1930 - Annual Convention Report

              60 A L B E R T A W O M E N ' S I N S T I T U T ES
WOMEN'S INSTITUTE GIRLS* CLUB WORK
Mrs. J. Macgregor Smith, Edmonton, Supervisor.
F r om the reports that we receive each month the Women's Institute Girls'
Clubs have been very active during the last year. A number of new clubs
have been formed, the last one being at T h o r h i l d ; a number of strays have
come back into the fold and we are very much pleased. We now have on our
mailing list the names of the Secretaries of 68 clubs. There should be twice
that number. If each Women's Institute had one member who had the time
and the vision to see what could be done in Alberta with our girls we could
easily have twice the number of clubs at next Convention time.
The girls are anxious to organize; there is work to be done but owing
to the lack of leaders we are marking time, but it is not so with other organ­izations.
If for one year the Women's Institutes would concentrate on getting
leaders and then help the leader to get the time to give to the girls you
would be surprised to find what could be accomplished by the girls for
Women's Institute work in Alberta.
We want your whole hearted support; we would like to get more letters
like this one from Mrs. F . B . Moore, Convener, Red Deer, Innisfail and West
Constituency:
' W e have no Girls' Clubs but four of our Women's Institutes are sending
at least four girls to the next Women's Institute Girls' Clubs Convention in
Calgary."
Our Convention held at St. Joseph's College in Edmonton last July was
a great success. This year we will meet in Calgary at Mount Royal College,
J u l y 2nd to 7th inclusive. An interesting and educational program has been
planned. I wish to emphasize the training class for leaders and senior groups
held at this time. We published our Convention report in magazine form as
a new venture last year; this met with great success. We intend repeating
the effort this year. We would like more support from the members of the
Women's Institutes. Our magazine is 25 cents a copy and we would like you
to order as soon as possible from our Secretary, Miss Minnie Tyler, Alliance,
so that we may get some idea regarding the number to be published.
Through the generosity of the Women's Institute Council I have been
able to visit the District Conferences held at Drumheller, Lethbridge and
Edmonton, speaking on girls' club work. Through this effort we have been
able to get District Supervisors of Women's Institute Girls' Clubs appointed.
Mrs. Fred Norton, Coaldale, for District No. 4.
Mrs. J. A . Rodell, Wetaskiwin, for District No. 3.
Mrs. W. A . Brown, Paradise Valley, for District No. 2.
Miss Libby Lloyd, Waskateneau, acting for District No. 1.
There is not any definite outline of work for these supervisors; at present
they are to try to visit the clubs in their districts and to organize new clubs;
in short to do what the Provincial Supervisor would do if she could get
around to visit the different clubs.
We have outlined a program for the use of the clubs; it is the beginning
of a course in Household Science, emphasizing the care of clothing this year.
We hope each club will make use of this new program. Our Publicity Con­vener,
Jean Blewett Jr., has had weekly reports in four Alberta papers.
We believe that our clubs develop important qualities in girls, good
fellowship, loyalty and co- operation. Having the words of our motto " For
Home and Country" before us, let us strive to bring into our Junior organiza­tion
every eligible girl in the community. I wish the Women's Institutes