Browns WI Golden Girls Clue #1

Description

Media Type

Image

Item Type

Photographs

Description

GRACE PATTERSON WOMEN’S INSTITUTE PICNIC SHELTER

In 1919 a group of Sunday school girls from the Thamesford area of Oxford County formed a club which they named the Grace Country Club in honour of Miss Grace Patterson. She was a local girl and school teacher who became an educational missionary in 1917 in India. She oversaw a teachers training school and then was sent to the rural area Caharua for educational work where her schools were the only ones. She also conducted experiments to find the best kind of soil to grow cotton and some grains. In 1937 she was awarded the Coronation Medal of George VI for cotton growing tests in India. A child welfare centre also benefitted from her care. The Grace Country Club corresponded with Miss Patterson and among other things they adopted two orphans in her school.

The girls club continue to meet and work together until 1945 when they decided to become affiliated with the country wide Women’s Institute organization. The name “Grace Patterson Women’s Institute” was chosen and they voted to continue supporting Miss Patterson’s missionary work.

In 1954 Miss Patterson returned to make her home in Thamesford. In 1978 she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Medal for distinguished service. As she had served to make her community in India a better place in which to live, Grace Paterson W.I. continued to keep her ideals in mind in the Thamesford area and beyond.

In 1967, as a Centennial project of Grace Patterson W.I. and through many fundraising endeavours a picnic shelter with tables was installed in the Thamesford Park. Miss Patterson was presented with a WI life membership in 1970 when her WI celebrated their 25th anniversary. In the early 1980s, through the efforts of the WI and a federal grant the shelter was rejuvenated and the park was renamed the Grace C Patterson Park in honour of one of Thamesford‘s most beloved citizens. During Miss Patterson’s 1947 - 1949 furlough from India she was honoured at her local church in Thamesford. A newspaper clipping of this event states that “little Evelyn Day presented her with a corsage of red roses. Evelyn Day, now Arthur, is a member of our Golden Girls scavenger hunt team from Browns Women’s Institute.

Notes

Submission part of the WISH challenge for WI's 125th anniversary.

Date of Publication

Feb 2022

Subject(s)