FOREWORD 
     
    
   
   
    
     “THROUGH THE YEARS” is the story of the establishment 
     
     and growth of the Women’s Institutes on Prince Edward Island, and 
     
     it’s affiliations on the National and International level during the 
     
     past fifty years. 
     
    

    
     Since the formation of the first Women’s Institute, organized 
     
     at Stoney Creek in 1897, women have realized the important part 
     
     they could play in improving their homes, their schools and their 
     
     communities 
     
    

    
     The work of this International body (the largest group of 01- 
     
     ganized women in the world) reaches to many corners of the earth -— 
     
     from the far north in Canada, where many new branches have been 
     
     organized, the United States of America, and across the Atlantic to 
     
     form a huge chain of which we are but one small link. 
     
    

    
     The reports of the individual branches reveal a remarkable 
     
     spirit of co—operation with other groups for community betterment. 
     
     The History tells of many major Provincial projects, —— inspirations 
     
     of Institute members, — to name just a few, the Provincial Sanator— 
     
     ium, the Music Festival, the Drama Festival, Health Program, ~— 
     
     their contribution to the war effort and many others. 
     
    

    
     The necessary research in compiling this book has been most 
     
     enlightening, for it is only as records are searched that the amount _ 
     
     of work accomplished by the host of interested workers through the 
     
     years Can be appreciated. 
     
    

    
     Much has been accomplished in the past —— a great deal re- 
     
     mains to be done. We trust that this history may create in all our 
     
     members a sense of pride and pleasure in this world wide organization 
     
     and that they may realize that the individual members of the local 
     
     branches are its very foundation. It was an honor and a privilege to 
     
     be named chairman of the committee in charge of compiling this 
     
     history, and it has been a pleasure to work with the members of the 
     
     committee who cooperated so whole-heartedly in the task of assem- 
     
     bling the material, a task made arduous by the fact that all provin- 
     
     cial records were destroyed by fire in 1957. We trust that through 
     
     our efforts, we have made in some small way a worthwhile contri- 
     
     bution to Institute work, and would like to impress upon all branches 
     
     the importande of keeping records which may be of historic value 
     
     for a similar project in the future. We pay a sincere tribute to all 
     
     those who contributed material or assisted in any way. 
     
    

    
     We owe our grateful thanks to our Government, and in par- 
     
     ticular to the Department of Agriculture for support and interest in 
     
     the welfare of rural women during the past fifty years. 
     
    

    
     If for any reason this history is incomplete we express our 
     
     regret. It is our hope that any material omitted in this edition may 
     
     be added at a later date in the form of a supplement. 
     
    

    
     With great pride in the achievements of the past and faith in 
     
     the future we present to you this history. 
     
    

    
     Committee (chairman) Mrs. Lloyd Wilkie 
     
     Mrs. E. W. McKinnon Mrs. Aubrey Cutcliffe Mrs. Neil Matheson 
     
     Mrs. Harold Laird Mrs. Michael Doyle Mrs. Lincoln Dewar 
     
     Mrs. Murdock MacGowan 
     
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