"A male person, including an Indian, and excluding a person of Mongolian or Chinese race . . . no woman, idiot, lunatic, or criminal shall vote." Definition of an eligible voter according to the Election Act of the Dominion of Canada in 1890. ABEQWEIT, Land Of Red Soil, p. 321 16, the Presbyterian denomination was the earliest estab¬ lished church. The Methodist Church and the Baptist Church in Lot 16 were both established in 1873. In early years a Presbyterian could find himself called before the ses¬ sion for daring to attend a Methodist church service. The influence of time brought changing attitudes and it became a social event to attend several of the church services held in the community on a Sunday. Church attendance was an avenue that many young people appreciated for its courting opportunities. For older people, it served as both a source of worship and entertainment. Methodists experienced the painful reality of being forced to close their church doors in the early 1920s. In today's rural Canada , this is a common occurrence brought about by declining population and church atten¬ dance. In Lot 16 , two churches remain but, as the landscape changes, they too will one day be called upon to examine their place in the future of the community. Family The strength of family was always a focal point for the set¬ tlers of Lot 16 ; this is a tradition that has carried forth to the current century. In the early days of the settlement, everyone had a place in the family and often several generations — out of necessity — lived together. This reality remained constant until the women's liberation movement began. Previously the man was consid¬ ered the head of the household; the family money and possessions held in his name alone. Women had few rights and, until the turn of the twentieth cen¬ tury, were denied the vote. Employment opportunities were limited for women. They could marry and hope for a good husband, teach school, become maids, work in the canning factories, be nannies, store clerks, or nurses. In the twentieth cen- 13 Growth of a Community