Submitted by Kathryn Groshong,
secretary of the Town and Country Women
The Town and Country Women discussed Arts and Literature in their program during their September meeting, which was held at the home of Vie Flaten on September 18. The thought of the day was “Autumn… the year’s last, loveliest smile”, as quoted by William Cullen Bryant.
Ruth Prost, convener, had researched a number of important items regarding the Arts and Literature program. “When the arts are discussed, we often think of only the great painters, but to me the arts included many things. It includes sewing and creating beautiful garments. Our pioneer mothers made dresses from old dresses, and dad’s suits were turned inside out to make slacks or shirts, or coats. My mom sewed these on an old treadle machine, as I’m sure many other mothers and grandmothers also had.”
“Quilt making is also an art of our ancestors, which has remained popular to the present. In the past, left over scraps of material or splices of clothing were put into ‘crazy quilts’ with the design fitting the pieces available. Sometimes they were embroidered with featherstitching outlines, or names of family members. Their cozy warmth was needed on every bed.”
“Nowdays, quilts are a work of art, with new materials and exquisite designs. I read a story of slaves in North Carolina, who were on an estate where the soil was all rocks. The slaves were actually starving and the women came together to make a little money for food by making quilts from old rags and selling them in a nearby village. These women all sewed as when they were slaves, they were given slave cloth to make clothes for their family. Now, some of these quilts are in the museum in Salem, North Carolina, and are considered priceless.”
Other art mediums mentioned included knitting, crocheting, petit point, tatting and Hardanger embroidery, of which a beautiful hand-worked design was shown to the members. Saskatchewan celebrates excellence and diversity in writing and publishing. Some suggestions of books, written by Saskatchewan authors, included “Tommy Douglas”, a biography written by Vincent Lam; “Yellow Dog”, a novel written by Miriam Karner; “The Surprising Lives of Small Town Doc”, edited by Dr. Paul Karmer; “Out of Old Sask. Kitchens”, written by Amy Jo Ehman; “Butter Down the Well”, written by Robert Collins; “Cream Money, Stories of Prairie People’s”, written by Donna J. Driver; and “Dollybird”, written by Weyburn’s novelist Anne Lazurko.
Singing of the Club Ode, which was accompanied by pianist Kathryn Groshong, opened the meeting. President Margaret Lukey asked the ladies to reminisce about summer happenings, as this was their first meeting since May.
Some of the events included a great granddaughter’s graduation, an engagement party of an oldest grandson, a holiday to see a new great granddaughter and great grandson, a trip to visit the schoolhouse where a member started school and the church that the member’s mother had attended in the 1930s, the arrival of a new great grandson, a celebration of a first birthday for another great grandson, a relaxing trip to the lake and boating every day, and reading books and playing tile rummy. The travels of the members took them to Hazenmore, Saskatoon, Lemberg, Broadview, Torquay, Maple Lake and Winnipeg, Man.
Roll call was “What is your favourite remembrance of fall, either as a child or as an adult”, and a variety of comments answered that question.
• It was a gorgeous day, about 30 years ago on September 22, when we traveled to a lake near Prince Albert. We stopped to cook breakfast on the way. At the lake we enjoyed feeding the ducks, the warm sand and the abundant wildlife.
• One member remembered getting a new fall jacket, an artificial doeskin jacket, which was an absolute favourite.
• The year was 1937 when my dad and brother had gone to Manitoba to help out with haying. It was my seventh birthday and cream puffs were my birthday cake. At the end of the afternoon, my dad and brother came home with a little white puffball Persian kitten, which was an adorable birthday gift.
• Memories of the old threshing outfit days, with a crew of 20 men to feed. Her mother got up to make coffee and breakfast for the crew and prepare meals for the days ahead at 4 a.m. It took cream cans full of coffee and lunches between the three meals.
• Remembering a trip to Ontario and the Maritimes in the fall, and seeing the beautiful yellow and red coloured leaves and the huge size of the maple leaves.
• Bringing in the produce from the garden before frost, such as potatoes, squash, turnips, pumpkins, cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots. The feeling of providing well for winter meals and the beautiful flowers such as gladiola grown in the garden alongside the vegetables.
Vie Flaten, the hostess served lunch after the meeting for the day.
