It was an evening for sundry celebrations as the Estevan chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women acknowledged International Women's Day and paid tribute to the memory of an Estevan woman who provided the impetus for an era of economic and social growth in the city.
The tribute included an update from the provincial office of the Status of Women delivered by former Estevanite Pat Faulconbridge.
The group also thanked Marlene Chattersonn, regional director for the Saskatchewan CFUW, for attending the special program.
The keynote address was delivered by Susie Ross, one of three daughters of the deceased Knute and Ida Petterson. Her mother was singled out for special recognition since among other things, she was the first female mayor of a Saskatchewan city when elected to the position in the early 1970s.
Ross noted that her mother, who died in 1999, would have been 100 years old this year.
"She would have been so proud of you," she told the local CFUW members who were in attendance at the event that attracted about 90 people to the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum.
Ross said her mother adhered to a strict work ethic throughout her life and added that "it takes a special person to run for public office because you are vulnerable for every comment and criticism, and I believe it is especially difficult for women because when you step into certain consultations that have to go on behind closed doors, you know you're going to be in the minority."
Ross said that on the political front, her mother was sometimes labelled as the woman "who was hard to get along with," but nobody did more for Estevan and "yes, she had a steel will because she came from a tough background and had to go out and earn a living at the age of 13. She was a hired girl, she worked in a small grocery store and cooked for coal miners," Ross said.
Eventually she saved enough money to purchase the Steinberg Grocery Store where she had worked as a clerk. The Petterson family "lived behind that store and she made the bread that she sold in the store and made a penny a loaf and she milked the cow that provided milk for the ice cream that was made to be sold in the store."
Ross said even under difficult conditions, the business moved forward and another, larger facility was built on Fourth Street in 1941 where her mother would trade produce for store credit. In 1958, the building was converted into a self-serve laundromat and was finally sold in 1991 when her mother's health began to fade. Her mother also sold insurance and became one of the company's top sales representatives.
Ida Petterson was Estevan's first female councillor in 1970 and convinced her fellow aldermen to move and upgrade the town library by moving it into the former Jewish synagogue, shifting it from city hall where it had been housed in what had been public restroom facilities. "I believe the councillors themselves moved the books and painted the walls," said Ross.
With the civic social services portfolio to take care of, her mother "never shied away from controversy." Her stab at re-election led to a loss by a total of nine votes, but she soon returned to council to serve three more terms and during her council tenure, including the years as mayor, the Estevan Regional Nursing Home was built and it was a service that Petterson had lobbied hard for. She also made sure that Estevan's finances were in good condition, never running a deficit. She worked hard at getting a new city hall built to replace a decrepit old facility and was instrumental in assuring a commercial mall was built in the Energy City. Ross recounted how her mother was proud of the fact that Estevan was able to have a new lagoon system built for half the expected cost and oversaw the development of the EAGM, the building that was accommodating that evening's celebration.
"When she was defeated at the polls in 1976, she was sad, but she never expressed any bitterness because she knew her career was rewarding," said Ross. Her work and influence was acknowledged by the City of Estevan and the province as well as a number of local service clubs.
In thanking Ross for the insight, Estevan MLA Doreen Eagles noted that "Ida Petterson had the ability to make tough decisions."
Evelyn Johnson, who served as emcee for the program, took a moment to also pay tribute to Mary Rose Boyer, the recently deceased president of the local chapter of CFUW.
Faulconbridge, executive director of the provincial Status of Women office, which provided a grant to the local committee to help curb the cost of the event, said they have an international grant program that had supported 96 organizations and 36 events over the past year.
She said the Status of Women chapters opened 101 years earlier following a tragic fire in a garment factory in Chicago in which 100 women perished.
Since then the offices continue to struggle to attain wage equity for women who are "still seeking to close the gap that is still 37 per cent less for women compared with men who have the same university degrees and job designations," she said.
"Women are still leading today though, and they lead with their intuition and integrity and there has been progress. We don't have to be the first woman in non-traditional professions now. There are lots of female plumbers, electricians and mechanics and they are achieving economic security," Faulconbridge said.
Estevan's Mayor Gary St. Onge brought greetings from the city and noted how females in the educational sector were now in the majority when it came to administration posts.
During the course of the evening, certificates of appreciation were handed out to females who had been elected to city, town and rural councils over the years as well as to the women who have, or are currently serving, on regional school boards.
The 13 previous winners of the Women of Today Ida Petterson Memorial Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurs were also presented with certificates of acknowledgement and most were in attendance to accept them.
Other members of the Petterson family in attendance included Ross's sisters Elaine Yeomans and Carol Â鶹´«Ã½AVam of Regina, Ross's daughter Shelleen, her son Kevin and his wife Laurie and daughter Channing.
The evening concluded with a social hosted by the EAGM.
