On October 31st 1908 the Omineca Herald ran this advertisement on its front page. This hospital ticket scheme that Dr. Horace Wrinch instituted at the Hazelton Hospital lasted for over three decades, although the cost did increase to $1.50 per month after World War I. Although not unique to Hazelton or to British Columbia, it may have been one of the longest such schemes in operation. It not only produced a steady and regular income for the hospital, but also bound the residents of the district into a community that had an interest in ensuring the hospital was successful. My biography of Dr. Wrinch, Service on the Skeena: Horace Wrinch, Frontier Physician contains a detailed description of the scheme and its history. (Photo: my own collection)
