Material Type

Photograph

Date Range

[194-]

Description Level

Item

Physical Description

Black and white photograph

Physical Condition

Excellent

History Biographical

Dr. Valerian Francis Swancesky was born in Kamloops, British Columbia on 11 February 1895, one of six children of Mr. and Mrs. Adam Swancesky. He graduated from the McGill University Medical School, and interned at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. He came to Alberta in 1925 and practiced in Coutts, Sweet Grass, Warner and Barons before coming to Lethbridge in 1932. Associated with Dr. Alfred McNally for a short time, Dr. Swancesky later practiced with Dr. Louis A. Roy and Dr. Stephen Schmaltz. Dr. Swancesky was the physician for a number of Lethbridge hockey teams, served on the Lethbridge Boxing Commission, and was a trustee of the White Lunch hockeyb team. Dr. Swancesky was also a member of the Lethbridge Fish and Game Association, Lethbridge Country Club and the Chinook Club. He and his family attended St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, and Dr. Swancesky was a member of the Knights of Columbus. Val Swancesky married Mary Margaret Douglas in Montreal, and the couple had a daughter, Dorothy (Mrs. Roy) of Vancouver. Dr. Swancesky died at Elko, British Columbia on 20 April 1947 while on a fishing trip. He is buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery in Lethbridge. [Sources: Lethbridge: Its Medical Doctors Dentists Drug Stores. Occasional Paper No. 24, Lethbridge Historical Society, page 36. The Lethbridge Herald, 21 April 1947] Dr. Stephen M. Schmaltz was born in Hague, North Dakota and moved to Beiseker, Alberta with his family as a child. Educated in Beiseker, St. Mary's High School in Calgary and St. Jerome's College in Kitchener, Ontario, Dr. Schmaltz graduated from the University of Alberta Medical School in 1932. After interning in the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Edmonton (one year) and St. Paul's Hospital, Saskatoon (one year), Dr. Schmaltz practiced in Taber from 1934 until 1937. He came to Lethbridge in 1937. While in Lethbridge, Dr. Schmaltz was a member of the Gyro Club, and served as director of blood donor services during World War 2. He was actively involved with the Alberta Division of the Canadian Medical Association, and served as president of the Division in 1953-1954. Dr. Schmaltz was also the associate director of the cancer clinic in Lethbridge. In March 1955 Dr. Schmaltz left the city for Edmonton to become the medical director of Medical Services Incorporated. Dr. Schmaltz died in Edmonton in 1976. [Source: The Lethbridge Herald, 19 February 1955]

Scope and Content

Dr. Valerian Francis (Val) Swancesky and Dr. Stephen M. (Steve) Schmaltz.

Access Restrictions

Public Access

Accession No.

20091020024

Collection

Archive

Less detail