The Washington times., 1935-03-18

9t0n0k NeWS SeTOIce otoIT
Writer, Visited the famous
Dionns quintuplets at C0llen-
der, Ontario, and has written
q series of four exclusive, hu-
man interest articles, the first
Of which is presented herewith.
BY JAMES L. KILGALLEN
u (copyright, 1895, by International
News Service)
CALENDER, Ontario, March
lS.-Those quintuplets! How are
they? The answer is "Fine!"
And what "cuties" they are!
DR.. Allan Roy Dafoe, the now
celebrated country doctor, took
the international News Service
reporter out to see the Dionne
ouintuplets-Marie, Cecile, Emile,
Annette and Yvonne-and the
sight was something to gladden.
the eye and warm the heart.
Five beautiful babies, kicking
around in their beds, having a
lot Of fun and their big grey
brown eyes lighting up at the
sight of the doctor as he chucked
them under the chin and called
each by name. Healthy-looklng
babies, not quite 10 months old,
with cheeks rosy from three hours
outdoors each day in their bug
gies.
Something Unique
It was something you couldn't
see anywhere else in the world!
Here you saw it, away up mere IN
the rugged North, more than 200
miles north of Toronto.
I met DR.. Dafoe at Morrison's
General Store on the main street
Of Calender. He wore a big cap
and an overcoat Git gets cold up
here) and he was smoking a pipe.
He said Jump in and we got IN
his car. It was filled with pack
ages and he remarked:
I'm q mail man and every
thing up here"
Most Of the packages were gifts
tor the "quints."
We drove three miles over a
winding road. On our way, dr1v-
ing through Calender, we passed
the doctors home, a two-story
white building with a red brick
front and a neat white fence. On
the front of the house was
modest, brass plate containing the
words:
"Dr. A. r. DafOe."
There the doctor, a 51-year-old
widoWer, lives with an elderly,
Eenteel housekeeper who takes his
telephone calls when he is away
as he is so often-treating the
sick in the district.
Follow Indian Trail
The road led into the country
We we're headed for the "Dafoe
Hospital for the Quintuplets." !"
The doctor explained it cost the
Ontario government between $10,-
900 and $4,000 to construct the
road which used to be an old In
dian trail. Years ago the Algon-
quin Indians inhabited the Lake
Nipissing district. The doctor
was profuse in his praise of the
Canadian government officials
for what they had done for the
babies.
DR.. Dafoe called attention to
the telegraph poles and lines par
alleling the road. The Bell Tele'
phone Company, he said, had
built the lines out into the coun-
try to the hospital. He remarked
that the only way the hospital
could be reached by telephone
was by first calling his home in
Calender. The doctor said:
'It shouldn't really be called
o hospital now. It's really a
nursery. The babies are no
longer frail. It's a hospital
only in the sense we have
nurses there"
DEATH IN HOME
The automobile pushed on
over the snow. Suddenly a
shadow fitted across the doctors
kindly face. He pointed to a
shack along the road and said:
"See that white rag on the
door? Well, that's meant for
a Grape. Their baby-nine
months old-is dead. They
called me in too late. Babies
up here don't always get the
best of care. Many folks are
poor. IT'S all very sad"
On we went for about three
miles. When we were within
100 yards of our destination the
doctor pointed to a house by
the roadway and said:
"That's where the quintup-
lets were born"
It is a story-and-a-half, frame
house. it's yellow paint darkened
by the elements. A typical
Canadian homestead, with two
little outhouses. The doctor ex'
planned the uuintuplets had lived
there for the first four months
until the hospital was built.
Arrive At Hospital
The doctors car almost imme-
diately turned into a lane. The
new home of the quintuplets-
the Dafoe "hoSpital"-met the
eye. It is cheery-looking, one.
story building, neatly painted
with the color scheme green and
yellow and a nice front porch and
large windows.
The building is fenced in. The
car stopped. A caretaker came
turned a key in a large iron gate,
and let us through. An Eskimo