Keeping local women connected

Winnipeg

You’re never too old to keep learning and connecting with your community, and one local club has been giving women the opportunity to keep doing so for almost 120 years.

The Women’s Canadian Club of Winnipeg was formed in 1907, with the mission to “encourage an active interest in the history, arts, literature, institutions and resources of Canada, thereby endeavouring to unite Canadians in promoting the welfare and progress of the nation,” according to its description on the Manitoba Historical Society’s official website.

Now, over a century later, the club continues to promote the original idea through regular meetings focusing on a wide range of different subjects and a healthy amount of fun.

Iris Maurstad has been involved with the club for approximately 30 years, and considers it “a big family affair.” She’s in charge of deciding the theme for different meetings, which range from the 1919 strike to lectures on Manitoba’s owls.

Her family has been involved with the club for four generations, although she didn’t know of this fact at first, as her mother would have stopped being involved when she was born during the Great Depression of the 1930s, she said. It wasn’t until another member brought a book containing names of all the members during the 1920s that she discovered her mother and grandmother had both been involved with the club’s early years.

“I had no idea,” she said. “I was just amazed.”

Now, Maurstad’s niece has joined the fray, as well as her daughter.

“It’s nice because now, hopefully, it’ll carry on,” she said.

“I find the club is a lot of fun,” Maurstad said. “You come out with a lot of good friends over the years.”

Membership has been dwindling, she said, and it’s becoming all the more important to drum up interest for the club.

Although the majority of members are retirement age, it’s open to anyone who’d be available for the lunches, which take place at the RBC Convention Centre.

“Some like to come for the camaraderie, some like the presentations, Maurstad added, noting there’s something for everyone.

Upcoming lunch themes include ‘cowboy poet’ on Sept. 16, featuring an appearance by Diamond Doug Keith and an opportunity for members to don their best western gear for photos and prizes. The next lunch, on Nov. 18, will take on a more historical topic with ‘A Man Called Intrepid,’ featuring a history presentation by Alan Parkin, who will discuss Sir William Stephenson, and Dec. 16 will feature a performance by the Shoestring Players — which have held a solid relationship with the club for several years — for the club’s Christmas lunch.

Looking even further, lunches in 2026 will discuss the 1919 strike and a trip to Oak Hammock Marsh Discovery Centre.

“The (original mission) is the whole idea, but we’re there to have fun at the same time,” Maurstad said. “It makes you want to get out and do more.”

Alongside lunches and get-togethers, the club established a bursary fund through the Winnipeg Foundation, which provides funds to students attending classes in the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources at the University of Manitoba. The club has also done humanitarian work over the years — in 2014, it was able to collect and donate 75,000 books to northern communities in Canada and transport them by plane.

New members are always welcome, and non-members are also welcome to join lunches for a fee of $35 (members receive a discount). Membership fees are $45 annually and men are welcome.

The club is also looking for board members. Those interested are encouraged to reach out to Karen McCreary, club president, at karenmccreary@gmail.com