The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The-Women's Institute...Do you know that...? Person 1: The author and origin of the Institute Ode are unknown. It has been reported that it was used by the ”Sons of Tenperance" Lodge in stroud, Simcoe County in the late 70's. Person 2: "We thank Thee Father for Thy Care Food, Friends, and kindliness we share. May we forever mindful be Of Home and Country and of Thee.” , This grace was composed by Mrs. Clara Lintell of City View and Merivale Institute. The tune is "Old Hundred". It was submitted to the Provincial Board by the Ottawa Area for consideration at the Annual Meeting Novenber 1950. The Board recommended that this Grace by used at Women's Institute functions. Person 3: Mary Stewart, author of the Collect, was.born in 1876, in the State of Ohio, and' noved with her parents to Georgetown, Colorado when quite young. She wrote the Collect as a prayer for the day, and later in 1904 she offered it for publication. It was first printed in the "Delineator" a women's magazine nationally popular at the time. Miss Stewart called it a "Collect for Club Women" because she felt that women working togethe" with wide interests for large ends was a new_thing. While visiting in England, she spent some time with Mrs. Alfred Watt, president of the Associated Country Women of the World. In the studio of Robin Watt, the artist son of Mrs. Watt, Miss Stewart personally.supervised his work of -copying out the prayer. Person 4: In the early days of the organization, the Women's Institute conventions were held at Guelph known as the Royal City because Guelph was the family name of Queen Victoria. For this1*eason, purple and gold, the royal colours, swmbolizing loyalty and royalty, were chosen for the Women's Institute. Through the years, it was found that the purple colour was difficult to obtain in ribbon or paper, so blue often had to be substituted and the purple- was gradually replaced by blue. Now blue and gold are accepted as the official colours of the Women's Institutes in Ontario. The dark blue of the cornflower is considered the nearest shade in blue. Person 5: In Feburary, 1903, a committee was appointed to arrange for an emblematic badge for Institutelmembers. Again, Laura Rose Stephen provided the idea. She drew a sketch from a signet ring which she wore and said,_"If we could have the initials of our institute, O.W.I., in the centre, it would be fine". The maple leaves were not included. This sketch was sent to Ryries, who made two or three designs. From these our badge was selected so we have our Institute pin, a small oval in blue and gold with a small maple leaf at each end and the words of our nptto engraved on the oval banding. The National badge of the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada is a square badge with the design enamelled on it.- The badge of the Associated Country Wonen of the World - the international organization has four points which represent the North, South, East and West. Person 6: ’At a convention held at Guelph, the subject of a motto was discussed and several members were asked to submit a suitable one. Mrs. Adelaide Hoodless and Miss Urie Watson, Dean of Macdonald Institute were chosen to be the judges. Laura Rose Stephen relates that, as she sat in the back of the parlor of her mother's home, in Guelph, that evening, she penned four words "For Home and Country". Later it was the decision of the judges that these four words be our motto. This was in 1902. Speaking at a later tine, Mrs. Stephen said, "Do not stray too far from the first phrase of our motto â€" For Homeâ€" and devote too WUCh time to the Second phrase â€"and Country . The first is the foundation on which the second is built. Person 7: From 1923 to 1930, Annual Reports of Women's Institute work were printed and distributed to the Branches. Also News Bulletins and circulars were sent out. The first edition of che and Country appeared in May, 1933. It was a four page bulletin. With Volume . «##18, Summer 1952, our official publication assumed ”A New Look" and Miss Chapman was welcomed! ' “BAER as Editor of Home and Country. She continued with this important"work for many years? and our members are justly proud of our finelmagazine and of the valuable contriubution whic MiSs Chapman has made to the Ontario Women's Institute. The fall of 1992 issue of the Hon Country was the first issue published by the FWIO, independently of the Ontario Ministrf of Agriculture and Food. The editor is Janine Roelens-Grant. J Person 8: Lady Tweedomuir was the wife of a Governor-General of Canada. She was extremek interested in the work of the Women's Institute and had been president of a branch in Englanc and also a County president. While in Canada, she attended Branch meetings and conventions and frequently gave talks to the members. She accepted the office of Honourary Pre31dent 0' F.W.I.O. and was later made an Honourary Life Menber. Speaking at the biennial meeting o‘ the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada in Toronto in 1937, she said, The Women: Institutes are not relief or welfare agencies and should not be used by every institutior that wants money. Keep your money for your own work, let it-come first." She also said tha‘1 Women's Institute members have a part to play in pronpting peace. She suggested that tht Branches compile Community Histories. Later, at the request of the Prov1nc1al Board, she suggested that they be called Tweedsmuir Histories, and she wrote the Foreword for the books .1 /