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History of Our Women's Institute On the eleventh of July 1944 our Women's Institute will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary. It was in the summer of 1914 that the women of our little village and community felt the need for an organization of their own. The year previous to this a Miss Campbell, ( a representative of the Department of Agriculture) was lecturing through our country in the interest of Farmers Clubs and she called a meeting at Iron Bridge, and we women attended. The following year Miss Campbell returned and organized a branch of the Women's Institute. It was very small at first with only five members but steadily grew until before the end of the year there were twenty four-members enrolled. Mrs. Andrew Tulloch was elected the first president, Mrs. John Tait the first vice-president, and Maud Tait ( now Mrs. Gardiner) the first secretary—treasurer, a position which she held for eleven years. Mrs. Bailser and Mrs. Allhusen also became members at this meeting. Of the 24 members enrolled that year, seven have been married, seven are widowed and eight passed into the Great Beyond. To show that it was more from a social standpoint that our branch was first organized we have but to look at the minutes of our first three meetings, where we find discussions were held on making pickles, porridge, bread, jelly, butter, cooking and canning meats, and caring for household utensils. But our Branch soon found that more important work lay aged and that we were formed at a most needy time. For it was just after our inception that World War 1 broke out and from that time we were a very busy group. It was on the 24th of August just ten days after the outbreak of the war, that a special meeting was called to see what could be done to aid the Red Cross, and before the end of the first year, forty-seven dollars in cash was sent to the Red Cross and twenty-three pounds of yam was purchased and knit up for the so soldiers. The total amount raised for our work for four years was $584, and this was sent to the Red Cross, Y.J.C.S., to the Belgeau Relief and to returned soldiers. We also purchased 191 pounds of yarn and knit comforts for our soldiers. One arising incident is the account of the Knitting Contest inj March 1918, in which Rebah Beemer (Mrs. McClelland) and Edna Baker (Mrs. Nelson Beemer) were captive. Just to show how energetic this group of women have been, we have but to look up our records of July 1919. The war was over, the boys had returned to their homes and our women's obligations as far as their work was concerned was completed and they now turned their attention to the work of repairing and redecorating the Manse. In the minutes of that July meeting we find these motions read. During the eight years that followed, our Women's Institute contributed five hundred dollars to the Manse and two hundred and fifteen dollars to our church. The money for the Manse was used to hire carpenters to work on the manse, to help put in the foundations, to purchase a telephone and lay the telephone assessments, to pay taxes, also to buy a neater, screen door and window screens for the manse. We paid $27 towards the cost of roofing for the church, painted the outside of the church which cost us $110, painted and varnished the floor and bought 27 yards of hall matting. We also bought window shades and contributed a sum of money towards the erecting of the church shed. One year we paid the moving expenses of the minister. In December of 1923, we held a box-social and from the total receipts of $199.25 we handed over to the Agriculture society a cheque for $125 to aid in the erecting of their new hall, and at a later date we gave the same society another $35. Our Institute sponsored the first dental clinic for fillings and extraction ever held in our community, started hot lunches in the local school, and supplied first aid kits to the schools. We also aided in the expense of a car of vegetables sent to the drought area of the west, and for several years we helped the Children's Aid Society in the Soo.