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Volume 14 MY IMPRESSION OF THE NORTH ll'imll‘lbuied by Mrs. J. R. Futchcr) (In September 8, 9 and 10 I had the iluasurc and experience of attending- i in conventions in our Northland, the hrs! a one-day convention at Little iin-rent, Manitoulin Island and the wound a two-day convention at Sanlt rm, Marie, combining the Districts oi mum and St. Joseph’s Island. It . my first trip north past the Mus- Lukas and I thought you might enjoy wing along with me. We (Miss Lewis and I) took a ‘ Aper out of Toronto at 11.35 pm. .iiil early morning found us an hour .mil 3 half’s run out of Sudbury anJ . n on the observation platform. bask- m: in the early sunlight and marvel]- w: at the rugged and beautiful sur- I windings. In many places the C.P.R. i .gulbed was hewn through solid rock .1IHI we went through many cuts with iw rocks towering over us. Bii: rocks . re strewn all along the way, jagged lill piled at every angle. Behind were Hill.» of large, bare rocks, wooded w here the trees could find a place to writ. These bald, bare hills are very i illi’th in evidence in the Sudbury Dis- u: . \\:e waited a few minutes on the lotion platform for our train to «Ii-Iterrow. on our way to Manitoulin ind. Past Sudbury. through foliage w Jacklpine, spruce and birch, you izltch glimpses of lakes nestled in the hollows and the' next minute you are int of the forests and going along the i isle of one. You see loons and wild ‘urks out from shore divine (or fish ud swimming along gracefully on the beautifully clear blue water. You pass rulated homesteads with small barns Jul maybe five or six cattle grazing 'l the handkerchief fields spread out .ii the rocks. In all the way to Moe l.crr0\v we saw only two grain fields Ill shockâ€"one a splendid crop for any locality in Southern Ontario and the niher, short and poor. This is not lill'mlng land but rather a wooded urea with bald, bold, desolate. rock mrlnation and myi'iads of beautiful, blue lakes. ‘ In the smaller lakes you see log momsâ€"for this is pulpwood territory :iud you see it piled high in many places in the regulation-size lo: of 4": feet. ‘ Brightly painted summer cottages here and there rim the small lakes and you have a swift feeling of envy for the fresh fish dinners these vacation- ists inus_t enjoy alon with fresh blue- berry IJIE, which fruit, on low bushes, Is Ientiful here. _ ll along the track you notice rocks, piled around fence posts and telephone Posts. to keep them upright and in position as there is no soil to support them. {\t McKerrow we changed to a train L'Oing south to Manitoulin. To reach Little Current, which is on the N_orth Channel looking over to the District of Algoma on the mainland, ."0‘1 Pass over islands which the C.P.R. has bridged. It is amazing the way the track circles and bonds as it skirts islands and lakes. A trainman told me that in some places here the engineer shakes hands with the man on the caboose. You can almost imagine it happening. It is exceedingly pictures- que and scenic country, lakes every where and here and there logging settlements and summer homes. Lateâ€" ly these bridges have been plunked and are used for motor travel as well. There is only one train a day in and out of McKerrow. Our companions on the. coach were Indians who sat. in their seats, stolid arid unconimunigm- tive. It‘ ‘is is‘ lovely ride, the green hillâ€" Published by The Ontario Women’s Institutes at Toronto 2. Ontario SUDBL‘RY ('(INVENI‘I In the front row 'Jl'e the executive I)III Mrs. J. R. I-‘utcher and .\Irs. Laura . ALL. 1948 NORTHERN CONVENTIONS BRING INSPIRATION AND GROUP and special speakers. ephcn centre l’rout. MANI'I'OI'IJN CONVENTION Manitoulin Indies busy preparing noon luncheon for convention group take time out to have their picture taken with Mr. Cotton. Agricultural Reprm senlalive for “ll' Island. sides turning to yellow and, here and there. an isolated tree in its brilliant red autumn foliage. The lakes vary, adding to the travellers' interest. Some are shallow at the shoreline and choked with rushes, weeds and water lilies. Others are deep at the water‘s edge and quietly mirror the shoreline. We reached Little Current about 3 pm. From our hotel windows we could see the Northern Passago'and the District of Algoma. To our right, on an island off from Manitoulin, are great piles of coal brought here by boat from the United States .and dumped ready to be taken by rail to the nickel refineries at Sudbury. Manitoulin Convention The convention started the next morning at 10 with 86 presentâ€"all 20 Branches represented. Rural women of Manitoulin are keenly Interested in Institute work and their reports show splendid personal and community effort. Women's Institute_dav, cattle sale day and the fall fair days are im ortant days on the Island. _ ese are a few of the outstanding thoughts I gleaned from the well- summarized reports: "What we make of our homes is more important than what our homes are made of". “Happy homes do not happen. they are the result of combined efl’ort", “Let your light shine‘Mudcsty can be a doubtful virtue". “Institutes housecleiin munitics". After the convention closed one of the members took us for u drive into the country to a high point where the scenery would be comparable to any place in Canada. We saw where silica deposits are mined for use in smelting and in the tempering of steel. The residue, 8 very fine sand. is used in the making of glass. We saw the famed Manitoulin cattle and great Ilocks of turkeys. The people are thankful for two cold storage lockers, recently installed on the island, aiding them to preserve their food. The residents are hopeful that more industries will be estab- lished here. They want jobs for their boys and girls on the island. Catering to the wants of the tourists is a major industry on Manitoulin. Outside of the the coin- IMPETUS TO HOME and COUNTRY N i'nber 3 INSTITUTE WORK tourist trade and the mining of silica, agriculture predominates. 0n the morning of the 9th we said gambliye to Manitoulin, with its friendly. interesting people and drove on n beautiful bright morning alom: the winding scenic highway back to McKerrnw, then by train to Sault Ste. Marie uiul another convention. Algoniu Convention Here again I was delighted at the capoqu way our woineu presided at the sessions and amazed at their rigour. earnestness and accomplish» merits in these lei‘i‘lturios of isolated communities. These are some of the thoughts glcnncd' 1. A member rni. I €300 in a summer by making dill pickles and supplying them to the hotels. 2. The convener of agriculture passed along the slognn “clover seed in every grain drill [but goes to the field". :I. What edui‘otion children fail to get in the home and school, they will get on the street. 4. Ilussia is us she is because of the lack of opportunity to practice rvh- Eiuus beliefs. 5. Each Institute keeps “Home and Country" on tile for reference, ouch sci-rotary pussiug such file on to suc- reason 6. Suuit Ste, .\l:irie IIniI, Star has n column for Institute activities handed by our Cit-st. ’T. Institutes in this area present ouch new baby with u bank mount of one IIUIIIII'. B. In both these convention areas they Iiai‘o the [iii-r- custom of letting their Vil'u-presldl'iit or Lust ‘iv: president preside ul some of the s 'ons. After the . ions ue hull time for :i short to the city. We saw the “Sim” Iin iiid ilriwi- around the mnjiir inilust , the bi}: Aluunni Steel Mills. I want to mil yuu smut-thing nr int st uhniit . Joseph's Island. The Ins itntes help In. Iutuin the Red Cross H spitul thi-re. It was built hy it $2,000 gift of iin Islnnil tnurisl resi- (Ieul in memory of her husband. The Institutes iuuku one big eiTort ouch your for IIH' lnlilnii‘lllllll'l' funds. In onv night they I': sod $500 by stnrliiii: n oil with l] (liliivr followed by on our- tiun sale. to which everyone donated. The Island is unique in (Sriniulu for its health scheme. They have u resi- ilt-nl doctor on the Island. I‘Tuch {iiinily subscribes to his salary nnil the rate is reasonable-$2.50 per Iumily. They advertise it no the only place in Can- nilii where you can have a baby for $2.50. Every Institute is doing a splendid jnh, adequately meeting the need of the community and working toward a worthwhile future. Then, on September '23, Miss Lewis and I "took to the North again" for the conventions of Sudburv. Rainy River and Kirkland Lake. The one and a hull‘ doy Convention at Sudbury come first A panel discussion on “Members of the Women's Institute Serving in the Present” was one of the highlights or, the sessions. It was emphasized that Women’s Institute meetings should possess “dignit, With- out too much formality" and chit-chat should he he t until the social half- hourâ€"we don t get results in our work if we don’t plan wellâ€"leave criticism and jealousy at homeâ€"in your com- niunit work remember the member with limited income and don't attempt too much or you will discourage mom< bershi . In our work we must reniem. hcr c arnctcr building is the most iin ortant thing In life. Touoh‘ our children the principles of good citizen- ship for to-day's children are to- morrow’s citizens. The reports were outstanding in arrangement and ex- ceptionally noteworthy in effort and (Continued on page 2 col. 2)