Suitable for the Wilds: Letters from Northern Alberta 1929 - 1931

The plea appeared in the British Medical Journal in February 1929: seeking strong, energetic medical woman for country work in Canada. Doctor Mary Percy was intrigued. After graduating with degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of Birmingham in 1927 she was looking for an opportunity for adventure as well as to build professional experience. She answered the call, and in June 1929 set off for the Peace River region of Northern Alberta. Little did she know that her Canadian adventure would last more than seventy years.

Suitable for the Wilds is a collection of Dr. Mary Percy Jackson’s letters to family and friends during the early years of her practice. Written between 1929 and 1921, these letters offer a fascinating glimpse at life and medicine in Northern Alberta at the beginning of the Depression, as the area was being settled and farmed by new European immigrants. These homesteaders, along with the Indigenous and Métis people of the region, were Dr. Percy Jackson’s patients, scattered over an area of nearly four hundred square miles.

Vigilant about vaccination, nutrition, and preventative medicine, Dr. Percy Jackson was a talented physician and truly ahead of her time, particularly in the areas of tuberculosis treatment and prevention. Her dedication, good nature, and unfailing sense of humour shine through in her letters. This delightful and captivating collection is a tribute to her indomitable spirit.

Dr. Mary Percy Jackson was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence in 1983 and inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1990. She received both the Alberta and Canadian Centennial Medals and was a lifetime member of the College of Family Physicians.

Janice Dickin is professor emerita in the Department of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary. Her areas of study include medical history, life writing, and Canadian social history.