Mennonite Archives of Ontario

This collection of photos is part of the “Summer Service Program” records of the Mennonite Central Committee collection at the Mennonite Archives of Ontario at Conrad Grabel University College in Waterloo. The series of photos was put online by the Archivist-Librarian Laureen Harder-Gissing at the Mennonite Archives in the hopes that, in her words, “our display … leads to historical insights and honours the lives of the patients.”

The Mennonite Central Committee’s Summer Service Program began in 1944 and grew out of civilian public service activities during and after the Second World War. The service placed youth as nurses, nurses aides, and orderlies in institutions in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland. Those who were placed in the program had to act as witness of the Mennonite Church and faith in the way they did their work. Clearwater Lake Indian Hospital became one of the sites of the Summer Service Program in 1954. The photos in this collection are part of a broader collection that includes administrative records, handbooks, assignments and personal reflections of the individuals who took part in the program.