THE JOURNAL
FEATURING RECENT NEWS.
APPS, VISIT CMHR,
AND A SPECIAL SECTION ON
OBTAINING THE VOTES
FOR WOMEN
vol. 40, no. 3, April 2015
M.S.S.T.A Board 2014-15
President: Marie Zorniak
1st Vice President: Shannon Campbell
2nd Vice President: Kevin Lopuck
Past President: John Thompson
Secretary: Kara Wickstrom-Street
Treasurer: Elana Spence
SAGE Coordinators: Marie Zorniak &
John Thompson
SAGE Registrars: Luke Klassen &
Katie Williams
Social Media: Katie Williams &
Luke Klassen
Journal: Linda Connor
Archivist: Linda McDowell, Dave
McDowell & Alan Mason
Manitoba Education: Linda Connor
Middle Years: Kandyce Jaska
Canada’s History: Joel Ralph
University of Winnipeg: Barb Taylor
Teachers at Large: Cam Shepard
Vanessa Johnson
Curtis Cawson
Wendy Hildebrand
Alan Mason
The Manitoba Social Science Teacher is the
official publication of the Manitoba Social
Science Teachers’ Association Inc., and is
printed by the Manitoba Teachers’ Society,
191 Harcourt Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba,
R3J 3H3.
Opinions of the writers are not necessarily those of either MSSTA or the Manitoba
Teacher’s Society.
Content indexed in the Canadian Index
ISSN 0316-6473
Journal
Index to Vol. 40, no. 3, April 2015
President’s Message - M. Zorniak ........................... 3
MSSTA AGM May 23 ............................................. 4
Distinguished Service Award M.Zorniak ................. 4
Teaching History Summer Institute L. Connor ........ 5
Nov. 2014 ASC in Charlottetown K. Williams ........ 6
FAST Voices Into Action Social Justice app. ........7-8
January 28, 2016- Celebration - L. McDowell ...9-10
Articles on Obtaining the Vote for Women
Timeline, Nellie was not a Suffragette
Why Manitoba Women Wanted the Vote ............... 11
Manitoba Women Teachers Who Worked to get
the Vote (Manitoba Historical Society website) ... 12
Nellie McClung / Elma Brown ............................. 13
Salome Halldorson / Jessie Kirk ............................ 14
Rose Alcin (Jewish Heritage Centre website) ........ 15
Marie-Antonette Lemaire (early Red River teachers) 16
Mary Dyma ............................................................ 17
Some Background and Events in the Campaign .... 18
Grain Growers Five Cartoons ...........................19-20
The Fabulous Four and the Suffrage Group........... 21
The Political Equality League / The Women’s Parliament, Jamuary 28, 1914 ................................................ 22
2 Other Groups: 1. The Grain Gowers’ Assoc. ...... 23
2. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union ... 24
Poem. ‘Tis the song of Little Mary /Poster ............ 25
Where There’s A Will There’s A Way .................... 26
The Petition ............................................................ 27
The Final Word - Two Premiers ............................. 28
Nominate a Teacher of Agriculture ........................ 29
Some Geography Apps (U. of W. Student teachers)
TED- ideas worth spreading - Chelsea Kincewicz . 30
NASA Earth As Art - Madison Tokaar-Wolff ......... 31
Geography Quiz Game - Joel Gamache ................. 32
Take Your Class on a Journey of Inspiration
The Canadian Museum of Human Rights programs ..... 33-35
REEL CANADA- special fim package offer! ........ 36
April, 2015
2
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Marie Zorniak
H
ello to all, more hours of sunshine and
warm spring days are on the horizon….
A few thoughts …. have you had a positive
teaching year? I hope that you have taught
a lot, learned a lot, shared a lot and laughed
a lot.
As our school year begins to wind toward the
end, we have special dates in history upon
us; 2015 and 2016 will mark a number of
centenaries, anniversaries, bicentennials,
memorials and tributes. This year a number
of teachers and students will be embarking
on the Vimy Tour to pay respects and homage to the fallen of the First World War. This
year will be one of the largest tours that will
travel to Belgium, and France from Manitoba.
I count the experiences I had at Vimy, when I
was there, among one of the most profound,
memorable and moving of my life.
As a further look into history, we have a
dedicated section to the role of women and
the vote. We are very fortunate to include
in this journal edition research articles and
records about this time period. Linda McDowell has given graciously of her time and
expertise to share these resources she has
prepared.
Did you know…The first province to give
women the vote was Manitoba - Nellie McClung had rented the Walker Theatre in Winnipeg in 1914 and staged a mock parliament,
casting herself as premier and putting men
in the role of having to beg her for the vote.
The event was a great success, both financially and politically.
Journal
It was during the First World War that some
women in Canada were finally allowed to
vote and in 1919 all women over 21 had the
right to vote in a federal election. Women
acquired the federal vote in three stages: the
Military Voters Act of 1917 allowed nurses
and women in the armed services to vote;
the Wartime Election Act extended the vote
to women who had husbands, sons or fathers
serving overseas; and all women over 21
were allowed to vote as of January 1, 1919.
McClung was also one of the five women who
campaigned to have women recognized as
“persons” by the Supreme Court so that they
could qualify to sit on the Senate. They were
finally successful with their “Persons Case”
in 1929.
We are already in the planning stages for
SAGE 2015. The first round of workshop
proposal forms have gone out. If you are
interested in presenting something at SAGE
this year, or know of someone who has a
really unique classroom activity, please get
in touch with us. We have had a great deal
of requests for Geography and elementary
sessions from our feedback forms. We need
your help to share what you know. If you
have a neat something to share, we would
love to hear from you.
Take care ‘til next time…
Respectfully submitted
April, 2015
Marie Zorniak
Learn All Ways, Always Learn
3
MSSTA AGM
May 23, 2015 Saturday
9:30 AM
Dalnavert Museum
61 Carlton Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 1N7
RSVP Attendance or Regrets
[email protected]
A Distinguished Service Award
was presented to:
Marie Zorniak
(our president)
On February 16th at the 30th Annual Heritage Awards
by Heritage Winnipeg, Marie was honoured for her
work as a driving force and long-time chair of the
Provincial Red River Heritage Fair. The Heritage Fair
activities have been an important part of Winnipeg’s
educational offerings since Historica sponsored the first
event in 1993. She has volunteered her time and expertise for over twenty years, and has ben an integral part
of facilitating this event and its long-time success.
We are pleased to share Marie’s good news and invite
teachers to particpate in your local Heritage Fairs,
Marie was presented her certificate by David McDowell,
MSSTA life member and past president of Heritage Winniipeg.
Marie is also an active member of Manitoba Living History
Society (see their website).
Journal
April, 2015
4
Teaching History Summer Institute 2015
Monday, July 6th to Wednesday July 8th, 2015
New Approaches to Teaching and Learning Métis History
W
ho are the Métis? A northwestern
North American people of mixed
European and indigenous ancestry, the
Métis advanced from a distinct culture in
the Great Lakes region in the seventeenth
century to, by the nineteenth century, a
nation to be reckoned with in the Red River
Resistance. From the early fur trade to the
bison hunts and the founding of Manitoba,
the Métis people have played a foundational
role in the history of Manitoba and Canada. Until relatively recently, however, that
role remained obscure, as a culturally-rich,
economically enterprising, and politically
savvy people who helped found a province
endured discrimination, forced into “invisible communities” that, like St. Laurent,
were only recently recognized as integral
Métis settlements. The Métis had become
victims of a history that had no place for
“half breeds.” Rights historically won were
lost, only to be regained after generations of
struggle.
The 2015 University of Winnipeg-Manitoba
Education Teaching History Summer Institute explores the relationship between the
histories of Métis peoples and education
toward appreciating, understanding, and
communicating these perspectives and this
history to students and the public. Insights
from Métis experiences, oral history, and
cutting-edge scholarship will be combined
to produce practical and creative strategies
for the classroom. The Métis people’s history offers a valuable case study for examining the interpretation, representation, and
memorialization of history in several different museums. As such, the institute will
offer opportunities for teachers to explore
Journal
Peter Seixas’s Big Six historical thinking
concepts. This year’s Institute also offers
significant curricular connections with relevant themes in Grade 11 Social Studies and
Grade 12 Aboriginal Education.
Métis perspectives, history, and historical
representation are considered from the
point of view of understanding questions of
Métis identity, culture, and nationhood; and
also from the perspective of contemporary
issues, with a regional emphasis that focuses on the Manitoba Métis nation. As 1815 is
considered a key historical moment (first
recorded in French) marked by the declaration of the Métis at Red River as a distinct,
collective identity, an identity as a people,
as a nation, the timing of this institute is
particularly apropos.
This year the Institute is pleased to be in
partnership with the Manitoba Museum, the
Manitoba Métis Federation, and St. Boniface
Museum. As part of this partnership, Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning
encourages teachers from Grades 5 to 12 to
participate in this valuable learning experience.
For more information, contact the coordinator: Jason Yaremko [email protected], 204 786-9353.
Linda Connor
Social Studies Curriculum Consultant
Instruction, Curriculum and Assessment Branch
Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning
1567 Dublin Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3E 3J5
Telephone: 204-945-0838
Toll Free: 1-800-282-8069 Ext. 0838
Fax: 204-948-3668
E-mail: [email protected]
April, 2015
5
November 2014 Association for Canadian Studies Conference
in Charlottetown, PEI
Katie Williams - Kildonan East Collegiate
In November, I had the good fortune to
attend the Association for Canadian Studies’ national conference in Charlottetown,
PEI. It was a great experience with a variety of sessions related to history, geography, and education, with participants from
across Canada.
I travelled to the island a couple of
days before the event began, and was
pleasantly surprised that many of the
notions I had about idyllic countryside
with green hills and sprawling coasts of
red clay were fairly close to reality – save
for the heavy dusting of snow that November can bring. However, I was safe from
the alternating icy drizzle and light snowflakes while attending a session of PEI’s
Legislative Assembly in the historic chambers of Province House. The lively sitting
in the midst of a leadership race for both
the government and opposition seemed as
though it may parallel some of the lively
conversations about confederation’s possibilities held 150 years ago at the Charlottetown Conference. It was the perfect
introduction to the 2-day conference which
held the theme, (Re)making Confederation: (Re)Imagining Canada.
One of the highlights of the ACS conference was the chance to sit in sessions
(and continue discussions afterwards) with
teachers from multiple provinces, journalists and authors, academics, representatives from museums, and representatives
from government and non-government organizations. Each panel and audience was
unique, with incredible diversity of perspectives on the topic at hand. Peter Seixas’ keynote, “Celebratory Heritage and
Critical History: Are They Compatible?”
had participants buzzing as we discussed
Journal
the implications of teaching or displaying
iconic figures such as John A. Macdonald.
The fear that audiences may canonize or
demonize a historic figure when presented
with an overly celebratory or critical view
of their achievements and failures became
a hot-button topic, particularly where the
interests of a government or non-government organizations intersected with the
teachers in attendance that attempt to
promote critical thinking skills in their
students.
The teachers at the conference did not
just speak about their students, but some
also spoke alongside their students. Running adjunct with the ACS conference was
the Guardians of Confederation conference
for high school students. Representatives
from each province and territory in Canada were brought to Charlottetown with
the goal of approaching confederation
through the question, “knowing what we
know now, would we do it all over again
and become a country called Canada?”
April, 2015
6
This theme often crept into the panels as we
discussed Canadian confederation in sessions
such as: The Gπeography of Confederation: the
Land and How It Factored into the Making of
Canada; Evaluating Historical thinking; Sir John
A.: Myths and Realities; and Planning 2017: Canada’s 150th - What Should We Mark, Celebrate,
Acknowledge?
The next Association for Canadian Studies
conference will be held in November 2015 in `,
Quebec. I look forward to another quality year of
stimulating dialogue about geography, history,
and Canadian studies in general, as well as the possibility that ACS may join MSSTA
for a conference in the years to come.
The PEI Legislative Interior - the one area you could photograph
Journal
April, 2015
7
Voices into Action (voicesintoaction.ca)
Preparing Students to Respond to Racism and Prejudice
Racism, prejudice, antisemitism and bullying are issues that continue to plague humanity. Technology
has provided a powerful tool to those who spread hate, but now we have a new online resource that can
prepare students to respond effectively, and even be proactive promoting social justice. On March 9,
educators attended a seminar at the Manitoba Ministry of Education offices, co-hosted by Social Studies
Consultant, to learn about Voices into Action (ViA). Now, we want teachers all across Manitoba to know
about and use this FREE resource. The program, entirely online, was designed to be used in many subjects over four years, and on all the above devices, as well as tablet.
It is:
- professionally created, directed by a team from OISE/UT
- curriculum linked to 23 secondary subjects
- entirely and always FREE
- completely online, customizable,
- highlights past and present Social Justice issues
(a small sample: the Holocaust, the Aboriginal Experience, Islamophobia, gender issues, the Black
Experience, Bosnia, Rwanda, Armenia)
- engaging, challenging, empowering and inspiring!
To register: voicesintoaction.ca (you may opt-out of receiving emails if you prefer not to be notified
about updates)
The teacher can easily provide customized notes to one student or one thousand students by creating his
or her own messages (please send me a request for a “cheat sheet” that will help you navigate registering
and getting set up to use ViA). Investing just one hour of your precious time can provide you with many,
many hours of excellent programming.
For more information, please contact:
David Katzman
FAST-ViA Coordinator MB/SK [email protected]
Journal
April, 2015
8
JANuARy 28, 2016 WILL BE AN
OccASION FOR cELEBRATION
Linda McDowell [email protected] Tel. 204-489-6512
One hundred years earlier, Manitoba became the first province in
Canada to recognize the right of women* to vote in provincial elections and to run for office. The accompanying material is intended
to give teachers some background information on the topic and to
remind us that women teachers played a role in this campaign and in
subsequent fights for the rights of women.
This period of history has been an interest of mine since university so I’ve collected information that I am happy to share. I’ve tried
to give the material here as concisely as possible. Feel free to contact
me if you have questions or if I can give you any help.
*This did not include indigenous women. Treaty Indians (men and women) got
the right to vote in Manitoba in 1952. They got the right to vote federally in 1960.
Terminology:
Franchise. This term is sometimes used to mean voting
rights. In this case it meant the right to vote that was often
given by the ruler, such as the king. It was associated with the
idea of a favour granted – often for a particular purpose. (Not
to be confused with a franchise to run a Tim Horton’s coffee
shop!)
The term suffrage is also used to mean the right to vote
but it comes from early words associated with prayers or
petitions – the people would have to petition the ruler for
their rights.
Example: The Political Equality League of Manitoba collected
thousands of signatures for the petition requesting women’s
suffrage.
Nellie Was NOT a SUFFRAGETTE!
(Illustration is from a teaching aid called a Memorabilia Pack on
Suffragettes. Published by Memorabilia Pack, Edinburgh)
Journal
April, 2015
World Voting
Rights for Women
– up to 1920
Wyoming, USA 1869
Colorado
1893
New Zealand
1893
South Australia 1893
Utah
1895
Idaho
1896
Western Australia 1899
Australia (federal) 1902
New South Wales 1902
Tasmania
1903
Queensland (Aust.)1905
Finland
1906
Norway
1908
Victoria (Aust.) 1909
Washington (state) 1910
California
1911
Norway
1913
Denmark. Iceland 1915
Manitoba
1916
Saskatchewan 1916
Alberta
1916
USSR
1917
Netherlands
1917
Britain, Canada
(federal)
1918
Germany
1919
United States (federal)
1920
9
NELLIE WAS NOT A SUFFRAGETTE!
Suffragette is a term often used incorrectly
by modern writers who don’t know their history.
The term originated in Britain in The Daily Mail
newspaper. In their January 10, 1906 issue a
journalist coined the name to describe a certain
type of “Votes for Women” campaigner.
The term is a feminine diminutive, and was
intended to be patronizing or even insulting. The
women in this group adopted the term and used
it to their advantage.
This particular group was not campaigning
for votes for all women but wanted the vote to
be limited to middle and upper class women –
those who were educated and owned property.
Some critics at the time said their group should
be called “Votes for Ladies” rather than “Votes
for Women.”
The most important aspect of their campaign, however, was their use of violence. Led
by Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, they
became impatient with slow progress and added
widespread bombing to their legitimate political campaign. They used high explosive bombs,
incendiary devices and letter bombs. Their
targets included St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Bank
of England, the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh,
Liverpool Cotton Exchange, the Glasgow Botanic Gardens, Westminster Abbey, a cathedral in
Ireland, a house belonging to the Prime Minister,
some trains, and several mailboxes. Bystanders and neighbours were often injured in these
bombings. Some British historians have suggested that the IRA learned tactics from this group.
By these actions the Women’s Social and
Political Union gained publicity and were often
imprisoned. No other women in English-speaking countries used these tactics – and many of
the “colonies” gained their objective earlier than
the British women.
The other group of campaigners for votes for
women in Britain were called suffragists. This
term can obviously be used to include men and
women and this group was committed to using
lawful means of persuasion in order to achieve
their end.
The Manitoba campaigners for the vote
clearly rejected violence as a method to gain
their rights and they stated that they would
eventually win by using “rational argument and
persistence.” Their campaign always received
support from a considerable number of men and
groups such as The Political Equality League and
the Grain Growers’ Association had both men
and women members. Proponents of the social
gospel movement supported them, as did the
Trades and Labour Council.
Nellie and other women travelled the prairies speaking to groups to try to get their support. Nellie McClung had already established a
reputation as a speaker and entertainer when
she went out to publicize her books. In fact,
Nellie was so successful that when she began
speaking on suffrage she was able to charge for
the performances and still get full
houses! (The suffrage groups didn’t
have the money to pay travel and
living expenses for speakers.)
An ad from The Suffragette
newspaper, December 26, 1913.
Suffragettes were being trained
to make presentations and to use
force on protesters and police.
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April, 2015
10
WHY MANITOBA WOMEN WANTED THE VOTE
1. Alcohol. Many families suffered from poverty
due to the alcoholism of the male head of the
family. Alcohol was readily available and largely
unregulated so it was not unusual to read stories
of the drunken husband gambling or being
defrauded of family money or property. Alcohol
was also one of the common “presents” that
political candidates gave to their supporters and
the “Liquor Interests” gave financial support to
political parties. Not surprisingly, political candidates were reluctant to regulate the alcohol
business. Women and social reformers saw
Prohibition as the only solution to the problem.
2. Legal Issues. The best summary concerning
women’s legal issues is the following:
The law’s unequal treatment of women fuelled
some of that political debate. Women did not
have the right to vote. They were not permitted
to homestead unless they were widowed or had
dependants to support. Fathers were the sole
guardians of their infant children and had control and custody of them even though mothers
were equally responsible for child support. Since
the inception of the 1875 Rights and Property of
Married Women Act, all Manitoba women had
the power to hold and dispose of real and personal property, by will or otherwise. However,
despite married women’s contributions to their
families, they had no claim to the property that
their husbands accumulated during marriage. A
husband could sell the family home without his
wife’s consent, or entirely cut her out of his will
unimpeded by any form of dower law.
From R.E. Hawkins. “Lillian Beynon Thomas, Woman
Suffrage and the Return of Dower to Manitoba” Manitoba Law Journal, (1999) 27 Man. L.J. 45-113
NOTES:
(a) Only about 150 women ever homesteaded in
Canada but thousands of women homesteaded
in the American border states, such as Montana.
Women were not allowed to homestead in Canada
on the same basis as men until 1930. By then, most
good homestead land was gone.
(b) Both Nellie McClung and Lillian Beynon Thomas told of instances where a man might desert his
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family, leaving them with a mortgage on the family
home. In several cases, the mother and children
worked and paid off the mortgage only to find that
the husband could sell their home without their
knowledge or consent.
(c) The lack of attention to Dower Law in the
NorthWest was sometimes blamed on the fact that
there were “country wives” who would then gain
legal status for property but it seems more likely
that the real obstacle was land speculation. Dower
Law would require the wife to sign a waiver and to
be counseled about the consequences if the family
home were to be sold. This process would slow
the land transaction – not a good idea in a time of
rapid land sales.
3. Fairness. Women argued that their labour
helped the farmer to “prove” his homestead
claim and to support the family. Wives and children frequently fed the family and brought home
precious cash by raising and selling vegetables,
milk and cream and eggs.
4. Isolation and lack of legal protection from
spousal abuse.
There are letters to government officials, especially some even to Premiers, from women
on isolated farms, asking for protection from
abusive husbands. The government officials had
to reply that there was nothing they could do.
In one Saskatchewan instance that I read, other
sources indicated the local men threatened the
particular husband and the community monitored the situation as best they could.
5. Poor health and welfare facilities for
children (and expectant mothers).
6. Unregulated labour situations where
women who worked in factories or as domestic servants had few rights or protections.
This was one reason that the votes for women
had support from the Trades and Labour Council
in Winnipeg.
7. Corruption in politics and public life
The argument was that women, the “gentler sex”
would bring morality and honesty to politics
and that they would improve public life.
April, 2015
11
MANITOBA WOMEN TEACHERS WHO WORKED TO GET THE VOTE
(and the Right to Run for Office) in the province
Why were they involved?
t Teachers had a better education than
most women, and many men, in early
Manitoba.
t Young women were often sent to teach
in small rural schools. These schools
were the heart of community activity and
teachers could give leadership, but could
also see social problems.
t Many of the young women teachers married bachelors and widowers in the community, and thus were able to influence
the community cultural activities. Some
people have said that the Departments of
Education were the marriage bureaus of
the west!
t When a young woman teacher married,
she had to quit teaching so she often
wanted some outside interests – church,
W.I., WCTU. (Married women in the
community would only be called on to
teach in case of emergency.)
t Married women could keep in contact
with the outside world, and sometimes
make some money, by writing articles
and book reviews for the various newspapers such as The Family Herald and Weekly Star or The Grain Growers’ Guide. The
Guide became a very important factor
because the Grain Growers’ Association
admitted women to equal membership
in the early 1900s and supported woman suffrage. The Guide was particularly
important when Francis Marion Beynon
was editor of the Women’s Page.
t Former teachers were among the first
women to be elected to school boards.
On the following pages are details about
some of the teachers who worked for
women’s rights, and often served in elected
offices, bringing their talents to benefit their
communities.
You, too, can research your district libraries,
archives and local histories to find similar
stories of women who made a difference!
A major source for historical research is the material now available on the website of
The Manitoba Historical Society
http://www.mhs.mb.ca/
They are the major Manitoba group adding constantly to the stories about
Memorable Manitobans, and are now scanning local histories,
to make them available for electronic searching.
They have the publication Manitoba History, and promote the work of young historians.
Check your own community for a historical society that might assist you
to research your local memorable Manitobans.
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April, 2015
12
Nellie Mooney McClung
Teacher
Nellie was born in Ontario and came to Manitoba as a child, growing up in the Wawanesa area. Part of a lively Scots-Irish family, she
became a confident and capable young woman who always wanted to teach and to write. Some of the women of her time became
teachers because there were few other respectable professions
for an educated woman but, according to accounts from former
students, Nellie was a dedicated and very successful teacher. In
1892 she got her first job at Hazel School, a rural school 3 miles
north of Manitou. During the next years she taught in Manitou and
Treherne, with time out to continue her education. After marrying Wes McClung she has unable to teach so got involved in such
groups as the WCTU, and began her writing career. In 1908, her first book, Sowing Seeds in Danny,
appeared and her writing career was launched. After the family moved to Winnipeg she became
involved in the Political Equality League and was so successful as a speaker with a sense of humour
that she would be known as writer, speaker, and suffragist for the rest of her life.
The McClungs moved to Edmonton before the vote was won in Manitoba but Nellie campaigned
here when she could. In later life she was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, a member of the Famous Five in the Persons Case, member of the Board of Governors of the CBC and often
a Canadian representative at such events as that of the Women’s War conference of 1918; Methodist
church delegate to Ecumenical Conference in London; and the only Canadian woman at League of
Nations. She died in Victoria in 1951 and is still one of the most famous Canadian women.
Elma Kennedy Brown
Teacher
Elma Kennedy Brown has not been very well-known as a woman
trailblazer in Manitoba. She was born in Westport, Ontario in 1879 and
came to Manitoba in the early 1900s. In Winnipeg she taught at several schools, including Elmwood (1908-1909) and Lord Selkirk School
(1910-11). In May of 1911 she married John Kerr Brown, a pharmacist.
As a married woman she could no longer teach and spent the next few
years raising their five children.
In 1915 she found the time to run for the Winnipeg School Board and
became the first woman trustee in the city, representing the ward east
of the Red River, and including the districts of St. John, Bannerman and
Bird’s Hill. She served on the board for 1915 and 1916, at the time when Winnipeg School Board
had 589 teachers and 45 buildings with about 27, 000 students. During her term on school board,
there were no women on City Council – the first one was elected in 1919.
Mrs. Brown continued her community work as a volunteer teacher of English for immigrant students and her family tells of her receiving a medal from the Hungarian government for this work.
She also served as President of the Women’s Auxiliary to the Pharmacists of Manitoba. In 1946 she
published a book of poetry called Threshing Grain.
Elma Kennedy Brown died in 1962 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery. (H. Brown interview)
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April, 2015
13
(Elin) Salome Halldorson
Teacher
Salome was the first woman of Icelandic descent to be elected to the
Manitoba Legislature. She served as a Social Credit MLA from 1936
to 1941.
Born at Lundar in 1888, Salome was the daughter of Halldor Halldorson and Kristin Palsdottir. She studied at Wesley College where
she was Lady Stick. As a teacher she specialized in languages, teaching Latin, French and German first at Jon Bjarnason Academy in
Winnipeg for twenty years. Later teaching positions after her time in
the Legislature were in Morden and Transcona and at Balmoral Hall in Winnipeg.
Salome Halldorson became interested in the Social Credit philosophy and ran for that party
in St. George. When she was elected she was the second woman to serve in the Manitoba
Legislature. Her party had only 5 seats but they held the balance of power. In 1940 the party formally entered a coalition with the Bracken government but Halldorson refused to join
and was supported by the federal party. She lost the next election but continued her work
in the Social Credit party and ran as a Social Credit candidate in the federal constituency of
Selkirk.
Jessie Lennox Kirk
Teacher
Jessie Kirk was born in England and trained as a teacher, becoming a
principal there before she came to Canada. She and her husband moved
here after the First World War and she became a teacher, first in Lockport,
then in Winnipeg at Isaac Brock, Principal Sparling, Mulvey, Greenway and
Brooklands schools. (Married women were not explicitly barred from teaching in Winnipeg until 1930- 1946.)
During that time Jessie became a prominent member of the Winnipeg
Trades and Labour Council and often spoke on social issues at City Council
or at other public meetings. She was particularly concerned with the poor
housing and used the term “war profiteers”. This was not the behavior expected of teachers, especially women teachers, in those days and in 1918 her contract was not going to be renewed. The
Trades and Labour Council protested, the school board denied, and Jessie was eventually reinstated
and taught at Brooklands in September.
In April of 1920 Kirk was nominated to run as a Dominion Labour Party candidate for the Manitoba
Legislature but the nominations were withdrawn in support of the strike leaders who were being
held on sedition charges. Later that year she ran for City Council and won. She was the first woman
to be elected to Winnipeg City Council. Jessie was appointed to a number of committees and became
a well-known speaker in the Council. She was defeated in the 1922 election but teamed up with the
Conservative Women’s League and ran again under their label for 1923, 1924 and 1934 - but lost
each time.
Even in the 1920s when she was not elected to City Council she was several times a member of the
Council’s Public Boards (unelected citizens served on these) such as Civic Charities where she is
listed as “ex-Alderman Jessie Kirk”. Obviously, she was still a power. Jessie Kirk continued her civic
activities for many years.
Journal
April, 2015
14
Rose Cherniak Alcin (Elkin)
Teacher
Rose Alcin was born in Moghilos, Byelorussia on January 20, 1882.
Her parents were dissidents and were active in leftist groups. The
family came to Canada in 1904 where they became active in radical
Jewish circles such as the Arbeiter Ring (Workman’s Circle) School
Committee and the Jewish Civic Representatives to the Fiftieth
Anniversary of Jewish Settlement in Canada. She and her husband,
Max Alcin, were committed to Jewish cultural and political causes
and they were often called “socialists”.
Rose taught at I.L. Peretz School, a school that had been founded by radicals in 1914 and
wanted to teach Yiddish culture rather than Hebrew. In 1919 she accepted the nomination
for the Labour Party’s school trustee in Ward 5. She was the first Jewish woman in Canada
to run for political office.
The 1919 civic elections were very dramatic because of the Winnipeg Strike. The elections
were actually held during the same week as the trials of the Strike leaders. To make matters more contentious, several of the strike leaders were running for public office and some
actually won seats as aldermen. In fact, John Queen, one of the strike leaders running on the
Labour ticket, spoke on Rose’s behalf.
Rose was in a tough battle. Her opponent was the incumbent, Max Steinkopf, a well-known
businessman and supporter of Talmud Torah School. Rose’s father was employed at Talmud
Torah and feared her candidacy might cause him to lose his job. It was a hot campaign with
nasty anonymous letters and a hostile media. For this reason, Rose rarely spoke in public.
Those opposed to her used the “little wife and woman” arguments as well as the arguments
that she was not well-educated, did not speak English and was “probably” a member of the
Socialist Democratic Party of Canada. Just after the Russian Revolution this was a powerful
weapon and the newspapers used inflammatory language – Winnipeg children would be
educated as “slaves of socialism”.
Surprisingly, Rose won with a majority of 679 votes in Ward 5. Rose worked on the Supply
Building and Management Committee. After two years on the Board, she decided not to run
again but continued her work with Jewish cultural and political causes.
Rose Alcin died November 28, 1964.
For Jewish History of Western Canada go to
Suite C140 - 123 Doncaster Street, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3N 2B2
P: 204.477.7460 F: 204.477.7465 www.jhcwc.org
Office Hours: Mon to Thu 9-4
For archival or genealogical requests, please email Ava at [email protected]. For all other requests, please email Ilana Abrams,
General Manager at [email protected]
Journal
April, 2015
15
Marie-Antoinette Lemaire (née Lamoureux)
Teacher
Marie-Antoinette Lamoureux was born on September 8, 1886 in
Saint-Norbert, Manitoba. Her parents were Hubert Lamoureux from
Quebec (of French parents) and Marguerite Jolibois, daughter of a
fur trader from North Dakota. The family originally consisted of two
daughters and three sons but two of them died in the diphtheria epidemic of 1894.
She attended l’école Saint-François de Sales #975, where she learned
Polish from some of her Polish classmates; she also studied at the
Couvent des Soeurs Grises de Saint-Norbert. In 1905 she attended
l’École normale de Saint-Boniface.
At age twenty-one she began her career at l’école de Saint-François de Sales #975. It was a challenging assignment for a young teacher who had 52 students of different ethnic groups – French
Canadian, English, Métis and Polish! Fortunately she was trilingual, having learned Polish as a
student. Two years later she moved to l’école Laramée de Saint-Adolphe #972, (15 students),
and seven years later she was principal of l’école de Saint-Claude #988; from there, she went to
Aubigny where she taught until she married Paul Lemaire in November, 1917.
Marie-Antoinette used her skills as a teacher in raising her own children but she was still able to
give her time and talents to the community. She was a trustee for the school district of Barkman
for eighteen years and secretary-treasurer for the same division for twenty-one years. During this
time she never failed to attend the executive meetings of the Manitoba Association of School
Trustees. She was also pleased to “board the teachers” and discussions with them enabled her to
keep up with the subjects close to her heart.
After her husband’s death in 1948, she decided, at age sixty-two, to return to teaching and this
new career lasted for more than twenty years. She started a kindergarten class at Saint-Norbert,
then was hired at St. John’s Ravenscourt to teach English, and later took charge of early years at
a private school - l’école du Précieux-Sang in Norwood for the last fifteen years of her career.
Marie-Antoinette died on October 11, 1983 at the age of 97 – a life well-lived.
*****
With special thanks to Corinne Tellier, St. Norbert historian.
Some early women teachers in Red River.
- In the 1830s, Mary Jones, wife of Rev. David Jones, taught young girls in the area that is now St. John’s
Cathedral – an early version of Red River Academy. She taught the children of settlers, Hudson’s Bay Co.
employees and First Nations people.
- Miss Matilda Davis opened her school in the St. Andrews area about 1840. She was to educate the daughters of the Hudson’s Bay Co. and other settlers. The students paid fees and the Hudson’s Bay Company gave
some assistance.
- The Grey Nuns began to teach the children of the area as soon as they arrived in 1844. The first Winnipeg
school was opened by the Grey Nuns in 1869, later taken over by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus
and Mary in 1874.
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April, 2015
16
Mary Dyma
Teacher
Mary was born in Ukraine in 1899 and emigrated to Winnipeg
in 1920. She was an orphan of the First World War and came to
Winnipeg to live with her aunt, Joanna Westlake. She enrolled in
St. Mary’s Academy at the Gr. 11 level to learn English. She obviously learned quickly because she graduated with a B.A. from the
University of Manitoba in 1923, having done four years’ work in
three! She was the first woman of Ukrainian descent to graduate
from a Canadian university.
She taught in Stuartburn for one year and was school principal in Ethelbert the following
year. In 1925 she married Dr. Bronislaw Dyma, a Winnipeg physician and surgeon. They
had two sons.
Women were not usually allowed to teach after marriage. Her career in teaching was short
but, like many other women teachers, she used her skills and knowledge in other areas.
With her husband’s support, she ran as an Independent candidate for the Winnipeg School
Board and was elected. She served as a trustee from 1931 -1935. During that time she also
became President of the League of Women Voters, working with such Winnipeg leaders as
Margaret McWilliams.
Mary Dyma was very active in the Ukrainian community. In 1928 she organized the
Ukrainian Handicraft Guild (affiliated with the Canadian Handicraft Guild); in 1944 she
became one of the founding members of the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League of Canada
and was its first national president. In 1944 she was a founding member and first national
president of the Ukrainian Canadian Women’s Committee (an umbrella organization uniting all Ukrainian Women’s organizations in Canada.) She was president of the organization
from1944-46; 1951-53 and 1961-64. A Ukrainian chapter of the I.O.D.E. was established in
her honour and she attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London. She and Dr.
Dyma helped many displaced persons to settle in Canada.
She received many awards for her service to the community – the Shevchenko Medal, a
Centennial Medal, and a papal medal, “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice”. The Mary Dyma Education
Foundation assists girls/women pursuing religious studies in Canada, United States and
Europe. She was featured on the Manitoba Women’s Directorate poster as an outstanding
contributor to life in Manitoba.
Mary Dyma died October 12, 1998.
With grateful thanks to
Vicky Adams, Chair of the Mary Dyma Scholarship Committee,
Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League of Canada
and
- Gloria Romaniuk, Archivist, Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg
Journal
April, 2015
17
SOME BACKGROUND AND EVENTS IN THE CAMPAIGN
FOR WOMAN SUFFRAGE IN MANITOBA
Most dates will refer to Manitoba but occasionally there will be a starred date from another province – for purposes of comparison.
Pre-Contact We know that women of indigenous people participated in decision making
and, as more research is done, we are finding
out more about women’s roles .
* 1792 – Writings of Mary Wollstonecraft advocated for women’s rights in Britain.
*1809 -1834 Some unmarried women in
Lower Canada who met the property qualifications able to vote in this period – through
a clerical error in The Constitution Act. Later
legislation corrected the error. The women
who voted during that period were probably
the first women in the British Empire known
to have done so.
*1850s on– Woman suffrage activity in the
United States; Canadian women often attended American conferences; some suffrage
organizations in Ontario.
MANITOBA
Before 1870, “ women did not formally have
the right to attend councils and public elections but there is some evidence that women
did hold voting privileges under some circumstances.”
“ Voting rights for women were considered
by the Legislative Council of Assiniboia but
were excluded by the Convention of 40 – on
the ninth day.”
Source: Provisional Government of Assiniboia
Acknowledging the Contribution of Original North
American Peoples to the Creation of Manitoba
website.
*1883, 1884, 1885 - Canada. Sir John A.
Macdonald introduced suffrage bills for the
purpose of establishing uniform dominion
voting qualifications (each province in Confederation had different qualifications) but
each bill included a section giving federal vote
to widows and unmarried women. 1885 was
Journal
the only time there was real discussion about
women voting. The section concerning votes
for women did not pass.
1883 Mrs. Letitia Youmans, President of the
WCTU, delivered lectures on temperance in
Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg. The
WCTU and temperance groups soon adopted a
votes for women resolution.
1886 The Municipal Act of 1886 changed
the voter qualifications for local /municipal
elections, allowing both men and women
(married or single), who could meet the property qualifications, to vote. (British Columbia
women could vote in municipal elections in
1873.)
1890 – The Public Schools Act allowed women with the property qualifications to vote for
and to run for trustee positions. Manitoba
considered very radical because legislation in
most places only allowed unmarried women
to vote – married women had husbands to
vote for them.
1890s Formation of the Icelandic women’s
suffrage group. (Mrs. M.J. Benedictssen and
others) She published Freya, the only suffrage
paper in Canada.
1893 The WCTU adopted woman suffrage
resolution.
February 9, 1893- First Mock Parliament
in Manitoba, held at the Bijou Theatre in Winnipeg; debated the pros and cons of votes for
women with Dr. Yeomans as Premier
February 22, 1894 – First petition for
woman suffrage introduced in Manitoba
Legislature. (“Not yet printed “ so did not get
discussed in the Legislature!)
November 24, 1894. Dr. Amelia Yeomans
led formation of Equal Franchise Club.
1906 – Municipal voting rights for women
removed by the Legislative Assembly; unanimously restored in 1907. (There’s a story here
April, 2015
18
– to be included in a later article.)
1907 – Lillian Beynon Thomas (a former
teacher) was assigned the Women’s Page of
The Weekly Free Press and Prairie Farmer. She
became a leading strategist in the campaign
for woman suffrage.
1909 - University Women’s Club in Winnipeg was formed with Dr. Mary Crawford,
another suffrage leader, as president.
1911 – The Manitoba Grain Growers’ Association took position in favor of women's
suffrage in 1911, followed in 1912 by Saskatchewan and Alberta Associations; women
were admitted as associate members in 1912.
In 1914 the constitution was changed to
recognize women as full members. THIS WAS
A POWERFUL GROUP IN THE POLITICS OF
THE TIME.
1912 – The Political Equality League
formed with Lillian Beynon Thomas as first
president; both male and female members but
understood women would be the spokespeople and hold the major offices.
1912 – The Roaring River Suffrage League
formed by Gertrude Twilley Richardson, and
her sister. It later became a branch of the
Political Equality League and held meetings in
Swan River and Minitonas.
January 28, 1914 – The Women’s Parliament at the Walker Theatre, with Nellie as
Premier.
1915 – Elma Kennedy Brown took her seat
on the Winnipeg School Board - the first woman trustee in Winnipeg.
August, 1915 – T. C. Norris had agreed to
present votes for women legislation, but now
insisted on a petition with at least 20, 000
signatures. The Political Equality League mustered 60 men and women to collect signatures.
They presented two petitions with more than
40,000 names in total. A 93-year old woman
named Amelia Burritt collected more than
4,000 signatures on a separate petition.
January 10, 1916 – Lillian Beynon Thomas
discovered woman suffrage bill to be introduced to the Legislative Assembly would not
include right to hold office. Government said
it couldn’t be changed. The threat to raise the
issue at The Grain Growers’ Association annual
meeting made it possible to include the right
to run for office.
January 28, 1916 – Royal assent given to the
suffrage bill, Manitoba was the first province
to recognize the right of women to vote and to
run for office provincially.
The Five Cartoons on the next page:
You might have students look at these cartoons and describe what they tell you about the life of
the farm wife
For your information:
The five captioned cartoons appeared in the Grain Growers Guide from October 14 through
November 18, 1914. Each cartoon was accompanied by a chapter in the story of John and Jenny
Tightwad’s marriage. The cartoons were intended to illustrate the position of married women
on prairie homesteads, and the need for a Dower Law. The idea of the tightwad husband was
supported by a number of letters from readers.
From A Great Movement Underway: Women and the Grain Growers Guide, 1920-1928, Winnipeg: The
Record Society, XII, 1997, pp119-123
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April, 2015
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April, 2015
20
The Fabulous Four and the Suffrage Group That Never Quit!
Iceland had a long tradition of equal rights for
women and the Icelandic settlers brought this
tradition with them to Canada. When Manitoba joined Confederation women of Icelandic
background were understandably upset at the
loss of power for women. As early as January
16, 1870 a regular column was begun by Icelandic women in the newspaper, Heimskringla.
The “Fabulous Four” from the Icelandic
community were Margaret Benedictsson,
Thorbjorg Sigurdsson, Kristjana Thordarson and Steina Stefanson.
Margaret Jonsdottir Benedictsson (18661956), and her husband, Sigfus, began an early
campaign for women’s rights. He presented
public lectures in Winnipeg in 1889-1890
and she gave her first lecture in 1893. The
couple established a printing press in Selkirk
and in 1898 began printing the paper Freyja
(“woman”). It featured stories, biographical
articles, poetry and a children’s section It also
published lectures and letters. Freyja was
published from 1898-1910 and was the only
women’s suffrage paper published in Canada.
The Icelandic Women’s Suffrage Society
(Tilraum or “Endeavour”) was founded by
Margaret in 1908.
Margaret Benedictsson and Thorbjorg Sigurdsson (1872-1971) teamed up to found a
group called Sigurvon in 1910. Sigurdsson
carried on with the work of the group when
Benedictsson moved on to the United States.
Thorbjorg Sigurdsson was the wife of Gimli’s
first mayor. As a major businessman and one
interested in politics, he travelled extensively
in Europe and North America. Thorbjorg travelled with him as he examined various political
ideas in order to set up the Gimli municipal
structure.
Kristjana Thordarson (1870-1955) was the
sister of Mayor Sigurdsson and was President
of the Gimli Suffrage organization in 1916 and
gets credit for helping to get the vote. She was
the first woman elected to the Gimli School
Board and in 1920 was one of the early female
trustees in Manitoba.
Steina Stefanson Sommerville (1885-1963),
She was a teacher, teaching in rural Manitoba
and John Gunn School until 1913. She became
the Women’s News Editor of the Manitoba
Free Press and was involved in the suffrage
movement. After living in Alberta for a time
she returned to Winnipeg and wrote for the
Winnipeg Tribune and several Icelandic publications. She was crowned Fjallkona in 1950 at
the 75th Anniversary of New Iceland celebrations.
On May 12, 1991, the 75th Anniversary of the
legislation granting women equal provincial
voting rights, Gimli celebrated these four
women with a parade, a short play titled The
Fabulous Four and commemorative gifts to the
female descendants of these four women.
The Icelandic suffrage groups waged the longest and most sustained campaign in Manitoba.
Selkirk Journal, Feb.26, 1991, p.19; and Gimli W.I. The Gimli
Saga: History of Gimli, MB Altona:D.W.Friesen & Sons, 1975
Source: University of Manitoba, Elizabeth Dafoe Library, Icelandic
Collection
Journal
January 1907 issue of Freya suffragist newspaper that Margret
Benedictsson published with her husband.
April, 2015
21
The Political Equality League
The League was founded in 1912 by a group of
educated and progressive women and men. Dr.
Mary Crawford and Martha Hample were among
the leaders but all of the famous woman suffragists such as Nellie McClung, the Beynon sisters,
Cora Hind, the Flett sisters, and some men such
as A.V. Thomas, Fred Dixon and George Chipman
were members. It was understood that the women would run the group and the men would give
support. The group refused to use the violent
methods of the British suffragettes although they
had some British women in their group. The
P.E.L. was mainly based in Winnipeg but there
was also the Roaring River chapter and plenty of
support from women and men in rural Manitoba.
The Women’s Parliament Walker
Theatre January 28, 1914
On January 27, the previous day, a powerful delegation had gone to the Premier
about votes for women. This group included Political Equality League, the Icelandic Women’s Suffrage Association, the
Grain Growers’ Association, the WCTU,
the trades and Labour Council, the Canadian Women’s Press Club and the YWCA.
The five speakers (3 women and 2 men)
were headed by Nellie McClung. After
listening to them, Premier Roblin made a
lengthy reply, using a number of reasons.
The answer was a resounding “NO.”
The women had expected this and had
The plan was usually to have Nellie or the
arranged to present entertainment at the
Beynon sisters (especially Lillian) travel about
Walker Theatre the next night. One part
the province to speak to groups –presentations
was to be “How the Vote Was Won” but
often organized by the WCTU. Local newspapers the petitioners were men rather than
of the period often have notices of these speakwomen. Nellie was to be the Premier and
ers. Nellie McClung was especially popular and
her husband and son had taken notes from
often added material from her books as well.
the gallery the previous day so she was
Nellie often tells of the hostile speakers she
able to reply to the men, using Premier
faced in various places and of the nasty gossip
Roblin’s own words. These words and
about herself that she often heard. Nellie seems
her impersonation of the Premier brought
to have relished the battle and she and the
down the house and the newspapers reBeynon sisters also travelled to Saskatchewan
ported with glee.
at times to help the suffrage movement there.
The performance was a financial success
Moosomin, Saskatchewan had the first Political
but more importantly, it made suffrage
Equality League in Saskatchewan, assisted by
“respectable and fashionable.”1
Francis Marion Beynon.
It would be exactly two years before the
Their period of great activity was during the
vote was finally won but this event was a
election that T.C. Norris won and then collecting good start.
the signatures that he demanded before he was
The Nellie McClung Foundation has comready to introduce legislation for votes for wom- missioned a new play about this event. It
en. They organized the petitions and had 40,000 will be performed at the Prairie Theatre
signatures to present. The Political Equality
Exchange in October.
League was really finished by early to mid- 1916.
_____
Feminist historians of the 1980s have often been 1 Catherine Cleverdon, The Woman Suffrage
Movement in Canada, Toronto: U of T. Press,
rather condescending when writing about the
1950,
p. 59
League - but it did succeed in its objective.
Journal
April, 2015
22
Two other groups were also important:
1. THE GRAIN GROWERS’
ASSOCIATIONS
This is a group of farmer organizations formed
on the Prairies in the early 1900s.They formed
after the Manitoba Grain Act of July, 1900 regulated grain elevators and railways in the interests
of the farmers – a major victory for farmers who
had campaigned for this for years.
After some problems in handling grain occurred
in the early days, the Territorial Grain Growers’
Association was formed and it consisted of United Farmers groups for each of the 3 provinces.
The Manitoba group was formed at Virden in
1903 and reorganized in 1920.
The Grain Growers’ associations were very
powerful and they lobbied provinces for farm
issues but also for improvement in the rural way
of life. They published the Grain Growers’ Guide
from 1908 to 1928 and used it to lobby for better
roads, schools, medical aid and votes for women.
The Manitoba group supported votes for women from 1911 and all groups gave support from
1912. Women were invited to become associate
members from 1912 and full members in 1914.
The Grain Growers’ Guide was very important in
the votes for women campaign, especially after
Francis Marion Beynon became the women’s
editor.
When Lillian Beynon Thomas discovered
that the Norris government was only giving
the vote to women in the 1916 legislation she
tried to have the right to run for office included. She wasn’t getting any government support until she contacted the Grain Growers.
The Norris government included the right to
hold office in the final legislation.
The Lady Grain
Growers, 1914 in
front of Forrest
Hall, MB
From Homesteaders
and Homemakers
A History of Elton
Municipality in its
First Century, Brandon: Elton Historical
Committee, 1973,
p. 138.
Journal
April, 2015
23
2. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union
The WCTU was originally an American organization formed in Ohio in the 1870s
and soon organized as an international organization. The Canadian version was organized in 1885 with Letitia Youmans of Pictou, Ontario as the leader. The women
who founded it believed that the abuse of alcohol was at the root of all social ills –
prostitution, unemployment, disease, poverty, etc.
Their solution was to campaign for the legal prohibition of alcohol. In order to
accomplish this, women began to see that they needed the vote and so the WCTU
became a major player in the votes for women campaigns. The WCTU also worked
for better working conditions for women, for better health service and other social
reforms.
The WCTU was also active in promoting activities for youth. Nellie McClung’s
novel, Sowing Seeds in Danny, quotes part of a pledge for children who wanted to
belong to the Band of Hope – “Never to drink and never to smoke.”1
For many years school children competed in the WCTU contests which involved
affecting recitations of such WCTU poems as ‘Tis The SONG OF LITTLE MARY,
sometimes called “Father,dear father, come home to me now…” 2
(In the days before television it was common to have children perform musical
numbers or to recite dramatic poetry at special events such as Christmas concerts
or other community or church celebrations. The temperance poems are typical of
the kind of poetry that young people would be given so they could display their
dramatic talents.)
1 Nellie L. McClung. Sowing Seeds in Danny. Doubleday Page and Company, 1908, p. 51
2 The source of the following poem is:
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/come-home-father/
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April, 2015
24
‘Tis The SONG OF LITTLE MARY.
Standing at the bar-room door
While the shameful midnight revel
Rages wildly as before.
Father, dear father, come home with me now!
The clock in the steeple strikes one;
You said you were coming right home from the shop,
As soon as your day’s work was done.
Our fire has gone out our house is all dark
And mother’s been watching since tea, -With poor brother Benny so sick in her arms,
And no one to help her but me. -Come home! come home! come home! -Please, father, dear father, come home. --
Hear the sweet voice of the child
Which the night winds repeat as they roam!
Oh who could resist this most plaintive of
prayers?
“Please, father, dear father, come home.”
Henry Clay Work
Hear the sweet voice of the child
Which the night winds repeat as they roam!
Oh who could resist this most plaintive of prayers?
“Please, father, dear father, come home.”
Father, dear father, come home with me now!
The clock in the steeple strikes two;
The night has grown colder, and Benny is worse
But he has been calling for you.
Indeed he is worse Ma says he will die,
Perhaps before morning shall dawn; -And this is the message she sent me to bring
“Come quickly, or he will be gone.” -Come home! come home! come home! -Please, father, dear father, come home. -Hear the sweet voice of the child
Which the night winds repeat as they roam!
Oh who could resist this most plaintive of prayers?
This poster is one of the series Manitoba Women In
“Please, father, dear father, come home.”
Father, dear father, come home with me now!
The clock in the steeple strikes three;
The house is so lonely the hours are so long
For poor weeping mother and me.
Yes, we are alone poor Benny is dead,
And gone with the angels of light; -And these were the very last words that he said
“I want to kiss Papa good night.” -Come home! come home! come home! -Please, father, dear father, come home. --
Journal
Politics, produced by Linda McDowell and Yvonne
Lozinsky, with Grace Parasuik, for the Manitoba
Department of Education, 1979. This includes all of the
“Fab Four” Icelandic Women.
April, 2015
Margaret Benedictsson,
Steina Stefanson.
Kristjana Thordarson,
Thorbjorg Sigurdsson.
25
Archives of Manitoba
N9905
December 23, 1915
Presentation of the
Petition for enfrancisement of women by the
Political Equality League
“WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY…”
The four women in the photo represent many
of the groups who supported woman suffrage.
Top left Lillian Beynon Thomas. She was a
former teacher in Carman until she was able
to get her dream job with The Free Press. Her
writing was important in the campaign but she
was also the strategist and the planner. Both
she and her husband, A.V. Thomas, belonged
to the Political Equality League, the female
and male group who worked on the final
push to get the legislation for women’s votes
through.
In front of her is Dr. Mary Crawford, longtime advocate of votes for women. In 1913
she wrote a pamphlet stating the laws that
applied to women and explaining how unfair
many of them were. A founding member and
the first president of the University Women’s
Club, another group supporting votes for women, she was also a prominent member of the
Political Equality League and known for her
work as a doctor for Winnipeg schools.
Top right is Winona Flett Dixon. She and
her sister, Lynn, were stenographers and are
Journal
sometimes described as “tall handsome businesswomen.” She was a member of the Political Equality League, its literature convenor
and in charge of the petition. She was also one
of eight women who were invited to occupy
seats on the floor of the Assembly for the third
reading of the bill. She and her husband, Fred
Dixon, helped to bring the Trades and Labour
Council support for the bill. She died at age 37.
Amelia Burritt, the last member of the group.
was in many ways the most remarkable of the
group. At age 93, she singlehandedly walked
from place to place collecting 4,000 votes for
her own petition. At the time of the petition she
said
…”I willingly spend my latter days in seeking
to get what lies at the root of all amendment.
The right of women to vote at polling booths
on all occasions, under the same conditions as
men.” (Quoted on the poster set previously
cited.)
She died in 1929, one of the oldest women in
the province.
April, 2015
26
This is one of the pages of the
petition that was signed by over
40,000 women seeking the right
to vote, and presented to the
Manitoba Legislature in 1915.
The actual petition wording has
been reproduced below.
PETITION
To the Honourable Members of His Majesty’s Government of the Province of Manitoba, and the
Honourable Members of the Legislative Assembly of the said Province
Whereas the following resolution forms part of the resolution of the Liberal Party as defining the
Policy of the government of the said Party in the Province of Manitoba, that is to say …
“The Liberal Party believing that there are no just grounds for disbarring women from the
right to vote, will “enact a measure providing for equal suffrage upon it being established by
petition that this is desired by adult women to a number equivalent to fifteen per cent of the votes
cast at the preceding general election in this Province;”
AND WHEREAS the Liberal Party are now the party in office in the said Province;
NOW THEREFORE the petition of the undersigned humbly herewith …
Your Petitioners are women over the age of twenty-one years and are resident in the Province of
Manitoba.
Your Petitioners are desirous that a measure shall be enacted forthwith extending the franchise to women
on equal terms with men
WHEREFORE YOUR PETITIONERS PRAY that there shall be enacted by the Legislative Assembly at
the Session on which the Petition is presented to His Majesty’s said Government a measure extending the
franchise to women on equal terms with men. AND your Petitioner as in duty bound will ever pray,
Signature of Petitioners
Journal
Residence
April, 2015
Occupation
27
THE LAST WORD - MANITOBA PREMIERS AND
THE WOMAN SUFFRAGE CAMPAIGN
Two Manitoba Premiers are associated with the campaign for votes for women.
Rodmond P. Roblin, Conservative Premier
from 1900 – 1915.
Premier Roblin gets bad press from the
women’s suffrage group and is often remembered from his meetings with Nellie
McClung.
To be fair, students need to find out what
else he did as Premier.
Premier T. C. Norris is often identified as a supporter of votes for
women. He promised to introduce the legislation for votes for
women if the women and their supporters would campaign for
him.
Once elected he required that the women had to get a petition for
the legislation signed by 20,000 women before he would introduce
the legislation. When the legislation was prepared, the right of
women to run for office was omitted, and the government refused
to include it until the Grain Growers’ Association put pressure on
him.
To be fair, students need to find out what else he did as premier.
Thanks to: Pierrette Boily, Elections Manitoba, Manitoba Legislative Library, David McDowell.
GENERAL:
Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg Tribune
and local newspapers
Mueller, Bette. Nellie McClung Foundation
Anecdotal Timeline
Municipal Manuals, City of Winnipeg Archives,
Journal
Rose Alcin credits
- Gutkin, Harry. Journey Into Our Heritage: The Story
of the Jewish People in the Canadian West. Toronto:
Lester & Orpen Dennys Limited, 1980
- Usiskin, Roz. “Jewish Women of the Left”. pp. 105121, in Daniel Stone. ed. Jewish Radicalism in Winnipeg, 1905-1960. Winnipeg: Jewish heritage Centre of
Western Canada, 2003
April, 2015
28
RECOGNIzE A TEACHER OF AGRICULTURE
AG IN THE CLASSROOM SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR AGRICULTURE
LITERACY
Staff
Ag in the Classroom-Manitoba is asking for nominations for an award to teachers which show
leadership in agriculture education. The Teacher Driver Award is given out annually in April at
the AlTC-M annual general meeting to a teacher who has initiated a unique agriculture literacy
project.
Last year’s winner was Dave Leochko, a teacher at Robert H. Smith School in Winnipeg. His
class examined many communities across the province and how farming and agriculture formed
the backbone of these areas. He has also started indoor and outdoor gardening projects at the
school.
More information and a nomination form are available at http://aitc.mb.ca.
Journal
April, 2015
29
Best Apps for High School Geography Presentation
(Geography Methods- Barb Taylor, U of Winnipeg, 2015)
TED
Presenter’s name: Chelsea Kuncewicz
Technical Requirements:
Cost: Free
Device Compatibility:
PC, iPhone, iPad, Android
Acquired from:
The internet (www.ted.com),
iTunes App Store, Google
Play Store (Android)
What the application does: TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) is a global community that welcomes
people from any discipline or culture to share their ideas
with the world. The website offers TED Talk videos, resources for TEDx events, and TED-Ed resources (video lessons
for educators).
Pros:
- It is completely free!
- It is a great resource to gain new knowledge and
insight on different topics
What the experts say:
“Ted’s breadth of content
might, in fact, be one of the
only drawbacks to the app.
There’s a lot of stuff here…”
(Macworld.com, 2013)
“The app is well laid out, and
easy to use” (The Metropolist,
2014)
- TED Talks are able to stream on any device
- Teachers can develop and share video lessons with others
Cons:
- TED Talks can be lengthy and time consuming if you plan
to use them in a lesson
- It can take a while to find the exact subject/topic you
are looking for
How you could use TED in a high school geography lesson: Incorporate a variety of TED Talks
into your geography lessons (ones that are suitable for each lesson). After students understand
the concept of what a TED Talk is, they can have the opportunity to create their own TED Talk!
Students can work individually or in small groups to create a Talk on an appropriate geography
topic of their choice – anything that they feel passionately about. Once students have researched
their topic and organized their Talk, it can be filmed and shared with the class!
Connection to Curriculum:
S-400 Listen to others to understand their perspectives.
S-302 Draw conclusions and make decisions based on research and various types of evidence.
S-303 Reconsider personal assumptions based on new information and ideas.
Journal
April, 2015
30
Best Apps for High School Geography Presentation
(Geography Methods- Barb Taylor, U of Winnipeg, 2015)
NASA: Earth As Art
NASAL EatNA
Presenter’s name: Madison Toakar-Wolff
Technical Requirements:
Cost: Free
Device Compatibility:
iOS 4.3 or later, only for iPad*
Where to Buy:
iTunes App Store
(PDF available on the NASA
website)**
What experts have said about
this app:
pcmag.com says:
“Free. Spectacular images. Clear
and thorough descriptions. Cool
animations.”
“Unlike most NASA apps, Earth
as Art is focused more on aesthetic
beauty than science, with our planet as the canvas.”
(Accessed online: Jan. 14, 2015.)***
What the Application Does:
NASA’s “Earth as Art” app is an e-book filled with
images taken from multiple satellites orbiting the Earth.
The result is a wide range of pictures that reveal
geographical features of earth’s surface. A few of the
of the features include deserts, volcanoes, mountain
ranges and lakes.
The images are sorted by continent, and each image is
accompanied with a caption. The caption provides
information about the exact location of the image,
and what it features.
Pros:
It is free! I found it very easy to navigate. It contains
really extraordinary images of earth, providing a
different perspective of geographical features for the
viewer. There is a wide variety of places to explore; it
includes 75 different images. The captions provide
lots of information!
Cons:
Some of the language is quite advanced, so it would
be a tool to use after the topic has been introduced.
Ideas for how you could use this app in a high school geography lesson:
After learning about Earth’s physical features, I would use this as a challenge or game to have
students identify what the features are when seeing them from a different perspective.
Since this is an e-book, I would use this outside of a lesson as reading material that students
could look through if they finish assignments or work in class early.
Connection to Curriculum: Cluster 1: Geographic Literacy
KL-009 Identify elements of physical and human geography.
KL-011 Locate major physical features on a map of North America.
KL-014 Explain the concept of global environmental types as physical geographic regions that
are composites of climate, vegetation, and soils.
*https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/nasa-earth-as-art/id577527077?mt=8
**http://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/earth_art_detail.html#.VMZzoGTF-aE
***http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2458669,00.asp
Journal
April, 2015
31
Best Apps for High School Geography Presentation
(Geography Methods- Barb Taylor, U of Winnipeg, 2015)
Geography Quiz Game
Presenter: Joel Gamache
Technical Requirements:
Compatible with both Android
and IOS 7.0 or later
Cost: Free
Acquired from Google play store
https://play.google.com/store/
apps/details?id=com.quizzes.
country.flag.trivia&hl=en ITunes use
http://appcrawlr.com/ios/geography-quiz-game
Reviews:
Appcrawler - “have fun playing
with your friends” also states that it
is most popular with college students. Jan. 19th, 2015.
Toms guide- “A neat geography
quiz game that comes with more
than a fair share of its apps” Jan.
19th, 2015.
What the app does:
The app sets the user to answer a number of questions (10, 25, 50, or until 5 errors). The questions are
based on geographic content often having the user
identify flags or countries based on a picture. This app
allows the user to log in with Facebook and post your
scores or as a guest. This app also gives you the option
of challenging other users.
Pros:
-Easy to navigate.
-Can play as a guest.
-Questions are challenging and intriguing.
Cons:
- Facebook can be problematic in school.
- Questions are more focused on the USA and the Far
East.
- Some questions can be very challenging and could
become frustrating for high school students.
- The ads will often pop up on screen when playing
and block the game.
Idea on how to implement this app into a Grade 10 geography class:
I think this app would be best used when students have completed their class work or are
not focused at the end of class. One could present this app to them and have the class still
interacting with the content. I think it would be great to use for a substitute teacher to give
the students something to do if the lesson plan has extra time. I would also use this app as a
summary of the world map and potentially global issues.
Curriculum connections:
Learning Experience 1.2: Physical and Human Geography
KL-009 Identify elements of physical and human geography
Learning Experience 1.3: Place and Identity
KI-003 Explain the relationship between place and identity
KH-032 Recognize that the study of geography includes the study of
change over time
Learning Experience 1.4: Global Environmental Types
KL-015 Identify global environmental types on a map of the world
Journal
April, 2015
32
TAKE YOUR CLASS ON A JOURNEY
OF INSPIRATION
A class visit to the Canadian Museum for
Human Rights is more than just a field trip.
The Museum’s Learning & Programming
team has worked with teachers, youth, curriculum consultants, and child development
experts to create a range of school programs
that inspire thought and conversation about
human rights in age-appropriate ways.
“We’re trying to help students understand
that you don’t need to be Gandhi or Malala
to make positive change in the world,” says
Mireille Lamontagne, CMHR Manager of
Education Programs. “You can just be yourself and know that every action makes a
difference.
“The Museum experience is a journey of
inspiration, full of stories that can make us
feel hope and get excited about opportunities for the future. This is not a place to
come and be sad.”
Programming is available for Kindergarten to Grade 12. For younger students, the
focus is first on learning what rights we all
have as human beings and the importance
of cooperation, sharing, fairness, identity,
family and community. Middle Years classes
learn about standing up for their rights and
freedoms and those of others, be inspired by
the stories of human rights defenders, and
think about how their choices in everyday
life can have a positive impact. Older students wade into more complex topics such
as human rights laws, discrimination, and
what has happened in different part of the
world when peoples’ rights and freedoms
were denied.
Multi-sensory museum activities and exhibits are designed to impact learning and
retention – ranging from an interactive
discussion circle focused on Supreme Court
Journal
cases, to a
floor game
that uses colourful lights
to promote
learning
about the
power of inclusion.
“The ultimate goal of human rights education is to develop critical thinkers who
engage in respectful dialogue, peaceful conflict resolution, examine their own attitudes
and behaviours, and get motivated to take
action,” says Lamontagne.
“The Museum and schools all share these
goals. Human rights education is integrated
across curricula now. Many schools have
active social justice clubs and anti-bullying
initiatives. The Museum is a central place
where students can come to learn more
from reliable and objective sources -- and
think about how to apply their knowledge.
We can help them feel empowered.”
Eight different school programs are offered
in 2015. Early bookings were offered on a
“fair-share” basis and are now available on
a first-come, first-served basis for remaining openings in the latter part of the 201415 school year. Check www.humanrights.ca/
learn for more information. Bookings for
the 2015-16 school year begin in August.
The programs are:
· My Rights, Our Rights (K-4, 90 minutes):
Using a child-friendly version of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
students discover their rights and learn
to respect others. Song and movement
are used to learn how our actions can
impact others. A 360-degree film experience conveys Indigenous world views
April, 2015
33
and ideas about rights, responsibilities
about Canada’s human rights journey are
and humanity. A motion-sensor light
part of this experience.
game is used to discuss inclusion, empa- · Debating Rights (Grades 9-12, two
thy and respect for others.
hours): Key human rights issues, people
· Be an Upstander (Grades 5-8, 90 minand laws that have shaped Canada are
utes): Includes an exploration of Caexplored. Students examine different
nadian human rights defenders and an
perspectives on human rights court cases
interactive game to inspire students to
in Canada around an interactive table,
stand up for their rights and the rights
and also learn techniques for engaging
of others. They learn about the Universal
in respectful dialogue. They explore how
Declaration of Human rights, explore
universal consensus is rare in human
the personal life journeys of Canadian
rights discussions and learn the value of
and international human rights defendopen dialogue and debate in creating a
ers, and play an interactive game that
more respectful and inclusive society.
shows how every action counts.
· When Rights are Denied (Grades 9-12,
· First Peoples’ Rights in a Changing Cantwo hours): A range of historical and
ada (Grades 5-8, 90 minutes): Develcontemporary world events are explored
oped from an Indigenous perspective
to show what can happen when human
by a team of Indigenous educators, this
rights are denied. Students learn how
program explores Indigenous concepts
charters and declarations help protect
of rights and responsibilities through
human rights, but require ongoing vigiart, role-playing and film. Students learn
lance to prevent grave violations. A film
about key events, people and changes
on anti-Semitism in Canada during the
that have affected First Nations, Métis
1930s and 40s is part of the experience,
and Inuit peoples throughout Canadian
along with exhibits, objects and a digihistory.
tal study table that examines stories of
people whose rights were systematically
· Perspectives on Human Rights in Canada
denied.
(Grades 5-12, 90 minutes): A focus on
pivotal moments, people and changes
· Museum Highlights Tour for Schools
in Canada’s human rights history that
(Grades 5-12, 90 minutes): A human
illuminate the democratic ideals, rights,
rights journey through Canada and the
freedoms and responsibilities of Canadiworld highlights Canada’s role in major
ans. Students learn about the struggles
world events, the milestones Canada has
for labour rights, women’s rights, racial
achieved, and the aspirations of Canaequality, Aboriginal rights, linguistic
dians to achieve more. Students also
rights and the rights of newcomers in
engage with human rights stories and
Canada. Thematic exhibits and a film
interesting artifacts from around the
Journal
April, 2015
34
world, exploring multiple perspectives on
diverse human rights issues.
· Self-guided Museum Tour for Schools (Grades
9-12, 90 minutes): Starting February 3,
2015, self-guided school visits are available
for high school students. Teachers choosing to lead their class through the Museum
receive self-guiding information and guidelines as well as a short group orientation to
the Museum at the beginning.
Before your visit
Before you visit with your class, please prepare
the students for the Museum’s dramatic setting.
The Museum’s unique architecture parallels a
human rights journey – it requires some effort
and has a few twists and turns, but can be very
rewarding to complete.
You and your students will enter the Museum
at ground level, into a large space that has a
subterranean feel. You will gradually work your
way higher on a series of inclined ramps that
reveal more and more daylight.
You can expect to visit a number of different
spaces that may be some distance apart. There
will be plenty of walking or movement along
the route. Along the way you will encounter
large open spaces, darkness and light, heights,
and lots of noise.
Please note that most school programs visit
only two or three of the Museum’s 11 galleries,
and use elevators and walking ramps.
To help you set the stage for learning at the Museum, we offer many online resources that you
can use in the classroom ahead of time. These
include ideas for pre- and post-visit activities,
FAQs, and the Canadian Human Rights Toolkit
with over 200 online educational resources,
lesson plans and activities on human rights for
teachers and schools. To find these, please visit
the “Learn” section of our website at humanrights.ca.
Journal
Israel Asper Tower of Hope
The highest place in the Museum is the
Tower of Hope, which offers panoramic
views of Winnipeg – and is usually of
great interest to young people. Please
note that a trip to the Tower is not included in your school program. However, you can bring your students up to
the Tower after your program concludes.
Students must be accompanied by adult
supervisors at the same ratio as in your
program. Since capacity on the Tower’s
observation platform is limited, we may
be required to limit access at busy times
for safety reasons.
Maureen Fitzhenry
Media relations manager/ Gestionnaire des relations avec les médias
Canadian Museum for Human Rights/ Musée
canadien pour les droits de la personne
85 Israel Asper Way
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 0L5
T: 204.289.2112, C: 204.782.8442
F: 204.289.2050
TTY/ATS: 204.289.2050
Toll Free/ Sans frais: 1.877.877.6037
[email protected] /
[email protected]
www.humanrights.ca |
www.droitsdelapersonne.ca
A distinctive building
April, 2015
35
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REEL CANADA EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Richard Park [mailto:[email protected]]
REEL CANADA launched The Canadian Collection – a box set of ten great Canadian films as
diverse as Canada itself, in celebration of our tenth anniversary. The package includes ten films comedies, dramas and documentaries - as well as one hundred curriculum-based lesson plans. It
is available online until June 30 (Special for Manitoba) at
for a one-time early bird price of $299. The Canadian Collection is an unprecedented initiative
aimed at increasing Canadian content in high school libraries, by offering a collection of movies
that are rich in educational as well as entertainment value.
My colleagues and I sincerely believe that this is an essential item that every school and library
should own in order to make Canadian content and culture more accessible to students and educators across the nation. It is our goal to ensure that as many people as possible are aware of and
able to capitalize upon this wonderful opportunity and so I’d like to request your help in getting
the word out. Please share the Canadian Collection with those in your circles, and if at all possible, include it in your forthcoming curriculum documents. For your viewing, I’ve also attached a
one-page information flyer and a postcard to this email, and you can view the trailer of the Canadian Collection via the following link: https://vimeo.com/117951477
Richard Park Educational Resources Coordinator (o) 416.642.5796 ext. 213
REEL CANADA @ Centre for Social Innovation 504-720 Bathurst St Toronto, ON, M5S 2R4
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