The Women's Institute
The Navan branch of the Women's Institute was first organized in Navan, December 19, 1931, through the co-operation of Mrs. G. Bradley, Ottawa, and Miss Ethel Rivington, Navan. Seventeen ladies joined, and our first president was Miss Mary Rathwell. The meetings were held the second Thursday of the month in the Navan Public School. The yearly fee was 25 cents.
As early as 1895, Ontario women showed interest in lectures organized through Farmers’ Institutes, with the first formal organization of a Women’s Institute taking place in Saltfleet Township (Wentworth County) February 19, 1897. Erland and Janet Lee invited Mrs. Adelaide Hoodless to speak at their first meeting. (Adelaide was an educational reformer and co-founder of the Victorian Order of Nurses and the National Association of YMCA’s who devoted herself to the betterment of education for new mothers after her infant son died in 1889 from drinking impure milk.) This meeting led to the formation of the first Women’s Institute in the world, with the objective of providing education to and improving the life of rural women.
Locally, there are 5 branches that compose the Russell District W.I. - Navan, Cumberland, North Russell, Russell Village, and Leonard - which are in turn a part of the Eastern Area W.I. (composed of 11 Districts throughout Eastern Ontario). The Ontario organization, called FWIO or Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario, is composed of 14 areas which are separated into 4 regions and represented on a Provincial Board of Directors. The National Organization is known as FWIC, or the Federated Women’s Institute of Canada.
As early as 1895, Ontario women showed interest in lectures organized through Farmers’ Institutes, with the first formal organization of a Women’s Institute taking place in Saltfleet Township (Wentworth County) February 19, 1897. Erland and Janet Lee invited Mrs. Adelaide Hoodless to speak at their first meeting. (Adelaide was an educational reformer and co-founder of the Victorian Order of Nurses and the National Association of YMCA’s who devoted herself to the betterment of education for new mothers after her infant son died in 1889 from drinking impure milk.) This meeting led to the formation of the first Women’s Institute in the world, with the objective of providing education to and improving the life of rural women.
Locally, there are 5 branches that compose the Russell District W.I. - Navan, Cumberland, North Russell, Russell Village, and Leonard - which are in turn a part of the Eastern Area W.I. (composed of 11 Districts throughout Eastern Ontario). The Ontario organization, called FWIO or Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario, is composed of 14 areas which are separated into 4 regions and represented on a Provincial Board of Directors. The National Organization is known as FWIC, or the Federated Women’s Institute of Canada.
