The MAE Belles at their final meeting on Friday at the REO Hall. Front row, from left: Flory Fraser. Annette Vallieres, Edith Evans, and Margaret Gosling. Back row, from left: Jana Sharratt, Peggy Donahue, Neisje Vanden Dool and Heather Dodd.
As they have for 75 years, the MAE Belles took care of business during their meeting Friday at the REO Hall.
This was a meeting like no other in the women’s club formed in 1948, as it marked the end of the organization.
In one of the final acts of business, the MAE Belles voted to file for dissolution as a society, citing low membership and the declining state of the Ardenville Hall.
“There’s nobody left to do the work anymore,” MAE Belles president Edith Evans said.
Just eight members were at the final meeting to wind up club business, including dispersing more than $13,000 to local organizations.
Earlier this year the club sold the Ardenville Hall, the former school building the MAE Belles operated as a social centre.
Evans said it has been difficult to wind down the affairs of the MAE Belles.
Every time a drawer is opened, there is a photo or document or some other piece of memorabilia that reminds the present members of people and events associated with the MAE Belles.
Well over 100 women have belonged to the club since it was formed in 1948, with MAE an acronym for the disbanded McBride, Ardenville, and Ewelme school districts.
The first meeting of the MAE Belles was held on Nov. 16, 1948 at Ellen Chester’s house when nine women met to discuss forming a handicrafts club in conjunction with the Hazelmere Beavers Club.
The minutes of that first meeting note such decisions as the election of Beth Fraser as president, Ellen Chester as secretary-treasurer and Eva Chester as reporter.
Members agreed upon a 50-cent membership fee, plans for a Christmas gift exchange at the next meeting, and to hold meetings at 2 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month.
Each hostess was to have two helpers, with lunches “kept simple” consisting of not more than two kinds of sandwiches, cakes, cookies — “and pickles if desired.”
The MAE Belles encountered people who doubted that a women’s group would endure, but the club persevered and has served the community in many ways.
The club has staged an annual Christmas party starring children from the district.
The MAE Belles have fund-raised and directed improvements to the former Ardenville school, which they took over and turned into a social centre that served as the hub of the rural community.
Card parties, raffles, theme nights and other events brought friends and neighbours together on a regular basis at the social centre.
Early members canvassed the district to raise money for the Community Chest.
Another regular feature of meetings was an active roll call rather than a boring noting of members’ names.
Over the year members have answered the roll with readings, favourite recipes, and even whether they had considered self-improvements such as face-lifts or botox.
Recently, members discussed the women’s rally after Donald Trump was elected U.S. president, and stated their opinions on the legalization of marijuana.
Raffles were held at each meeting, with prizes being something made by members.
Friday’s meeting at the REO Hall was a somber affair, with a few tears shed as the MAE Belles finalized the difficult decision to dissolve the organization.
Edith Evans reflected on the place of the MAE Belles in the social fabric of the rural community.
“It was the thing to do,” said Evans, who followed the footsteps of her mother in joining the MAE Belles. “You couldn’t not be a MAE Belle if you lived in this district.”
After attending to business, the members continued a tradition of every MAE Belles meeting as noted in the minutes, with “a lovely lunch” served to members and guests.
“It’s been fun,” Evans said. “We hope we did our bit for the community.”
The MAE Belles sign outside the Ardenville Social Centre.
The MAE Belles at their final meeting on Friday at the REO Hall. Front row, from left: Flory Fraser. Annette Vallieres, Edith Evans, and Margaret Gosling. Back row, from left: Jana Sharratt, Peggy Donahue, Neisje Vanden Dool and Heather Dodd.
