Skip to content

Pas Ka Poo Park opens medical museum

As another summer came upon Pas Ka Poo Park a new building opened up in the museum.
35836rimbeyMuseum073013
Park administrator Cheryl Jones says a complete dentistry set was donated to the new medical museum by the family of Dr. F.J. Leboldus.

As another summer came upon Pas Ka Poo Park a new building opened up in the museum.

The medical museum took three years to raise funds for, which was done in several stages, making the total cost of the building hard to tally.

“There was a lot of volunteer work that went into putting the building together,” said park administrator Cheryl Jones, who added without volunteers the building wouldn’t have opened until next year.

“The medical building itself showed we really needed one based on the amount of medical equipment donated,” said Jones.

The museum features a complete set of dental equipment donated by the Leboldus family, as well as an operating table from the Rimbey hospital.

The Gulf ambulance 1961 Chevy truck, previously housed at the truck museum, is also a part of the new displays.

The originally white vehicle was painted red and used at the Rimbey Gas Plant until 2001, when it was repainted and given to the museum. “It’s pristine, it looks fabulous,” said Jones.

The medical museum features displays and stories from across Rimbey’s medical past, including St. Paul’s Hospital, the three-way convalescent hospital and the Rimbey Hospital and Care Centre. “It was a much needed addition and it received wonderful reviews,” said Jones.

Museum staff is compiling stories and expanding the exhibits with more artifacts.

“I think it’s fun to see all the different bed pans used over the years,” said Jones. Another favorite of the museum is the maternity ward display with three incubators and forceps.

The medical museum is the third heated building at Pas Ka Poo Park and boasts energy efficient lighting.

“Why they decided to do it as a heated building is there’s a lot of medical texts we wanted to same from (uncontrolled) environments,” explained Jones.