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ToJ Aboui Telephones An item in the 1975 Winter i55ue of Home and Country announced that the Ontario Government was compiling a history of the Independent Telephone In- dustry in Ontario as its contribution to the observance of the 100th anniversary of the invention of the tele- phone by Alexander Graham Bell. The Ontario Telephone Service Commission, which regulates the activities ofthe remaining forty in- dependent systems in the Province. was commissioned to collect information on the almost 1,100 telephone companies which operated at one time or another throughout Ontario. A great deal of material has been accumulated in the form of copies of newspaper items, magazine articles and published histories of various communities as well as items ofinformation from the files of regulatory bodies, local municipal offices and other government departments. Many interviews were conducted with officers of telephone companies and a wealth of information was gleaned from these sources. Following the appearance of the article in “Home and Country”. many Womens' Institute members wrote to Tom Grindlay of the Commission staff for- warding information on the independent telephone systems which had operated in their localities in times gone by and Mr. Grindlay would like to thank them very much for their cooperation. The "History" is now nearing completion and con- sists of several filing cabinets containing a file on each of the HUD systems of which there is some record. On some files there is an abundance of information whereas on others there are only the basic statistics ob- tained from regulatory body reports. The files will be kept in the offices of the Ontario Telephone Service Commission where they can be referred to by inter- ested students and researchers. To supplement the detailed information on the files a book has been written which gives a general pic- ture of the independent telephone industry and brief stories of some 50 of the individual systems. The book also contains a list of all systems for which a file has been opened. The list shows the date each system was established. its location. the number of phones it oper- uted and its final disposition. The book is now being printed and should be available within the next few weeks. Should the comâ€" munity in which your Womens‘ Institute is located have had a past or present association with one of these independent telephone systems. you may be inâ€" terested in receiving a complimentary copy for your records or for help in compiling your Tweedsmuir Hisâ€" tory. The complimentary copies. which are limited to one for each interested Institute may be obtained by writing to: Ontario Telephone Service Commission 3625 Dufferin Street Downsview. Ontario M3K 122 26 TWEEDSMUIR HISTORIES A letter received by Mrs. R. C. Walker, Fwy-Wm, Tweedsmm'r History Curator, from Lady Tweedflmgr “Thank you very much for your letter and all um description of the Tweedsmuir Histories. mm very good work you are doing which will basis for Canadian history of the future; We are having a very sad time as a familt ,l~ mt. youngest son. Alastair Buchan, died very 5m.) in February. He was in the midst ofsuch a brm “1} career, and he was such a joy to us all. May I send you all a meSsage of warm app .J, tion for all the good work you are doing. I ‘ .R that you will make friends with as many weir. possible of other countries.” form 4 Js Yours sincerely, / Sit/3.2M»: /W Susan La Tweedamuir Lady Tweedsmuir was Chatelaine of Rideai. ll while her husband was Governor General of C: It was during this time she showed her interv Women's Institute work by attending branch mt. _. and conventions. (She was president of El 1.“ Women’s Institute, Oxfordshire for 15 years i . their duties brought them to Canada.) She act- 1 the office of Honourary President and later was 1 an Honourary Life Member of the Fedti Women's Institutes of Canada. It was she who suggested that Women‘s Inst compile Community Histories. Later, at the reqt- the Provincial Board. she suggested that they be t Tweedsmuir Histories; she wrote the Forward \t'h in every Tweedsmuir Book in the Province. Goldwater Hurom'a WJ. president, Mrs. F1 McKean (right) and secretary Mrs. John Waterson. - play quilt made by members and donated to the ‘- erside Senior Citizens of Goldwater. The Branch made a cash donation of $1000.00 to the Senior t lens and $400.00 to the Lions Club. Look to the west The sun has slipped below the cornstalked horizor But like a day well lived It leaves reflections of its worthy deeds.