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Editorial Dedication and Conviction _ Durin . g the 1972 celebrat' A ‘ ' l A women,s Institutes of Ontario, [he Inns of thc founding of The Fedcrated names of Mr and Mrs Frlantl Lcc b ' ' - ‘ . . - r. . ~ ecamc vc-n “ell knrmn to members of the organization and others. The roles played by Mr, Lee and h}, wife Janet :11 the fO'Jl'ldmg, were rafftnstrutted in memorable portrayals. It seems an appmpriate coincidenfl: that theme roles should be 50 Well recreated more or less in the same time period that negotia‘ [ions have been completed for the purchase of the historic Lee its owners helped to found. The Story bggan When Eda“?! LL)“- Sccremrl' 0f the South Wentwort‘h Farmers' Institute. attended a meeting of the Experimental Linton at the Ommn Agricultural College at Guelph and heard 3“ 1mPr9-‘551Ve Speech by it Hamilton woman. Mrs. Adelaide Hoodless. No doubt, he went home and told Janet of some of the Outspoken jdms expressed by Mrs, Hoodless‘ Lam: when the members of the Wentworth Farmers Institute were planning for their annual Ladies‘ Night, Mr. Lee suggested that Mrs. Hoodlcss be invited to speak, The rest of this story is well known. Less publicized were the efforts of the Lees to get the women (,f [he wmmufliu to attend a later meeting to be held on February 19th in Squires Hall at Stoney Creek. Imagine a little of the conversation as the Lees prepared to attend that meeting. Etland may have said, “Well Janet, this is it. Do you suppose anyone will come?" I'm sure they will. We have really tried, and they have promised," Janet Lee perhaps rep te . And did Erland reply. "At least they'll hear a good speech?" Then would come the drive down the king winding hill [0 Stoney Creel-t and Squires Hall. The hall was full! They were there. One hundred and one women, one man and one boy. Bernard Hoodless, keeping himself warm by the stove at the hack of the hall. Mr. Lee took the chair and introduced Mrs. bloodless, with her fiery enthusiasm and the germ of an idea. The germ took roots tended in those early days by the husbandman Erland Lee. Now there was it nucleus of an organization. Respected, capable women consented to take on the executive work. They and the other newly recruited members had to find their way for there were few precedents for their guidance except Erland Lee‘s experience with the Farmers’ Institute. What conversations! What questions! \Vhat discussinnsl may have taken place in that beautiful home on the escarpment overlooking Lake Ontario. Did Janet and Erland and their guests sit in the handsome living room or around the polished dining t'OOm table? No doubt Lhe Lees talked the whole thing over again perhaps as they washed the tea cups after the guests had gone, over the breakfast table, or in the privacy of their bedroom. Mrs. Lee had seconded the motion that a "Women's Department of Domestic Economy in affiliation with the Farmers‘ Institute," (later called, "Women's Department of the Farmers' Institute of South \Ventworth") be organized. Mrs. Lee became a Director when officers were elected. There were so many decisions and the foundation work must be sound. They needed objectives; they needed a constitution. Mrs. Lee suggested that twenty-five cents be the members’ fee. They sought the help of knowledgeable men and a constitution Was formulated. Those discussions may have taken place in the Lee Home with Mrs. Lee as recorder. It is a known fact that Mrs. Lee sat at the famous dining room table to copy that constitution. When Erland came in from his work with his bees, or with his dairy herd. or in his. orchard (he may ‘have been pruning fruit trees at that time of year) did his wife give her copying to him to read to make su estions? ' _ ‘ . The organizatgiin did grow. The members worked fnr'it and talked about it With conviction and dedication. Soon branches existed in all pans of pfllflflfi. How pleased the Lees must have been! Their interest never seemed to abate as the years passed and a new idea came to them. \Vould it be possible. sometime in the future for the Ontario Women’s Institutes, a vigorous influential organization, to purchase that home on the esoar-pment? The Lee family down to the third generation respected and shared the dedication of their parents and in time. eased the way for the organization to fulfill this destre: ' Thus in June, 1972, the Erland Lee Home became the property of the Federated Womaigj Institutes of Ontario. In 1973, under the guidance of a hard working commdream???3 renovations and arrangements have been made to open the Home to the pubblic. Thisf f5 rain possible not only by the work of the Committee but through generous contri utgonshov lpgnighé ' from man eople. members and others. So each \Xfornen 5 institute men-i er a.» a bugs rruti't no}; gnly to show appreciation for benefits of all kinds that have come to them grmgh lrl'ije organization but to pay tribute to the conviction and dedication of Erlztnd Lee and his wife Janet. home by the organization that SUMMER 'l 973