The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

District Diary Laura Rose organized first five branches At the centre of Canada lies Thunder Bay, a city also known for its large inland port, its giant ski jump Big Thunder and more recently the monument which marks the end of Terry Fox's marathon. Thunder Bay is also the home of two Women’s Institute districts â€" Thunder Bay North and Thunder Bay South. Thunder Bay South extends from the United States border in the south to the middle of the City of Thunder Bay in the north. Lake Superior is to the east and the Thunder Bay District border lies to the west. Highways 11 and 17 divide the district which features some dairy farming and cash cropping as well as the forestry industry and some light manufac- turing. According to district president Rebecca Johnson, Thunder Bay peoâ€" ple are warm and friendly. A past FWIO president from Thunder Bay South, Edith Purcell agrees. “We used to be one big happy family, before Thunder Bay was divided into two districts, north and south. Now, we have an annual rally for both districts which brings our members together again," she explained. The first WI branches in Thunder Bay District were fom'ied in June, 1906 by Laura Rose, who travelled up from Toronto to organize the Thunder Bay South District is located east of Lake Superior and north of the United States border. 12 women. At that time. five branches were created and the members were represented at the Torontoâ€"Hamilton Convention. In 1921 however, Thunder Bay became part of the Northern Ontario Area and began meeting in Fort Frances each fall. In 1959, Thunder Bay was split into two districts and the rally was inâ€" itiated then. Mrs. Purcell explained Thunder Bay South district main- tains a Tweedsmuir History and co-ordinates the 4-H work in the region. Scholarships are an impor- tant part of district business, but many of the special programs and projects are carried out at the branch level, she added. There are 10 branâ€" ches in Thunder Bay South District, they are; East Fort William, North Blake, O’Connor. Pearson-Patrice Rosslyn, Slate River, South Neebing' Stanley, Vickers Heights, West For William. In 1981, The Women's Instituti- provided leadership for sewing [h costumes for the opening and closir ceremonies of Jeux Canada Games Thunder Bay. They also prepared special cookbook which they sot and a quilt. The proceeds from the projects went towards providii daycare during the games. Mrs. Purcell stressed Thunder E South District is not a moneymaki group, but rather an organizatii which provides learning opportu ties for its members. “Being Women's Institute member dEVCll stature and strength,” she added. A young Thunder Bay woman was the recipient of this year’s FWH Hoodless-‘Lee Scholarship. Rachel Johnson (centre) Was awarded the $l7 scholarship by F W10 board director Jeanne Davies (left) and Ann Hon/(in son, rural organization specialist, Ontario Ministry of A griculturc and 1300!1 Thunder Bay. Rachel received the awar use it to further her education as Confederation College. dfor outstanding work in 4â€"H and wr.‘ a developmental services student a