Ruth gets life membership

When Ruth Chapman went to her regular meeting of the Community Women's Institute on December 2 she got a real surprise. She and two fellow members, Florence Chatten and Jean Cassan, were awarded life memberships in the organization.

Each of them has more than 50 years service with the group. When Ruth joined in 1957 there were four local chapters - in Edville, Carman, Brighton and Hilton. They merged to form the Community W.I. based in Brighton.

In the beginning they met in each other's homes. Ruth became a member in the home of Mrs. Kay Whitehouse. But their increased membership forced them to move to Trinity United Church in Brighton.

Membership hasn't waned significantly in the local group, where there are currently 35 members. Ruth guesses that is close to the highest enrolment they have ever had. Even after 52 years, Ruth gets excited when she talks about the speakers and activities they have. "It's a learning experience," she beams.

A member since her daughter was three, Ruth says her husband Dean always said, "Of all the groups you belong to, don't give up the W.I."

Over the years she has been president twice and served on various committees. But even with all that experience and her many contributions, she was genuinely surprised to be acknowledged.

Always one to deflect the attention from herself, Ruth recounts that the December 2 presentation "was a proud time for all of us".

The location is not all that has changed in the W.I., once a rural-based organization geared to improve the lives of farm wives and their families. Ruth recalls her early days as a member when a lady came and spoke to them about her goat and the cheese she made from its milk. It was one of many farm-related experiences shared by the members. The Brighton-based group now draws women from urban settings and with urban backgrounds.

The Women's Institute was founded by Adelaide Hoodless in 1897.

Born Born near St. George in Brant county in 1857, Adelaide Hoodless was motivated to her advocate role when her youngest son died in infancy after drinking impure milk. She organized Household Science classes at the YWCA in Hamilton and influenced Lord Strathcona to assist in financing the Ontario Normal School of Domestic Science and Arts in Hamilton in 1900. Mrs. Hoodless prevailed upon Sir William Macdonald, the tobacco millionaire, to contribute financially to the establishment of Macdonald Institute in Guelph and Macdonald College in Quebec.

Mrs. Hoodless is perhaps best known as the inspiration behind the Women’s Institute movement. Along with Erland Lee, she drafted the charter for the organization and helped organize the first Institute at Squire’s Hall, Stoney Creek. That meeting, in 1897, opened the way for the Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada and internationally, the Associated Country Women of the World.

At a meeting of the Federation of Women’s Clubs in Toronto on February 25, 1910, Mrs. Hoodless made an appeal for a university school of Home Economics. While she was speaking she had a heart attack and died a few minutes later.

Mrs. Hoodless was in the vanguard of many movements in the interest of women. She was involved in founding the Y.W.C.A. in Canada, and became national president in 1898. Mrs. Hoodless was a member of the founding executive of the Victorian Order of Nurses in 1897, and was involved in the founding of the National Council of Women. But she will be remembered longest for what she did for education in homemaking and for the founding of the Women’s Institute.