“Women in Agriculture” was the theme of the Mapleton Historical Society’s display at the 2015 Drayton Kinsmen Farm Show on April 1 and 2 at the PMD Arena Complex.
“It was our hope at the historical society that we could honour or pay tribute to the many women in the past and today that contribute so much to our township,” said society member Liz Samis in an email to the Community News.
Samis noted there have always been many rural women whose stories are untold.
“I realized that even today there are still few pictures of us, as farm women, working on the farms, because we tend to be the ones that take the pictures.”
Samis said stories of the women who worked and lived on farms are few and far between.
“It would be just great if people today would stop and take a few pictures of their family and the work that we do in the township and write down their stories and what they do.”
Today, she said, women are involved in all the tasks and management it takes to run a farm.
“They drive tractors, run combines, do the books, look after livestock, run the household and look after kids if they have children. Some choose to work off-farm to bring in extra income to support buying the farm in the first place or contributing to the income to just support the family.”
In some cases, Samis points out, women are part of a team on a farm but in some cases women run and operate farms themselves, as well as serving on boards and taking part in the community at local, provincially and national levels.
“The doors are open for them to play whatever role they want to play and I realized as we worked on this display, it was because there were women that had gone before me and paved the way, that I had so many opportunities myself. They spoke up when they needed to and in some cases worked behind the scenes to make that farm a success.”
Samis says society owes a great deal to the farmers that feed people.
“I am not saying that because I am a farmer, but because I realize how much it takes to bring food to the table. It takes way more know-how than the average person realizes,” she said.
According to the 2011 Census, there are 625 farms in Mapleton, sometimes with more than one or two or three operators. Township farms include 660 male operators and 285 female operators running farms either on their own or with partners.
Samis said that 35 years ago, women were not allowed to attend a banquet held in conjunction with the local farm show.
“That got changed and would be unthinkable today and things don’t evolve,” she said.
“We have a rich history in the township and it is the hope of the historical society that we can capture some of that history as well as record history as it happens. There are lessons to be learned from the past and the community around us can shape us,” said Samis, adding the Community News itself “plays an important role in capturing that history.”
