Women Inspired in Memory of Joan Clue #1

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On a very blustery day, our team of spontaneous, daring women braved the cold, the snow, and the wind to enjoy a quick cup of tea together. We are gathered around a plaque that commemorates the community response to the F5 tornado that hit our village about 5pm on September 21, 2018. The plaque reads: “Commemorating the September 21, 2018 tornado and the spirit of the people of Dunrobin and West Carleton with thanks to West Carleton Disaster Relief, West Carleton Secondary School, Dunrobin Community Association, and Dunrobin and District Women’s Institute”. The community centre behind us withstood the full onslaught of the tornado. It protected several young children and their caregiver inside, while the nearby village mall and several homes nearby were totally levelled. The disaster relief team that had formed after the flood of 2017 immediately jumped into action to help local residents, who were in shock after the tornado. We WI members put on some events to help our neighbours in the next several months.

In 2017, our WI had planted a spruce tree at the vacant corner lot in the middle of the village, so we could decorate it annually for the community for Christmas, as a celebration of our 100th anniversary in 2018 as a WI branch. All the other trees near the intersection were levelled by the 2018 tornado, but this young spruce survived. A month after the tornado, we arranged through the local councillor’s office to have hydro installed at the corner so we could light that Christmas tree, as the house that had provided power for the tree was blown away! We got power installed just the week before our 2018 tree-lighting party. We had over 200 people come to our meeting hall at the church nearby for hot chocolate and home-made cookies: it was the first real gathering after the tornado, and people were very happy to get together and enjoy a bit of friendship and fun. And we left those Christmas lights on to cheer the people driving by that dark and desolate empty village corner for the whole year following the tornado.

In February 2019, at the Valentine’s Day Winter Carnival at the community centre, we presented 10 quilts that were donated to us by Coningsby WI after the tornado to 10 families who had lost their homes. We also provided cookies and hot chocolate for the Carnival.

In March 2019, we held a Rose Program meeting and invited the public to listen to Todd Nicholson, our local Paralympic hero who was the Chef de Mission at the last Paralympic games. He was on the board of The Abilities Centre Ottawa and chair of the Own the Podium committee. The Nicholson family was one of many in our village that lost their home in the tornado. Todd described how he overcame the challenges in his life to many residents, who needed some hope that their lives would return to normal.

For Canada Day, 2019, we festooned the Dunrobin corner with big and little Canada flags. On behalf of FWIO, we donated the $2350 raised for tornado victims to the Disaster Relief Team, to continue the restoration of the village.

Then on the first anniversary of the tornado in September 2019, around 250 people attended an anniversary party at the community centre. This plaque was installed on one of 2 benches that our WI donated to the community. Guests included the mayor of Ottawa, the District Police Chief of Ottawa, the local MP, MPP and our city councillor, and several of the volunteer firefighters who were first on the scene after the tornado. Members of the local boys’ hockey team that raised over $100,000 for the disaster relief was also there with us.

That anniversary party and commemorative plaque were a true celebration of the spirit of our small community. Members of our WI put on a similar showing of community spirit when they rededicated a WI meeting hall on September 18, 2021 in nearby Quyon, Quebec. This celebratory event was attended by about 60 people and involved former members from both provinces. Our WI members will continue to find ways to celebrate the communities we live in and help them through tough times!

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