He soon became active in the life of the community. He was an ardent worker in Knox Presbyterian Church in Tavistock and acted as Clerk of Session for a number of years. He was secretary of the Tavistock Public Library for a long period and served as a member of the School Board and as Medical Officer of Health in this area (see picture, 1909 School Board). He had a keen interest in politics and was a zealous promoter of the Conservative Party in an area where most of the citizens were Liberals. It is a tribute to his medical ability, that he enjoyed a very good practice, in spite of his active participation in politics. In 1911 he was elected Member of Parliament for South Perth, and had the distinction of being the second Conservative representative for that riding since Confederation. He remained at Ottawa until 1921, having been re-elected in 1917, as a Union candidate.

During the ten years when parliamentary duties took him away from Tavistock for considerable periods, Dr. Steele secured the help of a number of young doctors as associates in his medical practice. Dr. J.H. Cormack, who had special training in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, practised in partnership with Dr. Steele from May, 1911, until August 1912, at which time he opened an office at his residence on Elizabeth Street. About three months later he moved from Tavistock to Ottawa. Other physicians who assisted Dr. Steele for short periods from 1912 to 1914 were Drs. George A. McQuibban, A.F. Duncan and W.A. McLeod.

Dr. Steele was a tall, slender man with a quiet manner and dignified bearing. He had firm convictions and was not easily deterred from a course which he felt to be right.

At the conclusion of his Parliamentary career, he sold his home in Tavistock on September 28, 1922, to Dr. Charles R. McTavish. He moved to Stratford, where he operated for a short time a private hospital. Later he became Judge of the Juvenile Court and was also Registrar of Deeds for the County of Perth. For a brief period he resumed medical practice with an office in Shakespeare, but eventually moved to Vienna, Ontario, where he died in 1946.

During Dr. Steele's thirty-four years in Tavistock, there was a succession of doctors at the office on the nearby corner on Woodstock Street. Dr. Niemeier had moved to Toronto, in 1904, after selling his house to Dr. J. Lorne Campbell, who had graduated with a medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1903. Dr. Campbell remained in Tavistock for less than four years and on May 26, 1908, sold his property to Dr. James Frederick Cawthorpe, who continued in practice in the village for a period of twenty-eight years.

Frederick Cawthorpe, was born in Strathroy, Ontario, son of Joseph and Annie Cawthorpe. The family later moved to Thamesford, where Frederick spent the early years of his life. He attended Ingersoll and Woodstock Collegiates and obtained his medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1898. After postgraduate study in hospitals in London and Edinburgh, he practised for two years in San Antonio, Texas and for short periods in Tiverton, Hensall and Parkhill in Ontario. His search for a permanent location ended when he came to Tavistock in 1908.

During the years that followed, he became one of the most familiar figures in this area, where he was highly regarded and respected, not only for his professional ability, but also for his kind and friendly personality and for his contribution to the welfare of the community in many ways. He had the attributes which justified his reputation as a good family physician. He took time to chat with people on the street and in the home and they listened with interest and respect to what he had to say, whether it concerned family affairs, politics, or life in general.

Dr. Cawthorpe had a large general practice, but developed special interest in obstetrics and anaesthesia. He acquired skill and proficiency in these fields, which were recognized, not only by his patients, but also by his medical confreres. For many years he owned good horses and was know throughout the district as an excellent horseman. He was a rather small man, meticulous in respect to his attire and his neatly trimmed beard and general appearance reminded one of the central figure in the famous painting, ?The Doctor?.

He died on September 27, 1936, in his sixty-third year, following an illness of several months and was survived by his wife, Jean, and two sons, Joseph and Robert. His funeral was attended by a large number of people of the community and by many colleagues in his profession, who came to pay tribute to the memory of a beloved physician and friend.