Compton County women to be honoured this Sunday
The Eaton Corner Museum’s annual afternoon hymn sing is coming up this Sunday, having this year been built around the theme of honouring the work of the Compton County Women’s Institute.
“The museum itself started with the Compton County Women’s Institute,” said Sharon Moore, who coordinates the annual event. “There was a special program back in the mid to late fifties, not just in Compton County but all over, to work on keeping the stories of the English families and collecting a few things. That was so well received by the public that they needed a space to keep it all in. A historical society was formed and somewhere around that time the Eaton Corner United Church was no longer used as a worship space and so it was for sale.”
The Compton County Historical and Museum Society, she explained, bought the building for a dollar and opened it as the museum in 1959.
Although the Compton County Women’s Institute only has one remaining chapter in operation, in Bury, Moore said it just felt right to pay homage to the group responsible for everything that has gone into making the museum and its annual hymn sing a reality.
Describing the hymn sing as a well-established tradition that has been going on for more than 25 years, the coordinator said that the program for the afternoon will feature ten hymns broken up by readings and presentations based on the theme. Four of the hymns are chosen in advance, with six left open for those in attendance to request from copies of the “Songs of the Gospel” hymn books on loan from Sawyerville United Church.
“It’s not really a church service that we do, even though it is in the church,” Moore said, adding that the program has changed a little bit over the years. “At one time they used to do a little bit of an afternoon program and then a potluck supper and then the hymn sing. After a while we realized that a lot of our attendees were reaching an age where they really didn’t want to drive in the evening or they just found it too long a day, so we switched to just an afternoon hymn sing with cookies and lemonade after.”
Despite the changes, the coordinator said that the event draws a dedicated crowd who come as much for the social experience as for the singing.
“We’re always hoping some newcomers will show up,” Moore said. “Perhaps this year’s recognition of the Compton County Women’s Institute might attract people in women’s institutes other than in Compton County.”
The full program of the event, minus time spent chatting afterwards over snacks, runs for about an hour. The singing is expected to get started around 2 p.m. in the museum building at 374 Rte. 253, on Sunday, July 16. A free-will donation will be taken up as a part of the gathering to support the work of the museum.