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Home & Country: Past, Present and Future By Janine Realmsâ€"Gran! The Women’s Institute News Bulletin The first Women’s Institute News Bul- letin was published in 1924. The 4-page Bulletin was produced by the Women's In~ stitute Branch ofthe Ontario Department of Agriculture. Three copies were sent to each Branch: one to the President; one to the Secretary; and one to the Convcnors. There was no Editor listed in this Bul- letin. But the name of Mr. Putnam appeared as the Superintendent of Women‘s In- stitutes, with Ethel Chapman as the Assis- tant Superintendent. The Home and Country In 1931a new 4â€"page publication called the Ilome and Country replaced the News Bulletin. It too was published by the Women's Institute Branch in co-operation with the Department of Agriculture. and through contributions from the Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario (FWIO). Again. there was no Editor named; but an Editorial Committee offtiur had been estab- lished. The purpose of the Home and Country was was outlined in l‘)33 as follows; ' to stimulate a keener interest in the general work ofthe Institutes; ' to assist the officers in making the ac- tivities of each Branch ofrcnl education- al value to the members; ' to encourage wholesome social under- takings; ' and. to enable the members to render worthwhile service to the community. The circulation of the Home and Country was limited. Copies were sent free to each Branch and District President and Secretary. the officers of the provincial Board. the convention area Chairmen and Secretaries. Chairmen ol‘ the standing com- mittees for the various conventions. and the leaders ol~ rural women's organizations In other provinces and countries, Branch Secretaries could obtain extra copies of the Home and Country for individual members from the Parliament Buildings in Toronto for a nominal fee of It) cents each. The Home and Country was printed on an irregular basis the first few years. Its format was oversized - ill [/2 x 13 3/4 inches - and it was printed in black and white. In the November/December t933 issue the first photograph appeared; ti pic- ture of the Women's Institute Provincial Board of course. A notiCe published in the August NIH edition ot'the Home and Country stated that Brunch Secretaries should have received enough copies to give to each individual member. But, it is not clear when this prac- tice became widespread. Beginning in t935, the decision was made to publish the Home and Country as a quarterly, with issues in January. April. July, and October. it remained much the same - a 4-page quarterly. OVCI'SlZCd in [PP mat. with few photographs - until the mid- 1940s. At this time it increased to an S-page quarterly with several photographs. There were no radical changes in the Home and Country until I952. An Editor. separate from the Editorial Committee, was named for the first time in 1952. Miss EthelChapman.whoheganwith the Women‘s Institute Branch in 1922. was now welcomed as Editor of the Home and Country. And under Miss Chapman a "new look” commenced with the Summer issue. This "new look" included 24 pages. a smaller magazine format < 6 3/4 x 9 3/4 inches in size. the use ofa Cover with color on it. and lots of photographs The Home and Country was now issued three times a year - winter. summer and fall. [I remained a joint publication of the FWIO. the Women's Institute Branch and the Ontario Department of Agriculture until 1957. Beginningwithtlie Winter 1957 issue. how- ever. it was published by the Ontario Department of Agriculture in the interests ofthe Federated Women’s Institutes ofOn- tario. With a few exceptions - the inclusion of more pages. up to 56 at times. and the appointment of Maryn Partly in 1967 as Editor - there was little change in the production of the Home and Country until 1074. After the sudden death of Maryn Partly in the early fall of 1973. Margaret Zoeller became Editor. Once again. the Home dz Country look on a dilterent look. The Fall W73 issue became larger in size â€" 8 1/2 x it inches - and a slightly different nameplate was designed for the front cover. The new 32-page publication continued to be printed three times a year. In the late l97lls, there were a few more changes. In 1978 the use of color appeared on the inside of the magazine. In 1979 the number of pages decreased to 24. And in [98”. the Home & Country returned to being a quarterly publication. Carol Stewart-Kirkhy took on the job as Editor in 1983. The Home 6" Cnunuy was now published by the Rural Organizations and Services Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF). By the mid-t98tts a more fundamental change in the Home & Country took place. To address the need for “a provincial nei- working 100] for all rural/farm women“ OMAF outlined the objectives of the Home & Country as follows: 1. to provide a communications link be tween rural women’s groups in On- tario; 2. and. to provide educational material relating to organizational and in. dividual leadership development. To accommodate all rural women‘s or- ganizations, the Home & Country Editorial Committee. was revived to include repre- sentatives from each group. In the last live years the format of the magazine has undergone several changes. Beginning with the spring issue in 1988, the first French language article appeared. That fall. due to budget cuts, the magazine decreased to a lfi-pagc publication and the use ofcolor was discontinued. The Home & Country took on the look it has today. Women’s Institute work was extensively documented in the Home & Country. espe~ cially in the earlier decades. Annual meek ings. committee and officers‘ reports, and program planning ideas were outlined in detail over the years. One issue lists all of the Wt contributions during the WW II ef- fort. for instance. The WI member on this page has gathered the harvest from her Vic- tory Garden. For their Golden Anniversary. WI members celebrated with a poster coms petition. Then there was the first Officers' Conference in 1949. But the Home & continued on page 6 4 H k C January. February. March 1992