1937 - Convention Report

              TWENTIETH PROVINCIAL CONVENTION 23
In July, 1935, and again in 1936, I was invited to represent Alberta Women's
Institutes during Farm Women's Week at Olds and to give an address at the
banquet on the closing day. It was a great pleasure to me to discover that about
eighty per cent of the women attending the school those weeks were Institute
members.
Last year I attended the Women's Institute Girls' Club Convention and
spent a very happy time with our future Institute members. The girls are a fine
lot, and had it been your privilege to attend their convention I am sure you would
have been very proud of them. Their meetings were so well conducted and
excellent discussions were held. Mrs. E . J . Bell, Girls' Club Supervisor, is to
be congratulated on the excellence of her work with these girls. I fear, perhaps,
the Institutes on the whole really do not realize the wonderful influence this
club life has in developing the girls into young women of truly noble character.
During the last two years our " Mothers' Bundle" scheme has been very
active. In all, 518 bundles were prepared and forwarded to needy expectant
mothers in various parts of the province. I wish to express my whole- hearted
appreciation of the splendid work done by so many Institutes in this line. Some
Branches made as many as six or seven bundles.
In some instances the Institute which contacted a needy family for forward­ing
a bundle to the expectant mother discovered many other articles of clothing
were required by other members of the family. In almost all cases where such
relief was required it was supplied without delay.
During the summer of 1935 I visited 24 Constituency Conferences and 18
Institute meetings. In 1936, I attended only four Conferences, but was able to
be present at 46 Institute meetings.
I have great pleasure in congratulating the officers of all these Constituencies
and Institutes on the splendid character of the work being done. Particularly
do I wish to mention the fine manner in which these meetings were conducted.
It is an example of the training our women are receiving in the Institutes.
In June, 1936, I attended the Triennial Conference of Associated Country
Women of the World in Washington, D. C. I esteemed it a very high privilege
to represent you at this gathering. I appreciate that privilege more than I can
ever express in words. It was such a wholesome Conference, where rural women
from twenty- three different countries gathered to study their problems and
discover each other's viewpoint.
In her opening address, Mrs. Alfred Watt set the tone of the whole Confer­ence
when she said, " The Country Women's movement, like a golden thread, is
weaving in and out of the world's countryside, a shining and hopeful pattern of
international peace and goodwill."
During the ten days we spent in Washington, in company of other country
women, it is reasonable to presume that a new view of the " foreigner" was
learned. I feel sure that every woman present went back to her own community
with a greater feeling of friendship for peoples of other lands, and I am certain
she will do her part to dispel prejudice, misunderstanding and ignorance which,
after all, are breeders of hostility.
Since the Conference I have received letters from England, Ireland, Germany.
India and New South Wales, asking about our work here. In each case I tried
to present to the inquirer our plan of organization, the objects for which we
work, and some of our achievements.
At the request of Associated Country Women of the World a brief relating
to the medical and nursing services in Alberta was prepared, with the kindly
assistance of Miss Brighty, Superintendent of the Nursing Division, Department
of Health. This brief is to be presented at the International Congress of Agricul­ture,
to be held at The Hague this June.
A change has been made with respect to our publicity work and instead of
one Publicity Convener we have found it necessary to divide this work into
several sections in order to meet the demands of the newspapers concerned. I
take this opportunity, on behalf of the Council, to thank those ladies who have