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om? , â€"THE WELUSENGER, Saturday. lily 29, 1993 ‘ ACTIVITIES earns '- emai‘nlngstrong in times of upheaV ~ ~ * , , Wommsoaomssaep p . - . .. as means» some [zine changes Lay Jack Ems _fi_,_, . W cm... .. We lnielligenne' . BLOOM Lâ€"Whhilstai‘t‘ed l‘ll‘t‘ 'as a one- . 0Uiitafl0-fihnm'i'li30‘ycar's'=ag§€h ‘fno'fl‘s'pread th - ' ' » «an "Lsei‘zfiat‘antldia‘inily va l Monskhms' graphics have undergone tremendous; upheaval, but the Women's In- stituten‘ipvement remains a strong and viable force in the Quinte area and aififiiid the world, today's leaders ofithe movement insist. ReflecEin in an interview recentlyion what Women’s Institutes are and what ‘e'yhave achieved were Marlene Cox-field, president of the Prince Edward (jimmy Women's Institutes (there are nine branches) and Dr. Ellen M‘cliean-from Pictou County, N.S. McLean is a past president of the national organization and imme- diate past president of the Associated Country Women of the World, the international organziation with which all WIs are affiliated, The occasion was the annual meet' g of the county WI organization , at Picton Thursday, when McLean w the speaker in recognition of the 1 county organization's 85th anniversary. , ‘ , Five of the nine local branches â€"â€"lBloom.field,' Gilberts Mills, Wel- . lington, Cherry Valley and Mountain! View â€"â€" are sharing directly in the i ‘same 85th anniversary year. Corfield' suggested that many We in Hast-l ings and other Quinta area counties I mu, 1 Elicia aymk evans Prince. Edward County WI president Marlene o'i'field (lea) 'ndi Dr. Ellen McLean, immediate past president if the Association, of Country Womennfthe‘ Wong. ' _ , v w The local, county, national and international branches have also been active for many years, as service organizations, said McLean, carrying" out fund raising projects and making donations to worthy community causes. ,. _ â€" Prince Edward County WIs have given many thousandséfidollarslin donations or equipment to area hospitals: ‘ ’ i '7‘ 4,: p Still about 50,000 strong across Canada (about 180 in Prince Ed- ward Gounty alone) despite the drop in farm family numbers, WI monthly meetings are still held in community halls or farm kitchens . once a month throughout the Quinte area and across Ganada, says. McLean. » She admits the organization is “struggling" with the dynamic changes in society and social values, and that the membership is generally aging compared to 40 years ago. But new retired people, many who are urban expatriates, continue to join the ranks for fellow- ship, fun and community service ”We do small projects but do them well, and -a“dself'devel°Pme“t~ McLean is a special example. A . . are also sharing asimilar tradition. l the recognizable benefits are tremendous â€" professional librarian based in ‘ The Women’s Institute got its,) Stoney Creek, Adelaide Hoodless,‘ who accidentally fed her child unpas- teurized milk which cost her child’s llife. She determined to do what she’ icould to help educate other farm wives to help prevent such a thing from happening again. i So Women’s Institute, as she call(d it, was born. Its mandate has expanded over the years to includelall rural women, not just farm wives, and its program includes eel-development and education in health, nutrition, domestic skills, arts and crafts, culture and local history. ' ‘ i In local history, the We of the Quinta area have been particularly active, maintaining extensive collecthns of correspondence, newspaper clippings, photos and memorabilia fol several decades under a program inspired by one of Canada's former governor generals, Lord T‘weedsL mmr. ; . From the first branch at Stoney Greek in 1897, the concept spread rapidly across Ontario and other pal-is of Canada, then to England and other countries. 1 The international organization, lssociation of Country Women of the World, formed in 1929, was a collition of WIs of several countries plus women’s groups with similar dials which had sprung up at the same time, especiaHy in northern ad! eastern Europe. 5m with a young fam wife new far out, of proportion to the highly-publicized Mmmal’ She met her fmer'hus‘ mega projects. ” band on a boat trip on the Empress of Ireland in the North Atlantic while returning form a sabbatical ' in Switzerland. She went, dairy . farming. with him in Nova Scotia, and was quickly hauled off to the WI meetings by her mother-inrlaw, i and has stayed involved ever since. She cites the international aid projects the movement now carries . out. In one case it was as simple as some vegetable seeds and a few hoes, yet a communty of women in Zimbabwe were then able to both feed themselves and their families and sell the surplus for badly-H needed cash. Many projects assist communities to obtain safe, potable ‘ water. ' ' ' “We do small pro‘pcts but do them well, and the recognizable bene- fits are tremendous” said McLean â€" “far out of proportion to thei highly-publicized mega projects.” . Among the dignitaries and guests for the official celebrations and, cake-cutting was ALiira Brickman, now 90, a member of the WI for 76 ‘ years and the olded living Prince Edward District president (1947- 1949.) . Even though Canada was a pioneer in the movement, McLean says she is only the Secold Canadian to serve as head of the international . organization.