Adelaide Hoodless - A Tribute
This month we salute Adelaide Hunter Hoodless – a woman born and raised in Ontario, who married a Hamilton businessman and bore him four children before the following announcement appeared in a local newspaper:
“DIED: Hoodless - at 55 East Avenue South, John Harold, youngest son of John and Adelaide Hoodless, aged 14 months. Funeral at 4 o'clock PM Saturday. Friends will please accept this intimation.”
Despite her grief, Mrs. Hoodless set out to produce something positive from this terrible loss. She learned that had she boiled the milk she gave her son, he would not have sickened and died. She vowed to make a difference so others would not experience the loss she and her husband had.
Her dedication and determination produced a long list of results that influence us even today:
Along with Lady Aberdeen and others, she was involved in the establishment of the Victorian Order of Nurses in Ontario.
She headed a campaign for clean milk for Hamilton.
She was instrumental in organizing the first Household Science school which opened in September of 1895.
Adelaide Hoodless was involved with the development of the first public school classes in Household Science in Ontario and in Canada.
She was the Honourary President of the first Women's Institute in the world – established at Stoney Creek, Ontario in 1897.
The Ontario Normal School of Domestic Sciences and Art was financed largely through her efforts. But it was soon too small to accommodate all who wanted to study there. This led to the donation of $200,000.00 by Sir William Macdonald. These funds were used to build Macdonald Institute in 1903, and Macdonald Hall in 1904 – both at Guelph, Ontario.
Adelaide Hoodless was one of the group of women who formed the National Council of Women.
Quite a list of accomplishments for a woman who was born in small town Ontario, which at that time was a frontier area of the world. Her influence has spread like the ripples on a pond after a stone was thrown in – women around the world know her name, and through her, much of Canada's reputation for concern for others has developed and expanded.
So Happy Birthday, Mrs. Hoodless and we will all work to keep your achievements remembered!
For Home and Country, Ruth Fenner, Provincial Historian, BC Women's Institute
