Fonds F20 - Myrtle Women's Institute fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Myrtle Women's Institute fonds

General material designation

  • Textual record
  • Graphic material

Parallel title

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Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

CA ON00329 F20

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1955-1985 (Creation)
    Creator
    Myrtle Women's Institute 

Physical description area

Physical description

16 cm of textual records
27 photographs : b&w
4 photographs : col.

Publisher's series area

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1955-1985)

Administrative history

The Myrtle Women's Institute (WI) was founded on March 9, 1955 by Mabel Heron, a resident of Brooklin and a WI district president. The Myrtle WI was led by an elected president and executive, including first and second vice presidents, a secretary treasurer, and various committee leaders. 15 individuals attended the first meeting, a number that was to remain roughly consistent throughout the life of the organization.

The mandate of the Myrtle WI was much the same as other WIs in Ontario at the time: the education of women regarding domestic science and its applicability to homemaking activities. Additionally, the Myrtle WI engaged in charitable activities through donations and participation in community events. Records from the organization also attest to its status as an important social network for many women of the region.

All WI endeavors were orchestrated by standing committees comprising members. Committees organized lectures, prepared resolutions, participated in community activities, and created “Tweedsmuir histories,” or scrapbooks containing narratives about the region. Early Myrtle WI committees included the following: Historical Research and Current Events; Agriculture and Canadian Industries; Home Economics and Health; Public Relations and Community Activities; and Tweedsmuir History.

Like other regional women's institutes, the Myrtle WI appears to have focused on the concerns of white, middle-class, Christian women. The organization's Tweedsmuir histories demonstrate this tendency, centering on the region's white European pioneers and their descendants.

The organization appears to have disbanded in 1985.

Custodial history

Records may have been transferred to Archives at Whitby Public Library in 2014. The precise donation date, donor, and prior custodians are unknown. 

Scope and content

The fonds consists of the Myrtle WI's minute books and Tweedsmuir histories. Records are arranged chronologically in subject files.

Notes area

Physical condition

Several photographs glued into Tweedsmuir histories have become detached. These photographs have been placed in envelopes which are attached to photographs' originating pages.

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

The archivist maintained records in their received physical order. 

Language of material

  • angličtina

Script of material

    Location of originals

    Availability of other formats

    Restrictions on access

    Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

    Some records in the fonds may be protected under copyright. Permission to reproduce copyrighted materials must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). See archivist for details.

    Finding aids

    A file list is attached.

    Associated materials

    Accruals

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    Standard number

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    Control area

    Description record identifier

    Institution identifier

    Rules or conventions

    Status

    Level of detail

    Dates of creation, revision and deletion

    Description created by Gillian Dunks in December 2017.

    Language of description

      Script of description

        Sources

        Accession area