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Clinton News-Record, 1980-09-18, Page 21Women's Institute rernembersupast, thinks of future By Shelley McPhee In the April 13 edition of the Clinton News -Record of 1905, a sopublic meeting was called for the following Tuesday afternoon. Little did the organizers know that this announcement would lead to the formation of a very successful and long-lived club, the Clinton Women's Institute (WI). At that meeting, 75 years ago, a president Mrs. David French, a secretary Mrs. F.W. Watt and a treasurer Mrs. Jim Flynn were elected to the town's branch of the West Huron W I . Ladies met regularly in °member's homes and in the summer, they enjoyed pleasant get-togethers in the cool. shade of an open verandah-klowever as membership grew the group had to meet in larger quarters. Meetings have been held in the Orange Hall which was located over the Clinton Library, in"'the former Legion rooms over the old Bank of Montreal, in the meeting hall of the old department of agriculture when their offices were over Beattie's Furniture and in the town hall. The Clinton institute quickly blossomed into an active group and executive positions were easily filled by the enthusiastic members. Mrs. Flynn held her position as secretary for 18 years and in 1906 the president, Mrs.. French became the county president as well and went on to form branches in Blyth, Wingham and Londesboro with the help of Mr. Campbell and Mr. Tom McMillan. The Clinton branch lived up to the WI motto, "For home and country, for in love of home and The past, present and future were commemorated in a special candle lighting ceremony at the WI anniversary services. Secretary Leona Lockhart, left, lit a candle for the past, while Mrs. W. Matheson, right, a provincial board director of the WI and 94 other guests looked on. (Shelley McPhee photo) country has its rise." Through their community efforts and home? education the Clinton WI have remained an active and worthy organization. In 1923, while Mrs. Harvey Jenkins was president, the pillar and gates at the entrance to the Clinton Cemetery were erected. Plans for construction of this entrance were taken to the town council for consideration. After approval was given, the contract was let to Mr. Frost and Mr. Forbes who build the pillars for a sum of $900. The costs wereeasily met by the group and enough money was left to buy some seats which were placed in the cemetery for' the comfort of visitors. The bill for these came to $30 and the still $18 was left in the bank. In 1928 the town hall'stage was painted and velour stage curtains were purchased.. An old, yellowed receipt shows the cost for this project came to $375. Money • for WI orgc ni`zed projects has been collected ina variety of ways..: The branch secretary would mailout letters to some 50 clubs in the area asking tor donations, a plea for was usually put in the local newspaper and many private donations were received. As well, the hardworking president drove in her horse and buggy throughout the countryside and canvassed at every farm house. In one money raising venture, the WI members even had a sale of dust caps which netted a sum of $9. Skating parties and card parties were organized by the WI. Also a theatre film -showing was spon- sored by the Clinton group. The WI helped with the Red Cross and Red Shield work in the war years and in 1947 another community project, was un- dertaken by the women when cut stone pillars were built at the entrance to the Clinton ,com munity park. Mr. Watson of Bayfield constructed these at a cost of $175. A donation plaque was added and a year later lights were installed on top 'of each pillar. Mrs. Doris Batkin was the Clinton WI president and Mrs. C. Sturdy was the finance convenor during the time that this work was carried out. 'I now world wide After 83 ' years of active volunteer work, the Ontario Women's Institute is still a thriving part of the rural corn: munity. And since 1897, the in- stitute has expanded its reach to embrace 60 countries around the world. "We're still a very meaningful group because the volunteer is an important element today," says Margaret Zoeller; editor of the WI Home and Country magazine. "Without volunteers, society would suffer." The WI was born out of a Hamilton woman's concern about the nutritional dangers facing her family. Mrs" Adelaide Hoodless and Mrs. Erland Lee, a Farmer's Institute member, encouraged local. women to form an organization warning people about food hazards. Since then the institute has extended its goals. "We have broadened our scope," says Mrs. Zoeller. "As times change, our needs change. We started out teaching better cut cake A cake and guest book, decorated in blue and gold, made up part of the decorations at the Clinton, WTI's anniversary celebrations on September 10. Special • guests and executive members who attended the luncheon included, front row, guest speaker Florence Diamond the F'WI0 president and Mrs. W. Matheson, provincial board* director. Back row included, Lois Elliott, vice president; Doris Batkin, president; Alice Porter, West Huron District president and Leona Lockhart, secretary - treasurer. (Shelley McPhee photo) °A nutrition but now our main ob- jectives involve helping women and strengthening the family unit, as well as working towards better nutrition." The strength • of Ontario's Women's Institutes, better known as the FWIO, ,lies in the more than 1000 branches 'across .the province. These branches .meet monthly in small communities to discuss a wide variety of current topics. They also organize fund- raising ventures to support their activities. Within the community, the institutes provide 4-H club leaders and leaders for senior courses provided by the , home economics branch, Ontario ministry of agriculture and food. The FWIO is responsible for projects ranging from restoring an historic home to funding programs in developing • Coun- tries. It also provides Ontario university scholarships,- and overseas scholarships for women in other countries. "This organization will continue to be a•ctive -both locally and in- ternationally in the future," says Mrs. Zoeller. "We've lasted 83 years and I feel there is a swing back to the volunteer organization. Under the umbrella. of FWIO, the local branches will remain strong because they provide a useful instrument to society." The past 75 years have been active ones for the WI and the branch has grown from as few as 20 members, to a high of 77 members from 1954 to 1956. The WI was_ instru.xn.en..ta-l. in supporting work and helping and the Clinton Public Hospital. In the 1920's and earlier, they sponsored a booth at the annual hospital bazaar and made quilts and other handcrafted goods for the patients' comfort. In 1924, the WI donated money to furnish and decorate a room in .the hospital and a bronze plaque •was placed on the door to signify the gift. WI work and projects have covered many facets in the past. They donated a wading pool in the park, have supported arena work and offered their services to residents at Huronview. The ladies have also taken an active interest in young people and have donated awards and bursaries in the schools and supported 4-H homemaking club work. The WI work does not end there. An important aspect of their club is the Tweedsmuir work. In an idea sparked by Lady Tweed- smuir in the- 1940's, W I groups across Ontario were urged to preserve the history of their community. Since then, institutes, including the Clinton branch, have been filling scrapbooks, keeping diaries and researching the earlier days of their area and recording this information in the Tweedsmuir Village History Book. In Clinton, Mrs. Batkin, Mrs. Viola Nelson and Mrs. Lorna Radford have" looked after this work and in 1950 the Clinton branch was able to publish a History of Clinton to com- memorate the Clinton Old Boy's Reunion. Included in the Tweedsmuir records of Clinton's past are important celebrations and precious photographs of W I events. Prize winning floats from parades can be seen, former executive members and special occasions are remembered, in- cluding the 50th anniversary dinner of the Federated Women's Institute of Canada in 1947 when Mrs. Sturdy was president, again in 1957 on the occasion of the 60th hen Mrs., Batkin led the group nd in 1972 whe president Mrts. Popp an the, branch elebrated the 75th year of the Canadian organization.. Equally as memorable was the Clinton branch's own 70th an- niversary celebration in 1970 when president Mrs. Lois Elliott and the group and sister institutes in the Huron West district joined together for a special dinner. And history is still being made. The Clinton WI will long remember their celebration of 75 years together and now are working towards further years of learning and service and their 100th anniversary. Former music teacher Lorna Radford has been lending her talents to the Clinton Women's Institute for many years. According to WI branch president Doris Batkin, Mrs. Radford is ready to share her musical abilities at a moment's notice and she was pn hand last Wednesday to provide ac- companiment at the institute's 75th anniversary celebrations. (Shelley McPhee photo) 4k Ninety-six men and women joined together in Clinton last week to celebrate the Clinton WI's 75th anniversary. Ten sister branches from the Huron West district attended the luncheon and afternoon Guests program. (Shelley McPhee photo)