Helen J. MacDougall

Nova Scotia

In the story of the development of a better way of life for rural women in Nova Scotia over the first half of the twentieth century, no name deserves greater mention than that of Helen J. MacDougall who, for over a quarter of a century, as Superintendent of Womens Institutes in Nova Scotia, will be remembered for the contributions she made to the well-being of the rural community.

In the field of women s work, Miss MacDougall was a pioneer with pioneering enthusiasm and determination. Because of this, the horizons of those she served were broadened greatly through their association with Women s Institute activities, through the acquisition of knowledge in home economics, and, through a new understanding and appreciation of agriculture as a viable and important commercial enterprise.

A native of Oxford, Cumberland County, Miss MacDougall was a graduate of the Truro School of Household Science and of Teachers College of Columbia University, New York.

Miss MacDougall was one of the early teachers of household economics in Nova Scotia, prior to moving to Winnipeg where she directed the women s work program of the Manitoba Extension Service over the 1918-19 period. She resigned when she was invited to accept similar duties in her native Nova Scotia. This position Miss MacDougall occupied with distinction until her retirement in 1945. During this period, which spanned a quarter-century, the rural women of Nova Scotia found, in her, a warm friend, a wise counsel, and a stalwart champion.