HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-02-22, Page 15leisure, features
"J
uW.
01Cp»oxunum ryti 39�,
entertainment
Serving over 25,000 homes in Listowel, Wingham, Mount Forest; Milverton, Elmira, Palmerston, Harriston, Brussels, Atwood,
L
SHE'S A DOLL—During
their recent eight-week
course on baby sitting,
Howick Township
students practiced dress-
ing and holding this baby -
sized doll. The doll was on
display graduation night.
The young people shown
are: Diana Van Den Broek
of RR 2, Gorrie; Tania
Smith of . RR 1, Gorrie;
Ronda Bennett of RR 1,
Gorrie; Wendy Winkel of
RR 2, Gorrie; and Tasha
Van Ankum of RR 2,
Wroxeter. The course
was sponsored by the
Howick Junior Institute.
NN
dnkton, Millbank, Newton, Clifford, Walleristein, Drayton, Moorefield and Arthur. Wednesday, February 22, 1984
CHARTER EXECUTIVE—The Howick Junior Institute was formed in.
February of 1978. Charter executive members were: front, Helen
Smith, president; Lis Hargrave, first vice; Joyce'Lockie, second vice;
back, Trix Denney, secretary -treasurer; Marian Feldskov, branch
director; Ronna Lee Johnson, branch director; and Carolyn
MacGregor, public relations officer. Since its inception six years ago,
the group has been involved in a number of projects from a senior
citizen�ss week, to a babysitting course for young teens and it will host
a fashioi show April 26.
The Junior Institute: meeting the
by Margaret Arbuckle
Things can get pretty hectic for young
women today, from trying to juggle a career •
and family to keeping up with technological
advances. But there is an organization that
is there to help: the Junior Women's
Institute.
Women's Institutes have served the needs
of Canadian women for almost 100 years
and, with the changing times, the Junior WI
iS endeavoring to do the same for a totally
new generation of women caught up in a
rapidly changing society.
The Junior Institute movement is gaining
momentum locally. For example, the
Howick Junior WI recently made headlines
with its babysitting course for Grade 7 and 8
students. ghe group also is planning to hold
a fashion show April 26.
Huron, Perth, Grey and Bruce counties
have long been Institute strongholds. It is
from these counties that several Junior
Institutes have sprung over the past 10
years.
One of the first Junior WIs in the area was
the Lucknow chapter, formed in the early
1970s. Since then Junior Institutes have been
founded at Howick, Molesworth and in the
• Listowel -Atwood area.
June Alton of Lucknow, a past president of
the provincial Junior Institute and a charter
member of the Lucknow group said the
fundamental difference between the
"senior" and Junior Institutes is age.
The Junior Institute is open td young
women from the age of 14 up, and, 'although
there is no age limit, most Women's
Institute members are older. ;
Both groups are interested in promoting
current concerns of women, but often in a
slightly different manner. Mary Hall, a
member of the Howick Junior Institute and
charter president of the Owen Sound
chapter, said both Institutes might study
nutrition, for instance. But where the Junior
WI might learn how to pack nutritious
school lunches, the senior Institute mem-
bers might learn how to cook healthy meals
for one or two people.
Miss Alton and Mrs. Hall are examples of
two typical Junior WI members: onf is o
young career woman, while the other is a
homemaker with two Small children.
Yet both are active members and in spite
of their basic differences, say the Junior
Institute has features which interest them.
HISTORY LESSON
There has been a world of change since
Adelaide Hoodless of Stoney Creek formed
the first Women's Institute in 1897 after her
baby died as a result of drinking Con-
taminated milk.
Just after World War i began, many
Institute members had daughters old
enough to want to belong to an organization.
Thus the Girls' Institute -was formed for the
unmarried daughters of Institute members.
Eventually the name was changed to the
Junior Institute and the group be ame
closely affiliated with the Junior Farthers,
one being a group for young women and the
other for young men.
The Junior Institute even operated under
life Junior Farmers' constitution. •
In the late 1960s, the Junior WI members
decided the group should break out on its
own and become more autonomous. So in
January of 1969, it adopted its own con-
stitution and became a separate
organization.
Miss Alton said the Junior WI still has
representatives on the board of directors of
the Federated Women's Institutes of
Ontario, but it is an autonomous group.
ALIVE AND WELL
The Junior Institute may have started out
as an organization for the unmarried
daughters of WI members, but today it
incorporates young women from all walks of
life, said Miss Alton.
There are now 22 branches of the Junior
institute across the province with 500
members, Compared to 3,000 Women's
Institutes alone, that number seems rather
small, but Miss Alton said the Junior
Institute is growing steadily and members
are in the process of making changes to its
constitution.
Like the Women's Institute, the Junior WI
motto is "For Home and Country". There
are some similarities between the two
groups a9'id yet -there are some fundamental
differences,as well.
THEY LOVE THEIR SENIORS and the seniors obviously love them. Catherine Stewart of the Howick Junior Institute
got a hug from Wellesley Strong, the winner ofa trip for two to the Parkwood Estates and Cullen Gardens, near
Oshawa, courtesy of the Junior Institute. The draw was made at a special tea held last June by the Institute in honor
of Senior Citizens' Week.
needs of a changing society
The next few years will be exciting and
important ones for toth groups as the dif-
ferences either will be reconciled and the
,two groups become as one, or they will
become more separated and possibly even
go their own ways.
The membership of the Junior Institute is
split over the direction the group should be
heading. Some members want to sever all
ties with the senior Institute and end the
association.
Others, like Miss Alton, think that since
the two are working toward the same ob-
jectives, they should become more closely
affiliated.
But that would require change, she said.
The provincial directors of the Women's
Institute seem open to change, she added,
but Some at the grass roots level are not so
eager.
Another concern of the Women's Institute
is that the Junior WI is stealing its would-be
members. But Mrs. Hall said some mem-
bers of the Howick Junior Institute also
belong to the WI and they are starting to fill
in the depleting ranks of the senior Institute.
ISSUES AND CONCERNS
Like the Women's Institute, the Junior
Institute is a champion of women's con-
cerns, be it in the home or in the workplace
and is an effective lobby for pressing
governments for change.
Although patterned after the Women's
Institute, Miss Alton said the Junior
institute's meetings are often not. so
structured and for that reason, a little less
formal.
Mrs. Hall said she even takes her children
to the meetings, like her mother took her
when she was young.
A typical Junior Institute meeting could
include a discussion on women's legal rights
with a lawyer, an aerobics session or even a
demonstration on cake decorating.,
Since many Junior Institute members
have young families, groups often sponsor
child -centred activities. For example, the
Howick Junior WI sponsors a family dance
each Hallowe'en and two years ago brought
"Mr. Dress -Up" of television fame to the
Howick Central School for the children.
The most recent example of concern for
the children of the community was its
babysitting course offered to Grade 7 and 8
students from the Howick Central School.
This intensive course eri all phases of child
'and infant care brought raves from local
parents and parenting groups. ,
The Howick Junior Institute also holds a
senior citizen tea annually which has been
well-received by many Wroxeter, Gorrie
and Fordwich-area seniors. Some local
seniors also will be modeling in the
institute's fashion show this spring.
The group holds a barbecue in June as
well for members and their husbands or
boyfriends.
.Junior Institutes support local athletic
associations, community centres and
schools. Participation Lodge, a recreational
centre for the handicapped at Holland
Centre, and the cerebral palsy telethon are
two other favorite charities.
The Junior WI has started donating
trophies for "murderball" champions at the
Olympic games for the handicapped as well.
A member can put a lot into the Junior
Institute, but she can reap the rewards. For
some women, especially those with young
families, Junior Institute meetings are a
chance to get out and talk to others with
similar concerns.
Group members can earn special merit
awards for their participation and the
Howick Junior Institute even offers a
scholarship of $100 to any. member who goes
on to further her education.
FUTURE PLANS
The next few years will be exciting
growing years for the Junior Institute. Miss
Alton said the group is in the progress of
making changes to its constitution which
\vill determine the direction the group takes
ih the future.
Naturally, she said, she would like to see
more women join the Junior Institute and
even see some new chapters formed. The
idea of allowing men to join also has been
discussed and probably will be -an issue over •
the next few years.
But in . the meantime, each Institute is
content to continue along as before and as
long as there are community projects to
keep them busy, the Junior Institute will be
in there pitching.