Every Wednesday for the past five years, Dr. Tom Patterson (Class of 1956) has gathered remnants from the past to piece together the rich history of our med school. Due in large part to Dr. Patterson’s efforts, the MAA now houses an impressive archive. “I had to start from scratch,” says Dr. Patterson. “I scrounged around in the basement and in cupboards, claiming the stuff that people were about to throw out.”
The MAA collection contains decades of class photographs of proud graduates. Filing cabinets burst with class lists, programs from Daffydil and candid photos of students during Orientation Week. The earliest file dates back to 1871. Dr. Patterson opens it and gently pulls out the class list, a short column of names typed on paper as flimsy as tissue paper. On top of the cabinet is a gift from the Class of 1921, a black bag that a classmate carried on house calls. It still holds what the doctor of yesteryear used to treat fevers and diagnose pneumonia. Dr. Victor Kurdyak (Class of 1960) recently donated a brass microscope that belonged to his father-in-law, the late Dr. Elias Rudd.
Dr. Patterson answers phone calls and e-mail messages from people searching for information on their ancestors. His dream is to record the contents of the archives in a database so when someone asks for information on a family member, he can type in the name and instantly find what’s available. Dr. Patterson appreciates the earnestness of those searching for their roots. He’s conducting his own family history and has taken it back to the early 1800s in Ireland, England and Scotland.
The Patterson family tree is just one project that he has started since retiring. “I’m busier now than I was when I was working,” says Dr. Patterson, who just turned 73. Dr. Patterson was a microbiologist at St. Michael’s Hospital from 1973 to ’95, and he also taught microbiology at U of T’s med school. For eight years, he was the director of microbiology for U of T’s Department of Pharmacy.
Dr. Patterson has served on the MAA board of directors for 13 years and as its executive director in 1998 and 1999.
The Medical Alumni Association Archives would appreciate receiving any contributions you may have, such as:
- photos of your student days, or class reunions (names and year on the back)
- class newsletters
- reunion letters
- books related to physicians or the medical school
- small medical equipment such as old microscopes
We will accept almost anything!
Please bring it with you to the Archives table at the MAA Convocation Banquet in Hart House, or deliver or mail to the MAA office MSB3249, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8
Contact: Dr. Tom Patterson (5T6), Archivist, MAA