The author sets out to bring to light the lives of such women in Haliburton County beginning with a theoretical overview of how women might have participated in the settlement of the area. The lives of several prominent women in Haliburton County including Edna Garnett Quinn Parrish and Dr. Agnes Jamieson are highlighted.
The second section describes the context for the formation of women's groups in Canadian history and features four groups: the Minden Women's Institute, the Haliburton Women's Institute, the West Guilford Ladies, and Eagle Lake Women. Using minute books, newspaper articles, and personal communication, the author examines the multitude of functions and purposes behind the organizations of rural women. The activities of two women's groups functioning in Haliburton County in 1993 are examined and the paper concludes with suggestions for future research possibilities in this area.
Haliburton County, Algonquin Park
As a focus for exploring feminism and bioregionalism, the paper looks at the Women's Emergency House in Haliburton, a shelter for woman suffering abuse which opened in 1995. Organized and operated by volunteers, the House is portrayed as representing activism as the women of Haliburton worked towards ending violence and in turn, created a more peaceful community.
Introducing the work is a discussion of feminist research and the struggle the author felt in bringing together the components of the researcher/community activist relationship. Violence against women is looked at with specific reference to the issues unique to rural communities such as Haliburton and the founding and functioning of the Haliburton Women's Emergency House, based on the Habitat for Humanity model, is outlined. Newspaper clippings dealing with issues surrounding the project are included in an appendix.