Our Story
why belong to the Navan WI
Learn about who we are and what the organisation has done in the past and, more importantly, continues to do in the present.
Did You Know?
Navan is one of the few places in the world to have a palindromic name.
But to get to our story –
The Navan WI, formed in 1931, is a small but crucial part of a larger women’s collective, known provincially as the Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario (FWIO), nationally as the Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada (FWIC), and internationally as the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW).
The ACWW is the largest international organisation for both rural and urban women, with a membership of 9 million in over 70 countries.
The overall aim of the ACWW is to improve the quality of life for women and communities world-wide and to empower women, raising the standards of living for rural women and their families and enabling their voices to be heard at the UN and global levels.
ACWW holds Consultative Status with:
The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC);
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO); and
The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Queen Elizabeth II was a WI member since 1943, and was President of Sandringham WI. Her mother, Queen Elizabeth was also a member, as is Sophie, Countess of Wessex; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; and Anne, Princess Royal. The Queen used to attend the January meeting at Sandringham each year.
How We Got Started
The movement first began in our own backyard, in Stoney Creek, Ontario in 1897. Formed by Janet and Erland Lee, the FWIO grew throughout the 20th century, making a difference in all aspects of the lives of our members and our communities.
At a provincial level, this advocacy:
- Began with a successful push for mandatory milk pasteurization;
- Progressed through the need for painted lines on public roads and retractable arms on school buses; and,
- Most recently, developed a campaign to support research and treatment for Lyme’s disease.
OUR NAVAN WI
Education of our members and others continues to be a strong component of what we do, especially at our local Navan WI. Most of our meetings contain elements of education, whether that is learning about:
- Women’s shelters;
- Current physical and mental health issues;
- Modern gardening techniques; or
- Trying our hand at painting.
Through the Reaching Ontario Sharing Education (ROSE) program, we offer many of these information sessions to our community.
As well, we sponsor two annual bursaries for local young women pursuing higher education. We consider this to be an important educational activity and have been very pleased to assist these amazing young people as they explore careers in diverse fields. The Eastern Area of FWIO and FWIO also offer various bursaries and scholarships to encourage young people to expand their horizons.
You can also see the mark we have made by looking at the wheelchair ramp at the Navan Post Office, the flags along our main street, the Community Builders Ceremonial Wall, and the jaws of life for the Navan Volunteer Firefighters.
We don’t do these things in isolation. We work closely with community partners, particularly the Navan Community Association, the Navan Lions Club and the Nifty Fifty Seniors Club.
Whenever there is a major community event, whether it be the Remembrance Day service, the Bradley Cup, or the annual Fall Fest, you can find us working diligently – often behind the scenes – to make the event a success.
TO DO ALL OF THIS, WE RAISE FUNDS AND WE COUNT ON OUR COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT OUR FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES.
COME JOIN US IN CONTINUING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Keeping Track of Navan's History
The idea of WI members writing the histories of farms, buildings, and places of interest at the local level began in the mid-1920s. In 1925, a committee was formed with the aim of giving more time to the study of local history, in the hopes of gaining greater insight into the lives and thoughts of our ancestors.
By the mid-1930s, Lady Tweedsmuir, wife of Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor General of Canada, took a great interest in WI’s in this country. While at a meeting of the Athens WI, Lady Tweedsmuir stressed the need for preserving the history of our Canadian people. As an active WI member in England, she suggested that Ontario WI Branches follow the example of their English counterparts and keep detailed local history books.
In 1940, a recently widowed Lady Tweedsmuir was delighted to approve that these histories should be named after her late husband, thereby originating “The Tweedsmuir Village History Books.”
The Navan WI has been extremely active in creating and preserving our own Navan Tweedsmuir History Books; and, through the careful and watchful eyes of members such as Betty Deavy and Verna Cotton, we collected almost 20 volumes of histories about the community of Navan and the families that make up our community. Nine volumes were digitized, printed, and bound into 3 comprehensive volumes, copies of which can be viewed through our WI, the Cumberland Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, and the library at Heritage School.
Our current Tweedsmuir coordinator, Pam Lafrance is keeping up the challenge and we look forward to continuing this archival effort for many years to come. For further information or to see these gems, contact Pam at 613-286-9711.
See Universty of Guelph, Ontario Tweedsmuir Histories https://www.uoguelph.ca/arts/rural/resources/tweedsmuirs
See Ottawa Public Library – Tweedsmuir history / Navan Women’s Institute ; [compiler, Verna Cotton] https://ottawa.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S26C527406
