. . . . .
A group of women met at home to discuss the formation of Women.
The motion passed to the Chair and a club formed: fees were set
at one dollar per year. The first public speaker spoke about “What every
Canadian should know.” The Chateau opened in 1912
when the Club President announced they secured the Chateau ball-room —
for lecture purposes and addresses after luncheons. [The women
have been meeting there ever since.] By the beginning of World War I, Club
membership climbed at the outset of war work in Ottawa.
The Club threw itself into soldiers’ care on the front lines — for Belgian
and Serbian relief. During the War, women knitted thousands
of socks — and sent thousands of comfort parcels to the wounded.
The Club then incorporated under a lasting legacy — raised
by sales of service flags, entertainments offered, and special donations made
to a scholarship fund for Prisoners of War — or their descendants.
[Today, the Club still awards each year.] After the Great War, members fell
away as the Club returned to lectures and luncheons. Many
found this transition extremely difficult to bear. For years between Wars,
the women of Ottawa organized and became very imaginative.
. . . . .
Poet: Susan Powers Bourne
Sources:
Library and Archives of Canada
Process: Black out and remix