1928 - Annual Convention

              F O U R T E E N T H A N N U A L C O N V E N T I O N 19
On Thursday evening a banquet was held at the University, where we
listened to delightful stories told by Mrs. Grace MacLeod Rogers, of l i t e r a ry
fame, also to a splendid address on Canada given by our own Mrs. Rogers. A
dinner was given on F r i d a y night i n H a l i f a x at the Waegnoltic Club by the
Department of Natural Resources. This delightful club is beautifully situ­ated
on the north- west arm of the harbour, and M r . Truman, of the Natural
Resources Department, and Mrs. Truman were a most charming host and
hostess. Another courtesy extended by the same department was a two-hour
sail around Bedford Basin on Saturday morning, which brought this
interesting convention to a close. This sail was taken in such an interesting
boat as the mine- sweeper Festubert, that had seen service in the recent war.
Thus was spent a week f i l l e d with work and pleasure, a week which
helped in a v e r y material way to more f i r m l y weld the links of the chain of
nine provinces which comprise Canada. Such gatherings give both east and
west a more sympathetic understanding of the problems with which each
has to deal, and if no other work had been accomplished at this conven­t
i o n than the fostering of a more united national spirit, even so the con­vention
would have been worth while. .
A f t e r you have listened at this convention to reports of district directors
and conveners of standing committees, you w i l l be able to estimate, in part,
the value the Women's Institutes have been in the different communities.
We trust that each year this work w i l l grow, but if we are to maintain the
efficiency of the work we must remain strictly non- partizan and non-sectarian.
I fear that i n several branches we are straying f r om that clause
i n the constitution: " L e t us leave our church work to church organizations
and thus maintain the Women's Institutes for community good, which
includes w o r k i n g f o r people of a l l denominations."
The general response to the recommendations of your president at last
year's convention to stress throughout the year child welfare and musical
and l i t e r a r y t r a i n i n g for our young people has been most gratifying, especi­a
l l y the child welfare work.
F o r the coming year I recommend that we take for the key- note of our
activities and education the lowering of the maternal death- rate.
We have before us a year fraught with many changes for our organiza­tion.
On J u l y 1st the Alberta Women's Bureau Act, which was passed
d u r i n g the last session of the A l b e r t a Legislature, comes into force. On
that date the entire status of A l b e r t a Women's Institutes w i l l be changed.
We shall then become entirely responsible for our own organization. Our
financial obligations w i l l be much heavier, as it means, for one thing, the
establishing of our own office and a paid secretary. For the coming year
we must at least double our contributions to our provincial fund if we are
to carry on our work as efficiently as it is being carried on at the present
time.
REPORT OF DISTRICT No. I
( Mrs. Boyd, Vanrena, Director)
There are three constituencies in this district: Grande Prairie, Mrs.
Clubine, convener; Peace River, Mrs. Speakman, convener; Grouard, Mrs.
Dickson, convener; one isolated branch, that of Fort McMurray, and two
G i r l s ' Clubs, one at McLennan, the other at Grande P r a i r i e.
Many new settlers are coming to us. In the school at Vanrena, where
I am chairman of the board, we have 17 new pupils, most of whom are
foreigners. To welcome these people and make them good Canadians will
provide much work for our Institutes. Splendid reports have been received
f r om nine branches in Grande P r a i r i e constituency, namely, Equity, Wembley,
Hermit Lake, Scenic Heights, Sexsmith, Lower Beaver Lodge, Red Willow,
F l y i n g Shot and Grande P r a i r i e . Each branch is active in its own com­munity,
providing Xmas trees for the children, improving the cemeteries,
conducting a tree- planting campaign and holding baby clinics, there being
68 babies examined at one of these clinics, the purchasing of a hospital
bed, to be loaned to anyone in the community who may need it, a l l seem
v e r y worthy accomplishments. Lower Beaver Lodge invites the foreign-speaking
women to join that institute. A member from Wembley has