:06):
Yup.
C. Barker (13:07):
And there was also Stone for botany.
James Gillies (13:08):
Yup.
C. Barker (13:09):
And Unwin for public speaking.
James Gillies (13:13):
Right.
C. Barker (13:14):
Did you have to do much for that or just-
James Gillies (13:16):
No, none.
C. Barker (13:17):
Listen to them?
James Gillies (13:17):
Just listen.
C. Barker (13:20):
And journalism. E.C. McClain, you didn't have much to do with his-
James Gillies (13:25):
No, nothing with him.
C. Barker (13:25):
Just a minimal amount. Well, now I've got another page I wanted to look at back here. Uh, let's see. Here it is. This is the same calendar of 1923-24 and I'm looking up under the honor's list and it says first year class, general proficiency. First prize was W.H. Zachary, second prize, James Gillies. That's your first year.
James Gillies (14:01):
Yup.
C. Barker (14:02):
You must have been really burning up the books.
James Gillies (14:05):
Well that's all I had to do to keep warm.
C. Barker (14:08):
Where were you living at that time?
James Gillies (14:10):
I was living downtown in Guelph.
C. Barker (14:12):
No residence-
James Gillies (14:12):
Never got in the residence. I had a boarding house just like home and I stayed there.
C. Barker (14:18):
What would it cost you to, to stay in the boarding house then?
James Gillies (14:21):
Oh about... I think it was about $5 a week.
C. Barker (14:24):
That was a lot of money?
James Gillies (14:27):
Well, not very much. Wa- she put out the food.
C. Barker (14:31):
You got food, oh, just like home?
James Gillies (14:33):
Just like home.
C. Barker (14:34):
Well that was nice to have a place-
James Gillies (14:36):
Right beside the library, too.
C. Barker (14:38):
Oh, down, right down in the city.
James Gillies (14:40):
Yeah, right down-
C. Barker (14:41):
So you'd be down near Quebec street then?
James Gillies (14:43):
Right at the library.
C. Barker (14:44):
Right in the corner.
James Gillies (14:45):
Yeah.
C. Barker (14:45):
Well that would be pretty convenient. Uh, now didn't you go to, to, uh, the church right along there where-
James Gillies (14:54):
Yup.
C. Barker (14:54):
Which one was that?
James Gillies (14:55):
That was, um, Chalmer's.
C. Barker (14:57):
Chalmer's church.
James Gillies (14:59):
Chalmer's church.
C. Barker (14:59):
Oh yes. You went there every year I guess then, did you?
James Gillies (15:02):
Four years.
C. Barker (15:03):
Four years.
James Gillies (15:04):
Yeah.
C. Barker (15:04):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Now then-
James Gillies (15:08):
I enjoyed it there, too.
C. Barker (15:10):
Good. Uh, there's some other awards here but I don't need to mention those at this moment, but I wanna go now to the session of 1924-25 and I'm looking up the honor's list again and somewhere it said second year class. The ho- the general proficiency was Bartholomew or Batholomy. Second prize was Cody, third prize was Gillies. You didn't work so hard that year.
James Gillies (15:41):
No, took it easy.
C. Barker (15:43):
Took it easy.
James Gillies (15:43):
Yeah.
C. Barker (15:45):
What had you been doing that summer? You were home helping-
James Gillies (15:47):
Home all summer. Yeah.
C. Barker (15:48):
Helping on the farm?
James Gillies (15:49):
Yup.
C. Barker (15:52):
All right, now the next calendar I have is the next year of 1925-26 and we'll just look up the honors for third year. And it says here, first prize is Smith, second price Cody and Lionel Stevenson. Do you remember Lionel Stevenson?
James Gillies (16:10):
Yup, yup. He was a... graduated OSC.
C. Barker (16:13):
That's right. Third prize is Walker. Honorable mention J. Gillies. So you were kind of taking it easy that summer?
James Gillies (16:20):
Yup.
C. Barker (16:20):
And that winter.
James Gillies (16:21):
Yup.
C. Barker (16:23):
All right. And the last calendar that I have here is the one of 26-27.
James Gillies (16:27):
Yup.
C. Barker (16:31):
Your graduating class is 26.
James Gillies (16:33):
26.
C. Barker (16:34):
Here we are, graduation class, bachelor of veterinary science. The following members receive the degree of bachelor of veterinary science, the convocation of the university of Toronto held April the 30th, 1926.
James Gillies (16:48):
Right.
C. Barker (16:49):
Now, was that convocation in Toronto?
James Gillies (16:52):
In Toronto.
C. Barker (16:54):
Right at the co- convocation hall on the main campus?
James Gillies (17:00):
I think that was it, yeah.
C. Barker (17:00):
Hm. And the names here are Berdick, from Rhode Island, Chapman from Toronto, George Schilly, Frank Cody, James Gillies, Hamilton, Lawry, Reckon, Sumner, Smith. Now where did he turn up? He's a new, new person in the class. I don't remember him being listed earlier. Lionel st- McKeesport... no, I guess we had mentioned him. Lionel Stevenson from Guelph-
James Gillies (17:25):
Yup.
C. Barker (17:25):
Paul Underwood and Vern Walker.
James Gillies (17:27):
Yup.
C. Barker (17:28):
12 of you I guess it was.
James Gillies (17:29):
12 graduated.
C. Barker (17:31):
And I guess there isn't another member of your class that you know of su- surviving?
James Gillies (17:36):
Not unless, uh, Schilly. I, I can't get any word on him.
C. Barker (17:41):
I see. I, I, Jack Cody I think had something to do with the Schillys at one time, or chili, but I don't know whether he's, uh-
James Gillies (17:50):
I think they had a boy come back to the class.
C. Barker (17:52):
Yes, they did.
James Gillies (17:52):
Yeah.
C. Barker (17:53):
That's right. Also it says here honors in past standing, graduation class, honors, honorable mention of the past standing, Lionel Stevenson, James Gillies, Reckon, Lawry, so on, so on, so on. So you were hanging in there in the honor's class all the time.
James Gillies (18:09):
Well-
C. Barker (18:10):
That's what the books say.
James Gillies (18:11):
Only a dozen. That's not hard fighting.
C. Barker (18:15):
(laughs) Oh, I don't know how hard it would be to fight, but it was work anyway, wasn't it? It was work, okay. Now, uh, what did your parents think about you leaving Cedarville and heading off to Guelph to do practice.
James Gillies (18:34):
They were quite happy.
C. Barker (18:36):
Did you have any brothers or sisters at home?
James Gillies (18:38):
I had, uh, three brothers and two sisters.
C. Barker (18:43):
And they were still at home or away?
James Gillies (18:45):
Well one, one, uh, my second oldest brother was, uh, studying for the ministry in Toronto. So he was, he was only home in the summertime.
C. Barker (19:02):
And your sister?
James Gillies (19:03):
She was teaching, one teaching in Toronto, the other one, she stayed on the farm.
C. Barker (19:08):
So the family was sort of spread around a little bit?
James Gillies (19:10):
Yup.
C. Barker (19:12):
And you weren't married at this point in time?
James Gillies (19:13):
No, no, no.
C. Barker (19:15):
You couldn't afford it?
James Gillies (19:16):
Got married in 1932.
C. Barker (19:20):
Five or six years later.
James Gillies (19:21):
Yup.
C. Barker (19:21):
To a lady in Guelph or in Galt?
James Gillies (19:25):
She came to teach in Galt. She came from Owen Sound. I, I happened to land in the same boarding house.
C. Barker (19:37):
Did you open a practice of your own, or was it owned by someone else before you got there?
James Gillies (19:42):
Nobody, I opened it up.
C. Barker (19:43):
And who else would be practicing there about that time?
James Gillies (19:47):
Dr. Foster.
C. Barker (19:49):
Ah, he-
James Gillies (19:49):
Great horseman.
C. Barker (19:50):
The horseman.
James Gillies (19:51):
Yup.
C. Barker (19:52):
Trying to think of his first name.
James Gillies (19:54):
Uh, what's his name? I know it. I think it was E.E. Foster wasn't it?
C. Barker (19:59):
Something like that, yeah.
James Gillies (20:00):
E.E. Foster.
C. Barker (20:03):
That's right.
James Gillies (20:04):
He had the best, the best standard bred... well we always called that mare of his the queen of the standard breeds. One of the best.
C. Barker (20:13):
And he was mostly interested in, in late horses, was he?
James Gillies (20:16):
Late horses, yup.
C. Barker (20:17):
Now you didn't have anyone in practice with you, you were all by yourself?
James Gillies (20:23):
Yup.
C. Barker (20:25):
Took the phone calls yourself or did you have an office helper?
James Gillies (20:28):
No, I used to take most of the calls myself, until I got, uh, opened up a hospital.
C. Barker (20:37):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (20:39):
Small animal hospital.
C. Barker (20:41):
Well that would be how many years later?
James Gillies (20:43):
Oh, about 10.
C. Barker (20:45):
10 years later?
James Gillies (20:46):
Yup. That's the... the small animals popped up in big numbers then.
C. Barker (20:52):
This was in the your early 30s?
James Gillies (20:54):
Yeah.
C. Barker (20:56):
How did the depression era get you, Jimmy?
James Gillies (20:59):
Well, it wasn't bad. You could just take most of this, uh, house that I lived in, I rented then, and he used to take anything he could get potatoes and wood, and, that's all they could give you. They couldn't give you money, a lot of 'em.
C. Barker (21:17):
And you had to, you still had to buy gasoline for your automobile.
James Gillies (21:21):
Oh yes, oh yeah. That was all right but it was, it was a big help for the... get the wood and the potatoes for these people.
C. Barker (21:33):
And how many children were you raising?
James Gillies (21:35):
One son, one son.
C. Barker (21:37):
One son.
James Gillies (21:37):
That's all we had.
C. Barker (21:37):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Is that the one I just met?
James Gillies (21:37):
That's the one. Yes, just had the one son.
C. Barker (21:37):
You weren't, uh, at that point in time, uh, doing any health for animal work?
James Gillies (21:37):
Only, uh, vaccinations for the... then, uh, shortly after we had to help with the, uh, health of animals.
C. Barker (22:04):
Did you do tuberculin testing?
James Gillies (22:05):
Oh yeah.
C. Barker (22:07):
Blood test- blood testing?
James Gillies (22:08):
Ruso-
C. Barker (22:09):
Rusolosis.
James Gillies (22:10):
Yup.
C. Barker (22:11):
And how far up field would you go when you were doing your testing? Were you restricted to the re- immediate area or were you off on field work elsewhere?
James Gillies (22:19):
Well we, for export, I used to cover quite a bit of ground. But for the locals, you just, uh, Waterloo County.
C. Barker (22:26):
Waterloo Count?
James Gillies (22:27):
Yup.
C. Barker (22:29):
And can you remember who would be the district man at that point in time?
James Gillies (22:33):
You mean for agriculture?
C. Barker (22:35):
Yeah.
James Gillies (22:36):
McGlaufery.
C. Barker (22:36):
Oh, McGlaufrey. The agriculture representative.
James Gillies (22:39):
Oh, Elliot McGlaufrey. He's a good friend of mine.
C. Barker (22:42):
You liked him?
James Gillies (22:43):
Oh, yes.
C. Barker (22:43):
Big tall fella.
James Gillies (22:44):
Yeah.
C. Barker (22:46):
I knew him reasonably well. Of course he was, uh-
James Gillies (22:49):
Oh, he was a great guy, so was his wife.
C. Barker (22:51):
He stayed in Waterloo a long time.
James Gillies (22:53):
Yup, he was there for... oh, he was there for over 20 years.
C. Barker (22:59):
Quite a forceful character.
James Gillies (23:01):
Yes he was.
C. Barker (23:02):
Everybody listened to what he had to say.
James Gillies (23:04):
Yup, on agriculture.
C. Barker (23:05):
On agriculture.
James Gillies (23:06):
Yeah.
C. Barker (23:06):
That's right. That's right. Who would be the district veterinary for that, at that point? Can you recall that?
James Gillies (23:15):
Uh, fellow from Hammond. What was his name? Doctor-
C. Barker (23:23):
Smith?
James Gillies (23:24):
No. Uh-
C. Barker (23:27):
Richardson?
James Gillies (23:27):
Richardson.
C. Barker (23:29):
C.H. Richardson.
James Gillies (23:30):
C.H. Richardson. Yeah.
C. Barker (23:32):
I never knew him.
James Gillies (23:34):
He's a good guy.
C. Barker (23:34):
He eventually moved into Guelph for a while I think.
James Gillies (23:37):
Yeah, before he, before he quit he moved into Guelph.
C. Barker (23:40):
Yes, yes. I think he was a first world war, uh, veteran if I-
James Gillies (23:45):
Yup.
C. Barker (23:46):
Recall.
James Gillies (23:46):
That's right. He's a good guy.
C. Barker (23:51):
So your practice was mixed practice then really?
James Gillies (23:53):
Mixed practice, every animal you can think of.
C. Barker (24:01):
I recall being out to see you with Dr. Macintosh.
James Gillies (24:05):
Yes.
C. Barker (24:06):
This would be back in the, uh, oh, about 1947 or '48.
James Gillies (24:11):
Yup, around there, yup.
C. Barker (24:12):
We used to, uh, Macintosh, I was with him in his office-
James Gillies (24:17):
Yup.
C. Barker (24:17):
When I joined the college and he would go out on consultation calls-
James Gillies (24:22):
Yup.
C. Barker (24:22):
All over the province.
James Gillies (24:23):
Yup.
C. Barker (24:23):
And on some of these, I would be with him.
James Gillies (24:26):
Yup.
C. Barker (24:26):
And I recall being at your place, well we went out to see a cow that had emphysema.
James Gillies (24:31):
Yeah.
C. Barker (24:32):
Up and down the throat.
James Gillies (24:33):
Yeah.
C. Barker (24:34):
I don't know whether it was black leg or, or not but-
James Gillies (24:38):
Well we vaccinated... uh, I think we found out it was.
C. Barker (24:42):
It was?
James Gillies (24:42):
Yup. And then we vaccinated the... all the young stuff.
C. Barker (24:47):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Was bl- was black leg very common at that time in, in Guelph area?
James Gillies (24:51):
Along the riverbanks, yeah.
C. Barker (24:53):
Never had an anthrax.
James Gillies (24:55):
Nope, never had an- anthrax.
C. Barker (24:59):
Just lucky.
James Gillies (25:01):
Just lucky, I guess.
C. Barker (25:03):
Now, what would your horse practice be?
James Gillies (25:05):
Oh, that went all over Waterloo County pretty much. I loved the horses.
C. Barker (25:11):
Did you have any racetrack work at all or no?
James Gillies (25:13):
Oh yeah.
C. Barker (25:13):
Did you?
James Gillies (25:16):
Oh yeah. Once, once you start testing 'em you see, for racing-
C. Barker (25:18):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (25:19):
Blood tests.
C. Barker (25:19):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (25:20):
I did quite a lot of that tracks.
C. Barker (25:22):
Tracks.
James Gillies (25:22):
Yup.
C. Barker (25:24):
Would you be around when the Mohawk was developing?
James Gillies (25:28):
Oh yes.
C. Barker (25:28):
So you know your way through there?
James Gillies (25:30):
Yup. And then Woodstock was quite handy.
C. Barker (25:33):
Woodstock?
James Gillies (25:33):
Yeah.
C. Barker (25:35):
I never realized they had a track down there.
James Gillies (25:37):
Oh yeah, I used to ble- blood test quite a few horses there.
C. Barker (25:44):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Did you ever have a student with you or students with you in the summer?
James Gillies (25:50):
Oh yeah, quite a, quite a few years.
C. Barker (25:52):
Can you remember who some of them were?
James Gillies (25:55):
Oh, one of them... you know, they, they disappeared after the... went back to the states. Well, I had one, Smith. He was in Lancaster. Yeah, I had him for, uh, for, uh, one year. And then I, I can't think of some of the names that I had after that.
C. Barker (26:17):
I can think of one who told me in a letter a year or so ago he'd been with you. Ken Campbell.
James Gillies (26:24):
Oh yeah, Ken Campbell from wa- Kitchener. At least that's where he started up.
C. Barker (26:28):
That's right.
James Gillies (26:29):
Yup, that's right. Ken Campbell.
C. Barker (26:32):
He said you could tell me some interesting stories.
James Gillies (26:34):
(laughs) He's quite a Ken.
C. Barker (26:38):
He's living up at Oliphant.
James Gillies (26:39):
Is he up at Oliphant?
C. Barker (26:40):
Yes.
James Gillies (26:41):
Still living?
C. Barker (26:42):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (26:43):
Good.
C. Barker (26:44):
Yes, I've seen him... well last year I saw him a couple times.
James Gillies (26:47):
Hm.
C. Barker (26:49):
He lives there year round.
James Gillies (26:50):
Good for him.
C. Barker (26:53):
He joined the health of animals after he left the clinic.
James Gillies (26:55):
Oh, that he did.
C. Barker (26:58):
He was a classmate of mine.
James Gillies (26:59):
Was he?
C. Barker (27:01):
And he had graduated from the OAC-
James Gillies (27:02):
Oh yeah.
C. Barker (27:04):
Prior to coming with us.
James Gillies (27:05):
Yeah that's right.
C. Barker (27:07):
Why are you... I'm trying to think of what he said you had some stories about. Did you ever do some artificial breeding of horses or something?
James Gillies (27:13):
Oh yeah.
C. Barker (27:14):
Did you?
James Gillies (27:15):
Yeah.
C. Barker (27:16):
You'd be one of the early people in the area to be doing it.
James Gillies (27:18):
Yup. Well, I tell you-
C. Barker (27:21):
Were you raising stock at that time yourself?
James Gillies (27:23):
No, no, just, uh, uh, you know, I discovered [inaudible]-
C. Barker (27:29):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (27:30):
That thing was... if you got that twisted-
C. Barker (27:33):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (27:33):
There's no chance of a mare ever conceiving.
C. Barker (27:36):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (27:38):
So I used to conceive them after, after they were [inaudible].
C. Barker (27:45):
Oh is that right?
James Gillies (27:46):
Yeah.
C. Barker (27:47):
Right these light horses?
James Gillies (27:49):
Everything.
C. Barker (27:49):
Everything.
James Gillies (27:50):
Everything, Clydes, everything.
C. Barker (27:52):
Would you have the mares brought to you or you'd go out-
James Gillies (27:55):
No, I'd got to the farm.
C. Barker (27:55):
Go out to the farm.
James Gillies (27:56):
Yup. Do it there.
C. Barker (27:58):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (27:58):
[inaudible].
C. Barker (27:59):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (28:00):
Put it right into you.
C. Barker (28:01):
Oh you were doing that?
James Gillies (28:02):
Yeah.
C. Barker (28:04):
Yeah. Well, there were differences of opinions on the value of that.
James Gillies (28:08):
Worked good for me.
C. Barker (28:09):
You were not displeased?
James Gillies (28:10):
No sir. It worked good for me, but you had to be mighty careful mind you. No, no infection of any kind.
C. Barker (28:19):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (28:22):
Had to be very careful to have aseptic.
C. Barker (28:25):
Yeah. You didn't have anything to do with the artificial insemination of cattle?
James Gillies (28:28):
No, no. Oh yeah.
C. Barker (28:30):
Did you?
James Gillies (28:31):
But I-
C. Barker (28:31):
When Joe Johnson was working in that area?
James Gillies (28:34):
Yeah.
C. Barker (28:34):
Out at Waterloo?
James Gillies (28:35):
But, uh, I didn't fancy that.
C. Barker (28:37):
Yeah.
James Gillies (28:39):
Only the ones that really wanted it, I did it for them.
C. Barker (28:42):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Mm-hmm (affirmative). Mm-hmm (affirmative). How much surgery would you actually do with large animals, Jimmy?
James Gillies (28:49):
Oh, quite a bit. Especially castrating colts. I used, uh, you do 'em standing.
C. Barker (28:53):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (28:54):
Never through.
C. Barker (28:55):
No. How many would you do in a year? When the horse business was thriving?
James Gillies (29:00):
Well I'd go up in an afternoon, maybe do five and then-
C. Barker (29:03):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (29:05):
Call it a day.
C. Barker (29:06):
Did you have someone lining them up for you or did you just-
James Gillies (29:08):
No, they come in.
C. Barker (29:09):
They'd come in.
James Gillies (29:10):
Or phone in.
C. Barker (29:11):
Phone in, yeah.
James Gillies (29:11):
Yup. And then I, I... after supper, I used to be strong on that.
C. Barker (29:16):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (29:19):
Yup, I was never afraid of a horse.
C. Barker (29:22):
What would you get? About two or three dollars?
James Gillies (29:25):
Oh no, we'd get more than that for castrating.
C. Barker (29:26):
Did you?
James Gillies (29:27):
Oh yeah. About five, to start.
C. Barker (29:31):
I used to be with a practitioner in Ingersoll, my home town, and between college years-
James Gillies (29:37):
Yeah.
C. Barker (29:37):
I'd go with him but he was only getting two and three dollars.
James Gillies (29:41):
For castrating.
C. Barker (29:41):
This was back in '37.
James Gillies (29:42):
Yeah.
C. Barker (29:44):
'38 sort of thing.
James Gillies (29:49):
No, if you had a good man on the twitch, that's all you needed.
C. Barker (29:53):
You never used an anesthetic of any kind?
James Gillies (29:55):
Not a thing, not unless they were bad ones.
C. Barker (29:57):
You couldn't get by with it now.
James Gillies (29:59):
No, sir.
C. Barker (30:00):
You know, they got a pretty good rate for, uh, castrating colts now.
James Gillies (30:06):
Yup.
C. Barker (30:08):
But they all use an anesthetic or something, anyway.
James Gillies (30:11):
Yeah.
C. Barker (30:11):
Can't do without, they'd be accused of inhuman practice.
James Gillies (30:21):
Yup.
C. Barker (30:21):
Your, uh, small animal practice, you'd be doing most of these operations by yourself or did you have someone who would help out? Would you wife help out or?
James Gillies (30:31):
For cesarean she was really good at. She'd take hold of either the kittens or the dogs, the puppies.
C. Barker (30:39):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (30:40):
And look after them.
C. Barker (30:41):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (30:41):
Oh yeah, she was good at that.
C. Barker (30:43):
How many cages would you have?
James Gillies (30:45):
I used to have about 12.
C. Barker (30:47):
Oh, you had a good sized, uh-
James Gillies (30:48):
Yeah, 12 cages.
C. Barker (30:50):
Hospital set up.
James Gillies (30:51):
Yup. I did my first cesarean on a cow in 1928.
C. Barker (30:57):
In '28?
James Gillies (30:58):
Yeah.
C. Barker (30:58):
Standing or was it down?
James Gillies (31:00):
No, no, down. It was on the lawn.
C. Barker (31:02):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). On the lawn?
James Gillies (31:04):
Yup. Mm-hmm (affirmative).
C. Barker (31:05):
That'd be a good place to do it.
James Gillies (31:06):
Oh yeah, beautiful place. Yup, and of course you know what the anesthetics were in those days, chlorhydrate.
C. Barker (31:13):
Yes.
James Gillies (31:14):
And-
C. Barker (31:15):
Did you give it by mouth or by intervenous?
James Gillies (31:18):
No, intervenous. But, you didn't know really how long those things was going to last. And I just got the last stich in th- on the first one I did, up comes her head.
C. Barker (31:29):
Oh boy.
James Gillies (31:33):
Never, never worried her. She was... never missed a meal even.
C. Barker (31:39):
You know, it's, it's funny in a sense, but when we were taking surgery from Fowler-
James Gillies (31:44):
Yeah.
C. Barker (31:45):
We never had any surgery like that explained to us.
James Gillies (31:48):
No.
C. Barker (31:49):
He never talked about anything except horses.
James Gillies (31:52):
Yeah.
C. Barker (31:53):
And not a lot about them.
James Gillies (31:54):
No, mostly you had to find out yourself, the hard way.
C. Barker (31:58):
He talked about roars in firing horses.
James Gillies (32:02):
Yup. You clip 'em here. He did those all standing.
C. Barker (32:05):
Yes, I've seen him do them in the clinic.
James Gillies (32:07):
Yup.
C. Barker (32:09):
And I read where he would be over in Europe somewhere, uh-
James Gillies (32:12):
Yup.
C. Barker (32:12):
On... doing a half a dozen?
James Gillies (32:15):
Doing roars.
C. Barker (32:15):
That's right.
James Gillies (32:15):
Yup.
C. Barker (32:17):
But I always regretted that we never had very much surgery explained to us.
James Gillies (32:21):
No, no.
C. Barker (32:22):
And we didn't get very much on how to do an anesthetic.
James Gillies (32:25):
No.
C. Barker (32:27):
Find out for yourself.
James Gillies (32:28):
Find out for yourself.
C. Barker (32:30):
Let the public pay of it.
James Gillies (32:31):
Yeah, I'll never forget-
C. Barker (32:32):
If it went wrong (laughs) it died.
James Gillies (32:34):
Yup. I had one on a farm where... my home tow- my home place, you see.
C. Barker (32:41):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (32:42):
And it was the biggest rupture I think I ever saw in a horse, and I gave it, uh, I-
C. Barker (32:49):
The belly, belly floor was it?
James Gillies (32:52):
Belly floor. I gave it chloroform and-
C. Barker (32:56):
How did you do that?
James Gillies (32:59):
Well, it wasn't hard to give him the chloroform. I had no trouble with giving them chloroform and he went down-
C. Barker (33:04):
Did you cast, did you cast them first?
James Gillies (33:08):
No, get 'em standing, down they go then, uh, rope 'em up to make sure that they couldn't kick or anything.
C. Barker (33:15):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (33:17):
Even though they were down. But, uh, boy, it was a big rupture. But it healed up great.
C. Barker (33:25):
Did you put clams on it? You didn't open it up?
James Gillies (33:27):
No, I did it all sutured on the inside and outside.
C. Barker (33:31):
Did you?
James Gillies (33:31):
Yup.
C. Barker (33:33):
You're a brave fella.
James Gillies (33:34):
Well-
C. Barker (33:36):
Your reputation could have been lost very easily, Jim.
James Gillies (33:41):
(laughs) It was no good the way it was. It's like my first cesarean on the cow. The guy, I said, I never did one, I says, "I don't want to do it." He said, "You're gonna do it whether you want to do it or not." He said, "There's your cow, she's going to die anyway." So that's a big help when they give you cooperation like that.
C. Barker (34:03):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (34:03):
Yup.
C. Barker (34:07):
What did you have to do with pigs? Anything in particular with swine?
James Gillies (34:10):
Oh yes, castrating and, uh, those one stoners, you know, up in the body?
C. Barker (34:14):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (34:18):
Oh boy. Used to get fed up on them sometimes.
C. Barker (34:19):
They bring them in to you?
James Gillies (34:21):
Oh yeah. Yup.
C. Barker (34:24):
I can remember Macintosh doing those-
James Gillies (34:25):
Yeah.
C. Barker (34:26):
All the time in the clinic.
James Gillies (34:27):
I just used to cut a little slit on the side-
C. Barker (34:30):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (34:30):
Go in and get it.
C. Barker (34:32):
Use one finger?
James Gillies (34:33):
Yup.
C. Barker (34:35):
What did you do when you were spaying bitches? Did you, did you make a small incision and use your finger-
James Gillies (34:40):
No.
C. Barker (34:40):
Or did you use a spay hook?
James Gillies (34:41):
Spay hook. Yup.
C. Barker (34:43):
But you only took the ovaries out, you didn't do any more?
James Gillies (34:46):
Well, I used to take quite a bit of the, uh-
C. Barker (34:48):
Uterus, too?
James Gillies (34:49):
Uterus out, too. Yup.
C. Barker (34:51):
But a small incision?
James Gillies (34:54):
Oh yeah.
C. Barker (34:54):
Well what would you use for anesthetic for those?
James Gillies (34:57):
Uh, ether.
C. Barker (34:58):
You were, uh, an ether man?
James Gillies (35:00):
Yup. Yeah, that was the only thing I had when I started, then it got easier after on.
C. Barker (35:06):
Hm. Did you ever use a mixture of alcohol and chloroform?
James Gillies (35:13):
Yup, I used that, too. ACE.
C. Barker (35:16):
ACE.
James Gillies (35:17):
Yeah.
C. Barker (35:18):
Never used anymore of course.
James Gillies (35:20):
No, no.
C. Barker (35:21):
They won't use ether for anesthesia.
James Gillies (35:22):
Nope, not now.
C. Barker (35:23):
Too explosive it says.
James Gillies (35:24):
Yup.
C. Barker (35:25):
Strange is you don't read much about explosions though in the old literature.
James Gillies (35:29):
We didn't worry about explosions.
C. Barker (35:33):
When you talk about putting a horse down with chloroform, did you stuff some cotton or something up the nostrils or a bag over the head-
James Gillies (35:41):
Oh yeah.
C. Barker (35:41):
Or how'd you do it?
James Gillies (35:42):
Yeah. Put a, uh, uh, I used to put the, slip these things right up into the nostrils, you know?
C. Barker (35:52):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (35:53):
And then just keep another one ready and stuck it in.
C. Barker (35:56):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (35:57):
And away she'd go. And once you got 'em under, they stayed under quite a while.
C. Barker (36:03):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Did you have much to do with hard, hard to do with colics?
James Gillies (36:09):
Oh yeah, I hated those. But when you had a twisted bowel, that was a pathetic one.
C. Barker (36:10):
End of the line.
James Gillies (36:19):
Oh boy, I used to... felt sorry for a horse-
C. Barker (36:22):
Yeah.
James Gillies (36:22):
Most of them would give you permission to put 'em to sleep.
C. Barker (36:25):
Oh did they?
James Gillies (36:26):
Oh yeah. Yeah, when they'd see them just sweating, you know?
C. Barker (36:30):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah.
James Gillies (36:30):
Just pouring out.
C. Barker (36:31):
Yeah.
James Gillies (36:31):
They said, "Put her out."
C. Barker (36:35):
Well, we get a lot of those at the clinic in, in Guelph.
James Gillies (36:38):
Yeah.
C. Barker (36:38):
And they do surgeries on it.
James Gillies (36:40):
They do surgery now, yeah.
C. Barker (36:41):
Half of them are really sent home.
James Gillies (36:43):
Yeah.
C. Barker (36:44):
But it's an expensive operation.
James Gillies (36:47):
Oh yeah. 1500 bucks isn't it?
C. Barker (36:49):
Or more.
James Gillies (36:50):
Yeah.
C. Barker (36:50):
Or more. The same way with them bringing Caesars in.
James Gillies (36:53):
Yeah.
C. Barker (36:54):
That's an expensive procedure.
James Gillies (36:56):
Oh, you bet it is.
C. Barker (37:00):
Well, we've been doing pretty well here. I'm wondering are there any other instances that you'd like to mention in your episode that are of interest to you?
James Gillies (37:07):
No, I really enjoyed 55 years of practice. Boy. And on our 40th year, no, 50th year of practice, we had a party and it was some party.
C. Barker (37:24):
Where were you ha- where did you hold that at?
James Gillies (37:26):
Out in the, the, uh, hall. Way out in Dumfries.
C. Barker (37:30):
That was a community party for you, was it?
James Gillies (37:33):
Yeah. Yeah, there was over 400 there and you can't beat the farmers.
C. Barker (37:41):
What year did you quit practice?
James Gillies (37:44):
Uh, it would be-
C. Barker (37:48):
How old were you when you quit practice?
James Gillies (37:49):
I was about 80.
C. Barker (37:49):
80?
James Gillies (37:49):
Yeah.
C. Barker (37:49):
You were.
James Gillies (37:50):
Yeah. Yup, I was about 80 when I quit. And my wife died in 1989. She was great.
C. Barker (38:13):
You were living at one time in a, uh, the residence in, uh, Cambridge, weren't you?
James Gillies (38:19):
Yeah, in Hespler.
C. Barker (38:19):
Hespler.
James Gillies (38:20):
Yeah. Yeah, we was in there for five years. And then when she fell and broke her hip, we had to give that up and, uh, she had to, you know, hospital the rest of her life.
C. Barker (38:33):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (38:34):
Yeah.
C. Barker (38:36):
And then you subsequently moved to, to Orangeville?
James Gillies (38:42):
Yeah, well, uh, we, the only place we could get her in... you see, she had to have special care.
C. Barker (38:45):
Oh yeah.
James Gillies (38:45):
It got so she had a special care because she couldn't get up and-
C. Barker (38:49):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (38:50):
She couldn't move.
C. Barker (38:50):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (38:51):
So, we were moved to Orangeville in '89 in March, '89.
C. Barker (39:01):
Yeah.
James Gillies (39:01):
Yup. And they gave her, she had wonderful care up there.
C. Barker (39:06):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
James Gillies (39:07):
Boy. Great bunch of nurses.
C. Barker (39:12):
And then you came with your son after-
James Gillies (39:13):
Yup, yup.
C. Barker (39:15):
I think he's just come in the back door here.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
Hello.
C. Barker (39:21):
Hello. I just, uh, brought out an envelope, a photograph of the class of 1926 and I thought, uh, I would ask Jimmy to tell me something about these people, even though we mentioned their names much earlier. So, there's, there's the photograph, Jimmy. Pick on some of those fellas and tell me something about what they were like in school. You can either pick on the faculty or you can pick on the, uh-
James Gillies (39:59):
They were all good students, every one of 'em. Fowler, Zeedy, McElriv there's my favorite, Macintosh.
C. Barker (40:02):
Yes. What did you and he used to do?
James Gillies (40:05):
Go to all kinds of meetings, especially political meetings. I used to love to here 'em chuckle at the... to hear 'em ripping each other up the back.
C. Barker (40:16):
What was he? Conservative?
James Gillies (40:17):
I never knew.
C. Barker (40:18):
You never know.
James Gillies (40:19):
I never knew.
C. Barker (40:20):
He'd never tell you?
James Gillies (40:21):
Nope.
C. Barker (40:22):
Because it wasn't wise for him to mention what-
James Gillies (40:24):
That's right.
C. Barker (40:25):
What he was. (laughs)
James Gillies (40:26):
He was a, he was a politician that way.
C. Barker (40:30):
And Schofield?
James Gillies (40:30):
Oh he was quite a boy. He was a clever man. He was great-
C. Barker (40:38):
You were never involved with his sweet clover-
James Gillies (40:41):
Nope.
C. Barker (40:42):
Episodes?
James Gillies (40:42):
Nope. And Bat was a nice old fella. I liked him.
C. Barker (40:48):
Did you ever know the son?
James Gillies (40:50):
No, I never knew him. He's quite a boy too, I guess.
C. Barker (40:54):
What about this gentleman up in the corner here? We don't know much about him.
James Gillies (40:58):
What's that name there?
C. Barker (41:00):
All right, that is Dr. Fred Torrance.
James Gillies (41:04):
Oh, Torrance, no, I never knew him at all.
C. Barker (41:07):
Well I think he died about the year you arrived there.
James Gillies (41:10):
Maybe, I don't know him anyway.
C. Barker (41:12):
He was supposed to teach physiology.
James Gillies (41:14):
Yup.
C. Barker (41:15):
He had been veterinary director general-
James Gillies (41:17):
Oh was he?
C. Barker (41:18):
At one time and then he lost that or he retired, we don't know exactly which but-
James Gillies (41:22):
Yeah.
C. Barker (41:22):
It's said that he retired.
James Gillies (41:25):
Yeah, I don't know him.
C. Barker (41:27):
And McGilvry brought him to, to, uh, Guelph to give him a job after he-
James Gillies (41:31):
Yup, well.
C. Barker (41:32):
There, there's uh-
James Gillies (41:35):
That's the, the dozen, anyway.
C. Barker (41:36):
That's the dozen there.
James Gillies (41:37):
Dozen there.
C. Barker (41:38):
Yeah, Underwood went back to the states, didn't he?
James Gillies (41:40):
Yup.
C. Barker (41:42):
And was... I think I've met him once or twice. And Vern Walker.
James Gillies (41:46):
Vern Walker.
C. Barker (41:47):
I knew him very well.
James Gillies (41:48):
He's dead now.
C. Barker (41:49):
That's right.
James Gillies (41:50):
He was in, he, he was in, uh-
C. Barker (41:51):
Ottawa.
James Gillies (41:53):
Well, and he was in Banford for a few years.
C. Barker (41:55):
Oh was he?
James Gillies (41:56):
Oh yeah.
C. Barker (41:57):
I didn't know that.
James Gillies (41:57):
Oh yes, he was in Banford for a few years.
C. Barker (42:00):
Wow.
James Gillies (42:00):
Small animals. Then he went to Ottawa.
C. Barker (42:04):
Now there's Frank Cody.
James Gillies (42:06):
Yup.
C. Barker (42:08):
Well, it's a small-
James Gillies (42:08):
I-
C. Barker (42:09):
Small class but they did, they all did very well. They survived.
James Gillies (42:13):
He was my, my pal.
C. Barker (42:15):
Which one was that?
James Gillies (42:17):
Frank Cody.
C. Barker (42:18):
Oh, Frank Cody.
James Gillies (42:18):
Oh yes.
C. Barker (42:18):
Yeah. Well that's great. Well, and it's now, uh, 11:41. I think I'm going to stop this, uh-
James Gillies (42:28):
Okay.
C. Barker (42:28):
Interview. You're not all tired out? You haven't gone-
James Gillies (42:31):
Oh no, I, I enjoyed your interview.
C. Barker (42:34):
You've had them before though?
James Gillies (42:35):
Oh yes.
C. Barker (42:42):
Before we, uh, complete the tape, I should mention the Dr. Gillies'
James Gillies (42:49):
Granddaughter.
C. Barker (42:50):
Grandda- your granddaughter graduated-
James Gillies (42:52):
'88.
C. Barker (42:53):
From the Ontario Veterinary College.
James Gillies (42:55):
Ontario Veterinary College.
C. Barker (42:56):
And then she ha- uh, she went where to practice?
James Gillies (42:59):
Tilsonburg.
C. Barker (43:00):
Oh, she was with the Hawkins people in... Hawkins in-
James Gillies (43:04):
Yeah. Tilsonburg.
C. Barker (43:04):
Yeah. Ontario.
James Gillies (43:06):
Yup.
C. Barker (43:07):
She was there for what? A year was it?
James Gillies (43:09):
Oh, she was there longer than that I think and then she... they went down to Prince Edward Island.
C. Barker (43:14):
She's married?
James Gillies (43:15):
She's married to, uh, veterinary 80... '89.
C. Barker (43:21):
What is her... what is her name now then?
James Gillies (43:24):
Bucklebank.
C. Barker (43:24):
Things have changed quite a lot, Jimmy, since the day you graduated.
James Gillies (43:27):
Yes, you bet.
C. Barker (43:29):
A lot of things going on that were never thought of.
James Gillies (43:31):
Never thought of.
C. Barker (43:33):
Especially in the areas of small animals.
James Gillies (43:35):
Yup.
C. Barker (43:37):
Well, all right. Thank you very much-