HQME and CQUNTRY Published by The Ontario Women’s Institutes at Toronto, Ontario Volume 5 HOME BUREAUS ENTERTAIN ONTARIO W. I. MEMBERS ï¬ne example of neighbourliness “A: manifested when the President of the Northern District of the Feder- ntion of Home Bureaus of Iflew York State invited a representative of the Ontario Women‘s Institute Branch to attend their annual meeting _in May. About 250 rural women, Including ‘1‘." Ontario Institute members, assem- bled at the University State Buildings at Canton, N.Y. The grounds and the spacious buildings prowded ideal ac- commodation for such a gathering. “Neighbourliness’: was the theme (if this annual meeting, and was very apparent in the cordial reception and untiring courtesies extended to all visitors and members throughout the entire period. Gay flags and banners welcomed the visitors and a friendly thoughtfulness gave prominence to the Canadian flag near the entrance of the assembly hall. The ï¬rst morning was truly_ a good» will period. Arranging informal meetings, greeting old .friends and meeting new ones, occupied the staff ‘until luncheon time. I The keynote address in the after- noon was delivered by Mrs. H. M. \Vagenblass, President of the New York State Federation of Home Bureaus. The speaker gave a most inspiring message, stressing the value and importance of sympathy, good- will and friendliness toward our neigh- bour, and spoke feelingly of the ex- ample set by the Great Master. She emphasized the need to exercise pat- icnce, hope and love in our dealings With our fellows and to strive. for better understanding between nations. The sin 'ng of The Maple Leaf For- ever was t e forerunner t9 the intro- duction of the Canadian WSitors. Ofli- cers were ~nresent from Stormont. Grenville and Dundas Counties. The representative from the Women’s In- stitute Branch gave a brief history of the founding of the Women's InStl‘ tute and a summary of the work being carried on by the Ontario Institutes. An interesting and instructive featâ€" ure of the programme was the pre- sentation of the radio work shop. The radio group put on a regular pro- SEramme, giving practical demonstra- tion of how the broadcasting is done in the studio. Dr. Ruby Green Smith, State Leader of Demonstration Agents, discussed Democracy and the part which the homemaker may take in Working to< ward international good-will and neighbourliness. An enjoyable part of the programme was the banquet which was held in the St. Lawrence University Residence Building. An unique feature of this was the menu provided and served by “1! Young men students who were our hosts for the evening. National foods, Tepresentative of France, China. SW9d“. Canada. and other countries, were served. A most entertaining pro- gramme was provided, without the customary list of toasts and speeches. yavours and guest honours were of an international nature in keeping with the menu and entertainment. ,SubJects of much value were dealt with_the following morning. The dis- â€.“ssions in groups were both educa- tional and enlightening, dealing with features of the Conference theme,‘ “Naighbourlinessâ€. These were con- ducted under ï¬ne leadership and were diwded under three headings, "Neigh- bourliness in the Local Community". 0011th and State Neighbourliness", (Continued on page 2, col. 4) SUMMER. 1939 The Members of the Provincial Board of the Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario, 1938-1939 ' Row mum no in right) Gordon. )l m i. \ ~ In I'uner, .\Ir I. r ,MI». D. Home. In. . Frn , Ilvumi ( inslnr nI Ag , . cDuwrlI, Miss rs lu-rdnlr, Mrs J. It. McLacinu, Mrs. D. D. Eunluii. FRONT: Mr ., rt. Mrs. .t. w. Ill'unllun. Mn 1.. s. Eilor. M: .7. LI nlloch. Nani: Two muniburs or Ihr Board. Mrs. W. Lemon and Mrs. S. u. .unnk, nrn not in tho group. IMPRESSIONS RECEIVED FROM DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETINGS Each year the district annual meet- ings show improvement over those of preceding years. This year has been no exception and deï¬nite proâ€" gross has been apparent. The sphere in which progress was noted varied with the district. It may have been progress in executive work, in con- veners' reports, in educational feat- ures, in programme. or in some'other phase of the activities of the district annuals. Accompanying this increased efï¬ciency, a very pleasant atmosphere was created by the evident spirit of friendliness between individual mem- bers of difl'erent Institutes and their friendly interest in the achievements of Institutes in other communities. At practically every meeting, there was an excellent representation from every Institute. Reports Reports of conveners of standing committees difl’ered greatly. The most interesting and valuable were those in which the conveuer had summarized and compiled the reports from the In stitutes so that overlapping of infor- mation was eliminated. Late arrival of reports prevented this in some cases. Conveners who made sugges- tions for future study deserve special commendation for their leadership. In several districts, after. the reports were given, open discussion was held. This is a desirable practice because it helps clarify the functions of the standing committees, and where special features have been accomplish- ed or suggested, the members were given 0 portunity to hear more about them. n one district, this discussion took the form of suggestions to pre- vent overlapping of committee reports. In some of the smaller districts, individual Institute reports Me'still given. Several districts which omitted these had each Institute respond to the roll call with a brief statement of what was considered its outstanding activity of the year. The president’s report in several in- stances was especially commendable, including good, brief summaries of the condition of the Institutes of that district. The secretary's report was complete at almost every meeting. But, in at least three districts, the audit had not been completed and the ï¬nancial re- port could not be accepted by the meeting. Programmes Putting into practice the l'ull-s of parliamentary procedure helped many a meeting to run smoothly and ell iA ently. However, too many districts were hampered by lack of promptness in starting, which resulted in t-nnfu- sion later. Those which opened punctually and observed time sched- ules were able to handle their busi~ ness with dcspa’ch and allow time for i'iscussion. Where few diversions were introduced into the morning ses- sion, much of the business was dis- posed of before the members bccuinc weary, thus makinc the afternoon sessions more enjoyable. There was a deï¬nite curtailment of unnecessary entertainment and outside speakers this year. although in a few cases out- side speakers occupied more than their allotted time. In one district the en- joyment of the Institute members in the community singing was very evi- dent. This wns a tribute to both the leader and the members. Nothing can be more depressing than halfvhenrted singing, but these members sang with the joy of living, with the result that the atmosphere of the meeting became happier and more alive. Memorial services are a part of many district annuals. While most of these are digniï¬ed and ï¬tting tributes to the memory of those who have died within the past year, some are still too long. As a result they become depressing which is surely not what those in whose memory they are held would desire. It has been suggested that the reading of their names, fol- lowed by a simple dignified tribute, such as, “Their works do follow them" and a moment of silence will express the feelings in the hearts of the mem- bers. (Continued on page 2, col. 2) Number 3 ONTARIO INTERESTED IN ASSOCIATED WORLD COUNTRYWOMEN The triennial conference of the A.C.W.W. has been concluded recently in London, England. Reports of the pro- edings will be included in the next issue of the Home and Country after the return of Miss Florence EIIIIIC of the Women’s Institute staff, who represented Ontario as ofï¬cial delegate. In informal letter Miss Eadie \\"' “It all been ii most en- joyable expo cncc. Throughout, one felt the inspiration from such a vast rcp sentaive oi'ganizationiwhat it is s ing forâ€"what it is accomplish- ingâ€"and its great possibilities for promoting international peace and friendliness. One rarely attempted to remember people‘s names, referring to Australia, Africa, Rhodesia, Wales. 1 land, New Zealand, Ohio, etc.â€" Mrs. Chamberlain sat in on the after- noon programme on Women’s Place in the Rural Social Order and spoke beâ€" fore leaving. She showed a very hu- man interest in people and countries and made us feel the need for a more intelligent understanding of internat- ional problems. I only hope I can b"ng back to Ontario women and g: some of the inspiration I have received.†Other Ontario visitors present were: Mrs. George Mackcy of Clurks» burg, Miss Isabel Mackey of Port Arthur, Mrs. W. Sayers of Richmond Hill, Mrs. R. Bayes of chroy, Mrs. E. McKendry of Toronto, Mrs. J. l‘cm‘son of ’l'liornhill, Miss Georgina Green of Kemplville, Mrs. G. Hunt of Enling, England, The committee in charge of the programme for the Conference re- quested greetings from the hends of states which have organizations nï¬'ili- ated with the A.C.\\'.W. The Hon. Mitchell F. Hepburn, Premier of On- turin, sent the following: “Greetings from the Premier of On- turin to the Triennial Conference of the Associated Country \Vomen of the “’orld. I am very happy to extend to the Associated Country Women of the World greetings from the Province of Ontario, Cnnuda. Possibly to the out- sido world the ï¬rst thought about On- tnrio is in connection with the famous Niagara Falls. This in turn reminds one of her tremendous water powers and the fact that the Ontario Hydro Electric Ppwer Commission is the lar- gest ubthy-oivned enter rise of its kind in the world. In addition to the huge power loads supplied to cities and towns, Ontario now has nearly 16,000 miles of rural lines, serving one hundred thousand customers at ex- tremely cheap rates. This has done much to improve the conditions under which the country womun has labour- ed as compared with her sister in town. Ontario will also be remembered as the home of Women's Institutes where under Government tutelage they con- tinue to flourish and spread. As a farmer myself, I am glad to commend the work your organization is doing throughout the country districts of the world." Brentwood School, Essex (Eng land), uses ï¬lms as freely as text- books. It has 700 ï¬lms in regular use. English and Scottish schools are, generally speaking, far in advance of Cnnndiun schools in their use of the ï¬lm and radio.