1939 - Convention Report

              T W E N T Y - F I R S T PROVINCIAL CONVENTION 7
MINUTES OF THE TWENTY- FIRST CONVENTION OF THE
ALBERTA WOMEN'S INSTITUTES
Following: a meeting- of the Council, Conveners of Standing- Committees
and Constituency Conveners, some three hundred and fifty delegates and
visitors, representing Women's Institutes from Hines Creek to Milk River,
assembled in the main dining room of the Macdonald Hotel, Edmonton, for
the formal opening of the twenty- first Provincial Convention, on Tuesday,
October 10th, 1939. Mrs. Wm. Stewart, President, and Mrs. M . L . Thompson,
Vice- President, were the presiding officers.
The session opened promptly at 1: 30 p. m. with the singing of " 0 Canada,"
followed by the Invocation and Creed led by Mrs. W. H . Fleming, of Alliance,
who was the first Vice- President of the Provincial Organization.
After expressing thankfulness that our Provincial President had been
spared from her terrible experiences on the Athenia, Mi's. Thompson
introduced Mrs. Wm. Stewart who welcomed the delegates, extended greetings
and best wishes for a successful Convention and also expressed her grate­fulness
for being spared to meet with us. This was a happy beginning to a
very happy Convention.
His Worship Mayor F r y brought greetings from the City of Edmonton
and congratulated the women on their punctuality. He told of the many
places of interest in Edmonton, and invited the delegates to especially try
to visit the two new stores, the finest in the west.
A very sincere welcome and hearty greetings from the Edmonton
Women's Institute were brought by the President, Mrs. A . H. Rogers, who
also presented the Convention with a large basket of beautiful flowers from
the local Branch. She expressed the hope that the Convention would be
crowned with a full measure of success.
Mrs. J . P. Ferguson, Trochu, Past President of the Alberta Women's
Institutes, i n bringing greetings, stated that the work of our organization
during her term of office, was that of building- up after a depression, but
that now we were meeting under different conditions. She voiced the thought
that the World War could not have been won without the Women's Institutes
and that the best service that we can give during this war is to build up the
back lines, SO' that the morale in the front lines may not waver.
In bringing greetings from the kindred Provincial Organization of the
I. O. D. E., Mrs. R. C. Marshall, President, first expressed gratefulness for
Mrs. Stewart's safe return to Alberta. She told of the wonderful patriotic
work done by the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire and of the
number of boys and girls who have won scholarships awarded by her
organization.
Mrs. Scott, of Kinsella, replied very fittingly to these addresses of
welcome.
The following were appointed by the President to serve on the
Resolution Committee: Mrs. C. Lynch Staunton, Lundbreck; Mrs. Wm.
MacDonald, Scollard, and Miss Vera Walker, Thorhild.
On the Nomination Committee, the following were appointed: Mrs. T .
McGarry, Drumheller; Mrs. B. Silverthorne, Bindloss, and Mrs. W. J.