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The First Customer By Helen Young B eing adventuresome people, it seemed as though we were perfect candidates to be the “first customers” to participate in the newly-organized Women's Institute Hospi- tality Homes in Nova Scotia. Previously. we had stayed in four different WI Hospitality Homes in Ontario. with our visitors from the Women‘s Institutes in Zim- babwe. We were treated like royalty, and thoroughly enjoyed meeting more of our WI sisters. So. when we decided that our 1995 summer vacation would bring us to Nova Scotia, we were thrilled to learn that the same opportunity might await us. Our proposed trip was to take three weeks - along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, the whole length of the St. Lawrence River. around the Gaspe. along the eastern shore of New Brunswick to Amherst, Nova Scotia. then along the Fundy coast of Nova Scotia to Yarmouth. We planned it all in advance. and booked our overnight accommodation from home. . After receiving the list of WI homes avail- able in Nova Scotia from the new Coordinator, Barbara Hinckley. we decided to write to four ladies in the areas we planned to visit. We included a self-addressed stamped envelope for their replies.We asked if they could enclose a map to their home and suggested that if they could not accommoâ€" date us, perhaps another member from their Branch could answer our request. You can't imagine how excited I was when I opened our mail box one day to find three out of four replies. A few days later, the fourth lady telephoned Our home. We were all excited about the prospect of meeting one anotherin a few weeks‘ time. July 27, 1995 We aned at Hardwoodlands in Hants County, north of Halifax. After a day of sight-seeing and hiking, we went to meet our first hostess, Ethel Fraser, who lived at the end of Fraser Road. Her home was full of guests from New answick and Ontario, as well as some members of her own WI Branch. It was obvious why Ethel’s beds were full, but it wasn't long before another WI member, Ruth Witt, arrived. After much lively conversation, we followed Ruth home in the dark to the end of another country road. where we stayed for the night. .luly 28, 1995 We headed north, back to the Fundy coast. En route we visited a shipbuilder‘s home and an historical museum. And we stopped to buy some giant pumpkin seeds from Howard Dill in Windsor. After a brief tour of the Grand Pre Church with the statue of Evan, geline in front. we pulled up in front ofJean Palmeteer' 5 home on Long Island Road. Jean arranged a visit to her son‘s dairy farm and planned a tour of several local points of interest. And. of course. more conversation ensued on into the evening and after break- fast the next morning. July 29. 1995 After an afternoon of touring. we arrived at the Old School Museum in Tupperville, where we met our next hostess, Marion Inglis. Here, we also encountered a house- full of company. but Marion had reserved both a bedroom and a place at the table. The next morning we toured hert‘niit farm. which Marion and her sons operate. The facilities in use were similar to those in our home area of Norfolk County. Ontario. July 30, 1995 Our agenda included several historic and natural sites of interest in and around An- napolis Royal. We stayed at a bed and breakfast home and enjoyed another seafood dinner. July 31,1995 A whale-watching cruise and snippets of life in several Acadian fishing villages tilled our day. It was time to continue on our way to Yarrnouth to meet our next hostess. Bar- bara Hinckley. Barbara and her husband Bruce drove us around to many sites that evening. August 1, 1995 This was the day we planned to visit a couple of local museums and the Western Nova Scotia Exhibition in Yarmouth. How- ever, en route from one museum, we stopped at an Instant Teller machine. This was the spot where our plans changed drastically! Only a few steps out of the car. I tumed my ankle on an uneven sidewalk. Hearing it crack. I went down. Many passersby came to my rescue and it wasn‘t long before I w‘as in the Emergency Room at the Yarmouth Hos- pital. After x-rays of both my head and my left leg, the surgeon was soon putting a cast on my broken ankle. My husband did even- tually get to see the oxen pull and the heavy horse teams and the WI booth at the Exhibi- tion. In the meantime. Barbara had prepared a lovely dinnerforus. which was definitely not part of the package. She even made me a comfortable bed on the chesterfield and inâ€" Barbara Hinckley (left) is the originator and or- ganizer of the Hospitality Homes in Nova Scotia; Helen Young (nght) IS the first WI member from Ontan‘o to participate. vited aWI friend. Marilyn Burns. to keep me company while the others returned to the Exhibition. We declined her offer to stay another day and we started on our way the next morning. Perhaps you’ve neverthought of staying in WI Hospitality Homes. But after reading my story. don‘t you think it would be a great way to meet WI members in otherareas? Remem- ber. a new friend is just a stranger you haven‘t met yet! So, whether you travel throttin Nova Scov tin or Ontario. give Hospitatity Homes a try! Or if you can‘t travel. maybe you would submit your name as a hostess. Who knows when a new friend may knock on your door? Submitted by Helen Yon/rot Lynnwlle WI. Norfolk North District, The Hospitality Home; Conn/inulor for Nova Scotia is Barbara Him‘kley, RR 4. Em 5107, Yarmouth NS 35.4 4A8, Phone: (902)741-4188. Hospitality Homes in Ontario re you planning a vacation? Remember. Hospitality Homes in Ontario are open to Women’s Institute members and their travelling companions for $10 per night per person. To obtain a list of the homes, send three 45 cent stamps to Gillian Catto, the Hospiâ€" tality Homes Coordinator, at Box 16, RR 1, Whitefish ON POM 3E0. For more information call her at (705)866â€"0251. Home & Country, Spring '96 13