Community dentist Dr. Earl Bernard has decided to hang up his dental equipment and retire after nearly 50 years of keeping generations of Moose Javians’ teeth clean and bright.
Bernard, 82, has been a dentist for 57 years and has worked here for 49 years. Originally from Jamaica, he came to Saskatchewan from Brunswick, Georgia, in January 1972 and later settled in Moose Jaw on Feb. 29 of that year.
The oral health-care provider — along with his wife Yvonne — sat down recently to talk about his career and life in The Friendly City since the ’70s.
Time for a rest
“At age 82, I think it’s time to relax and take some time for myself and my family,” Bernard said.
The dentist has no concrete retirement plans but noted Moose Jaw is home and his immediate family lives in the province. Bernard joked that he is also a “plant fanatic” and is fond of gardening, so much so that he maintains a small year-round plant nursery in his basement.
“I am going to miss a lot of my patients who have become like family,” Bernard added with a smile. “And of course, I look forward to sleeping in quite a bit (more).”
He will retire at the end of December.
The early years
Bernard had no intention to go into dentistry when he was a child and instead wanted to be like Albert Schweitzer, a physician and well-known church organist. So, the young man began playing the organ at his church at age nine, which is where he met his future wife.
Elementary school was free in Jamaica, but families had to pay to send their kids to high school. The Bernard family lacked the resources to send Earl to high school. However, when he was 13, his member of parliament received a pay raise and then gave him a scholarship to cover his six years of high school.
“The good Lord helped me and I got the scholarship out of 25 students,” he said.
After graduation, Bernard eventually acquired a government job as an X-ray technician. A co-worker later told him that the government was offering scholarships to enter dentistry and they should apply. Bernard didn’t want to be a dentist but thought he could use that as a springboard into medicine if he received the scholarship.
Bound for Canada
So off to Montreal the 20-year-old went, where he studied from 1959 to 1964 to be a dentist.
“I’m surprised he went into dentistry. He wanted to be a missionary doctor in Africa, but he got the scholarship to McGill,” Mrs. Bernard said.
Montreal was a beautiful city, but the coursework was demanding and difficult, Mr. Bernard said. However, he knew God was looking out for him and helped him through the program.
After graduating from university, Bernard returned to Jamaica to work for five years. It was also in the late ’60s when he and Yvonne married and began their family.
New opportunity arises
In 1969 Bernard decided he needed a change of scenery. A friend told him there was an opportunity in Brunswick, Georgia, since the only black dentist within 30 kilometres had died.
However, things didn’t work out for the family after moving there. The state would only allow Bernard to practice if he had a licence, while the only way to acquire one would be if he became a citizen, a five-year process.
“You wouldn’t believe the (amount) of racism in Georgia (then). … I will never forget it,” said Mrs. Bernard, giving one example of black people forced to walk on one sidewalk and white people on the other. “We could write a book (about the racism).”
Even with this setback, Dr. Bernard knew he could come to Saskatchewan since he was a Canadian-trained doctor and had colleagues who practised here.
Packing up the family — there were two daughters by this point — the Bernards left Georgia after two years and arrived in Rosetown, Sask., on Jan. 7, 1972, after a seven-day trip. Their “little Monte Carlo” vehicle had rear-wheel drive and barely made it through the snow.
“It was quite an experience,” Bernard said.
The Friendly City
After six weeks in Rosetown, the family moved to Moose Jaw, where Bernard began working full-time. There was very little development on Thatcher Drive then, while to Bernard’s eyes, the lights of Main Street wowed him.
“It’s just been very rewarding. Coming from Georgia, this was quite a contrast,” he remarked, noting the family was warmly welcomed when they began attending First Baptist Church and have been so since then.
Bernard has been the church organist for the past 20 years.
Bernard’s first dental clinic was on the fifth floor of the Walter Scott Building on Main Street. He later purchased a residence at 911 First Avenue Northwest in 1976 and converted it into a dentist’s office, where he has worked ever since.
Mrs. Bernard was originally trained in England as a registered nurse. However, she could only perform that work in Saskatchewan if she re-trained. So, she spent one year taking classes before becoming the office administrator of her husband’s clinic in 1986 and never looked back.
“It’s nice meeting the people, the patients. But it’s good that we’re involved in the church (since it keeps us busy),” she said.
Ch-ch-ch-changes
One main change in the dentistry field that Dr. Bernard has seen is how it has become a “big business” focused on finances, particularly with materials and equipment. He pointed out that he bought his first practice for $7,000, but today, that cost would be “a lot more expensive” and in the six-figure range.
A big change that he has seen in Moose Jaw is the development of the community, especially on Thatcher Drive. However, Bernard says the city is still a friendly, safe place with a positive community spirit.
“It’s lived up to its name, as far as I’m concerned,” he added.
