The Dimsdale Women’s Community Circle was formed in 1943. The purpose of the group was to support community causes that aligned with their creed. In their first meeting, the club recorded their creed. It reads as follows:
Keep us O God from pettiness, let us be large in thought, in order, in deed. Let us be done with fault finding, leave off self seeking.
May we put away pretense and meet each other face to face without self pity and without prejudice.
May we never be hasty in judgment and always generous.
Let us take time for all things [that] make us grow calm, serene, gentle.
Teach us to put into practice, our better impulses straight forward and un afraid [sic].
Grant we may realize it is the little things that create differences; that in the big things of life we are one.
And may we strive to touch and to know, the great common woman’s heart of us all, and O Lord let us not forget to be kind.
According to their minute book, the Dimsdale Women’s Community Circle opened each meeting by reciting their creed and singing O Canada. They met once a month at a member’s home usually followed by tea.
Since the group’s purpose was to support community causes, they needed to collect funds before being able to assist with any local initiatives. Naturally, fundraising was a main point of discussion in most meetings. One of the first purchases made by the club was a wool carding machine. For club members, it was free to use and for non-members, it cost $0.15 per pound of wool. This was an investment that allowed the club to raise money through renting the machine as well as selling the products that could be made from the wool. In addition to selling raffling wool, the club held raffles for quilts that they made together. They sold aprons and other handicrafts. The Dimsdale Women’s Community Circle also held events to raise money. One of these events was the annual “fowl supper.” Each member of the Dimsdale Women’s Community Circle was to bring “roast fowl, dressing, gravy, potatoes, one other vegetable, or salad or pickles, buns or rolls, 2 pies”. For their 1944 supper, they sold tickets for $0.50 per adult and $0.35 for children.
The club contributed donations to a variety of causes in and around their community. For example, from the aforementioned fowl supper in 1944, the club raised $117.73 between the fee for the supper, a quilt raffle, and selling handicrafts. They decided to use those funds for a few different causes including contributing $60 to a United Church minister’s salary who worked in Spring Creek. They donated $1.00 worth of cigarettes for every boy from Dimsdale who was in the armed forces during World War II. They also donated $26 to the Red Cross. Other charitable actions included regular donations to the Salvation Army, making ditty bags for soldiers, and donations to emergencies like fire victims.