History Supplement of the Alberta Women's Institutes

              HISTORY SUPPLEMENT OF THE ALBERTA WOMEN'S INSTITUTE
MRS. JOSEPH ( MARTHA P.) BIELISH
" artha Bielish is a homemaker,
a farmer's wife, a clubwoman
and a concerned citizen. The
Bielishs have one married son, a
sculptor and three grandchildren.
She is a teacher by profession
and does substitute teaching in the
County of Smoky Lake whenever
she is available.
She served two terms on the
Board of the Smoky Lake School Di­vision,
prior to the formation of the
County by Order- in- Council. As a
school trustee she was elected to the
executive of Zone 2 of the Alberta
School Trustee Association and then
became its President. She rep­resented
the Zone at Provincial and
National meetings, attended School
Administration Courses and Princi­pals
Association Meetings.
In June 1959, Martha Bielish ran in the Provincial Election, the
first woman to run for the Progressive Conservative Party in Alber­ta,
and although she was not successful she made a good showing at
the polls and claims she has learned a great deal from that experi­ence.
On the Provincial Level, Mrs. Bielish has served on several
Committees and Boards, some of which are:
1. Three years on the Alberta Agricultural Centennial Committee
during which time a film was produced, a book was published, a
cairn was erected and dedicated and " Making Alberta Beauti­ful"
was promoted
Three years on the Provincial Board of the Red Cross
Six years on the Provincial Board of the Canadian Cancer Soci­ety
Assisted with Master Farm Family Judging on the Regional
Level for eight years
Served on the Advisory Board on the Status of Women until
June 1973, when the Board requested to be disbanded. ( Report
was tabled in the Legislature at the 1972 Session)
Served on the Board of the Alberta Council on Aging
Served on the Executive of the Indian- Eskimos Association,
Alberta and N. W. T. Region.
She has been invited to speak from a church pulpit, address a
world gathering of women in Oslo, Norway, participate in a panel at
an Alberta Teachers' Convention ( North Eastern Alberta), address
the Voice of Alberta Native Women's Society at their annual Provin­cial
Convention on two different occasions, and deliver the main
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