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Home & Country: Past, Present and Future By Jan irte Roelens-Granl The Women’s Institute News Bulletin The first Women’s Institute News Bulâ€" letin was published in 1924. The 4vpage Bulletin was produced by the Women‘s Inâ€" stitute Branch ofthc Ontario Department of Agriculture. Three copies were sent to each Branch: one to the President; one to the Secretary; and one to the Convenors. There was no Editor listed in this Bul- letin. But the name of Mr. Putnam appeared as the Superintendent of Women‘s In- stitutes, with Ethel Chapman as the Assisâ€" tant Superintendent. The Home and Country In 1933, a new 4-pagc publication called the Home and Country replaced the News Bulletin. It too was published by the Women's Institute Branch in co-Operatinn with the Department of Agriculture, and through contributions from the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario (FWIO). Again, there was no Editor named; but an Editorial Committee offour had been estab- lished. The purpose of the Home and Country was was outlined in 1933 as follows: - to stimulate a keener interest in the general work of the Institutes; ' to assist the officers in making the ac- tivities ofeach Branch ofreal education- al value to the members; ' to encourage wholesome social under- takings; - and, to enable the members to render worthwhile service to the community. The circulation ot'the Home and Country was limited. Copies were sent free to each Branch and District President and Secretary. the officers of the provincial Board, the convention area Chairmen and Secretaries, Chairmen of the standing com- mittees for the various conventions, and the leaders of rural women’s organizations in other provinces and countries. Branch Secretaries could obtain extra copies ofthe Home and Country for individual members from the Parliament Buildings in Toronto for a nominal fee of 10 cents each. The Home and Country was printed on an irregular basis the first few years. 115 format was oversized - 10 1/2 x 13 3/4 inches - and it was printed in black and white. in the NovemberfDecember 1933 issue the first photograph appeared: a pic- ture of the Women's Institute Provincial Board of course. A notice published in the August 1934 edition of the Home and Country stated that Branch Secretaries should have received 4 H & C January, February. March 1992 enough copies to give to each individual member. But, it is not clear when this prac- tice became widespread. A I Beginning in 1935. the deetston was made to publish the Home and Country as a quarterly, with issues in January. April, July, and October. It remained much the same - a 4â€"page quarterly, oversized in for- mat, with few photographs - until the mid- 1940s. At this time it increased to an 8-page quarterly with several photographs. There were no radical changes in the Home and Country until 1952. An Editor, separate from the Editorial Committee, was named for the first time in 1952.Miss EthelChapman,who began with the Women’s institute Branch in 1922, was now welcomed as Editor of the Home and Country. And under Miss Chapman a "new look" commenced with the Summer issue. This "new look" included 24 pages, a smaller magazine format - 6 3/4 x 9 3/4 inches in size, the use of a cover with color on it, and lots of photographs. The Home and Country was now issued three times a year - winter, summer and fall. It remained a joint publication of the FWIO. the Women's Institute Branch and the Ontario Department of Agriculture until 1957. Beginning with the Winter 1957 issue, howâ€" ever, it was published by the Ontario Department of Agriculture in the interests of the Federated Women's Institutes ofOn- tario. With a few exceptions - the inclusion of more pages, up to 56 at times, and the appointment of Maryn Partly in 1967 as Editor - there was little change in the production of the Home and Country until 1974. After the sudden death of Maryn Pardy in the early fall of 1973. Margaret Zoeller became Editor. Once again, the Home & Country took on a different look. The Fall 1973 issue became larger in size - 8 1/2 x 11 inches - and a slightly different nameplate was designed for the front cover. The new 32-page publication continued to be printed three times a year. in the late 19705, there were a few more changes. In 1978 the use of color appeared on the inside of the magazine. In 1979 the number of pages decreased to 24. And in 1980, the Home & Country returned to being a quarterly publication. Carol Stewart-Kirkby took on thejob as Editor in 1983. The Home & Country was now published by the Rural Organizations and Services Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF). By the midâ€"19805 a more fundamental change in the Home & Country took place. To address the need for "a provincial n working tool for all rural/farm worm OMAF outlined the objectives of the Ho & Country as fo|10wsr 1. to provide a communications [ink ., tween rural women’s groups in 0 tario; 2. and. to provide educational matcri relating to organizational and i dividual leadership development, To accommodate all rural women’s 0 ganizations, the Home & Country Editori Committee was revived to include rep . sentatives from each group. In the last five years the format oft magazine has undergone several chang Beginning with the Spring issue in 19881 first French language article appeared. Th fall, due to budget cuts, the magazi- decreased to a lé-page publication andt use of color was discontinued. The Home. C0untry took on the look it has today. Women’s Institute work was extensive documented in the Home & Country, es cially in the earlier decades. Annual me ings. committee and officers‘ reports, a program planning ideas were outlined 1 detail over the years. One issue lists all i the WI contributions during the WW II a fort, for instance. The WI member on lh page has gathered the harvest from her Vi tory Garden. For their Golden Anniversa ‘ WI members celebrated with a poster co 1 petition. Then there was the first Office Conference in 1949. But the Home 1 continued on pay