Monday, October 11, 2010

Hero's Birthplace/ My World

Statue of Dr. Norman Bethune, on the main street in Gravenhurst, Ontario

Dr. Norman Bethune (1890-1939), was an energetic, intelligent, and compassionate doctor who worked in Canada, Spain and China. Dr. Bethune is most famous for his work in China where he worked for the last two years of his life as a surgeon and teacher on battlefields where Chinese fought Japanese invaders. He died there from a knife wound that became infected. Even today, Dr. Bethune is a hero in China.

Bethune Memorial House National Site, Gravenhurst

The first floor and master bedroom of this house in which Dr. Bethune was born have been restored to what it looked like in 1890.   A closer view of the front porch can be seen in sepia on my other blog HERE.


Banners featuring self portraits of children in Spain, China and Canada

The day my husband and I visited, banners were hanging along the main street in front of the Bethune house. Each banner bore self portraits of children now living in countries where Dr. Bethune worked as a surgeon.



Visit My World Tuesday  HERE to see tons of photos from around the world.

40 comments:

annalarssonphotography said...

What a place and look at the porch!!
Thank you for sharing your world, EG!

Cezar and Léia said...

It's a beautiful tribute for so important man.I like a lot the first picture, the sculpture is beautiful!
Léia

B SQUARED said...

A fabulous person, to be sure.

Darla said...

I love all the self portraits.

Darla

Shammickite said...

I visited the Bethune house many years ago, perhaps it's time to explore Gravenhurst again.

Kathy said...

Thanks so much for the info on this great man. It does my heart good to read about such people.

Halcyon said...

I'm glad he's getting the recognition he deserves!

Small City Scenes said...

What a grand tribute to a great man. I am glad you went a-visiting. Love the pictures by the children. It is a lovely house. MB

Suburban Girl said...

Thank you for sharing...I learned about someone today.

George said...

Thanks for sharing this with us. I've seen Dr. Bethune on Chinese stamps -- he is truly a hero there.

Sylvia K said...

What a wonderful tribute to such a wonderful man! Thanks! Great photos as always! Have a lovely week!

Sylvia

Carver said...

I love the banners. What a great tribute to a great person.

Carolyn Ford said...

A beautiful tribute to such a great man...and, what a beautiful sculpture showing him on the move. Time is essential in medicine!

Eve said...

That sounds like it would be an interesting place to visit and even more interesting person to learn more about.

That house is beautiful!

Random Treasures said...

Thank you for the information on this great man. I recently read about a similar person here in Colorado Springs. His name is Dr.William Bell. A lot of things in common. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

a life well spent. and i'm happy he's remembered today.

Pat said...

This is a wonderful, touching memorial to Dr. Bethune. Was he a missionary doctor? It's great that even today he is a hero to people in China.

Janet said...

A life well lived!

Barb said...

He sounds like an exemplary home-town hero! I like the children's self-portraits, too.

Anja said...

Thank you for your nice comment on my blog. I enlarged your mosaic and was impressed by the self portraits of the children.

DeniseinVA said...

What an amazing man, and a hero I am glad to be introduced to. One reason why I love blogging. It does my heart good to learn of people such as this wonderful doctor. I also love the self portraits of the children's drawings. What an exceptional idea to hang them out in tribute. Most definitely a hero to so many.

B i r g i t t a said...

EG, what a wonderful entry! And the history of this special man is so interesting - I also love the selfporttraits :)
http://foto.rudenius.se/post/2010/10/11/My-World-e28093-Budapest-now.aspx

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

Dr. Bethune was a very brave man and a hero. I have read about the massacres in Shangai and Nanking in 1937. The house is beautifully kept. A very nice tribute to him.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing and introducing me to a person I did not know before. One can only wish, that time and life continue to provide such role models.

Please have a good Tuesday.


daily athens

Lowell said...

I'll bet if he were alive today he would be part of the organization, Doctors Without Borders.

Lesley said...

His work should be more widely known in Canada. This helps spread the word!

A Scattering said...

I love the feeling of action in the statue, it's not static at all - wonderful.

Louis la Vache said...

A great story - people like him are too few and far between.

VioletSky said...

The first biography I ever read was one of Bethune. I love the idea of those banners!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

That's my favorite way to learn (or brush-up on) history. An important man. The kids' banners add a whimsical touch and it makes me happy that they're being taught about what he did.

SandyCarlson said...

A wonderful statue of a man on the move. Intense. Thanks for the story, too.

Randy said...

Interesting post. Love the house!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

EG: That was so neat that you got to visit this historic house.

Anonymous said...

What wonderful portraits at the doctor's house.

Unknown said...

a beautiful house and a well-deserved tribute for a great man. thanks for sharing.

Leslie D. said...

Those self portraits are fantastic. Love the purity of vision if you could call it that.

Ebie said...

His sculpture is well done. I am for the preservation and restoration of old houses, and this is just a great tribute to a great man.

Gattina said...

Very interesting !

NatureFootstep said...

to be a statue it looks very clean. :)

Kay L. Davies said...

Super! I didn't know that statue existed.

Kay, Alberta

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.