|
As one of the pioneers in the Women’s Institute
movement, Emily Jane Guest gave much back to her
rural community. According to the Birr Women’s
Institute’s Tweedsmuir History, she possessed
great optimism and a delightful sense of humour.
Born on a farm, located on what is now known
as highway #4, just south of Elginfield, Miss
Guest grew up in a family of six children, all
of whom became well-educated and achieved success
in their various careers. Her parents were of
Irish descent. Emily’s father, John Guest,
had an apple orchard and organized the Ilderton
Apple Association. The family was active in Birr
Methodist Church
Young Emily caught the 8:00 a.m. Lucan-to-London
stagecoach each day to attend public school in
Birr. Because of the transportation difficulties,
she did not attend secondary school in Lucan,
but instead took lessons in oil painting and music,
and read books on every subject she could. Eventually
her parents allowed her to take the buggy to high
school and she continued her education, later
enrolling at the London University (now the University
of Western Ontario). She earned her B.A. and M.A.
at the Toronto University, then moving on to study
at Oxford University in England and Columbia University
in New York – an amazing education for anyone,
let alone a woman, in 1901.
Miss Guest taught at Parkhill Collegiate Institute
in North Middlesex, and established the Parkhill
Women’s Institute. She moved on to Belleville
Collegiate Institute and was appointed head of
the History & English Department in 1912.
When she returned to her parents’ home
for holidays, neighbourhood children were always
delighted to visit with her. She was a great mentor,
listening to the concerns of the young, and encouraging
them in their reading.
She became preoccupied with concern for young
people who had enlisted to fight in World War
I, particularly her sister Dr. Edna Guest who
had gone to the front in 1915. Miss Guest asked
for a leave from her teaching position in order
to serve in Britain in August 1916. She was appointed
to the British Red Cross to look after the needs
of wounded Canadians. As the food shortage became
acute in Great Britain in 1917, she took a position
with the British government. She organized Women’s
Institutes throughout Scotland, Wales and England,
concentrating on food conservation.
When she left Britain at the war’s end,
she was presented with a beautiful jeweled brooch-pin,
designed with the crest of the Women’s Institute,
and a maple leaf honouring Canada at one end and
the Rose of Britain on the other, all inset with
pearls. After Miss Guest’s death in 1936,
this pin was given to the Birr Women’s Institute
to be worn in turn by each president.
After a tour of the poppy-covered graves of
young soldiers in Belgium and France, Miss Guest
returned to Canada in November 1919. She accepted
a position with the Administration Department
with the Ontario government in Toronto. She traveled
to Women’s Institutes across Ontario, lecturing
and writing. Her work took her to isolated areas
in Northern Ontario. She continued with her interest
in young people, establishing programs for Junior
Institute groups. She conducted contests that
resulted in prizes sponsored by the Ontario Department
of Agriculture being awarded each year at the
Canadian National Exhibition. Frequently, she
accompanied the winners on trips to places such
as Chicago.
Her writing skills led her to becoming a member
of the Toronto Women’s Press Club, and she
had many articles published promoting the welfare
of Canadian country life. Just prior to her death
on May 12, 1936, she wrote, “Goodbye to
the Women’s Institutes that have done so
much for a beautiful Canada – it has been
a privilege to live and see the second generation
carry on. I leave them now, myself joyous and
confident.”
As a tribute to her leadership and mentoring
ability, Emily Jane Guest has been nominated by
the Birr Women’s Institute and is today
inducted into the Middlesex County Agricultural
Hall of Fame.
Previous Page
|
