Dr. J. T. Steele and wife Helen with their dog in front of an automobile and home, likely in Burns Lake. 1927
Dr. John Taylor “Doc” Steele was among the first physicians to serve Burns Lake before the establishment of the first permanent hospital along Center Street. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, he provided medical services out of temporary quarters, travelling to remote homes when emergencies arose.
Steele opened Burns Lake’s second drug store in a building that had previously been owned by a Greek fur buyer named Aristotle “Alec” Sideris. The drug store occupied the front portion of the building facing the street, and Steele ran his medical practice out of the rear apartments. The business didn’t contain a pharmacy per se, but carried a variety of patent medicines that manufacturers claimed could cure everything from abdominal discomfort to shingles.
Steele was more than just a doctor. He was a founding member of the Burns Lake Board of Trade and served as a village commissioner (the equivalent of a councillor today) from April 1928 until December of the same year, after which he sold his drug store to John McKenna and moved to Alberta.
Families here remember him as a capable doctor who delivered babies and treated injuries under challenging conditions. Though his time in Burns Lake was relatively short, Dr. Steele’s presence offered the community an early glimpse of what consistent local medical care could mean, and set the stage for the arrival of Dr. Holmes and (later) a better hospital.
Steele opened Burns Lake’s second drug store in a building that had previously been owned by a Greek fur buyer named Aristotle “Alec” Sideris. The drug store occupied the front portion of the building facing the street, and Steele ran his medical practice out of the rear apartments. The business didn’t contain a pharmacy per se, but carried a variety of patent medicines that manufacturers claimed could cure everything from abdominal discomfort to shingles.
Steele was more than just a doctor. He was a founding member of the Burns Lake Board of Trade and served as a village commissioner (the equivalent of a councillor today) from April 1928 until December of the same year, after which he sold his drug store to John McKenna and moved to Alberta.
Families here remember him as a capable doctor who delivered babies and treated injuries under challenging conditions. Though his time in Burns Lake was relatively short, Dr. Steele’s presence offered the community an early glimpse of what consistent local medical care could mean, and set the stage for the arrival of Dr. Holmes and (later) a better hospital.
