Dr. Roddie had an office and apothecary within his home in St. Peters . Often, however, he went to people's homes day or night to make house calls, which was typical of country doctors of the day. Over the years he developed a reputation for his skill and diagnostic capability by simply looking at people's fingernails. He was modest about his skill, and was quick to attribute his capabilities to the "Higher Powers." A devote Roman Catholic , Dr. Roddie was known to pray aloud during his drives to patients homes. Dr. Roddie also had many intriguing statistics concerning his life and his life's work. In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Roddie also had a short-lived political career when he was "reluctantly" persuaded to run for the Progressive Conservative Party in 1919. He was successful, but only stayed elected one term. Oral History relays that in the next election the people voted him out of office because they wanted him back in St. Peters . During his sixty-five years of practice, he delivered over 4000 babies, and was helped by many local women who were trained as nurses. According to Frank Ledwell : Although records may show a retirement in 1953, Dr. Roddie still took office calls and consultations until he was at least 1955-1956, at which time he was ninety-seven years old. He simply limited his practice. (14) He lived to be 103, and upon meeting Princess Elizabeth in 1951, was asked about his secret to longevity. She was met with a rather typical witty Scottish reply from Dr. Roddie in that "I'm 94. I've often wondered why I lived so long. But now I know." (15) In other stances, he attributed his vigor to oatmeal and boiled potatoes. Like many individuals who excel at their profession, Dr. Roddie was the recipient of many prestigious titles, upon his retirement in 1953. The Catholic Church granted Dr. Roddie a Papal knighthood of St. Gregory the Great, by Pope Pius the XI1 in 1954, the highest honor for a layman in the Roman Catholic Church. In 1958 he was awarded the title of "Doctor of the Century" and "Dean of Canada 's Physicians" by the Canadian Medical Association. He is also the only Islander to have been photographed by the renowned photographer, Yousef Karsh. Today, symbolically situated within the heart of the community, stands the " Dr. Roddie Community Center." * Hanging inside the front entryway hangs a familiar picture of Dr. Roddie tending to a patient in the office of his old home. There also hangs a framed letter, with beautiful calligraphy and drawing presented to Dr. Roddie on behalf of the PEI Medical Society in 1953. This tribute by J. Harold Shaw , The Dr. Roddie Community Center was constructed in 1996. 342