A few personal memories of
Doc Hallam

...by James Kirk-White
June/96

There was an aura surrounding Doc that made him larger than life. Yes, he was large in stature, but not nearly as large as people perceived him to be. I remember marveling at his charisma over the years, particularly at functions held in grand ballrooms filled to capacity. As Doc entered a room, even strangers turned to stare and when those strangers asked about him, there was always someone at their table that knew the Doc. Doc's aura became an asset to his many friends and organizations for they made enormous gains because of this phenomenon -- especially when he was in his promotional mode, which was generally most of the time. Doc was perpetually promoting something or someone and always for their benefit or his community's betterment, and never, I repeat, never for himself. He loved to promote things and was a marvelous salesperson.

One would hope to believe that this type of an individual would walk through life blessed and without a lot of pain and discomfort. That was not to be for Doc suffered like the rest of us and maybe more so. Physically and mentally he suffered. He suffered a lot because he cared so much. As an example he agonized tremendously over the closing of our hospital. However, long before that calamity, he hurt intensely when as a doctor he could not help his neighbours and his friends. Those were his worst days when a friend would develop a problem with a mental disorder, or a fatal illness and he had no cure. Interestingly, it was his trait to use merriment and a pat on the head to help people and their families overcome the stress of a physical illness. However, he was unable to rely on that special gift for the treatment of a fatal or mental disorder. He would often become very morose for the balance of the day after encountering such a problem. During those times he depended on his loved ones to understand and comfort him.

During thirty years of a continual association with Doc, I was privy to many moments of pure gut-wrenching belly laughter. Laughter was Doc's favourite medicine and he prescribed the abuse of it to everyone, including himself. Regarding the subject of laughter, during the late 60's and 70's, Doc was in tremendous demand as a public speaker. He worked hard at it and soon mastered the art of mesmerizing his audience. My favourite mother-in-law and Doc's most significant other, Pearl, my spouse Karen and I traveled with him through-out Ontario. We heard the same speech many times and never tired of his presentation, nor did his many fans. The profound subject of his speech was the use of laughter to remain young, healthy and mentally fit. He called it "The Blue Bird of Happiness" and when he finished, everyone was much healthier as they rose to give him an exhilarating, standing ovation.

There were only a few subjects that Doc did not like to talk about. One subject was his tour of World War 11 duty. He was a surgeon on board the HMS Eskimo. Being born during those terrible times, I had a natural curiosity about the war and often I tried to get Doc to open up and tell me about his experiences. All I received from him was a short story about injuring his back. It happened while making his way to his post in sick bay after serving at action stations. His ship recoiled from the firing of their guns, throwing Doc around the cramped quarters -- he bumped his helmeted head solidly and wrenched his back. Also upon reaching home port one day, his back injury received further aggravation when the pilot of his ship collided with another ship while parking. Doc seemed serious about this tale and somewhat embarrassed. He chuckled when he said that the only damage done to himself, during a horrific war, was due to careless driving and not the enemy. His post, being the sick bay and placed far below into the bowels of the ship, was very tiny. It was not a safe place to be if disaster struck. This may explain why Doc sought wide open spaces and relished the panoramic view from the numerous windows in his home.

I suspect it was his navy career that made him a rum and coke person, and his large size influenced his choice of the cigar habit. I can't avoid smiling when I try to visualize Doc with a tiny cigarette hanging from his lips. I mention some of his bad habits to introduce the beginning of the famous "Doc Shuffle". The entire community has witnessed and can still envision Doc shuffling along the street or down their hospital corridor wearing slippers or moccasins. Being his patient in a hospital bed, if you didn't overhear Doc exchanging pleasantries with patients along the way, you certainly had no problem identifying the swishing sound of the Doc shuffle. Indeed, it was a comforting sound to his patients, but nevertheless it was a sound caused by the gout. He finally gave up drinking rum and smoking cigars to rid himself of the gout, but he never lost the Doc shuffle.

Ironically, it was the Red Cross Hospital that first attracted Doc to Burks Falls and for years he made good use of it, much to the benefit of our citizens. However, when the announcement came that the hospital was closing, his concern for the future of his beloved community caused him great stress and broke his heart. During that crucial time, an ailing and feeble Doc requested certain assurances that he could trust -- however he never did receive them. I wish he could have seen the results, to date they are as he predicted, far short of meeting his community's needs, but there is hope.

Doc had many ways of encouraging people to reach beyond themselves. His method I remember the most was when he would personally trust you, or challenge you to do something. With me it was an invitation to design a dream home for him. OHIP, having just been introduced, finally gave Doc financial security and he decided to build a small home. The fact that he asked me to design this home, based entirely on faith, was quite a compliment and a responsibility that I did not take lightly. He selected a site that had a panoramic view of his beloved community, but its slope made building somewhat of a challenge. I enjoyed designing his home, even though his budget was small, because Doc had no preconceived plan. My first presentation turned out to be the final plan and he asked a good friend, Ted Boyes to build it. Ted miraculously completed the project within budget. Obviously, we both wanted this home to befit the person and Doc loved it. Karen and I lived in Toronto in those days and when we attended the house warming, he introduced me as his architect. I was a young person filled with pride that night. Over the years I witnessed the same treatment from Doc towards many people and in each circumstance, I appreciated how he made them feel. He loved to see people strive to exceed themselves and never missed an opportunity to promote it.

Need help, see Doc. From the nervousness of becoming the president of the Lions Club, the chair of a community project, or a new business venture, there were always numerous people visiting Doc's home seeking his advice. Most of the time the advice they sought had nothing to do with their health -- people just respected his opinion. While we lived in his apartment, we witnessed many of those meetings. They reminded me of the scene in the movie, The Godfather, however for a different purpose -- but with the same awesome respect for the person. It was his laughter and unperturbed demeanor, which immediately made everyone comfortable and his eagerness to help, made them enthusiastic.

Thus, over many, many years his stimulating ideas and incontestable attitudes were the ingredients that motivated all of us and our community has profited tremendously. We delight in this windfall because the Doc chose our locale to practice medicine. And we continue to enjoy this windfall because Doc's interminable spirit endures -- as demonstrated by the newly installed elevator for the physically impaired in our arena.

I know that many of us will find it is impossible to forget Doc or even to have his memory diminish. Impossible because his projects and legacies are continually being enjoyed by our people and our children. Impossible because he gave so much of himself to others. Impossible because he practiced what he preached.

Doc Hallam was a confidant, everyone's best friend and a leader. He was also true to himself because Doc successfully aspired to the Lions' creed that he loved to promote -- "We Serve."