WEYBURN, Sask. – For their Christmas meeting, members of the Weyburn Country Women’s Club compete for who can bring the most useless gift.
The winner in 2002 brought a Saskatchewan Wheat Pool share.
The year before, it was an application to the Canadian Farm Income Program.
But the dozen members all agree on the one item that is too useless even for their fun contest. Don’t bring a baseball cap. Everyone has hundreds already, says Maureen Clay.
Her living room is one of the gathering places for this unique group. It started in 1978 as a branch of the Saskatchewan Women’s Institute.
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But discontent with WI’s hierarchical structure led members to break away in 1983 and form their own social club.
They are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, although no special event is planned.
Member Janet Linnell said the women share a common understanding, since they are all pressed for time as farmers with off-farm jobs.
“We come from a farm and have farm problems, water problems, husband problems, driving kids problems,” Linnell said.
As well as what Clay calls laugh therapy, the club has a serious side. The women, who range in age from young marrieds to grandmothers, spend a lot of their club time raising money for services in the community. Linnell flips through a photo album and lists some of the past efforts. There was playground equipment for a rural school, toys and books for a library, scholarships for high school graduates, donations to various health causes, $1,000 for a domestic violence program and $11,000 to build a swimming pool in Weyburn.
“We did a lot of bingos,” Linnell said. They also sold 100 loaves of bread made in an outdoor oven at last summer’s Weyburn Wheat Festival.
The latest project, a homemade wine festival, raised $1,600 to help pay for bleachers that are replacing the 70-year-old grandstand at the city fairgrounds.
The club is thinking about holding the event for two nights this November since it proved to be popular. Last year 55 wine entries were judged and more people wanted to attend than could fit into the hall. Linnell said people were amazed at how well organized the event was.
“People kept saying, ‘you’re how many? Just 12?’ “
But Clay and Elaine Douglas both point to the support from their husbands, who besides providing the heavy lifting, are also invited to three club meetings a year – Christmas for the silly gifts, Valentines for a comedic marriage encounter game and a June family picnic.
“We just come to expect it,” Douglas said. “They put out more than 100 percent for us.”
That’s probably why all the pictures of the bread making show the men’s auxiliary, they note.
The country women’s club started with a $5 a year membership fee that has now increased to $25. Membership is not restricted – pretty much anyone interested can come, Clay said. Meetings are informal with no gavel and members take turns on the executive. They meet monthly except at seeding and harvest.
Douglas said women in town have their own groups through churches, hobbies and social gatherings.
The club members try crafts once a year, but Clay admitted they are not good at it. They learn about diverse topics from their members, who are nurses, teachers and agrologists. But they all farm and share common concerns and views.
“We’re a very positive group,” Douglas said. “We don’t come complaining, ‘oh woe is me.’ “
Clay agreed: “I think that’s why women make an effort to come to our meetings. They feel good when they go home.”
