It’s 11:30 on a Wednesday morning and women of various ages and a couple of children are making their way downstairs to the large, sunny Butterfly Hall at St. James Church in Fergus.
Inside, tables are set and several women are already sitting around a table talking while the cooks, Peter Skoggard and Molly Yang and a couple of helpers, are busy in the kitchen.
People poke their head into the kitchen to say hello and ask if help is needed and, of course, to find out what smells so good.
This is a typical morning for the Women’s Community Lunch. The group was started in April 2014 by the Centre Wellington Social Justice Group to bring women of all ages and walks of life in our community together to get to know each other while sharing food; ideas and recipes for healthy, affordable meals; and interesting conversation.
Meals vary from one week to the next and are often based on suggestions of the group or festive themes. For example, on St. Patrick’s Day, corned beef and cabbage was served with potatoes and other vegetables (green, of course). Food allergies and tastes are taken into account. There is always a choice of desserts and usually there are leftovers from the meal to take home.
After lunch there is often an activity, speaker or some “getting to know you” questions.
On this particular morning, Margaret is telling the group about a mystery she would like to solve. She stands at the front with four small paintings which she has carefully laid out on the table. She explains that these were painted on the inside of the lid of a suitcase by a Dutch artist who was in hiding from the Nazis during World War II. She shows that the alligator leather of the suitcase is visible on the back of each painting. Her grandfather took food to the artist in hiding and in gratitude he gave the suitcase to her grandfather at the end of the war. Each painting is signed, but the signature is very hard to read. Margaret would like to know the name of the artist and perhaps contact his family to find out more about him. She would like to write a book about her grandfather’s war experiences for her family.
Fortunately, Louisa Kuitert, originally from Holland, was at lunch that day and was able to determine the family name of the artist. She and Margaret made a plan to Google the name and Louisa offered to check some Dutch sites and perhaps email family members on Margaret’s behalf.
All women are welcome and childcare is available. To attend call Cathy at 519-835-0832. There is no charge, but some choose to donate.
