Women's Institutes

Organizations like Women's Institutes have been important supports for local women for over 100 years.

An organizational meeting was held February 19, 1897 in Stoney Creek to establish women's groups to provide women with the education needed to safely manage their homes. Adelaide Hunter Hoodless was the driving force behind that early meeting, after she was shocked to learn the death of her young son after drinking impure milk might have been preventable. Adelaide was angry and disappointed that her education had not prepared her to safely run a household, and began a crusade to educate other women.

In a speech presented at the Bentpath Women's Institute's 100th Anniversary celebration February 11, 2013, long-time member Mary Robinson reflected on her membership:

“I joined 58 years ago and have been enriched beyond measure from the knowledge I received from short courses taken, the friendships made, with other neighbourhood women, getting together for an afternoon or evening or a few hours on a monthly basis… My theme of encouragement has always been the Adelaide Hoodless Purpose… and I quote, ‘A nation cannot rise above the level of its homes, we women must work and study together, to raise our homes to the highest level possible.”