1931 - Annual Convention

              A L B E R T A W O M E N ' S I N S T I T U T ES
I should like to take a minute or two to tell you how we arranged this
curtailment. This was done very carefully and with a view to making every
dollar we had to spend go as far as it possibly could. W e went over a l l our
applications, selected those that could be worked in together without long
t r a in and car trips. For instance, we might have had one request for a
sewing demonstration in an area where there were five or six others for bas­ketry,
but would have to cancel the sewing,
We also discarded some of our new courses entirely, such as the rug
making, leather work, paintex and gesso. These we decided would be best to
hold over in a body for another season.
We are very s o r r y to have had to disappoint any organization, and I can
sincerely say that we hope to be able to give special concession to those
organizations we had to refuse this year. We are keeping up the standard
of our courses, our demonstrators have been selected with the usual care, and
I am pleased to say that I feel sure we shall give entire satisfaction to the
organizations we are able to grant courses to.
We are asking all organizations h a v i n g a course to make a special effort
not to cancel unless it is absolutely impossible to carry on. Cancellations upset
our i t i n e r a r i e s ; they are expensive and disappointing to the demonstrator and
to the Bureau. Therefore, I ask the co- operation of your organizations in
a v o i d i n g cancellations when at all possible.
There is one other phase of the work of the Alberta Women's Bureau
which I must not overlook. We have a District Worker amongst the new
Canadians in the Vegreville area. Her duties are to assist the women in
a d o p t i n g up- to- date methods of c a r r y i n g on their household duties and in
b r i n g i n g up their families. This worker is a new Canadian herself, so that
she has that point of contact with the people she works with. She carries
out her work by personal contact, meetings, etc. She gives instruction in
sewing, foods and cookery, canning, pickling, care of the children, diets for
children, etc. She is meeting with a very great measure of success in this
work, and the Government feels that it is money and time well spent.
F a rm Women's short courses are being held at the Schools of A g r i c u l t u re
again this year— Olds, J u l y 13- 17, and V e r m i l i o n , August 3- 7. The Department
was very much pleased with the result of these courses last year and we hope
we shall have your co- operation in p u t t i n g them over as successfully this
season.
In closing my remarks on the work of the Women's Bureau. I wish to
leave this message w i t h every delegate to take home to her own local organ­ization.
The Women's Bureau of this province is maintained by government
funds to serve the women of this province in any way possible. So long as
I am at the head of the branch no effort w i l l be spared to serve you to the
very best of my ability. If you have any suggestions to make I shall always
be glad to hear them and to give t h em my attention even though I should be
unable to put them into effect. I hope and trust the good fellowship and
c o - o p t r a t i o n between the organizations you represent and the one I represent
w i l l continue to grow. My best wishes go with you for continued success
and prosperity.