W. I. C O R N ER
T r a g e d y T u r ns
t o S u c c e ss
When Adelaide Hoodless, Stoney
Creek, Ontario lost her 18 month old
baby from drinking contaminated
milk, she turned personal grief into a
campaign for training in homemak-ing.
She succeeded in getting household
science into the public schools of
her home city but this did not reach
the wives and mothers who were already
out of school and in homes of
their own.
Mrs. Hoodless felt if men needed
an organization, i. e. " Farmers Institute"
to help them grow better crops
and produce better livestock, it would
be equally beneficial to have an institute
for women.
In 1897, the first Women's Institute
was realized. The main objective
of the organization was to raise the
standard of homemaking. Through
this organization the members hoped
to improve the skills of homemakers
on a physical, intellecutual and cultural
level. The motto, " For Home
and Country" was adopted and is
used today by thousands of Women's
Institutes in many countries.
From this beginning, the institute
idea spread rapidly from coast to
coast in Canada and was formed into
a national organization, The " Federated
Women's Institute of Canada" in
1919.
Mrs. Hoodless had been instrumental
in starting the first public
school classes in household science in
Ontario ( the first in Canada) and
began a campaign for government
support to give university training in
Home Economics.
She continued her work for
women. She enlisted the support of
Sir William MacDonald, founder of
the MacDonald movement to improve
rural life, and financial supporter MacDonald Institute ( 1903) and
MacDonald Hall ( 1904). It is interesting
to note that Sir William
MacDonald, a native of Prince Edward
Island, was one of Mrs. Hoodless'
greatest supporters.
Thanks to the efforts of Adelaide
Hunter Hoodless, a women of vision,
who brought ideas into action, the
influence of the Women's Institute
did not stop with only a movement
that spread from sea to sea in Canada.
Similar groups were set up in
other parts of the world. Sixty years
ago they decided to come together as
one international organization - " The
Associated Women of the World"
which today represents approximately
nine million people in over 70
countries.
