Visitors admire the garden of the MacKenzie Home
On Thursday, June 19th, the Women's Institutes (W.I.) of
Bruce County were recognized for the driving force that they have
presented for over a century in Bruce County.
Held at the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre, the event was
attended by more than 80 members of the W.I. It was, in fact the W.I.
that was the driving force behind the establishment of a County museum.
Started as a summer-only attraction in the Southampton school building,
which now houses the County Archives, the Museum has developed into a
world-class facility featuring Bruce County exhibits in addition to
international travelling displays and has become a centre of learning
for the entire County.
One of the most visited displays is the MacKenzie log home situated
immediately behind the Museum. Built in the 1850s, it was purchased
more than a century later by the Women's Institutes of Bruce County and
moved to its present location in 1958. The home is a testimony to early
life in the county that illustrates the lifestyle and homemaking
techniques of the period.
The Women's Institute is a uniquely Canadian entity that began in rural
Ontario, founded in 1897 by Mrs. Adelaide Hoodless in Stoney Creek,
Ontario. Originally, the concept was to educate rural women with the
purpose of improving their lives through the study of domestic science.
Hoodless felt that, " ... a better understanding of the economic and
hygienic value of food and a more scientific care of children would
raise the general standard of farm life".
By 1908, the Ontario Women's Institute had grown to 24 institutes and
4500 members and then in more modern times to more than nine million in
over 25 countries. Today, however, those numbers are beginning to
dwindle as the demographic of the group begins to age and women have
become more involved outside the home.
Back Row A. Bolander, H. Palmateer, W. Hahn, Dr.
J.F. Morton Front Row Mrs. C. Dudgeon, Mrs. A. Given, Mrs. R.J.
McKellar, Mrs. T. J. Cornish
Vicky Cooper, the Museum's Collections Coordinator and
Registrar, points out that, "If it weren't for these women, we would not
have the facilities that we do today. The original Museum Board members
in 1954 were Mrs. Clifford Dudgeon of Elderslie, Mrs. Archie Given of
Albermarle, Mrs. R.J. McKellar of Kincardine and Mrs. T. J. Cornish of
Chesley."
In recognition of the Women's Institutes, their commitment and bringing
the MacKenzie home to the Museum, a plaque was presented that will be
permanently placed on the MacKenzie log home in commemoration of the the
W.I.'s work and dedication
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