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Posters honor Manitoba womenby KAYE ROWESchool children’s love of posters inspired former Brandon teacher, Linda McDowell, to research an historical review on the theme: Manitoba Women in Politics.Sets of the seven posters and a 47-page loose-leaf information source book have gone from the Manitoba s department of education to every junior and senior high school in the province.The 18x‘24-inch posters depict different categories of women elected to political office or the movers and shakers whose contribution within their respective parties have been impressive.Neat touch in the final poster is a blank frame for future women elected to public office.Printed with white lettering on a dark background, poster No. 1 is pictured at right. Reading clockwise from three o’clock are three community personalities of western Manitoba. The first at centre right is Joyce Stephenson, mayor of Minnedosa (1971-‘79), the first woman chosen to head the Manitoba group representing mayors, reeves and councillors.Prominent at the four o’clock position on the poster is Flora Cowan of Brandon. Influenced by Margaret McWilliams, wife of the lieutenant-governor with the longest record in provincial history, Mrs. Cowan was a businesswoman, a pillar of IODE, dean of woman at Brandon College and a member of the city council for 16 years from 1954. She is still active as director of a volunteer group supportive of improvements and expansion of Fairview Home.Third western Manitoban on poster No. 1 is Bessie Keating of Silverton near Russell Teacher, school trustee and secretary starting in the 1930s, her community activities included a directorship of the Russell Agricultural Society. She was also a member of the United Farm Women. In 1948 she was a CCF candidate for Marquette in the federal election.Centre figures on the poster are (r.) Margaret Trott, long-time Winnipeg school trustee and (1 ) June Westburv, city councillor and recently elected to the Manitoba legislature.Significant in the selection of personalities representative of different ethnic, regional and political parties is the one o’clock photo of Jean Folster of Norway House. She was the first Indian woman in the province to be chosen band councillor, welfare administrator and the first treaty Indian to be named a magistrate.Other women on the poster are: Mary Kardash, school trustee; Karen Devine, Portage la Prairie alderman; Fima Brown amd Myra Spivak, both Winnipeg school trustees and Violet Einerson, a Gimli mayor and alderman.In rebuttal to Sir Rodmand Roblin’s comment, “Nice women don’t want the Vote!” is poster No. 2. It carries photos of Nice Women Who Did. Included are Nellie McClung, teacher, author and vote-getter; Cora Hind of Winnipeg Free Press; and Lillian Beynon Thomas, another Free Press writer and playwright.Post No. 3 depicts the “honorable members” of the Manitoba legislature, starting with Liberal candidate, Edith Rogers whose daughter, Margaret Konantzwas MP for the federal house from 1963 until her untimely death in 1965.Thelma Forbes (Progressive-Conservative), was the first woman in Manitoba to be a member of the cabinet and the Madame Speaker of the legislature.Salome Halldorson, Caroline Morrison. Inez Trueman and currently Norma Price are part of the legislature’s history.The Women of the Grass Roots poster gives pronn nence to Alderman Marie Kotyk, teacher of special education students at Vincent Massey high school. Identified with scores of organizations in the 36 years of her local residence, her energies include active volunteer support to a half-dozen charity fund drives each year.Another Brandon personality represented is Marjorie McPhail, school trustee for five years in the 1960s Familiar faces also include those of Nan Murphy, Win nipeg school trustee and worker with the handicapped, Lillian Hallonquist, alderman and acting mayor for 18 years.Linda McDowell’s research for the poster series began almost 20 years ago while working on a pre-Clockwise from top: Jeon Folster, band chief at Norway House, Joyce Stevenson, mayor of Minnedosa, 1971-79; Flora Cowan, Brandon alderman, 1954-70; Winnipeg school trustees, Elma Brown and Mira Spivak; Violet Einorson, a Gimli mayor,- Bessie Keating, Silverton school trustee in the 30s,- Winnipeg trustee Mary Kardash; Portage la Prairie mayor and alderman, Karen Devine; in the centre, Winnipeg councillor June Westbury (left) and school trustee Margaret Trott.master’s degree with Prof. William Smith They agreed on a topic: Women Candidates in Manitoba Provicial Elections. Last year, the poster-notion took fire. W’orking in co-operation with Grace Parasuit, woman’s studies consultant, Manitoba department of education and with Yvonne Lozinski, for the art work, the series was ready for distribution by late OctoberContributors of the capsule biographies were local governmental people, their daughters and granddaughters, or the alert types who knew precisely who to call for information The latter group includes Eileen McFadden, archivist-librarian at Brandon University The key person in the venture — Linda McDowell — is currently librarian at Kelvin high school. She is married to David McDowell, head of the social studies department at Winnipeg’s Westwood collegiate. He is also past president of the Manitoba Historical SocietyPutting Manitoba!on the Political
Newspaper Details
Brandon Sun
Brandon, Manitoba, CA
Thu, Jan 24, 1980
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Susun W.
USA 17 Aug 2023
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