fter 21 years of meeting on a monthly basis for good food, fun and fellowship, a group of women from Glen Allan has decided to disband. The Hens of the Glen held their final, official meeting on Dec. 6.
The Hens of the Glen, who prefer to be called The Hens, began with four founding members. The four honorary grandmothers met at a Moms and Tots group held in the village. After meeting for lunch one day, the four decided to continue meeting on a monthly basis and to invite other women in the community to join them.
“Four of us went out for lunch one day and had a great time. We decided why not keep doing this,” said founding member and organizer Coral Luxton.
“Eileen Bowman, one of the four founding members, gave the group the Hens of the Glen name.”
Members of the group range in age from 40 to 90-plus, with the only common denominator being that they are all women. Over the 21 years, approximately 24 members have attended the monthly get-togethers.
Some members have moved out of the Glen Allan area to Kitchener and Elmira, but make the journey back for gatherings. Ruth Mettler joined The Hens to meet new people after moving to the Glen Allan area in 1997 from Switzerland.
“We are a group of women who can say whatever we want as there are no men around and it’s a good opportunity to let our hair down,” Luxton said.
Some of The Hens meetings have included visits to local attractions including Belgian Nursery and the unique shops of St. Jacobs and Elora.
Each month members of the group place a loonie in a “Loonie Purse.” Funds collected have been donated to numerous charities over the 21 years.
The Drayton and Elmira Food banks, Canadian Cancer Society and service dogs are a few of the organizations that received donations. The group has also hosted silent auctions during Christmas seasons, raising funds for local food banks.
“We have gone out to restaurants to eat but prefer to meet for lunch at someone’s home. We are always concerned that we may not be asked back to a restaurant as we tend to get a little noisy,” Luxton quipped.
For the past five years the group has met at the former Glen Allan United Church. The building has undergone extensive renovations by its current owner and Hen member Darlene Vandermey and her husband Kees.
Meetings are usually held on Wednesdays with everyone contributing to a potluck lunch. At each get-together members catch up with each other, share information on those unable to attend, birthdays are celebrated and tears are shed when a member passes on. Numerous members commented that at the visitation of a member who had passed on, meeting with family members was made easier when memories were shared of times spent as a Hen.
The Hens spent their last official get together enjoying a myriad of food and memories. Tears were shed, but laughter prevailed. Vandermey sang a solo titled Gift To Me by the Singing Priest, Reverend Mark Curtis. She reminded members that Christmas is a time of gift giving and over the years The Hens have been a gift to each other. The meeting ended with carol singing.
Hens’ member Patty DeRose summed up the group as an intentional gathering of neighbours and friends. Some have moved away but come back and connect again.
“We’ve had good years, good people, good times and have lots of good memories,” she said.
