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| :g town, Pembroke. Likewise it was the search for the timber j stands that led to the explorations of the Bonnechere, the Madaâ€" | 1 â€" waska and the Petawawa Rivers. As these rivers became the ' great outlets for the lumber cuts, the forests reâ€"echoed the songs | 4. of the river men as "the drive" was pushed along. Thriving i towns and villages began to border their banks, for in the wake | : of the lumbermen followed merchants, millers, farmers, hardy, | courageous folk who knew no luxuries but who possessed great | faith in the future of Canada. The townships along the Ottawa © [ River seemed to open up first for farming. As early as 1882 we ’ hear of a thriving farm in Ross township on the south shore of i i the Muskrat Lake. s { Renfrew County first received recognition as an individual Po w unit in 1854 and with the Confederation in 1867 came the division | i â€" of the County into two electoral districts as North and South ( 2 Renfrew. In the northern part of the County, Westmeath in j f its early days was reckoned a more important â€"centre than the _# _ County town, Pembroke, so it was but natural that it should be | around this part of the county, where people lived in closer ? [ proximity with each other, that women should sense the imâ€" ; portance and responsibilities of their duty as homemakers and | seek information from the Department of Agriculture as to the I °_ forming of an Institute such as was formed at Stoney Creek in | . 1897. : e We regret very much the records of the district work, 1904 ‘ to 1907, have been torn from the book, but from the Department 1 we learn the following information about these years. In 1904 there was an attendance of 54. All the district officers came from Beachburg, so it would seem that Beachburg was the first Institute organized and that the other branches grew through * this spread of influence. In 1905 three branches had been orâ€" ganized, Forester‘s Falls, Beachburg and Westmeath. In 19086 we find the membership had risen to 78. District meetings were held in Beachburg until 1918 An astonishing item meets our eye in the minutes of 1908 where it mentions that the billeting of the delegates was arranged by the officers in charge. The €â€" minutes covering the years 1904â€"47 show how steadfastly the branches have grown and how closely they have followed the