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Volume 13 I'dcssed by perfect weather, and sumcssful beyond the fondest dreams of those, who for months had laboured In its organization, the 50th Anni- celebration of the Women’s In- tutes of Ontario, held at the On- i H'II’) Agricultural College, Guelph, on June 18th, was the greatest gather- ing of members of any one women's .nmilllzatloll ever assembled in the l uiinion of Canada. It was an occa- :ion calling for the generous use of . werlntives. Advance estimates ot‘ n'iundance never went higher than with); actually, close to 12,000 meni- hul‘s of Women’s Institutes flocked to miclph, to crowd the campus, create i-ublcms for the 0.A.C. stafi in feed- ing them, and to jam all the parking _ .ice with busses and cars. In all, me 185 chartered busses brought ,lulcgates to Guelph, and three special I'.lin5 were pressed into service. The , unmissariat department of thc worked wonders, because after Lp ring tea-hour bags of sand- ..iches and urns of coffee for some 4100 people, they had to go into .wlion and raise the count to 9,500. .\nd thanks to the efiorts of W. I). IIIIIOII, 0.A.C. Director of Public Re- litions, and his stafl’, they did so \cellent a job of it that they earned the praise of all who were present. The celebration had an interna- 'mnal as well as a national flavour. Delegates Were present from all over 'liitorio, from most of the Provinces of the Dominion, from the United flutes, Great Britain and New Zea- u‘llll. iiitside Ontario who attended were as ‘illl0\\'52 Prince Edward Island, Mrs. lldian Herring; Nova Scotia, Mrs. Elton Smith; Quebec, Mrs. W. C. .\‘inalluian and Mrs. Cameron Dow, I'iist President, F.W.I.C.; Alberta, lrs. E. E. Morton and Mrs. A. B. Mc- H ‘man; Manitoba" Mrs. R. Palmer, mid British Columbia. Mrs. S. E. Gum- niow. Mrs. G. L. Brown and Mrs. W. G. Fenton from Michigan: Lady \\'_0rsley-Taylor from England and lliss Amy Kane, from New Zealand, mlded the international touch to the mothering. AFTERNOON PROGRAMME The scene as the 12,000 women as- sembled on the College campus for the celebration programme was bright mill. colourful. The blue-covered sou- venir programmes in the majority of vases served as sun-shades, and added colour to the tints of the gowns of the women and the green of the grass and beautiful trees. During the noon lunch hour, hundreds of parties settled dow on the campus to eat lunch in p' in style, and to wait for the opening of the proceedings at 1.30 ll-Yli., when Mrs. Hugh Summers of Foothill, President of the Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario, pre» :‘ided over the afternoon of celebra- ion. After the opening speech by Mrs. SummErs, in which she expressed the bride of. all Institute members in the celebration of 50 years of useful serv- 108, Mrs. J obn McCulloch of Brampton, F~W.I.D._ Secretary, read a message of greeting from the Rt. Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada._ Mayor Gordon L. Rife of Guelph ofiieiallynvelcomed the guests to the Royal City. ‘ - l E The Canadian delegates from- HOME and COUNTRY Published by The Ontario Women’s Institutes at Toronto 2, Ontario SUMMER 1947 Hon. Thomas L. Kennedy, Minister of Agriculture, brought greetings from his department. “This is a sight those sitting on this platform will never forget," said Mr. Kennedy. “Many of the amenities of life which have been introduced into our form- ing community are zi direct result of the persistent ell'oi-ts of the clear- thinking women who, down through the years, have given leadership to the Women’s Institute movement. Bet- ter schools, better health services, better community facilities, have been developed because there were Women's Institutes to see the need for them and work unceusingly for them. \V. R. Reek, President of the 0.A.C.. gave a warm message of welcome to the delegates. Anna P. Lewis. Director of the W.’s I. Bra h and Home Econom- ics Service, said that in the fifty years of Women's Institute history, the service had improved but the original aims had not changed. She declared that when the country Women of the world work together for the common good, they could determine the course of world progress and history. “We honour the work of the pion- eers, but we cannot stand still," was the message of Mrs, Cameron Dow. Past President, F.W.I.C. “We must move forward. As the home is, so is the nation. We must strengthen our home life. We are glad to have our Canadian citizenshipâ€"but we want to know how to do more for our country, if necessary to be a thorn in the flesh of our government, as for example urging the immediate implementation of the Archambault report on penal reform." FROM OTHER PROVINCES Then the Provinces were heard, with Mrs. S. E. Gummow speaking for British Columbia, Mrs. E. E. Morton for Alberta, Mrs. It. Palmer for Manitoba, Mrs. W. C Smallman for Quebec, Illrs. Elton Smith for Nova Scotia and Mrs. Julian Herring for Prince Edward Island, Mrs. Morton, in her brief speech, said, ‘Conada, especially in the West, is a inciting- pot of nationalities, and I hope the Women’s Institute can be a melting- pot of democracy. I hope through this organization we can break down bar- riers between the East and the West, both learning to give up a bit, and not to be bitter when we have to give it up.” Mrs. McCulloch read messages from New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, which were not repre- sented. Bringing :i message from the Mother Institute at Stoney Creek, Mrs. W. E. Walker, one of its past presidents, and also past president of the F.W.I.0. and the F.W.I.C., paid tribute to the pioneers. “The women of the first Institute at Stoney Creek,” she said, "were women of rare ability, culture and charm. In fifty years the Institutes have accomplished a great deal, and much of this is due to the solid framework laid by the founders. Their objectives were so good that they appealed to the women of all countries. v Mrs. Laura Rose Stephen, first government lecturer and organizer, sent out on Institute promotion work 47 years ago, and now 'in her 83rd year, spoke in a reminiscent mood, Number 2 WOMEN’S INSTITUTES CELEBRATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY Great Gathering of 12,000 Institute Members Assembled at Guelph, Pay Tribute to Pioneers of 1897 CROWD OF 12,000 With the beautiful administration building of the 0.:\.(‘. as n background. this photograph, taken from the platform, shows part of the crowd :ii the \Nomen's Institute 50th Anniversary Celebration. ,. . * . - L x ANGTI-IER VIEW OF \VJ. CELBRATION CROWD Above is another picture from the roar, showing the huge crowd which enjoyed the pageant of \"nmcil's Inslilule history. THE GRAND FINALE OF THE PAGEANT With representatives of the provinces, the nations of the world, and of youth massed on the stage [or the final scene of the W.l. pageant. Miss Anna F. Lewis, as the spirit of the future, takes up the challenge that comes from the part. Canadian Council of Churches. Mrs. Mrs. F. G. Miller of Hamilton, it past president of the Provincial Council (Continued on Page 2) and advised that leadership must be sound to build for the future. Chan- cellor G. Gilmouz oi McMaster Uni- versity, brought greetings from the