The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

80 years young at Solina WI By M..I. Fraser It's great to be 80 years old especially ifyou‘re in possession ofall your limbs and faculties, and have managed to stay young! And that's the way it is with Solina Women's Institute. The current membershipisn‘t a day older than the small group of ladies (led by Mrs. Wm. Law, and by Mrs. Thos. Baker. their first presidenttwhoattendedthat first meeting, some four generations ago, in January of 1903. A great deal has changed, ofcourse. But on the other hand a great deal hasn‘t, “For Home and Country" is still the motto, and the main focus of atâ€" tcntion. Learning to live better, through greater efficiency and higher skills in homemaking. is still ofprime importance to us. However â€"â€" where once the accent was on pickling and preserving, quilting and soap-making and cheeseapressing â€" the W.l. exten- sion courses now teach sewing with modern synthetics; cooking with microwave ovens; preserving produce by fastâ€"freezing and quick-drying. Concerns are no longer with the pasteurization ofmiik; with smallpox or diptheria immunization for school Foreign Greetings 1. Ziny WestebringMuHer. These two picturesque scenes are of Nijverdal, the home of A CWW president The photographs were sent to FWIO by Mrs. Westebrt'ng-Muller with wishes for a merry Christmas and a h a New Year. The reverse of one of the photographs reads asfollo ws: may May Christmas he a peaceful time The New Year bring you much happiness Our Conference in ’83 a great success Love in all your families from old and new friends A world with friendship a friendship that never ends. 20 children. The Institute is concerned about pollution; about teenage drug. and alcohol abuse, about providin' Clean water for people in Third Wort; countries. The goals ofSolina W.I. (as outlii ed in the Mary Stewart COHCL' haven’t changed: “Let us be large i thought, in word, in deed .,." Whe we once shippEd bales of hand-k1. socks and sweaters to fighting mi overseas, and tons of home-grov produce to the depression-ravagt prairies, members now send money provide education for unde privileged children in impoverish countries; boxes of Christmas gifts t. under-privileged families in Canao The emphasis on education hasr changed. Eighty years ago those fit Solina W.I. members worked for broader education for their daughte wider opportunities for all th children. They helped establish [ Solina Community Library for the, Today members continue to spont- 4H Homemaking clubs; to help pi vide scholarships for girls taki Home Economics training; to rewa all young 4H members in the co, munity for their achievements. A they continue to support the work Solina Community Library. The Solina Women’s Institute is s‘ socially responsible for its commui ty, as it has always been. It contribut to the support ofEldad Church; tot community hall, and the park besi- it. It hosts a shower for each new bri and a presentation for each newi married young man in the commui ty. It attends to the ill and the lonei as well as to such things as canC drives. It provides the willing han- and practical help in time of deep so row, as well as in times ofgreat rejc cing â€" such as in anniversaries an homecomings and successful soco seasons. And 80th birthday parties‘ So what has changed, then? Just the faces. And the progran emphasized in a changing world. It no longer strictly “rural” â€" member commute to urban centres to work a salespersons and bank tellers, teacher and nurses. The Institute is adaptin: itself to the needs. The annual bazaar, with its lorLL' winter months of knitting and needlework, has long since given way to the popular Casserole Luncheon. continued to p. 23