Bionic me

By Doreen Marion Gee

With two artificial knees, I feel like Lindsay Wagner in the old seventies' TV series, The Bionic Woman. My plan is to be an international sensation, setting off airport alarms all over the world. I am pleased to report that, like my first surgery, my second total knee replacement operation on January 27 was very successful! I want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Charles Nelson, Orthopaedic Surgeon, and the team at ReBalance MD for this new lease on life. Being able to walk again is an absolute miracle. As I am grounded during the recovery period with a painkiller-addled brain, I have to be very creative in passing the time. What better way to entertain myself than looking back on the pioneer days of a rough-and-ready dusty little one-horse-town called Victoria in 1920.

The University of Victoria has a wonderful resource for history buffs – an on-line collection of issues of all of the precursors to our venerable Times Colonist, from 1858 to 1920. It is a thrilling walk back in time that puts you right in the middle of the daily affairs of a fledgling city. I chose the Sunday, October 24,1920 edition of The Daily Colonist. On the front page is a photo of Sir Arthur Currie, Principal of McGill University. Underneath the photo is an announcement of his visit to Victoria the next day with some profound words from his speech in Hamilton a few days before: “The most costly thing in the world is ignorance; and in comparison with the cost of education, the cost of ignorance is very great. The success and security of the existence of the nation today is in direct proportion to the educational system.” His powerful words still resonate in 2016, where many people believe that a country of educated and well-informed citizens is essential to a true democracy. How would Currie react to today's Canada where the high price of university tuition, the lack of programs to provide access for poorer students, and a dysfunctional student loan system have killed the dream for many young people with glowing potential. 

A touch of pathos with a Hollywood-like aura of horror and mystery grabs my eye as I work down the page: “King Alexander of Greece, who is critically ill as the result of infection caused by the bite of a monkey, entered a very acute cerebral crisis today.” Later on, the story mentions that the “Greek Legation” denies a conspiracy theory that the monkey was deliberately inoculated with rabies. It leaves me with a lot of questions: How on earth did a King get bitten by a monkey? And if indeed some scoundrel gave the monkey rabies with the intention of passing it along to the poor unsuspecting King, how did he manage to coax the critter into attacking His Majesty? And why involve the hapless monkey anyway? Wouldn't it be easier for the villain just to sneak up on Alexander when he was asleep and inject him with rabies directly? Anyway, dear readers: Don't mind me! These inane questions only seem relevant to a mind temporarily ravaged by major pain killers.

In 1920, The Daily Colonist was owned by Sam Matson, a staunch conservative who “hated anything Liberal and reviled Mackenzie King” (“The History of the Times Colonist” by Victoria Times Colonist, 2008, ). In those days, newspaper owners shamelessly used the vehicle of their trade to publicly spew their own political views and prejudices about daily life in general.

Matson's conservative bent obviously fuelled his flagrantly racist views which he arrogantly posted in his newspaper. In this particular issue, the badly chosen words in the title of Matson's latest rant add a squeamish touch to the local daily: “Minister Touches Oriental Problems.” The subtitle states, “Honourable E. D. Barrow Tells Victoria Farmers' Institute Possible Method of Stopping Increase of Evil.” The text of the article goes on to say that “A gentleman's agreement between the farmers of a district not to sell or lease land to Orientals, was suggested as a possible method of handling the Oriental problem, by Honourable E.D. Barrow, Minister of Agriculture, at a meeting of the Victoria Farmers' Institute at Royal Oak on Friday night.” In 2016, it is unfathomable that a local media source felt free to print such repugnant and targeted views towards an ethnic minority. But within a local milieu of seething mistrust and bigotry towards anything non-white, The Daily Colonist was merely reflecting the local zeitgeist. (With a bit of added venom by ultra-right Matson).

In between bursts of laughter, I winced at the brazen and indiscreet advertisements in the newspaper that take 'politically incorrect' to a whole new level. The writers of ads for “Victoria Steam Laundry Co. Ltd.” in 1920 obviously wanted their jingles to rhyme at any cost: “The next time your necktie sticks, there's a tear and you swear, remember we launder collars so the tie slides easily.” Any sensitive young teenager with acne would have been crushed by the promotion for “Stuart's Calcium Wafers”: “If Disfigured With Pimples and Such Blemishes, Don't Delay to Use Stuart's Calcium Wafers...It's action on the skin is little short of marvellous.” And since when is eating calcium wafers good for the skin? (Oh well, it was 1920 after all).

Flamboyant and melodramatic writing must have wildly entertained locals back in the early days of our capital city. Terrifying bold headlines jump off page seven of the Sunday paper: “MOTORISTS HERE ARE SPARRING FOR A CLASH. Two Organizations to Cover Same Territory Will Mobilize For Action This Week – War Clouds Are Seen.” Holy War Clouds! It turns out that there is a new automobile club in town, the Victoria Automobile Club, that has the utter gall to dare compete with the local monopoly, the Island Automobile Association. How dastardly! The shocking tale unfolds: “So far the war has been confined to brief but rather heated skirmishes in club rooms and on the streets...” and the downright evil organizers of the new Victoria Automobile Club are boldly going ahead with enrolling members while “ready for a clash of arms whenever it takes place.” This was no 'Gunfight at OK Corral' but it was definitely a very slow news day at The Daily Colonist on October 24, 1920.

Unlike the character of 'Jaime Summers' in The Bionic Woman, I will not be able to run over 60 miles an hour. However, with my new knees, I will definitely be able to walk along the breath-taking breakwater at Ogden Point with no mobility aids. After my present recovery period, I will enjoy walking, hiking, shopping and all the things I love. My quality of life will go up a gazillion per cent. For that I am very grateful. It is always fun to take a stroll back in time to the awakening of our fair city. But that brutal frontier existence always makes me glad to fast forward to 2016 with all our advances in the human condition, including medicine and technology.

Source: http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist62y267uvic#page/n0/mode/1up/search/james+bay+1920+victoria