1937 Trip to Canada- Dionne Quintuplets

The Dionne Quintuplets were born May 28, 1934 to a humble farmer, Olivia Dionne and his wife Elzire, who already had 5 children.  They lived in a rural area 3 miles from the small village of Callendar, Ontario, Canada, 120 miles north of Toronto.The Quints were all girls and the first set of quintuplets to survive birth.  The babies were delivered by midwives and neighbors of Mrs. Dionne with the local doctor, A.R. Dafoe overseeing the birth.  The babies ranging in weight from 1 lb. 10 oz to 2 1/2 lbs. were named Emile, Annette, Yvonne, Cecile and Marie. Their birth became a worldwide news story, and people began flocking to the town to see the quints. Shortly after their birth, the baby girls were made special wards of His Majesty the King until they reached the age of 18, as per Special Legislation of the Government of Ontario. A special facility that was a combination hospital and home known as the Dafoe Hospital, was built for the babies on the opposite side of the road from their parents home.It was from this Dafoe Hospital that the babies would make pubic appearances 2 time daily.  The baby “show” was for one hour, at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.  The babies would come outside and play on the grounds and tourists were allowed to circulate, under police protection, thru the guarded horseshoe play ground and watch the children play.