Canadian Women's Press Club
Encyclopedia
Canadian Women's Press Club was founded in 1904, the year that the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
was held in St. Louis, Missouri
. In June of that year, journalist
and feminist
Margaret Graham of Ottawa went to see Col. George Ham, the publicity agent for the Canadian Pacific Railway
. Graham went straight to the point. It is reported that she said "Can you tell my why your road has taken men to all the excursions and Fairs and other things and has ignobly ignored us, the weaker sex?" Apparently, Col. Ham was a little amused by her outburst. He promised that if she could find twelve professional women journalists, he would send them to St. Louis.
Margaret Graham found sixteen qualified women. So they travelled to St. Louis in style by private railway car with fresh flowers every day and afternoon tea at five o'clock. There were stops in Detroit and Chicago
so that the women could file stories from their visits there. After ten days, the group returned to Toronto
. Col. Ham travelled with them. As the train neared their destination, the women discussed the solitude of their professional lives, excluded from male journalists' gatherings and press clubs. Col. Ham, smoking his pipe nearby, quietly said "Why don't you form your own press club?".
This was done immediately. Kit Coleman
, a popular columnist and foreign correspondent (she had covered the war in Cuba), was chosen as the first president. Col. Ham was made an honorary member. Until 1971, he was the only male member of CWPC. When he died in 1926 after 35 years as publicity agent for CPR, CWPC dedicated a plaque
in his honour on the wall of Montreal's Windsor Station.
CWPC grew rapidly. Among the famous Canadian women who were members were Nellie McClung
, Cora Hind, Lucy Maud Montgomery
, Emmeline Pankhurst
, Emily Murphy
, Byrne Hope Sanders, Marshall Saunders, Doris Anderson
, and Charlotte Whitton
. By its Golden Jubilee in 1954, it had over 500 members with branches from Victoria to Halifax. In 1971, at a general meeting in Toronto, it was decided to change the name of the Club to Media Club of Canada
. This would make the name translatable into French
, and would open the doors to male members. The Club celebrated its 90th birthday in Halifax
in 1994. However, the need for networking for young women journalists was no longer so great. The club declined until it was finally un-incorporated in the early 2000s.
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...
was held in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. In June of that year, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
Margaret Graham of Ottawa went to see Col. George Ham, the publicity agent for the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
. Graham went straight to the point. It is reported that she said "Can you tell my why your road has taken men to all the excursions and Fairs and other things and has ignobly ignored us, the weaker sex?" Apparently, Col. Ham was a little amused by her outburst. He promised that if she could find twelve professional women journalists, he would send them to St. Louis.
Margaret Graham found sixteen qualified women. So they travelled to St. Louis in style by private railway car with fresh flowers every day and afternoon tea at five o'clock. There were stops in Detroit and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
so that the women could file stories from their visits there. After ten days, the group returned to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. Col. Ham travelled with them. As the train neared their destination, the women discussed the solitude of their professional lives, excluded from male journalists' gatherings and press clubs. Col. Ham, smoking his pipe nearby, quietly said "Why don't you form your own press club?".
This was done immediately. Kit Coleman
Kit Coleman
"Kit Coleman" was the nom de plume of the Canadian newspaper columnist Kathleen Blake Coleman. The Irish-born Coleman was the world's first accredited female war correspondent, covering the Spanish-American War for the Toronto Mail in 1898...
, a popular columnist and foreign correspondent (she had covered the war in Cuba), was chosen as the first president. Col. Ham was made an honorary member. Until 1971, he was the only male member of CWPC. When he died in 1926 after 35 years as publicity agent for CPR, CWPC dedicated a plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
in his honour on the wall of Montreal's Windsor Station.
CWPC grew rapidly. Among the famous Canadian women who were members were Nellie McClung
Nellie McClung
Nellie McClung, born Nellie Letitia Mooney , was a Canadian feminist, politician, and social activist. She was a part of the social and moral reform movements prevalent in Western Canada in the early 1900s...
, Cora Hind, Lucy Maud Montgomery
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Lucy Maud Montgomery OBE , called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L.M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success...
, Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst was a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement which helped women win the right to vote...
, Emily Murphy
Emily Murphy
Emily Murphy was a Canadian women's rights activist, jurist, and author. In 1916, she became the first woman magistrate in Canada, and in the British Empire...
, Byrne Hope Sanders, Marshall Saunders, Doris Anderson
Doris Anderson
Doris Hilda Anderson, was a Canadian author, journalist and women's rights activist.She was born in Calgary, Alberta as Hilda Doris Buck. She attended Crescent Heights High School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta in 1945...
, and Charlotte Whitton
Charlotte Whitton
Charlotte Elizabeth Whitton, OC, CBE was a Canadian feminist and mayor of Ottawa. She was the first female mayor of a major city in Canada, serving from 1951 to 1956 and again from 1960 to 1964...
. By its Golden Jubilee in 1954, it had over 500 members with branches from Victoria to Halifax. In 1971, at a general meeting in Toronto, it was decided to change the name of the Club to Media Club of Canada
Media Club of Canada
The Media Club of Canada was a professional organization of Canadian journalists, active from 1904 to the early 1990s. Originally founded as the Canadian Women's Press Club and open only to women, early members of the group included Kit Coleman, Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy and Helen MacGill.The...
. This would make the name translatable into French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and would open the doors to male members. The Club celebrated its 90th birthday in Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
in 1994. However, the need for networking for young women journalists was no longer so great. The club declined until it was finally un-incorporated in the early 2000s.
Founding members
- Catherine Blake ColemanKit Coleman"Kit Coleman" was the nom de plume of the Canadian newspaper columnist Kathleen Blake Coleman. The Irish-born Coleman was the world's first accredited female war correspondent, covering the Spanish-American War for the Toronto Mail in 1898...
of the Mail and Empire, Toronto - "Francoise" Barry of La Journal de Francoise', Montreal
- Kate Simpson Hayes, 'Mary Markwell" of the Free Press', Winnipeg
- Mary Adelaide Dawson of the Telegram, Toronto
- Irene Currie Love, of the Advertiser', London, Ontario
- Katherine Hughes, of the Bulletin, Edmonton
- Alice Asselin of La Nationalist, Montreal
- Margaret Graham of the Press, Ottawa
- A. Madeleine Gleason of La Patrie, Montreal
- Marie Beaupre of La Press, Montreal
- Grace E. Dension of Saturday Night
- "Peggy" Balmer Watt of the Sentinel ReviewWoodstock Sentinel-ReviewThe Woodstock Sentinel Review is a local newspaper that services Woodstock, Ontario and Oxford Countyin the Canadian province of Ontario....
, Woodstock