The Fairview Ladies Aid By Dorothy Bennett The Ladies Aid of Fairview (later the Fairview Womens Association) was organized on Thursday, November 15, 1923 at the home of Mrs. Robert Curry. The following people were present and became the first members: Mrs. Mary J. Bennett, Mrs. William Marshall, Mrs. Obadiah Shaw, Mrs. Robert Haughton, Mrs. Sealey Bennett, Mrs. Wesley Toole, Mrs. Bert Curry, Mildred Marshall and Dorothy Bennett. Rev. Carscadden was also present. The first officers elected were Mrs. Curry as president, Mildred Marshall as secretary and Dorothy Bennett as treasurer. The motions passed at the first meeting were that a fee of 10 cents a member for each meeting or one dollar a year should be charged. As well, the meetings should be held on the first Thursday of each month at the home of the different members. Rev. Carscadden suggested that the luncheon should be limited to bread and butter, one kind of cake and tea. Members who joined at later meetings were Mrs. Fred Anderson, Mary Bennett, Alma Wagner, Mrs. Eli Shaw, Miss Hook, Mrs. Fred Pemberton, Mrs. Lawrence Marshall, Mrs. Alfred Wagner, Mrs. Arnie Toole, Mrs. Goldie Shaw, Mrs. M. Leatherdale, Berniece Anderson and Mrs. Harry Hanks. The Ladies Aid, until services in our schoolhouse were discontinued, gave 25 dollars each year to help pay the taxes on the Penetanguishene United Church parsonage. They gave money to the Red Cross and the War Victims Fund, as well as supplies. They gave the price of an organ for our church services, bought a bible to replace one stolen from the school and also bought some hymnals and bibles to be used for religious instruction in the school. They bought prizes for the Sunday School, bought flowers for sick members and for funerals, and gave gifts to retiring ministers and to members leaving our neighbourhood. To earn this money the Ladies Aid charged a ten-cent fee at each meeting. They also got up Christmas concerts until the school children began putting on their own, held one or two box socials, held bazaars, and did some knitting, fancy work and sewing to order. As well, they quilted quilts (One dollar each) and held wiener roasts, corn roasts, progressive crokinole parties, social evenings and strawberry socials. They also sponsored one bingo in aid of the Red Cross, making or giving the prizes themselves. The social evenings were held at the homes of the members, usually about four or five a year. Ten cents was charged for a lunch of sandwiches, cake and tea. Round games such as charades or kingdoms and proverbs were played, with checkers or dominoes for those preferring a quieter time. Contests were also held or stunts tried. Sometimes a brief programme of music, songs and recitations was given. Mrs Curry and Mr. Stanley Shaw were among the better reciters: Mrs. Currys soft Scotch accent being most attractive and Stanley generally reciting one of Robert Services poems. Mr. Wm. Marshall oftern sang for us, as did a group of three young girls, Mabel Wagner, Margaret Toole and Alberta Downer. Treffle Robitaille would sing as well, his favourite song being I Wish I Were Single Again. The strawberry socials or festivals were held nearly every year from 1925 to 1935. After 1935 death, illness and loss of some of the members made such an undertaking too difficult for the few families in the group. The first strawberry social was held at Bennetts. Others were at Marshalls, Bennetts, one at Wagners and one at the school. (Note, the Mountain School shared a common driveway with the Obadiah Shaw Farm.) Tables were set on the lawns. Strawberries and cream were served, as well as bread and butter, tea buscuits, salads, jellies, pies, tarts, cakes, and cookies, all for 25 cents. In 1935, the last year a strawberry social was held by the Association, the following supplies were bought: 4 crates of strawberries at 2 dollars each $8.00 6 double loaves of bread at 14 cents each .52? 1 pound of tea .49 5 pounds of butter at 22 cents each 1.10 5 gallons of ice cream at 81 cents each 4.05 Total 15.00 Each family was asked to bring 4 cakes, 4 pies, salads, jellies, tarts, cookies and tea biscuits. The ice cream and some soft drinks were sold at a booth. The total proceeds of this social were $36.43 and the net proceeds were $19.18.? Usually there was a programme after each social, as well as competitive games and stunts. The entertainers used the veranda as a platform or sometimes a rough platform was built. Mr. Wm Marshall, Mr. Treffle Robitaille and the group of Mabel Wagner, Margaret Toole and Alberta Downer sang. Sometimes Mr. Taylor and Mrs. Parks of Midland would help out by singing or Mrs. Keefe and Mrs ____ of Penetanguishene, or Bertha Faint and Winnie Russell of Riverside. The Mountain Orchestra was very popular. It consisted of two or three violins played by Lawrence Marshall, Fred Toole and Stanley Shaw, two mandolins played by Mary and Marjorie Bennett, a kettledrum played by Bert Curry, and an organ or piano. Occasionally a guitar was used. Sometimes the players made mistakes such as the time they were playing Mellow Moon, their piece de resistance and Miss Alles, the schoolteacher, said now altogether in the verse. Some of them had started in the verse and some in the chorus, but as the chorus was better known, all switched over to it. Probably the audience did not notice for an encore was received. Encores generally were See that Water Million.? As the years went on the meetings became more of a social affair and less and less business was done. Lunches became more elaborate until they were more like suppers. The most exciting meeting was one at the Wagners. A little mouse ran across the floor near the womens feet. Mrs. Wm. Marshall and Mrs. Wagner (Alfreds second wife) got up on their chairs with a shriek and stood with their skirts held tight around their ankles. Maudie Marshall and Alma Shaw, however, went after the mouse with their spike heels and succeeded in killing it. Sheer murder! Muriel Shaw was a very delicate baby and rather cross at times. (A bad case of colic) At one meeting at the Shaw home she did so much howling that Mrs. Wagner exclaimed, Why dont you give her chloroform? Mrs. Eli Shaw asked in her dry manner, Wouldnt that be rather drastic? A few years later at a meeting at Andersons the children were being rather noisy in the kitchen. Berniece went out to keep them from possible mischief. A sudden silence ensuing, Mrs Leatherdale remarked, All quiet on the Western Front! By January 1950 only three or four families attending the meetings belonged to the Penetanguishene United Church and it was decided to end the Fairview Womens Association.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 12:51:41 +0000
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