Gord Parks is 100! Happy Birthday, Gord!!

Gord now holds the record for the oldest former Director of the Prince Edward County Hospital. This column first appeared four years ago. Since then, the contributions of so many have taken the Back the Build campaign past the $20M mark for the new hospital. Gord has been one of those contributors and his story of support goes back many, many years.

Gord lives in Wellington; for several years he farmed a bit east of there. For about 55 years, I knew him as an accomplished dairy farmer and Dad to my fellow 4-H’ers, Dorothy, Marlene, and Gary. 

I didn't know “the rest of the story,” or rather the part shared here, until I started to read through 80 years of minutes of meetings of the directors of the Prince Edward County Hospital. Many volunteers were involved in starting up the first hospital in a large home on Hill St. in Picton. In 1918, a Board of Directors was put in place. But that's not where I found Gord - because he had not been born yet. Not until 1923 – and, yes, at that hospital.

Fast forward to 1924, and the minutes reflect that the Warden, a peer-elected head of the County Council, sat on the hospital board. Fast forward again to1935, and this task was being assigned to other members of Council, including names like E. B. Purtelle, R. Ketcheson, R. Cockburn, Norris Whitney, A.E. Bowerman, and Sam Gentile. And then, in 1958, came Gord Parks.

Gord was then in his mid-30's, a full-time farmer, a young Dad, and a Deputy Reeve with one year of Council experience. He wanted to be on the Agricultural Committee. The Warden, Clifford Wilson, wanted him on the hospital board. “You'll learn things,” he told Gord – and he was right.

The role of the Council member was mostly to observe and report back to Council. While Gord joined a Board deeply involved in the operation of the Hill Street site, he also joined as the “new” hospital was being erected on Main Street. Gord was only four months into the role and is quoted at length in “This House of Healing” (by Al Capon), requesting a $15,000 grant from Council to clear outstanding accounts for the (old) hospital so the new hospital would start in a position of operational solvency. The relationship was a tense one. The Council of the day was very “tight-fisted.” That didn't stop Gord with his appeal. “We spend more on roads,” he said. “It's about time we got the hospital out of the rut.”

When the new hospital opened in 1959, Gord recalls being placed as a greeter at the Main Entrance by the PEC Hospital Board Chair John Hartwick. No doubt the Chair wanted to remind the public of the ongoing critical partnership with the municipality in making hospital services happen for The County. Gord was re-elected to Council and served until 1961 with the hospital.

To this day, Gord has continued to follow the hospital story. Back in the original column, Gord commented, “I want to see the next new hospital built, I turn 97 this year. They’d better start soon!”

Well now Gord turns 100 and we've started. Gord and his family are contributors to the PECMH Foundation. His daughter-in-law, Nancy Parks, is Chair of the Campaign Cabinet to “Back the Build.”

For information about our hospital, or to make a donation to Back the Build or one in honour of Gord's 100th call Shannon at 613 476 1008 ext. 4503, or Briar at ext. 4425, or Sue at ext. 4502, or visit the foundation’s website at www.pecmhf.ca.