chairman of the Hall Committee had
consulted his fellow—members —— Al—
bert Johnson, H. D. Churchill, Good—
win Olson, Ronald Gardiner, and the
secretary—treasurer F. H. Deacon, and
by noon they were in, So-uris ready
to put in their bids for the «building.

Their bid was accepted, and the-
'next thing was to get it moved to
Clearwater. Mr. Charlie Salfrais of
Cartwright was in. charge of the-
building being taken down, and Mr.
William Blackburn of Pilot Mound
was the overseer in the building of
the hall. It was quite a job- to get it
taken apart, — nails saved and
straightened on a block in the store
by anyone who had a few minutes to
spare. Materials were hauled by
trucks to the present site, where on
May 24, 1945, it was opened as a Me-
morial to those who had served in
the two World Wars.

Mrs. Burgess was born Mabel Mc
Intyre on a farm west of the village,
and along with her sister and bro-
thers —- children of James G. and
Elizabeth J. McIntyre —- attended the
local school. Mabel became a teacher
and taught in rural Manitoba and
Winnipeg before marrying Reg. They
have no children but had the pleasure
of raising Harvey McIntyre who be-
came a member of their family when
he was ten years of age. Harvey and
his wife Lorna Treble of Crystal City,
and their children Brian, Kenneth,
and Lori Lee are frequently visitors
at the Burgess home.

Interest in the community was of
similar interest to Mabel as it was
to her husband, and she was active
in the church and Sunday School, as
well as a leader in 4-H work. The
work of the Women’s Institute was
very vital to Mabel. She served a
term as president of the Manitoba
Women’s Institute, and for fourteen
years on their Advisory Board. This
led to appointments on other Provin-
cial Committees, one of which she
particularly enjoyed was as member

50

of the Advisory Board of the Depart-
ment of Education where for a. term
she acted as vice-chairman.

A highlight of her years of service
was when she was chairman of the
Tour Committee of the Manitoba Wo-
men’s Institutes. As such she conduct-
ed a group of women who had at-
tended an International Conference
of the Associated Country Women
of the World in Toronto, on a tour
through Southern Manitoba. It was-
on August 29, 1953, (Reg’s birthday)
that the group which had arrived in
Winnipeg by train, were taken by
bus on a sightseeing tour. After hav-
ing spent the previous day being
entertained in Winnipeg by govern-
ment officials, the group of about
thirty-five women, representing
many countries of the world, some
in their native costumes ——. arrived
at the Memorial Hall in Clearwater.
There the-y were entertained at a lun-
cheon as guests of the Manitou Dist-
rict W. I.

FolloWing lunch, they proceeded. to
the International Peace Garden —
the development of which has been a
major project of the Women’s Ins-ti-
tutes across Canada. Therean inter—
national rally was held when the
South-Western District W. I. and the
Homemakers of North Dakota met.
The visitors were most impressed
with the beauty of The Garden, and
what it symbolized. The next day an-
other rally was held at the Riding
Mountain National Park for the peop-
le of that area before the visitors took
the train in Brandon at midnight and
proceeded on their journey through
the western provinces, —— and to their
homes.

The Burgess store was sold in 1954
to Mr. & Mrs. J. E. Findlay, and Mabel
and Reg since then have been spend-
ing their time more leisurely. During
June, July and August they are at
their summer home at Rock Lake,
and in the winters they go South. But
the-y say it is always a' happy time