
The Wonder Women
The Lady's Auxiliary
Women played a vital role within the community. Countless hours of volunteerism and charitable pursuits helped the community thrive. Women raised money for essential services, organized children’s activities, and fostered community connections through celebrations and social events.
Might this book have inspired a local woman to find her purpose in the world?
In the past, gender divisions were evident, and Women's Auxiliaries emerged as a response to this prevailing social structure. These organizations offered women a socially acceptable avenue to participate in the public sphere, which was traditionally seen as the men's domain while the home was considered the women's place.
Within the context of Cumberland, these Women's Auxiliaries became vehicles for women to wield substantial power and influence over the daily affairs of the community.
Women’s volunteer organizations were often affiliated with larger, predominantly male run organizations such as the churches and temples, the hospital and the fire department. Known as auxiliaries, these groups focused on achieving the larger organization’s goals, but did so by acting independently.
The Cumberland’s Hospital Women’s Auxiliary helped the hospital stay afloat. They organized fundraising events like balls, tea parties, market stands and tag days where volunteers asked for donations on the streets in exchange for tags. Their donations were used to buy a wide variety of supplies. From essentials like fresh linens, to specialized equipment, like X-Ray machines.

‘Have a cup of tea with us and send back a donation’
Zella Apps, in, Donna Watson, Eidith Stephens, Dick Isenot, One Hundred Spirited Years: A History of Cumberland (1998).

Cumberland’s Hospital Women's Auxiliary was founded in February 1903. Their dedication to community services and health care long outlived the hospital itself which closed in 1977 and was replaced by the Cumberland Diagnostic and Treatment Centre. This Scrapbook documents important moments and achievements of the Auxiliary during the last decades of the hospital and captures the legacy it left.
On top of fundraising efforts, the Hospital Women’s Auxiliary also added a warm and homely touch to the institution. Members visited patients, sewed and repaired linens, and gave gifts to staff members to thank them for their services. One such gift was the album of popular composer, Victor Herbert; his soft orchestral notes could sometimes be heard echoing down the hospital corridors.
