Emergency Services
IOCO Memories
Chapter 17
Midwife and Doctors
In the early years Mrs. Mowbry was the midwife for the area. There is mention that Dr. Symmes came over by boat and delivered a baby in a shack inside the refinery in 1921.
1933- Dr. Charley Pinkerton was hired and left 1938.
1938 -Dr. Beady was hired and worked until 1941
1941-Dr. Meth was hired and retired August 1991
Dr. Bernhard Meth
“Now, my days at IOCO were wonderful. We had a wonderful time, both of our children went to school in IOCO”.
“life was very gentle and very good and I had a very good rapport with the Imperial Oil”.
Train Accident
Three of the passengers were in the Jitney were Mr. and Mrs. E Webber and their two year old son Fred.
During that time, Edward Webber was a pumpman at the Ioco Refinery and Mrs. Webber worked at the Ioco Clubhouse. Fred grew up to be a shift superintendent at the refinery until retirement in 1978.
Fire Department
Before WW2 there was no organized fire protection. On the town site there was equipment which consisted of a hose on wheels stationed on the top of all four streets, with water supplies operated by all when the fire siren sounded.
Accidents
“There was an explosion on one of the boats and my dad happened to be down there and these two men were on fire and they came running to him and he got them- got the fire-Like they rolled and that, and got the fire out then he told them to jump in the car and he drove them to Royal Columbian Hospital. But I remember that.” Jeanette Machan:
Dr. Bernie Meth was the doctor for Imperial Oil. He lived on 1st Avenue and he had a practice on the North Road actually. Now I don’t know whether that was the first one he had, but that’s where he was. And I did go to him when I was a child but he lived in Ioco, he was the Imperial Oil doctor, as well. Because they all-They had to have annual check-ups and then when they got older it was every six months they had to be checked up and as far as I know he did everybody.
Fire Department and Police
In the early years of the townsite the fire department was volunteer.
“Mrs. Davies: The fire department was volunteer. There used to be what we called a hose house at the top of 3rd Avenue, if there was a problem, the men would all go running and, you know, pull the apparatus, two big wheels with the hose wrapped around it.”
Thelma Davies:
“There would be an emergency whistle at the plant, but perhaps, you know, *whistle blowing noise three times and the men would know that there were problems and everybody had to rush off to the plant “
Mrs. Kingsbury: They had the hoses. Just on two big wheels.
Marjory Kingsbury
Thelma Davies:
“The only Police Department was in Port Moody ….Young people didn’t step out of line, you know. Stealing apples out of somebody’s tree was about the biggest problem that anybody ever had. So no, there was no such thing as a police force in Ioco and um, as I say, whether or not Port Moody came into it, I couldn’t even say, I don’t ever remember it happening so… No.”
