Osler Society Banquets
Every year, the Osler Society would host a banquet for its members and guests. Guests would often include the medettes, medical students who worked with the Gazette, staff of the UWO Medical Journal, and faculty who supported the society. This banquet served as a celebration of the students who were selected to be part of the Osler Society. At the banquet, students would receive certificates of membership, as well as gold keys. The tradition of gifting keys to the members of the Osler Society comes from the stories of how William Osler would often give students their own keys to his library, ensuring that they always had access.
The banquets also served as an event where honourary presidents or special guests could read papers of their own research to the group.
In 1956, a special banquet was held as a testimonial dinner in honor of Dr. Crane and everything he had done to support the club since its foundation.
Bulletin of the Osler Society
Upon the revival of the Osler Society in 1948, it was decided that the group would publish bulletins of club activities. These bulletins promoted club activities to encourage membership, as well as inform past members and interested parties of the happenings of the Society.
The Osler Corner
The revived Osler Society saw a drastic increase of membership and community support. In return, the Osler executive, led by W.D. MacDonald, wanted to give back to other medical students, and preserve the objectives of the Osler Society. In 1956, the mobile nucleus was established as a growing collection of medical history books and publications.
By 1958, the dream of having a dedicated space for this collection was achieved with the establishment of the Osler Corner in the Medical Library. Funded by members of the Osler Society and its supporters, the group was able to purchase a bookcase, a framed painting of Sir William Osler, and a dedication plaque that read: “In Appreciation of Dr. J.W. Crane, Leaven of The Osler Society”. The society solicited donations of books and publications from different departments in the medical and science schools, as well as public libraries as far as Toronto and Windsor.
In 1959, the Osler Corner received an anonymous donation of $1000 to support the growth of its collection. It was later revealed that the donation came from Dr. Crane, still showing his support and dedication to the group long after his retirement.
When the Medical School was moved to Western's main campus, the Medical School Library was incorporated into the collection housed in the Allyn and Betty Taylor Library. Almost all of the books from the original Osler Corner are suspected to be found in active circulation in general collections, with a few exceptions possibly being held by Special Collections.
Prizes in Medical History
There are two annual prizes administered by the Osler Society. In 1930, the Rowntree Prize was established in honour of Dr. Leonard Rowntree. This prize is awarded to a student for their work and research in the field of medical history and is most often won by members of the Osler Society. The Harvey Prize was established in 2008 and honours a faculty member from the Harvey Club and a student from the Osler Society for their research. This prize is also accompanied by the names of the winners being inscribed on the silver Harvey Tray.