The Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-02-28, Page 72Pelle It
Behind every Kin.
• a Kinette
. BY JOANNE
BUCHANAN
• No record of the
Goderich Kinsmen's
accomplishments could
be complete or accurate
until a Kinsmen auxiliary
ladies' club received
credit for their ' active
part • in promoting
tom munity ' projects.
There is a saying that
behind every sdccessful
man stands a Woman and
this could perhaps be
applied ' to the Kinsmen
and Kinette Clubs.
In early 1948, less than
a year after the Kinsmen
Club had been formed in
Goderich, Kinsmen
executive were helping
Gdderich ladies organize
' a Kinette Club. The
Signal -Star recorded the
event as follows:
"The Park House was
the scene of a pleasant
!Unction on Wednesday
evening, when, at a
Valentine dinner, the
organization of a Kinette
Club took place in con-
junction with the
Goderich Kinsmen Club.
Mr. D. J. Patterson, as
chairman, was assisted
by Mr. Frank Skelton and
Mr. Stewart Carter,
members of the Kinsmen
Club.
Mrs. D. J. (Grace)•
Patterson was
unanimously chosen
'president of the Kinette
Club. Other Officers are:
Mrs. D. Worthy, vice-
president; •Mrs. W.
McGrath, secretarY;
Mrs. G. F. Whaley,
'assistant -secretary and
registrar; Miss Sylvia
Bobbit, treasurer; Mrs.
Sid Shenton, program
eonvener and Mrs. F,
Bellamy, sick, .and
visiting committee."
The very first group of
Kinsmen wives in canad4
had met in.1932 after the
Kinsmen Club had been
founded by Hal•Rogers in
• Hamilton in 1920. They
were known as....
Kinsmen
Kinsmen ladies' club and
they formed their group
for three reasons: to get
the Kinsmen wives better
acquainted, to do rvice
work and to help their
husbands in their service
work.
The Kinsmen were not
in _favor of a ladies' group
inthose first few years
but as time went on they
began to feel the need of
their help. It's kind of a
chauvinistic thing says
Lil Lougheed, 1978
president of the Goderich
Kinette Club.
"Our duty was to help
the Kinsmen first and
then whatever time 'we
had left over, we could do
service work on our
own."
Originally,' one of the
very first recorded
service projects which
the Kinettes in Canada
took on was helping with
.1 "well baby clinic" by
donating cod liver oil and
orange juice. They also
purchased bolts of
flannelette to be used for
Russian and Greek war
relief.
In 1940 it was decided to
form a constitution and
bylaw b to govern the
Kinette association so as
to preserve the aims and
objectives of the original
grottp.
EARLY PROJECTS
One of the first projects
undertakeh by the
Goderich Kinette Club in
those early days after
being formed was a
fashion show. It was held
in ihe_auditoriumof_the
high school in the fall of
1948. -'!The Signal -Star
described the event this
way:
"A galaxy of beauty,
charm and fashion
delighted a more than
capacity audience on
Wednesday everting when
the Kinette Club of
Goderich presented "Tl:e
Ladylike Look", a
fashion show of fall and
winter fashions through
the courtesy of several
Goderich merchants. The
audience overflowed into
the corridors and scores
of ladies were unable to
get in.' Mrs. John Walls
was commentator."
On July 1, 1949 the
Signal -Star records that
an outstanding event of
the Dominion Day
celebration was the
presentation of an
inhalator to the town of
Goderich by the Kinette
Club. The presentation
was made by Kinette
Club president Mr
(Grace) Patterson to
Mayor George
MacEwan. The inhalator
was kept at the police
station ready for
emergencies. It cost the
Kinettes $475.
In 1950, the Goderich
K in ettes_ -star-te -din-
culating a newsletter
amongst their members.
Under ,the editorship' of
Muriel Skelton, the
"Kinette Corner" was
-printedevery-two-weeks.
It provided news and
views of Kinette ac-
tivities and played an
important part in keeping
the club members in-
formed of ,eurrent and
past projects.
According to the
Kinette Corner, the year
1951 was a busy one for
the group. -The Kinettes
completed arrangements
for a series of child health
conferences to be held
weekly starting January
25, 1951 in the health unit
of the town hall. The
conferences, sponsored
by the Kinette Club, were
for infants and pre-school
children.
Also in 1951 the
,Goderich Kinette Club,
sponsors of the Wingham
Kinette Club, accepted an
invitation to Wingham to
help the club celebrate its
first anniversary on
Monday, April 30 at the
Queen's Hotel. That year
the Kinettes also spon-
sored , a new. club in
Exeter.
Again in 1951 the
Kinettes had Judge T. M.
Costello as a guest
speaker on citizenship at
their regular meeting in
the British Exchange
Hotel.
Kinettes---woh-100-
,per cent attendance pins
for 1950-1951. Another
fashion show was planned
and a "Bonny Kay" doll
was drawn for at the
show.
Throughout the years
the Kinette Club has
helped the community in
many ways. Together
with the Kinsmen Club in
those early days they
donated a cheque of
$2,500 to Alexandra
Marine and General
hospital for a walk-in
cooler. They have
donated and assisted with
the Kinsmen playground
Which cost about $22,000.
They have helped the
Kinsmen with the
Octogenarian picnic
since 1948 by providing
lunches and tran-
sportation.
They were responsible
for the Blockbusters, the
Bomber's, the Swingers
and The Jets. These were
the names of the teams in
the junior girls' softball
league made up of girls
from -a,ges 11 to 15 and
organizedKettesby the
Kinettes.
The Kinettes, have
gotten, a •lot of food
together for kinsmen
stags over the years.
They have donated to
mental health, cystic
fibrosis, the Cancer
Society, the Ability Fund
and the Heart Fund. They
vote on various. letters
- they—reeeive requesting
donations and decide how
much to give each,one.
CURRENT PROJECTS
- The-- -K-inettes have- ----
helped to furnish the
Kinsmen Centre since it
opined and Mrs.
Lougheed says the
group's main objective
right new is to complete
this furnishing. The
Kinettes also helped raise
, money to pay for the
Centre itself:
The group has a foster
child in Greece. They
have had different foster
children over the years.
Up until the last few
years the Kinette Club
used to gather clothes
and food to deliver to
families registered with
the Children's Aid Society
each Christmas. • This
past Christmas the club
donated $150 worth of
goods to the Children's
Aid Society.
I 6,
. : -Iketro•for,
.7?
Twenty-one past presidents of the Goderich Kinette Club gathered in 1980
0 y
Kinsmen Club
of Goderich