'How Kola': the Wauneita Society at the University of Alberta, 1908-1930

University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2016 'How Kola': The Wauneita Society at the University of Alberta, 1908-1930 McFadyen, Ursula McFadyen, U. (2016). 'How Kola': The Wauneita Society at the University of Alberta, 1908-1930 (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26392 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3337 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY ‘How Kola’: The Wauneita Society at the University of Alberta, 1908-1930 by Ursula McFadyen A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HISTORY CALGARY, ALBERTA SEPTEMBER, 2016 © Ursula McFadyen 2016 ii Abstract This thesis deals with the creation of campus culture in one of Canada’s first universities to be formed as a co-educational university. Using predominantly primary source material derived from university, student, alumni, professor, and administrative accessions at the University of Alberta, this thesis explores how men and women managed to create a campus culture at a time when women were just being introduced to college campuses in Canada. Certain difficulties such as maintaining respectability while in close proximity to men, finding a place for women on campus, and exploring roles for educated women in Canadian society are some of the challenges the female students faced while trying to create an educational environment that was both instructive and meaningful. The solution for the women at the University of Alberta was the formation of the Wauneita Society. The Wauneitas gave women a voice and a presence on campus that as a distinct minority, they would have otherwise been without. iii Acknowledgments First and foremost, I am grateful to my thesis supervisor Paul Stortz for his patience and encouragement. He suggested when I was an undergraduate student that grad school would be an engaging and fulfilling experience and he was absolutely right. I would also like to thank Lisa Panayotidis for entrusting me with the task of assisting with her research; working with her has been informative and inspirational. The defence committee, George Colpitts and Lorry Felske, provided very interesting conversation and helpful feedback. Also Chris Hyland (PhD student and good friend) has been a wonderful source of encouragement, support and information. The University of Alberta Archives in Edmonton has a knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff and I received a great deal of help with my research from Jim Franks and Alicia Odeen. I have been blessed with an amazing family who have provided a great deal of moral support throughout my Master’s program. My Aunt Gwen and Uncle Terry provided a place to stay when I visited the archives in Edmonton doing my research. My sister Hope Sommerville has been an inspiration with her perseverance and strength throughout her own journey. My partner Eric Lemieux has always provided a sympathetic ear and ice cream should the need arise. Finally, the greatest support and encouragement has come from my grandmother Dorothy Baptist who has raised me and nurtured the academic in me. She has taught me not to back down from a challenge or turn away from an opportunity and I would not have been able to do this without her. iv CATION To my Grandmother who was denied the opportunity to pursue an education because she was a woman. v Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………….. ii Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………….. iii Dedication………………………………………………………………………………... iv Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………… v List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………….. vii List of Figures and Illustrations………………………………………………………….. viii Introduction……………………………………………………………………………… 1 I.1 Learning from the Past – Bluestockings and Women’s Education……………. 2 I.2 The Growing Secularization of Education and Beginning of Co-Education in 7 Canada I.3 Placing Women in Early Education in The West……………………………... 13 I.4 The Seven Independent Spinsters……………………………………………... 14 I.5 Important Debates in Secondary Literature…………………………………… 16 I.6 The Study……………………………………………………………………… 22 I.7 Chapter Summary……………………………………………………………… 28 Chapter 1: “Payuk uche Kukeyow, Mena Kukeyow uche Payuk” (“Each for All, All for Each”), 1908-1912……………………………………………………………. 31 1.1 Early Women on Campus……………………………………………………... 33 1.2 Gendered Interaction on the New Campus……………………………………. 41 1.3 The Creation of the Wauneitas: Sisterhood and Imagery……………………... 46 1.4 Wauneita Symbolism………………………………………………………….. 50 vi Chapter 2: Keeping up with the World: 1911-1914……………………………………… 59 2.1 The Wauneitas Finding a Social and Political Place on Campus…………….. 60 2.2 Relationships on a Gendered Campus………………………………………… 68 2.3 A Renewed Purpose in Education: Lectures, Debates, and International Perspectives…………………………………………………………………….. 72 Chapter 3: The Women Behind the Men Behind the Guns: 1914-1919………………… 82 3.1 Women on the Wartime Campus and The University Soldiers’ Comfort Club 86 3.2 Women Still Feeling Constrained by Gender Boundaries…………………… 93 3.3 The Changing Image of Women……………………………………………… 98 Chapter 4: The Wauneitas in the 1920s………………………………………………….. 106 4.1 Gender Confusion in Post-War Canada: The Pressure to Pick a Side………… 108 4.2 The Wauneitas: Still Relevant? The Post War Gendered Culture…………….. 112 4.3 The Changing Face of the Wauneitas…………………………………………. 124 Conclusion: The Wauneita Society Further into the Twentieth Century………………… 133 C.1 Future Directions……………………………………………………………... 136 Selected Bibliography……………………………………………………………………. 140 vii List of Tables Table 3.1 - Table of Enrolment numbers divided by gender…………………………83 viii List of Figures and Illustrations Figure 1.1: “WS” Logo as published in Co-eds Corner………………………………. 52 Figure 1.2: Invitation for Miss J. Stewart to the 1916 Alumni Banquet with an Aboriginal woman painted on it……………………………………………………… 58 Figure 1.3: Invitation for Miss A. Iddings to the 1921 Alumni Banquet with cat tail plants painted on it …………………………………………………………………… 58 Figure 2.1: A mock timetable depicting the average day of a symbolic male student in which he is obsessed with a female student…………………………………………... 70 Figure 2.2: A mock timetable depicting the average day of a symbolic female student in which she is focused on socializing rather than school…………………………… 72 Figure 3.1: Picture of Miss Katie McCrimmon and Miss Clara May Bell in the University Weekly Newsletter………………………………………………………… 91 Figure 4.1: “To The Front” comic in which a housewife, a career woman, and a young flapper race……………………………………………………………………………. 109 Figure 4.2: Junior Promenade Program of Dances, November 1919…………………... 117 Figure 4.3: Wauneita Pin, Mascot and Sweatshirt……………………………………... 124 Introduction 1 Introduction “We, a growing body of girls are beginning traditions in our University that will of necessity be permanent and it remains to us to start them right.”1 Western-Canadian universities had the distinction of being formed as co-educational institutions; as a result they had an exciting opportunity to create a distinctive campus culture rather than being pressured to integrate women into an established male campus as was the case in Eastern Canadian institutions. Henry Marshall Tory, president of the University of Alberta 1908-1928, encouraged both male and female students to participate in extracurricular activities such as clubs and student government. Without a cultural precedent in Canada it was up to the students to create a campus culture that suited both men and women and maintained social standards of respectability. The women of the University of Alberta were given a unique opportunity to establish the campus culture alongside men although their chances to interact socially with men were extremely limited. Women in the early 1900s were expected to be passive and submissive to men. This made it difficult for women to participate in co-ed campus societies that included public speaking, competition, or leadership; in theory the women had equal access to clubs but their participation was limited. Even though the men and women of the University of Alberta entered their university with equal access to classes and extracurricular activities, social factors and traditional gender roles prevented the women from having the same university experience as the men. The women on the University of Alberta campus were also highly outnumbered by the men. As a distinct minority on campus, the women of the university had to figure out how to 1 Unsigned. “Wauneita Banquet Held on Friday Last,” The Gateway, January 24, 1918, 1. Introduction 2 have a voice on campus without appearing too assertive. To have a fulfilling university experience, the women of the University of Alberta formed the Wauneita Society in the fall of 1910. Inside the closed doors of the Wauneita lounges the women could participate in extracurricular activities in a way that was less ornamental and restrictive than the regular university clubs such as the Literary Society and Debate team. The Wauneita

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