Page 14 the HERALD Wednesday December IS 1991 Halton WI marks 90th birthday with celebration By RUTH Herald Special We can just wish to be as fit when we are years old A special Birthday Party was held at Community on Sunday November 24 District Womens Institute is celebrating 90 years of good health and success Former District Presidents and Secretaries were special guests for the day Guest speaker was Margaret Eberle President- Elect of the Federated Womens Institutes of Ontario If Adelaide were liv ing in 1991 I wonder if she would have thought that her founding organization would still be alive and well When she lost her eigh teen month old baby in the late from being fed con taminated milk she was deter mined to teach other women about the need to be educated She managed to raise such an awareness that 101 women at tended the first meeting on February in Stoney Creek On February 2 four years after the very first Womens In stitute meeting was held County organized their first meeting Way back then ten ladies met in Milton to form the beginnings of what would still be an active organization 90 years later The first Branch was Campbellville who met until 1913 They then disbanded and took a 26year vacation until 1939 when they reorganized and are still an active branch today The branch in Halton is Silver Wood Branch which was formed in 19 Many branches have come d gone since 1901 but today years down the road you will find 11 branches which 237 members For Home and Countr the motto of the Womens Institute had its early test of strength dur ing World Wars I and II Always meeting whatever need arose and not requesting recognition the WI worked diligently to meet the enormous need of both civilians and soldiers By clothing and food to vic tims of disasters over the years you wilt still find today that if there is a need in the community the Womens Institute members are quietly there to help in whatever way they can Fund raising by WI branches is turn ed back into the community in many areas including Womens shelters Salvation Army Food Banks Cancer Society and many other community services The Womens Institutes have conducted endless Short Courses on everything under the sun in cluding gardening sewing knit ting cooking quilting and per sonal development These courses are still a popular part of theoranization It is always rewarding when you have made a contribution toward the success of young peo ple School children must have found it pretty mundane back then without music in the schools It wasnt until when the Halton Womens Institutes in troduced the first musical in struction From this came the Music Festival which was a highlight for school children for many years The program in Halton has been supported by the Womens Institutes for many years You will still find today that a good number of Leaders are aiso Womens Institute Members Of course there are also male Leaders but perhaps you should ask them if their mother is or was an Institute member Many branches support individual Clubs financially The Womens Institutes in have given Scholarships to 4H members who are further ing their studies beyond high school This award is given each year to a deserving member who is selected by the Scholarship Committee The first recipient of the Dr Ethel Chapman Scholar ship in was Cathy Lastly Twenty years later its in teresting to see Cathy very busy in her career running her own marketing firm Preferred Agri- Marketing in Guelph The recipient of the Scholarship is Jennifer Livock of Oakville Jen nifer is enrolled in at the University of Guelph We wish Jennifer good luck as she works towards her goals The Halton Womens Institute Bursary is another award given to members entering post- secondary school The reci pient is Heather of Limehouse Heather is attending the University of Toronto in Honors Bachelor of Arts course where she hopes to become a high school teacher We wish Heather the best of luck in her future Lady Tweedsmuir wife of Canadas Governor General and an Institute member in England visited Canada in 1936 While visiting a branch in eastern On tario she stressed the im portance of preserving the heritage of our developing land Today the Histories of the Womens Institutes is a very well known wealth of in formation for many historians Very often Historical Societies contact the branches in Halton for information which has been well documented by Institute Curators since Lady initiated them Another WI project was the publishing of A History and Atlas of Halton County com piled by Ben Case of Georgetown This was completed in 1980 with the printing of 1000 books Two members of the District Womens institute left to right Eve Martin President President- 54 kicked off the Institutes anniversary recently with a cake- cutting ceremony Photo The Womens Institute is still very much an educational organization It has influenced many government issues through resolutions The environment and recycling has been an ongoing concern The promotion of the Blue Bag has been well received in Halton and throughout On tario The most recent resolution from the Womens Institutes which has just become law is Where might you have seen Womens Institute members in 1991 A very worthwhile program was conducted called Surgery A Necessity Or a Choice Ap proximately participants learned how to be aware of their bodies and to thoroughly in vestigate all avenues in the health care system Mary Jane Wingfield from Ashgrove Branch and Edith Turner from Silver Wood Branch were the facilitators for this course The Womens Institutes were invited by the Agricultural Society to take part in Kids Day at Milton Fair Many rural organizations took part in this educational day More than 2000 children from dif ferent schools in attended Continued on Page FITNESS HEALTH RISK APPRAISAL Those you care for will appreciate the computerized Health Risk Appraisal ad ministered by a fitness counsellor They will learn at what age they are presently living at according a am to their lifestyle 30 DAY TRIAL MEMBERSHIP Friends and family will love our Christmas Idea The 30 DAY Trlql Membership will en title a person to use cur Weight Room and participate in fit ness classes from a aaa December27 1991 to January VV 3 DAY PASS Let us introduce your friends and family to our fitness facilities and professional staff A three day pass is an economical way to see what our club has to offer COMPUTERIZED FITNESS ASSESSMENT A computerized fitness assessment great motivator for people who want to know what they need to do to 7flwU improve their fitness level ft GIFT PACKAGE COMBINATION We have combined our 30 Day Trial Membership with a Fitness Assessment and a Health Risk Appraisal This super gift pack is sure to let that special someone know just how much you really care about them FOR ONLY 50 WORK THAT BODY 232 Guelph Street A Georgetown I