Popular Culture Review Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2002 | Page 13
Forever Lunching
might otherwise rarely see another woman.^ Yet even for women living in more
populated parts of the province where isolation was not necessarily so acute, the
monthly meeting was a welcome diversion from routine. Wherever the branch was
located, female bonding was one of the most prized outcomes resulting from the
creation of new Women’s Institutes. In countless cases, those friendships formed
while food was being consumed.
When the WI movement was in its early stages, as organisers wondered
about the procedures they should follow at the regular meetings, concerns over the
place of food were raised. The issue of whether or not to serve refreshments at the
monthly WI meeting was debated in 1910. When the issue came to the floor of the
Annual Convention in Toronto, some members complained that ‘Ihey cannot get a
large attendance without having afternoon tea,” while others were convinced that
food was unnecessary because they could ‘‘get along better without afternoon tea.”^
Not all of the delegates agreed. As one retorted, “That is not our idea. The social
part is after our meeting is over, and we have the sandwiches and cup of tea. That
is just how we get our members.” Another member from Preston, Ontario explained
that some of their members walked five miles in the return trip and they needed to
eat before they left for home. The Provincial Superintendent, George Putnam,
conceded that local arrangements would vary and sometimes, like in the Preston
case, food might be necessary. However, he added, ‘"we regret that a few Institutes
have allowed the lunch part of it to become the most prominent and apparently
most interesting feature. We trust you will not do that.”^ Evidently, many branches
did emphasise refreshments, albeit for different reasons.
However, a shift away from food-centred meetings was emerging. A
member from Waterloo County reported in 1911 that “a noticeable fact is that
during the first year or so of a branch Institute, they are very much interested in the
planning and preparing of foods, exchanging recipes, etc. But this is invariably
replaced by other subjects.”®Indicating that food was no longer the chief focus of
her local WI group, another speaker echoed that same sentiment, pointing out that
with the statistical strength of the WI movement, there was the potential to move
beyond tea parties and fancy work. “We are a goodly company — ten thousand
women. Let us not devote too much time to ice cream, crisp salads, and eyelet
embroidery. There are greater things.”^ The greater things to which she made
reference, included lectures from visiting professionals such as bankers and lawyers
who spoke to the groups about how to ensure legal protection for themselves by
opening joint bank accounts with their husbands and getting their names on the
deeds to the family farms. For some local Institutes, especially those in Northern
Ontario, it also included taking an active role in lobbying for female suffrage.
Evidently, when the meetings closed with a shared cup of tea, members of the WI
were sometimes thinking beyond female sociability to gender solidarity as they