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HOME & Country’s histon This history of Home & Country magazine was found in the history files of the Federated Women ’s Institutes of Ontario. kept at the Guelph Agriculture Centre. It was written in 1970 by a person with the initials E.F. No one at GAC knows who the author may be. Perhaps one of our readers can tell us! When the Women’s Institutes were first organized in 1897, they were considered a ladies’ section of the Farmer’s Institutes and it was th0ught that they might not have a very long existence. Thus it was that the reports of work done, financial statements and accounts of conven- tions were published along with the reports of the Farmer’s Institutes in the Reports of the Minister of Agri- culture. About 1915 the Farmer’s Institutes went out of existence but the Women’s Institute reports continued to be a part of the Minister’s report. At that time, the Canadian Home Journal, a magazine no longer published, gave publicity to the ac- tivities of the Women's Institutes as they were submitted by the local Branches. In 1924 in the interests of the Women’s Institutes, the Ontario Department of Agriculture began to publish a four-page “Women's Institute News Bulletin.” No one is designated as editor of this News Bulletin but the name of Mr. Putnam appears as Superintendent of Women’s Institutes with Miss Ethel Chapman as assistant superinten- dent. On the first page of Volume I, No. 1 January 1924 issue, there appears the following: “MO'I'TO: FOR HOME AND COUNTRY" “This bulletin contains informa- tion, requests, suggestions and reminders which we trust will be of interest and value to the Institute members in general. Three copies are being sent to each branch president and secretary and one copy to each district president and secretary; the extra copies are intended for circula- tion among the members of the branch. If an Institute with a large membership desires a few extra copies, they may be secured by writing to the Institutes Branch, Department of Agriculture, Toronto. ‘jThe annual report for 1923 will be issued at the earliest date possible and will contain summarized reports of the conventions held in October and November. Reports on all lines of work undertaken by the Women’s Institutes, information as to what is available in the form of bulletins, reports, answers to questions, lec- turers and demonstrators. A copy of the annual report will be sent to each member; but since it is necessary to circularize the officers quite fre- quently, and there is always current information of interest to officers and members generally, it is thought well to issue this leaflet and to ask the officers and members to express their views as to the wisdom of publishing a leaflet, say, six or eight times throughout the year and sending several copies to the officers for distribution among the more active members. This can be done at very little outlay beyond what it costs to send circular letters to the officers from time to time. If the plan meets with the approval of the Institutes, we will be pleased to have them express their views and to send suggestions as to how the ‘Women’s Institute News Bulletin’ can be made ‘ HOME. of greatest interest and value." In 1933 it was decided to drop the News Bulletin and replace it with a fourâ€"page Women's Institute paper, Home and Country. Members of the editorial board were: Mrs. R. B. Cullotten, Miss M. V. Powell, Mrs. I. Graves and Mr. George Putnam. The magazine was enlarged to eight pages. Directors of the Women’s Institutes at that time were: Miss Bess McDerrnid, Miss Mary Clarke, and Miss Anna F. Lewis. The Directors, with the assistance of the Provincial President and another member of the Provincial Board of Directors of the Ontario Women's Institutes were an editorial committee. In 1952, Miss Ethel Chapman was appointed Editor of Home and Country and the publication began to be published in its present format. In 1967, Miss Chapman, now Dr. Ethel Chapman, retired, and Mrs. M. Pardy became the editor. Reflections from ROS With Joyce Canning (Rural Organizations and Services) By the time you read this, Area Conventions will be a distant memory but as I write this, they still stand quite sharply in my mind. What is the purpose of an Area Con- vention? It is a time to conduct business, a time to renew old friend- ships and make new ones, but, is it not also a time to evaluate and set goals, a time to be inspired and come away with renewed enthusiasm for the year of Institute w0rk ahead? If your area meeting scores highly on the first two items but not so high on the second two maybe you could con- sider how you might provide for this at future annual meetings. Pass along your ideas to your area executive. In this issue you will see a report given by the Area Resolutions Con- venor at the London Area Conven- tion. Here is an example of someone doing her part to inspire and urge the membership to get involved. There are lots of women like Lillian White and the ladies she refers to in every W. I. area and district. Is their poten- tial being tapped? Also in this issue you will see the dates for the 1984 RSVP workshops. This is the second series of Rural Seminars for Vital People offered by the ROS branch. The theme in 1984 is using communications more effec- tively to make better members and, therefore. better organizations. Cir- cle the date for the one in your area and be sure someone gets there to bring the message back to all the rest.