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GREAT GETAWAYS / Worldwide women '3 organization has roots in Stoney Creek farmhouse Museum 5 BY MARTIN STUARTâ€"HARLE Special to The Globe and Mail F you were born in the country there is a good chance your mother belonged to the local Women‘s Institute branch at one time or another, Ifshe is currently a member, she would be among about nine million women worldwide who belong to the W] or affiliated organ- izations, It all started in Ontario 94 years ago and the Erland Lee Museum in Stoney Creek is one of the legacies. it was a spirited speech at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph by a Hamilton woman, Mrs. Adelaide I-lriridless, which sowed the seeds of what would become the worldwide women‘s organization. Mrs. Hoodless's speech made an im- pression on a publicâ€"spirited farther. Erland Lee. Mrs. Hoodless spoke of the need for a women’s organization in which farming wives could meet in a sort of ideas and skills exchange aimed at community-building with the emphasis on family and women's contributions. Lee was so impressed he invrted Mrs. Hoodless to address the Ladies‘ Night audience at the Saltfleet Farmers’ Institute, near Hamilton. An Inspired Lee and his wife Janet set about travelling the Township of Saltfleet for the next week The idea was to encourage women to attend a formal meeting at Squire‘s Hall. Stoney Creek on Feb. l9. [897, ‘ Erland and Janet Lee were well suited to thc concept spawned by Mrs. Hoodless. Both were socially spirited w he was a successful mixed farmer producing fancy dairy prod- ucts from pure Jersey cattle stock in addition to maple syrup and fruit. She had been a teacher and had helped set up a kindergarten system for the City of Hamilton before re- tiring from teaching to marry Erland in [339, Born in Idol. Janet was two years older than her husband, who had also been a teacher, secretary and member of the Fan‘ners' Insti- title for 1.9yeurs, and SalttleetToivn- ship‘s clerk for 20. At Zl, he had re- ceivcd a certificate in agriculture from the Agriculture and Arts Asso- ciation ol'Ont'iriu, It was at that Feb, 19 meeting the world's first Women‘s Institute was organized Jiinet carefully penned a draft of thc bylaws and constitution assisted by Erland, Senator E. D. §niitli and Muior F. M, Carpenter. The documents iiiid walnut dining- room table on which they were drafted are to he found at the mu- seum. Mrs. E. D, Smith would be- Museum is located in Erland Lee house which was purchased by Women’s Ins come the first president and Janet one cfthe first directors. To avoid elitism and exclusion of poorer women from the mem- bership. Janet suggested an annual affordable membership fee of 25 cents. Halfa century later the tradi- tion ofmaking membership afforda~ ble for all remains intact. The WI has always attracted women from a spectrum of income levels and mem- bers continue to be active in helping to organize and contribute to almost every local event from annual fetes and fans to Village concerts and children‘s parties. Thc Wl‘s roots remain in agricul- tural communities where it was born. In Ontario, the organization remains rurally based â€" although there are plans to extend branches into citiest Overseas this has already happened in such countries as Brit- alll. With an emphasis on effective homemaking. over the years the WI gained a reputation as a “jam and Jerusalem" organization, since most branches in small communities ‘dl‘ inost inevitably rub shoulders with the local church and members are usually involved in church func~ tions. The tag however may be a little unfair in that the Wl's constituâ€" IlCll'l lllmo dl creating a IlOl'I-SCEl‘dl'liln rirgiinwatimi which welcomes Jews. Muslims. Hindus or persons of any other persuasion. The W] remains a vehicle aimed at a legacy of Women’s Institute enhancing the traditional family unit and improving skills of the home- maker and farming wife through networking shared information. The home of the Women‘s insti- tute had inauspicious beginnings. James Lee was a Loyalist with a British army back round. He, his wife Hannah, and amily arrived in Saltflcet Township from Maryland in 1792. He travelled with some fur- niture and plants which still survive. James built a log cabin from availâ€" able pine which formed the back- bone of the house which was later added to by five generations of the Ice family. James died accidentally from a blow to the head when an axe blade flew off its handle during the raising of Saltflcet's first frame hnusc. Converted by successive Lee gen- erations into a frame dwelling by the time Erland was born as a fourth- gcncration Lee on May 3, 1364‘ and now surrounded by mature pines, the Erland Lee home today appears as an elegant frame house wrth Gothic overtones and sits about 50 metres from the edge of the eswrp- merit overlooking Hamilton, Bur- lington, Stoney Creek and Lake Ontario. The Women‘s Institutes clI'icially purchased the Lee home in 1972 and it has a shnnerlike significance. From time to time, meetings are still held in the property which contains generations of Lee possessions. One time in 1972. (MARTIN STUART~IIARLEJ is the still-servicable such item seven-foot-high china cupboard built by James afterhe arrived. V The constitutional document which binds the WI together is on view Janet‘s careful calligraphy is remarkable and the arrow-straight lines flow neatly across the unlined pages. Next to the Erland Lee Museum is its two‘storey Drive House which has a collection of early farm and shop tools, A hatch to the gemâ€"L floor allowed the horse-drawn sled to be hoisted to the second floor in spring and the buggy to be lowered. Check the Drive House for the Christie Biscuit Jar Display which runs until May 5. Some exhibits are ceramic, others glass or porcelain and date from approximately 1830 to [905. Included are some stunning Wedgwoods. These days, WI activities are not confined to domesticity. TraditionA ally close to the land. the institutes are aware of global concerns. For information about envtronmental concerns call the Federated Woms en‘s Institutes of Ontario, (519) 767â€" 3510. There are picnic tables in the museum‘s grounds at the rear ofihe house and on a clear day the view from the escarpment is impressive, The museum is open on weekdays from 10 am to 4 p m. and on Sun- day afternoons from IVS p m, Admission is free.