1931 - Annual Convention

              S E V E N T E E N T H A N N U A L C O N V E N T I ON 65
p r o g r am has been prepared including study groups for seniors and super­visors,
public speaking contest for the Nellie M c C l u n g trophy, sports meet to
see where the Magistrate M u r p h y cup w i l l find a home. The social side w i ll
include the banquet, a picnic a n d tea at Government House.
It was decided at the Women's Institute Girls' Clubs' Convention to send
letters and notices of any kind only to those clubs which send in monthly
reports, paid their p r o v i n c i a l dues, thereby keeping themselves in good stand­ing.
I have enjoyed the work w i t h the girls, w h i c h has had its joys as w e l l as
its sorrows, the co- operation of the P r o v i n c i a l Council and the Women's
Institute District Supervisors has been splendid and of invaluable assistance.
I bespeak on behalf of my successor your best efforts in promoting the w o rk
among the girls.
R E P L Y T O ADDRESS O F W E L C O ME
Mrs. Carl Brunner, Ogden.
[ M r s. Brunner, a native of Switzerland, is one of our very new
Canadians and a splendid example of what may be accomplished
i n a brief period if one applies oneself earnestly and faithfully to
the task of mastering the language and customs of the adopted
country. W e refrain from editing and present the address exactly
as w r i t t e n by Mrs. Brunner]
It is in times like these that I would l i k e to be an eloquent speaker and
v e r y beautiful to look at! Unfortunately neither is the case. Therefore I beg
you to be prepared for the shortcomings of the first— I am resigned to the
facts of the second. It does not matter how one looks when pulling weeds
and feeding chickens, but here i n the presence of such a fine audience I t r u ly
wis'h I were ' both.
It is a very great pleasure to me and an honor to the Shepard Institute
that I am privileged to reply to the friendly words of welcome that have
been offered to us. I know there would [ have been many among this dis­tinguished
audience who would have been far more capable and more worthy
of standing on this p l a t f o rm tonight. But nevertheless I thank you that you
granted me this privilege. Be indulgent in your criticism, I - beg of you— it
is not so easy if one does not completely master the language.
W h e n we organized our Institute two years ago I was elected President,
not because I was more efficient than anybody else, no, but simply because
there was nobody there who cared for the office. I k n ew nothing of Institute
life and work at the time, and took the office very reluctantly. Had anyone
t o l d me then that I would ever have to face an assembly such as this, I would
have packed m y trunks and gone back to S w i t z e r l a n d to be sure to be safely
away from a l l such claims. Today I consider it a great pleasure, And I am
v e r y proud of being accounted worthy to represent our own Institute, and
to reply to the hearty welcome w h i c h ' has been extended to us. This seems
to make my acceptance as a Canadian very real and is this day the culminat­i
n g point of m y n a t u r a l i z a t i o n . I feel that I am now ranked and fully accepted
among A l b e r t a ' s best.
I present to M r s . Nye, the gracious president of the Edmonton Institute,
and to the leading men of our country, who honor us w i t h their presence, our
most heartfelt thanks for opening these spacious buildings to us and for giving