STOUGHTON — Carol Dickie is well known in the Stoughton area for her contributions in the health-care industry.
Born and raised near Invermay, she was raised with two sisters and two brothers on a farm.
She attended university in Saskatoon to get her registered nurse's (RN) degree and took a job in Fillmore.
The nursing program at the time was two years. This has changed over the years to a four-year program.
In 1971, her first job was at the Fillmore Hospital, which had 18 beds. They had nurses' aids and candy stripers at this time.
She met her husband Bruce. They were married in 1972 and lived on the family farm.
The farm boasted cattle and wheat. It was a shared farm with family until Bruce’s parents moved to Creelman. At this time, Bruce and his brother took over the farm, and later began their own farming on separate parcels.
Dickie worked in Stoughton and Fillmore through the years, while also caring for their four sons. When her sons were young, she worked part time.
They built a new house on their farm in 1983, for which Dickie drew the plans and they did whatever work they could. When they had the floor joists laid, they received a foot of snow that May. This home burned down one year ago; her son was living there at the time.
Dickie and her husband had moved to Stoughton years before, but she said it was sad to see the home they built go up in flames.
They have known tragedy as well, when their youngest son Jeremy was backpacking in Australia in 2004. He drowned when he was pulled into the ocean with an undertow.
Dickie said those were tough times, but they needed to move forward from this.
Back in the day, Dickie said nurses could do more in the office than they can today. People came in that needed stitches and it was done at the office. Home care was not available at one time, so the nurses took care of these tasks as well.
Dickie also made house calls during those days for clients that could not make it into the office. They also carried a maternity bundle just in case a baby wanted to arrive early.
During those years, babies were delivered in Weyburn. More recently it has been Estevan or Regina with the maternity ward.
There was a time that Stoughton had a clinic that operated five days a week, but over the years this has been downgraded to two days a week.
The Stoughton Health Clinic has seen many doctors over the years. Some were shared with Fillmore and at other times a doctor came from Estevan. Although they all had their way of doing things, Dickie enjoyed collaborating with them all.
She recalls that a Dr. Rose stayed the longest and came to the southeast from Toronto. When he was told the trip to Fillmore was 26 miles, he asked how many stoplights there would be. Dickie said the physician found the travelling quite easy here and enjoyed his drives. He remained for 16 years.
In 2011, Arcola began to share their doctors with the Stoughton clinic, and it has been this way ever since. The office also has a lab technician come in on Wednesdays, which gets booked quickly.
After 50 years in health-care, Dickie has become a well known individual in the area, and a friendly face to see at the office.
“A great deal of things has changed in health care,” said Dickie. “There are so many things that are no longer allowed to be done, as there is so much more paperwork involved.”
Dickie loved her job and the journey it has taken her over the years. She remains as the receptionist in Stoughton, but no longer keeps her RN licence up to date.
Dickie, now 72, enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and is grateful that they live nearby. She also plays cribbage when needed and will attend provincials in Melville. She is a member of the legion in Stoughton.
Reading is another hobby of hers, and once a month she has coffee with five women she has known for over 50 years.
These women all had their children around the same time and have continued to stay in touch all these years, for which she is grateful.
She will keep working as long as she is able and give people friendly service whenever they show up at the Stoughton Health Clinic.
