1. What prompted or enticed you to become involved in the Women’s Movement?

1. When I first started teaching, married women were not entitled to school board housing. If you were a married male teacher, a furnished house or apartment was provided with very low rent and it didn’t matter where or if his spouse worked. The school board wouldn’t provide accommodations, so she lived in a basement apartment with snow covering the windows for most of the winter. If she had been male, she might have been living on the fourth floor of the Embassy like I was. I thought it was really unfair and I was upset that nothing was being done about this type of discrimination.

2. What was your greatest victory being involved with the Women’s Center?

1. My greatest feeling of accomplishment was getting funding to set up an office and the new matrimonial property laws.

3. How did others react to your involvement with the Women’s Center?

1. Some used to say” I didn’t think you were a bra burner” but most of the people had no reaction.

4. What role did your involvement in the Women’s Movement play in your life?

1. Often I was a social time for me. I enjoyed meeting so many women from different backgrounds in daycare and secondary education. If we had a guest speaker for one of our dinners, the executive would often get together for a luncheon and we would be free to chat informally and get to know the guest speaker on a more personal level. I remember talking with Lynn Verge, Ann Belle, Sally Davis, Maude Barlow and so on. I met many intelligent women who inspired me to broaden my knowledge about women’s issues. It was a these meetings that I met Erica Furlong, Grace Stapleton, Linda Thomas, and so many other local women. I really enjoyed being on the Executive. I remember trying to pass on some of the knowledge that I gained to my Business Education classes. I also remember how happy I was when one of my students, Gaylene Pittman, went on the committee as a student representative. I often provided information to students who wanted to do speeches on the women’s movement—a hot topic at that time!

5. How did others react to your involvement?

1. I don’t know and I really didn’t give it much thought.

6. How easy or difficult was it for you to become involved?

1. It was very easy.

7. Can you think of a particular issue, event, or activity involve e with the Women’s movement that you were part of and that stands out as being important to you?

1. I remember following the matrimonial property case and all the application for funding forms that Dorothy Robbins filled out and I typed up. Dorothy was such a go-getter and movies and pre-teen dances in the afternoons in the Trailer Park in order to get more mothers aware of our organization and to realize that there was more to our group than they might have thought –daycare, matrimonial property issues, etc…

8. What was the hardest obstacle you had to overcome?

1. I personally didn’t feel that I had any obstacle to overcome. Maybe finding room dividers for our first center because it was only one large, open area!!!!I remember how happy we were because we found something suitable from one of the banks that was undergoing renovations.

9. What is your fondest memory of your involvement in the women’s Movement in the 70’s and 80’s would you like young people today to know about?

1. I would like them to appreciate the opportunities that they have and to know the pleasure that you can have working with other women. I also remember how important it was for women in Newfoundland & Labrador to have had someone like Lynn Verge in the Conservative Cabinet. She certainly was a voice for women in a male dominated domain.

10. What was it like being a woman in the 70’s and 80’s? What has changed for women since then?

1. Years ago, most women trained to be nurses, teachers, or secretaries, but now the career choices are much more varied. When I was in university, the residences weren’t co-ed and we had curfews. Things have certainly changed since then. I think that young women now have a lot more freedom, but a lot more stress and pressures. I think that women now are a lot more financially independent and that’s a very good thing.

11. What issues were you most concerned about?

1. Equal pay for work of equal value, Matrimonial Property Laws, Educational Opportunities for women, Equal job opportunities and Affordable daycare.

12. What are you memories around the Royal Commission on the Status on Women Report?

1. I remember discussing it at some of our meetings.

13. Did you attend any of Bonnie Krepp’s talks when she visited NL in the 70’s?

1. I am not sure.

14. What are your memories around the Jury Duty Reform Act?

1. I don’t recall anything specific.

15. What are your memories around the Matrimonial Property Act?

1. I remember being very upset about the farmer’s wife who worked on the farm alongside her husband and because the farm wasn’t in her name, she had no right to any of the assets. We talked quite a bit about it and followed the case and would often write letters requesting changes to the matrimonial property laws.

16. What are your memories around the International Year of the Woman?

1. I recall having dinner meetings and getting financial support to bring in guest speakers.

17. What are your memories around the Charter of Rights and ensuring that they pertained equally to men and women?

1. I was happy that the rights of all people were finally going to be recognized, especially those of minorities.

18. Do you have any comments on or memories about the women’s movement’s efforts in the 70’s and 80’s to combat violence against women?

1. I remember having a guest speaker who had been viciously attacked by her husband. I also made sure that I showed a particular movie to my students to make them aware of this type of violence. I think it was call “Life with Billy”.

19. Do you have any comments on or memories about the women’s movement’s efforts in the 70’s and 80’s to address daycare issues?

1. Our group got funding to have a survey done regarding daycare. We had to hire people to write, type, print, deliver, and analyze the information. It was a big job but we got it done. I remember being so frustrated with all the rules regarding daycare centers because there were no buildings in town that would meet the criteria.

20. Do you have any comments on or memories about the women’s movements in the 70’s and 80’s about education?

1. I recall that IOC prepared a video on female workers and job opportunities. I used to show it to my class when we discussed non-traditional jobs. I remember when they closed the Business Education Program at LCC. I thought that it was a blow to the educational opportunities of women in the area.

21. What work do you think still needs to be done in the Women’s Movement?

1. We need more women in public office and programs, etc. to combat violence against women. Young women still need to be encouraged to attain the highest level of education possible as women are still employed in most of the lower paying jobs.

22. Who else should we interview?

23. Do you have any artifacts (pictures, newsletters, articles, etc.) that we could borrow to reproduce? Do you have a picture of yourself that we could post on the website?

1. I passed all my old files in the Women’s Center a few years ago.

24. Why is the Women’s Center so important to you?

1. I is a place that anyone can go for information, a friendly chat, or to seek assistance in a crisis situation.

25. How important is having a feminist voice to the Women’s Center?

A. Very important.