The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

page 1h ELGl-N C.W. L The October meeting of the Elgin Catholic Women's League was held at the Rectory following Mass for one of our deceased members. The minutes were read and approved. ihankyounotes were read from recipâ€" ients of masses and acts of kindneSr Final arrangements were made for the Combermere drive on Oct. 28. Madonna House is deeply grateful for household articles, jewelry for crafts, utensils, etc. Arrangements were made for the Rideau Crafts table, complete with tickets on a doll cradle and doll clothes. Tickets are ready. Two volunteers were announced for food for the November meeting. We were very privileged to have Sharon Stedman, who is in charge of our Homemaker's Service, as our guest speaker. Sharon gave an explanation of the various services and approaches used in Home Care and how it is procured in affiliation with the doctor. An informative film was then shown, illustrating the wonderful assistance offered by the Home Maker Service. Lilianne Rogers thanked Sharon on our behalf and presented her with a small gift and a donation to the Red Cross Homemakers. The meeting adjourned and all enjoyed the lunch arranged by Cathy Bongers and Kathryn Scott. £800 GOVERNMENT GRANT To offset the cost of converting from oil to another energy source. 772.2809. free est. Elgin U.C.W. The Elgin U.C.W. Thanksgiving meetâ€" ing was held on Oct. 13th, beginning with the worship in the church sanctuary which was beautifully decorated. Special thanks to Mrs. Veita Willows, who takes time and effort to decorate the church throughâ€" out the year for the enjoyment of the congregation. The Vice-President, Mrs Anna Charland, opened the meeting with a poem for Thanksgiving. Mrs. Charland presided over the meeting for President, Mrs Nina Churchill, who was spending the holiday with her family. The study was titled "Justice and Social Change" and was taken from the mission kit and the Stewardship '81 booklets. The business meeting began with the reading of the minutes, followed by roll call, with 21 persons present. The treasurer's report was brought up to date and all enjoyed seeing "Janet" Mills back in good health again. It was decided to donate to the Red Cross Homemakers. The planning ‘meeting for the bazaar is to be on Oct. 20th with the Bazaar and supper to be held on Nov. 4th. The meeting was closed and all enâ€" joyed the lunch and fellowship following the meeting. PIECES 0! HISTORY Ari Shaw We Not so long ago, every field and clearing and wood lot in Leeds County wagavital part of a farm which provided the essentials of life for a family. In those days the man of the house and his sons and his horses worked hard every daylight hour from April to No- vember. The woman and girls of the family had their responsibili- ties too, and one was to have a substantial meal on the table at noon when the men came in. In the warm weather the cooking wis done in the "summer kitchen" was a lightly built and well venâ€" tilated addition to the farm house, which could be cooled off quickly when the fire went out. The most essential furnishings in the summer kitchen were the stove and table and a wooden couch where the man took a short nap every day after the noon meal. These couches are variously called kitchen couches, country couches, farmers couches, and flop benches and exist in in~ finite and delightful variety in Leeds County. In fact, seen any two the same, summer. until this here are two spool couches that were seen at an auction sale on Summer's Road near Elgin. They are the same in every way. Both are made of birch, 74" long and 24" wide. The height to the seat is 13‘", to the arms d4” and to the back 50‘". The back legs are 29" long. ings at the top of the back are 1 3/4" x 31". The turnings are decorated with continuous "spools" and do not incorporate any other motif. The long rails are a" x 3i" and a batten is nailed to each support loose boards that formed the seat. high on the inside of the rails so that the seat boards would be almost flush with the tOp of the rails. This arrangement was deâ€" Signed so that a folded quilt or sheep skin was all that was re- quired for padding. The couch in the background be- longed to Harry Summers and prohabl They live shore of Lower Beverly Lake In l93é, to his parents as well. on the in South Crosoy Township. Harry Summers moved from the lake to a farm on what is now called Summer's Road on the East side Highway 15 and married a local widow by the name of Alice Dennison ‘ Among the effects that she brought to their new home (nee Thompson). was the couch in the foreground, which is believed to have come from the family of her first hus- band, Cecil Dennison. ‘Fight Them All ' Heart Attack. Stroke ng'h BloodPtessure Rheumatic Fever which I had never The spindles in the back are a 3/4" long, and the long turn- These battens are placed As years went by, life on the farms the poorer farms were abandoned to be reclaimed by the for- and electric stoves made the summer kitchen redundant. became easier, ests, and gas The kitchen couches were not con- sidered fine furniture and many were moved outside rather than in- They served in yards and on verandahs until they became rotten and were taken to their final rest- The ones that survived side. ing place. are now valued as picturesque re- minders of our heritage of hand craftsmanship and hard labour. The fact that these two couches existed in different families within about two miles of each other, indicates that they were made by someone in that immediate area. If anyone has information on a turner or bedstead maker in that area, I would very much like to hear from them. MDEAU CRAFTS EA News Rideau Crafts members enjoyed a delicious Pot Luck Supper on October 26th at the home of Doris Crowe. Slemon and Winsome Lee did an ex- cellent job of co-ordinating everyâ€" thing; Marion Stone made a great punch; and Doris gets the hostessâ€"ofâ€"theâ€"year award. Before the meal gifts were presented to two members in appreciation of their many years of work for Rideau Crafts: Pat McManus, Past President and Dorene McManus, Market Co~ordinâ€" ator. We all managed to get through a short business meeting after supper, despite very full stomachs. Most of the discussion centered around plans for the annual Rideau Crafts Christmas Market to be held at Rideau District High School on Saturday, November 28th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Posters were distributed and you will be seeing them displayed in the North Leeds area shortly. Rideau Crafts members also voted to support a feasibility study re the marketability of crafts in our area provided Rideau Crafts is consulted by the people who do the study and provided Rideau Crafts recei of the results. 5 2 Our next meeting will be t the new year on February 8th when Rfl eau Crafts plans to have a program featuring herbs and herbal teas. * 'k * 'k * ‘k * * * * * * Vera yes a copy