We’re pleased to introduced a new limited-run blog series. Each month, we will explore a club, organization, or association from around the Peace Region.
The Grande Prairie Book Club was formed in 1939 by local women. Up until 1979, the club met monthly, excluding January, July, and August. The group consisted of no more than 21 members at a time. Each month, a member held the meeting in her home, aided by two other members. Lunch was served and a program was presented. These programs usually followed a theme and consisted of entertainment or guest speakers. Entertainment could range from aroma guessing contests to reading wilderness survival stories. Guest speakers spoke on topics ranging from interior design, to an artist’s take on the connection between art and nature. These monthly meetings continued until 1979 when the group decided to meet four times a year instead.
Every year, books were purchased based on suggestions. The selected books covered a variety of genres. In the 1986-1987 year, titles included: The Handmaid’s Tale, The Dance of Shiva, and Wanderlust. Each book contained a reading schedule for the members to follow, allowing all the books to be read by all members. In the year 1987, the club began to record individual ratings of the books, producing a ranking at the end of each year.
The Grande Prairie Book Club functioned as a space beyond one of simply discussing and reviewing literature. The club also provided a space for its members to delve into subjects that pertained to their interests. In the October 1943 meeting, the minutes record that, “The paper read by Mrs. Carlisle paid glowing tribute to two women of history, Sappho the poetess of Lesbos, & Deborah, Judge & Ruler of Israel.” More serious and practical topics were also discussed amongst the group. The minutes of the February 1972 meeting read:
Mr. Gregg Norman, the guest speaker for the program, gave a very informative address on the Legal Status of Women and the Legal Status of Children. Mr. Norman noted that the legal status of women is determined in law by provincial statutes and by some common law. The Canadian Bill of Rights makes mention of discrimination because of race, creed, color or religion but is silent regarding sex and politics; such inclusion could not be expected to change the position of women radically. Generally speaking, women are less employable and less well paid than are men… Property questions are very complex; however, some of the disabilities and injustices to women are being removed by statutes. In the event of a divorce, a woman may now claim a share of the estate, and a married woman can now own property in her name.
In a time of changing laws, this information could prove invaluable for women who were otherwise unaware of legal changes that affected them.
The South Peace Regional Archives has records from the Grande Prairie Book Club between 1939 and 2004. The sixty-five years of minutes demonstrate the changing and varying interests of local women over time. Since its inception, the club remained a space where women could intellectually explore a range of subjects with one another.