The Women's Institute
By Billie Power
“What is the Women’s Institute?” I can tell you what it has been called. It’s been called “the world’s best-kept secret.”
It was not always so. In its “glory days,” Ontario alone had 40,000 members.
Simcoe West, of which Creemore was a part, had 18 branches comprising at least 10 members each. Some branches had many more members.
Creemore Branch is no longer with us. Organized in 1902, it disbanded in 1989 after 82 years of service to the community. Mulmur Township, Dufferin North, has one branch still going: Mansfield (out of 18 former branches). Avening, organized in 1907, continues to thrive.
The Women’s Institure (or WI) was organized at Stoney Creek on February 19, 1897. At that time there was a real need for domestic science training for women. Men had their groups dedicated to teach them how to care for their animals and other skills, but information for women on caring for children and households was sadly lacking.
The structure of the WI was laid out in this manner: branches were usually organized first, followed by districts, then areas (32 in Ontario at one time), the province level (Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario), the Canadian level (Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada), and finally, the Associated Country Women of the World, which is the international level.
The Associated Country Women represents millions of women around the world. It is recognized by the UN as a non-governmental organization, with consultative status.
In the “old days,” WI was a godsend to “housebound,” mostly rural women. It gave women an opportunity to meet with their neighbours in a relaxing, rewarding atmosphere. Their children – all ages, all numbers – were always welcome.
It was not all fun and games, however. WI’s mandate was to educate – and educate they would, with their own members being no exception. Members were to develop mottos, topics and papers under such headings as Agriculture and Canadian Industries, Health and Consumer Affairs and Citizenship and Education.
Members could have speakers come who were related to their convenorship. But members were expected to do most of the work (the research and the writing of papers) themselves. Can you imagine the consternation some might feel when picking up a pen after many years idle, staring at a blank piece of paper and being expected to fill it with words of wisdom?
Let me say here, WI has been a real education to me, with many things learned: the rudiments of parliamentary procedure, how to do Tai Chi, how to cook economical meals, lots of crafts and lots of fun on the way… a small sampling.
Education continues to be a driving force for WI. The group operates under the acronym ROSE (Rural, Ontario, Sharing, Education). Under the auspices of the Avening WI, Stan Freedman, Creemore Village Pharmacist, presented several educational events in recent years, which were well received in the area.
At the meetings, fellowship and lunch was always a big part. Each hostess had to keep up with her neighbour in providing food. Sandwiches, pickles (homemade) and laden dessert tables (homemade) were the norm. Beef, pork and chicken on the farm was the usual protein, salmon more rare – thus salmon sandwiches were a favourite then, as they remain with many today!
Members live up to their motto, “For home and country,” and WI values remain the same today: mutual respect, mutual support and a desire for safe and healthy communities. It would be impossible to list here even a fraction of their achievements or their contributions to society.
Reading WI history reveals millions of actual dollars have gone to good causes as a result of WI efforts. Add to that the unpaid and countless volunteer hours collected by members for government attention and the numbers are vast. And remember these monies were raised in the old fashioned way, with “good old elbow grease.” Members had bake sales, catered meals, made quilts for raffles and did many other things.
Donations are only part of the story. The images WI presents of dedication, self sacrifice and hard work made them pillars of their communities – and they continue to be so. Some concrete examples of earlier achievements: WI was instrumental in having poison containers clearly marked, music included in school curriculums, stop signs placed at railway crossings, sliced bread wrapped in stores and lines painted on the highways.
Another achievement of which WI is justifiably proud, and which has brought them wide acclaim, are their Tweedsmuir Community History Books. These were started in the 1940s and the goal was to preserve the interesting history, customs and activities of Canada’s people.
WI work and accomplishments past and present has been partly due to the use of resolutions. A branch would note a problem in a community and resolve to change it. Their concern would be sent on to the district, and then to the area and province, where sustained resolutions would be used to effect change through the lobbying of governments.
Recently, the Women’s Institute of Ontario sustained a resolution for the Ontario Ministry of Education to develop a lifestyle program to teach students cooking skills, human nutrition and other wellness practices, to contribute to a healthy society.
We are still working! We are still trying! Despite that fact, our membership has seriously declined in spite of Herculean efforts to change that trend. There are fewer than 8,000 members in Ontario today.
What happened? Did women going into the workforce play a role? Is our faster-paced, technologically advanced society to blame? Causes are complex and answers elusive. I only know that if we go, we will be missed…
…And some of us still know how to make a “mean” apple pie!
For more information on the Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario, visit www.fwio.on.ca.
Pictured on home page: Women’s Institute members, 1954.
