The Women's Auxiliary was organized in New London Parish in 1907. 3 This included all women of the parish and involved a lot of driving in horse-drawn vehicles to attend the monthly meetings which alternated betwee; the six areas of the parish including Kensington and French River. On H several occasions meetings had to be postponed due to rain or snow. In ‘ October, 1918, when plans were made to ask Miss DeBlois, a missionary from,é
1 . . 42!)?” (ray .0 Arw
Kangra, India to give a talk in St. Stephen‘s Church, a footnot was added 3
stating: "the epidemic of Spanish flu has put a stop to that for the present--now the roads are in bad condition." These plans were finally carried out in January , 1919. The afternoon meetings were held in the homes and were a social outing for the men who chauffeured the ladies
in ‘ horse-drawn vehicles. The men visited in the kitchen while the W.A. members held their meeting in the parlor.- Then all would partake of a hearty lunch before heading home.
As early as 1914 some discussion was held about dividing the Auxiliary; and in 1916 it was decided to have Kensington as Part 1 and all others ' as Part 2. St. Stephen's was then referred to as Division "B" and for many} years did not have a President of their own. The Rector's wife, a member of Division "A". Kensington. was President and a talk on missions, usually given by the Rector was always part of the program.
The W.A. had several yearly committments, but the Pledge (an amount of money allocated by the Diocesan Board of the W.A.) was a Tmust" and it was considered a disgrace to fall below the allotted share. Although the women did not have as much ready cash as they do today they were 2 thankful for their blessings and faithfully drOpped their pennies and dimes: into their Mite and Thankoffering boxes. Besides this they willingly * attended twelve monthly meetings and three sewing meetings each year and prepared for a Handkerchief Sale, Ice Cream Socials and Parlor Socials. Packing a missionary bale was an annual event. A buying committee was appointed to procure material and a cutting out day was held when the garments were made by the members. When the bale was packed it was sent to a mission field. The Apron Sale was also a yearly event and on one occasion it was decided to buy twenty-four yards of cotton gingham and muslin and twelve yards of lace. This was madeinpcintozthirty-one aprons. The sale was held in Kensington and was an all-day affair. When the Prince} County Hospital was built in Summerside in 1912, a new project. the furnishu ing of the New London Room was undertaken, and for many years the month I of June was designated as "Hospital Month".
(/0)