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___________, oncerned Farm Women ton C decide to f by Randy Hicks Alter an emotional meetlng Wednesday night, to members at Concerned =arm Woman (CFW) decldi Ed not to dissolve the organllallon. The meeting was called alter a year at uncertainty tor the group, with them haying an insuitlclent amount or active members to carry on In their usual Iashlon The CFW has always been an active group. its members have ap- peared at lectures. written books. conducted surveys and gathered and spread In- tormarlon via videos and slide presentations. among other projects. A book distributed by the CFW (The Farmer Takes a Wire) has sold over 3.000 copies In Canada and cracked the best sellers list. Because the small member sh|p(27 betore ltte meeting got underway) was busy luggllng otl rarm jobs and CFW protects. the organiza- tion has sultered recently and has been unable to ac- complish as much. There are no more copies of the book left and It needs to be rapnnted. Three letters recognizing CFW lor their past achievements read at the start 0' the meeting set the santlmanl at the gathering. The letters came from Barbara Kiagea, rural organization specialist tor Bruce County and two other individuaislMuriei Lush and Eleanor Currie). The letters gave the IlredCFW a pat on the back and let the members ot the group know that they were not alone in their light. Prior lo the vote there were suggestions to shut down the CFW tor a year and make an evaluation on Its rate at the end oi that time. There was also 3 aug- gestion to slow down their operations and have only two meetings a year. but this was more or less dismissed as an option by the members. They tell that a big part or CFW was the amount or work they had done and Issues they had contronted In the seven years slnce the group was termed The members telt It wouldn't be the same CFW ll they weren't as active. There were suggestions to deal with the member- ship problem by active recruitment, something the group had nevar done In the past. Without new members the organization won't be able to accomplish as much In the iuture. sold Blake. "We never recruited." said Blake. "We telt It the group was worthwhile peo ple would Jolri. I think that's a bit naive." Going Into the vets. she tell that the small turnout at the meeting by concern- ed citizens interested tn No. 11, Paisley, Ont, Wednesday, March 16, 1968 lg“ I; g : ‘ Joining CFW (two people) in- dicated the Chaaley‘based organization may be near death. "Where are the bodies?" asked Blake. "it they're not here now we can't expect to get them." The vole oi whether or not to dissolve was made alter a tow hours oi debate by the representatives or the group. They wanted to delay what they ialt was In- evitable. the breakup oi the CFW. Alter the results at the sacral ballot had been tabulated the score was 6-4 tor the group wanting to preserve CFW. The mood In the council chambers of the Eiderslle Township ottlcas turned irorn that or a wake to a christening ot a reborn out- ilt with this disclosure. The laces oi CFW members were ecstatic with toy and they motioned to alourn to a nearby watering hole to celebrate the victory. Joy Ward. director or CFW, explained atterwards that having one new member and a phone cail Irom two others Interested In Ioinlng the organization may have prompted the members to preserve the group. She voted to keep the CFW atlva. but didn't come Into the meeting with that conviction. Valeria waalenall, a Bruce County term Vlailll , spoke out at the meeting that she would be willing to donate her time to the CFW. She said that she didn't know very much about the causes being taught by the group, but she was willing to iolri. Attarthls show at In- terest Wessertall learned Valerie Waseertali, a Bruce County iarrn woman, spoke out at the meeting that she would be wllllng to donate her time to the CFW. She bald that she dldrl'l know very much about the causes being taught by the group, but she was willing to Join. Aiter this show oi in- terest Wasaertaii learned that she would boput on the board or directors. Genie Blake, a member at the CFW board at direc- tnrg-‘niu there are no real rules ior Joining the organization. "It's not a prerequisite oi lolning this group to have any knowledge or anything." said Blake "We've even had a tow male members. We said they could loin as long as they were concamad." One at the reasons to: uncertainty ot the group‘s survival was the number at members on the board at directors (6). The CFW con- stitution states that there should be at laaet10. At the Wednesday night meeting two more names were add- ed to that list Including Waaaertaii. Wasser‘iail started her contrlbutlons to CFW by taking the votes for the secret ballot. She was ask- ed lt she was made uncom- fortable by Ioinlng the group and Immediately Ian- dlng up on the board of directors Wessertail said she wasn't, at least not until she was asked to become director when Ward Voiced reluctance at being leader at the group. Ward said she would have to "eat crow" when lacing the press after they learned about the vote because she had told them that the CFW would pro- beny dissolve. Ward was reassured 0! her attac- livanese by members at the group and told that she was wrong In this assumption. in the coming months the CFW has a number of Issues they must be con- cerned with. During the meeting the members volc- od their cencema on what "tape the luture ot the CFW should take. There was a suggestion I at I name change to make the group attsct a under chunk o! the population at] Ontario. The members agreed that some or the Iaauu they contront con~ coma not only tumors but also paeptqlivlng In small towns and villa The suggested new (LEVI. on Page! I c.r=.w. t “A lot of good I things” Continued from Page1 l name was Concerned Ruralt‘ Women. There was also a‘ suggestion to change that name to encourage men to: loln, but Ward said alter that meetan a name change ls unlikely because the group made its reputalion as CFW. I When the group was‘ termed it was called CFW. because the lounders ieit‘ something should be clone to help sutiering Ontarlul iarmers. The men were too busy spending most or their times working on the tarniin arm and at oii tarmlobs. so‘ he Iounders ielt It was up. to the women to crusade tor the causes oi the tamiiy‘ term. i There is also a questionl oi what direction cr=w willl take in the tutors. Will they slow down their efforts and‘ will they change their tocus" it was mentioned at the meeting that some at the original goals oi the CFW had not been accomplish- ed. They had not succeeded In keeping the tamlly rarm trorn being dropped by the next generation. Statistics were read which shows the average age of the Ontario iarmer has Increased year alter year. Alter the meeting Ward said the ortglnai main enemies oi the CFW will re-. main the some (banks, Inter- national pollticlans and large multinationals). Another issue brought up at the meeting was the size of the board at directors. At the end at the night they re- mained two shy of the goal at 10, but Ward said this IS unimportant. “A lot or good things More accomplished when we were ilylng by the seat at our pants, without germ ting bogged down by ritual try-laws." saldWarti.