The Melfort and District Museum’s Settlers Village celebrated the legacy of Campion Swartout, the first female dentist in the community, with a new building on museum grounds on Sept. 4.
Museum Curator Brenda Mellon said that the ceremony was great.
“We were really pleased with the event and we were grateful to have members of the Swartout family, Doug and Joanne Swartout, in attendance,” Mellon said. “The dentist office is named after Campion Swartout, who was the first female dentist in Melfort, so it was nice to have members of her family in attendance.”
The Museum began working on the project in 2021 and completed the building in 2024.
“Our volunteers worked on actually constructing the building one winter inside our shop,” Mellon explained. “Then they moved it and completed the interior and added all of the artefacts. That was completed last summer, but we had to delay the grand opening because the Swartout family weren’t able to attend until this summer.
“We thought it was important to have them with us to celebrate,” she added.
Campion Swartout became the first female dentist in Melfort in 1951, and practiced in the community for many years after. Mellon said that having a female dentist was significant at that time.
“Really at the at the time the medical profession was considered to be a man’s profession,” she explained. “Women were typically at home with their children at that time. That’s why it would be significant. Dr. Swartout had six children and she continued to practice dentistry, and she was a very popular dentist in the Melfort area. She practiced here for 25 years.”
People in attendance for the opening shared stories of being in her dentist’s chair and walking up the stairs to the second floor of what is now RJ’s Urban Garden Cafe.
“Lots of people in attendance had been her patients when they were young children, so it was interesting to hear those stories,” Mellon said.
The building that houses the current RJ’s Urban Garden Cafe on Burrows Avenue West has been home to many businesses over the years.
“We would have the history on it here at the museum, but yeah, there’s been a lot of changes there for sure,” Mellon said.
Mellon acted as emcee for the event. Mayor Glenn George brought greetings from the City of Melfort and chair Leiflynn Jeffery brought greetings from the Melfort and District Museum Board.
“I asked (former curator) Gailmarie Anderson to come and share the history of creating the office or the Dental office and then Doug Swartout spoke a few words as well,” Mellon said.
Mellon thanked the many people who made the building possible for all of their support.
“We were really grateful to the family who did contribute towards the project, but we’d also like to acknowledge Affinity Credit Union because they did contribute towards the creation of that building as well as some other individual donors. We’re really grateful for their support as well,” Mellon said.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
