Belleville’s Bayshore Trail now features an important and beautiful monument.
Dr. James Bertram (Bert) Collip, born in Thurlow Township in 1892, was memorialized Saturday in the form of a courtyard and memorial garden in his name.
Dr. Collip, along with three other men, was instrumental in the discovery of insulin which has saved millions of people suffering from diabetes from early deaths.
Collip did the work actually creating insulin 100 years ago in 1921.
A crowd of about 150 people heard that before insulin’s discovery people diagnosed with diabetes would be fortunate to live another one or two years.
Keynote speaker Dr. Alison Li, historian and author of a book about Dr. Collip, said it was his work with animals’ pancreas in late 1921 that produced insulin.
As was his habit Collip worked alone in the dark of night in a lab, mashing pancreas tissue, and washing, filtering, and centrifuging it. To remove contaminants he diluted it with alcohol. When the solution reached 90% alcohol a white particulate formed.
Dr. Li said “Dr. Collip was looking at insulin.”
“Four days later this new extract was tested on Leonard Thompson, a 13-year-old boy who had diabetes, and the results were clear. Thompson felt stronger, brighter, and more active, and his blood sugar fell to normal levels.”
Dr. Alison Li. (Photo: Quinte News)
Mayor of Belleville Mitch Panciuk said that the discovery of insulin was Dr. Collip’s most famous accomplishment but it wasn’t his only one.
“His work with hormone therapy and research touches even more people, in fact by the year 2000, Collip’s original research led to the top-selling prescription drug in all of North America. Not bad for a Belleville boy.”
The top-selling prescription drug mentioned by Panciuk was for birth control.
Master of Ceremonies was the President of the Hastings County Historical Society and member of the Dr. James Bertram Collip Memorial Committee Richard Hughes. He said Dr. Collip came from modest beginnings as the son of a market gardener.
“He had a magnificent career and it all started right here. We just drove by the Belleville market and you can imagine young Bert there selling vegetables then just as it is today so it’s an amazing, amazing story.”
President of the Hastings County Historical Society and member of the Dr. Collip committee Richard Hughes. (Photo: Quinte News)
Hughes, along with several others, made special mention of Rowland (Rollie) Tipper, the chair of the Dr. Collip memorial committee.
Tipper had fallen ill and was unable to attend the ceremony. He was described by fellow committee member Ian Sullivan, as the prime driver behind the project’s success.
Among the people on hand for the unveiling were great grandchildren and great great grandchildren of Dr. Collip.
They had travelled almost 2,900 kilometres (almost 1,800 miles) from San Antonio, Texas to Belleville to attend.
Dr. Collip’s great grandson Major Charles Wyatt (second from left, his wife Laura, and their children pose with Mayor Mitch Panciuk.(Photo: Quinte News)
