Árdís - 01.01.1956, Page 37

Ársrit Bandalags lúterskra kvenna
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our own Pearl Johnson! But there were others — Sigga Olson,
Unnur Simmons, Frida Johannesson, and many others who gave
freely of their time and talent. And speaking of program commit-
tees there was one name I noticed invariably and frequently: “Mrs.
B. H. Olson”. And she it was who took home the curtains from the
windows in the lower auditorium, when they were soiled, and
brought them back again clean and fresh.
The first major project recorded was a Valentine Tea, held
in February, 1931. And on March 18, 1931, a bridge party was held
at the home of Norma Thordarson, for members only. In March,
1931, a Tea was held at the home of Mrs. B. H. Olson. In May, the
Senior Ladies Aid offered the Junior Ladies Aid to take charge of
the candy booth at their bazaar. By June the treasury showed a
balance of $304. Two hundred of that was voted a gift to the church.
It is rather interesting to note the means of raising funds in those
first years, which some of us will remember as the “hungry
thirty’s”. It appears there that raffling was popular; perhaps it was
legal then? One member donated a roller canary bird and cage to
be raffled. A profit of $45.00 received was donated to the Deacons
for relief work. Incidentally, my mother-in-law, Mrs. Rosa Johan-
nesson, held the lucky ticket. She then gave the bird to her
daughter Aurora, who enjoyed the sweet singing bird for many
years. The Winnipeg Electric Co. donated an Electric Toaster which
was also raffled, and the proceeds again went to the Deacons.
I would like to quote here one little paragraph, taken from that
first book: “The society was informed by the president that she had
been approached by one of the trustees of the church, that we take
it upon ourselves to sponsor the sale of raffle tickets on a radio, to
raise funds for the church.” However, I never found out, and it
was not recorded, if anything was done about it. Other means of
fund raising were garden parties, bridge drives, Thanksgiving
dinners at 35c admission for adults, 25c for children. Even in those
bygone days there were “Teas”—only those Teas has such romantic
and fancy names such as the Evergreen Tea, Harvest Moon Tea,
Blossom Tea, Japanese Tea, Four Seasons Tea, May Day Tea, etc.
Then there was the sale of Blue Ribbon Baking Powder, and Coffee
with percentage profit—coffee then sold for 40c to 50c a pound.
Autograph quilts were made with a charge of lOc per name. Huge
Christmas cakes were baked and sold at 45c per pound; a cook book