HOSPITAL FOR FIVE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 68, 2 January 1936, Page 8

HOSPITAL FOR FIVE

CANADA’S QUINTUPLETS, HOW THEY ARE GUARDED. The Dionne quintuplets are to appear in a moving picture, based on the life of their physician and guardian, Dr. Dafoe. It is understood that a contract for 100,000 dollars, has been awarded to Mary Bickford, who was horn in Ontario, not far from their home. The babies will not he moved, nor will they he required to face strong lights. Eighteen months old, they are in perfect health. Occasionally they are examined by specialists. As they have been practically free of colds, Dr. Dafoe expects they will not have tonsil or adenoid trouble. During the summer, so great was the concourse of visitors, that they appeared on the verandah four times a day, but Dr. Dafoe reduced their appearances to two, to allow them more rest. Visitors are not permitted to approach within 50 feet of the building. Inspection by Tourists. At 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. nurses carry the babies out to the verandah, one by one, for inspection by the crowd. All laugh and wave their hands, except Marie, who had a greater struggle for existence than her sisters. The babies have olive skin, dark hair, and black eyes. Across the road, in sharp contrast to the brightness and activity of the hospital, Mr and Mrs Dionne sit behind locked doors and covered windows. They refused an offer by the Government to build them a new home. Mrs Dionne refused to act on the Board of Guardians, which comprises five men. An American press syndicate forbids her to talk to anyone, for fear she might bo quoted. Mr Dionne still demands that his children be returned to him. “Perhaps they are being well cared for,” he says, speaking in French, “but nurses, no matter how much they love them, cannot take their mother’s place. Even pigs are allowed to rear their own young.” Trade in Souvenirs. Gorbeil, where the quintuplets live, is a community of farm-houses. The nearest village, Callander, has 550 souls. To-day 6000 tourists visit the children daily. A petrol station has named its five tanks after the babies. Itevidently delights travellers to say “Five gallons of Yvonne,” or “eight of Annette,” for the station does a big trade. The hospital, a low, homelike structure, is painted in red, green and cream colours. Windows on all sides invite the sunshine. It lies in a slight hollow, with a rocky ridge protecting it on three sides from the bleak northern winds. Between it and the road two strong wire fences keep out public, photographers, animals and possible kidnappers. The staff consists of two nurses, Miss Lamoureux and Miss Larue, a housekeeper and a maid. Cameras are taboo.

A prosperous trade in souvenirs is dono by the two midwiyes who attended the babies at birth. They will not talk much, as publicity is an item of income reserved for the babies. An account of their part in the birth of the babies appears in a pamphlet, which is sold for a shilling. Other souvenirs include picture postcards, story books, music, pennants, blotters, whisks, writing pads, pens, pencils, etc., all bearing sketches or names of the quintuplets. Tied to the rafters hangs the white, battered clothes basket, which was the babies’ first bed. An Enterprising Farm Lad. Hitched to a post at a nearby corner is a bullock waggon, driven by a boy of II: years. He lives on a farm, and built the waggon. One day lie drove it along to see the quintuplets. Tourists, thinking this was the recognised mode of travel in Cor boil, crowded around, and asked for a drive. Now he makes a tidy income at a shilling a trip. Callander and Curbed are rushing up new buildings to cope with next summer’s tourist trade. It is estimated that visitors to the quintuplets spent five million dollars in Ontario last summer. The babies’ income is growing; .so are their expenses. It costs £2OO a month to run the hospital. The lowestpaid member of their growing staff is their doctor, who refuses to accept more than £l. a week. It is impossible to describe bis devotion to his charges. They sense the time lie is clue to arrive, and their joy knows no bounds when his step is heard approaching. When he is away from them, he spends his time receiving importuning clients. His answer, invariably, is “No.” Plans for Education. "What of the future of these live wonders of the world? Already they aie beginning to talk. They will be taught French, the language of their parents. “Bonjour, bonjour,” are the nurses’ first words to them when they get up in the morning. Their guardians intend to bring the school to them, rather than to send them to school. They will lie educated with their brothers and sisters. “They will become intelligent girls, who can cook and sew—and who will eventually meet and marry five young men, we hope,” says Dr. Dafoe. “It is true, if we carry on in the present way, financially, they will be wealthy. But wo want them to be normal and healthy and happy, brought up as simply and carefully as possible. “Because they are quintuplets, they can never be quite like other children,. But we are determined that they will come as close to it as possible. After 18 they can look after themselves. We will have dono our best.”