The Ladies In Waiting Clue 5
Description
- Media Type
- Image
- Item Type
- Photographs
- Description
- On a beautiful Saturday in October, with trees putting on an incredible colour show, the Princess Elizabeth WI WISH group arranged to have our photo taken, with a focus on pumpkins.
Our faithful photographer, Joyce Hill, agreed to carry on with her part, recording our participation.
So the 5 of us planned to meet. However, we ended up at three different spots, all operated by the Chesney family. Two went to the stand run by Thames River Melons in Innerkip where pumpkins are available for purchase along with other local seasonal produce.
One member (me) ended up at the pumpkin patch on the Chesney farm across the road from the Innerkip Public Library.
Two others went to the Thames River Melons farm market location on the Blandford Road just outside of Innerkip.
After several calls and discussion of the challenges to mobility, we arranged a rendezvous at the farm market.
It was the perfect location with many pumpkins available in the nearby fields as well as a display of various interesting types and colours of pumpkins which made a perfect background for our photo! This was located in the midst of families coming and going with their young children, looking for the perfect specimen to buy and take home.
Our oval PEWI sign identified our group.
We had two featured pumpkins: one carved with "WI", a very in your face promotion of this wonderful organization. The second pumpkin had melted crayons as part of the design creating a Princess wearing a tiara. (Another tie in to Princess Elizabeth.)
Our costumes were chosen with care. One participant gave a nod to our late Queen Elizabeth with a fascinator and a fancy dress, ready to greet the Royal family.
Another stressed the fun aspect of dressing up for a seasonal event, as a fictional character -- a witch with her pointy hat and broom. (More fun, I say!!)
We were also aiming to highlight advocacy concerns reported by Southern Area WI branches, as summarized by Sheila Greason.
1~ Agricultural land is needed for the growing of pumpkins, creating a food source as well as seasonal decorations. The seeds from the WI pumpkin will be roasted and the pulp used for dog food.
2~ Buying local: This Thames River Melons store is a small family business run by the Chesney family in Oxford County. What a great way to educate and entertain non farm families!
3~ Human trafficking: The Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater rhyme was used as a reminder to think about the abuse of women, as an example of captivity, in a pumpkin shell. A good reminder to pay attention!
4~ Road traffic concerns: Our motorcycle mama wore a protective helmet, but would remind all to share the roads with motorcycles and prevent accidents.
So....did we make connections to WI through this activity?
Our biggest challenge was planning a strategy to address some mobility issues in order to avoid any potential falls in the pumpkin patch.
Happy Hallowe'en!
Mary Lou Ross on behalf of Lorna Gardner, Janet Kinnaird, Linda Humphrey and Joyce Hill.
- Notes
- Submission part of the WISH challenge for WI's 125th anniversary.
- Date of Publication
- Oct 2022
- Subject(s)
- Donor
- Lorna Gardner
- Copyright Statement
- Protected by copyright: Uses other than research or private study require the permission of the rightsholder(s). Responsibility for obtaining permissions and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Copyright Holder
- photographer
- Contact
- Federated Women's Institutes of Ontariofwio@fwio.on.ca
552 Ridge Road
Stoney Creek, ON L8J 2Y6
905-662-2691
