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Proof of a good press secretary is the ability to get her Women's Institute news out of the "neighbor notes" column and into a headline story either on the 10:31 page or on the first page of her community newspaper. Editors get weary of the usual offering that be- gins "The Women‘s Institute of Homer’s Corners met at the home of Mrs. Harry Homemaker with fourteen members present. The roll call was answered by each member giving her waistline measurement and paying a penny for each inch. Minutes of the last meeting were read and ap- proved . , ." and so on down the usual du]! routine listing of motions moved and passed‘ In that roll call lies the kernel of the whole meeting and out of that came a little feature story hat made members remember that Institute, gave l, member who was sitting back and listening a -hance to write a neat little idea that was picked up by a paper in a nearby town and appeared on he editorial page. Thus the local Institute was :iven a press report that really got around. Here is the story that appeared in the local .iper: “Iarratt. A penny an inch for waistline measure- ‘iBI'IIS brought several dollars into the treasury of he JarratbCreighton Women‘s Institute when members answered the roll call at a recent meet- ig. “Out came the tapeline and in went the tummies \ each member tried to cut her money losses and hen it was all over Madame Treasurer had quite heap of pennies on the table," This story was picked up by the Midland Free ress Herald and brought forth the following iitorial: “The waistline, seemingly a minor piece of data - wmbined with those 35-25-38 figures coming out -" Hollywood and Italy recently, came into its - .vn when Jarratt Women‘s Institute met. Mem- ‘Icrs were required to pay a penny for each inch i waistline We know some men around Midland ho would pay a pretty penny under such terms. Fell, let‘s go girls! Up-one~two-three; down-one lie-three?“ Then in Letters to the Editor, the Herald ran ., :18: “Dear Editor â€" In reply to your editorial on "ie Jarratt-Creighton Women's Institute waistline, * * * A CREED By Edwin Markham There is a destiny that makes us brothers; None goes his way alone: All that we send into the lives of others Comes back into our own. I care not what his temples or his creeds. One thing holds firm and fastâ€" Thar into his fateful heap of days and deeds The soul of man is cast. PAM. 1959 Roll Calls With Colour By Margaret I. R. Lackie * i * TO THE STRANGER IN CHURCH In the vestibule of the Anglican Church of St. John the Evangelist in Edinburgh there is this handvlcttered, framed message to the stranger attending a service. Mrs. Penn of the Ontario delegation to the A.C.\\7.\V. Con erence saw it first and copied it for me.â€"-Editor. If after kirk ye hide a wee There's some may like to speak to ye: If after kirk ye rise and flee \Ve'll all seem cauld and stiff to ye. The one that's in the seat with ye ls stranger here than you, may he. Add you your soul to others' prayers An' be our angel unawares. * *' it may I say ‘Hollywood, here we come‘. When all the pennies were in, and the number divided by the number of members present, the result was an average waist of 26.7 inches. Does that figure not give the lie to the general belief that most farm women are, shall we say, ‘rotund'? This should prove that almost nothing goes to waste, or waist, on the farm. “So, here's to the busy farm wife and her ups and downs, not always of the up-one-two-three- down-two-three variety. Secretary - treasurer, Jarratt-Creighton Women's Institute," See what I mean about an alert press reporter? 3is its it Advantages of life in grandmother's day came in for a bit of a setback when Mrs. James Cook of Creighton, a member of forty~five years‘ standing in the Women‘s Institute, answered the roll call at the Iarratt-Creighton meeting. Other members had given answers to the effect that grandmother had things pretty cozy, what with no rock-and-roll blaring forth from the radio, a slower pace, no automobiles tearing past school and home at breakneck speeds and raising a cloud of dust over everything, more visiting as a family unit, and so on. “I think life today is pretty nice," spoke up Mrs. Cook, who admits to at least eighty years of age. "I thought it lovely today to be picked up in a comfortable car and driven to this meeting. My. it was a lot more comfortable than bouncing along in the heat and dust behind a yoke of oxen, I like the modern methods of heating and having water on tap, and I like the radio and television too." Mrs. Cook finished up her roll call answer by adding that she hoped the next hUndred years would see as many improvements as the last. The final answer to the roll call came in a quiet voice from the corner, “There were no telephones in those days and gossip didn't travel quite so fast." 27