Agnes Ramsay, President Tealing WRI
MRS AGNES RAMSAY, PRESIDENT, TEALING W.R.II moved to Tealing when I was married in 1961 and I was first introduced to the "Rural" in the 60's by my mother-in-law who was a founder member and first secretary of the W.R.I. in 1924. Membership when I joined was around 100. Unfortunately through the years this has trickled down to under 30. Meetings are held once a month and in the early days the Rural was a meeting place where women of all ages could meet and enjoy an evening together.
It's said that the W.R.I. now has the reputation of being an organisation for older women but try as we may we find it almost impossible to encourage young women to join us. The W.R.I. has much to offer with a wide variety of talks and demonstrations, competitions, and many crafts to learn. Many Institutes have had to close because of low membership and unless we can increase our membership in the future, it seems inevitable that eventually Tealing W.R.I. will cease to exist.
My hopes for the future of Tealing W.R.I. would be that more women will come along and help to support our organisation. We are now in our 75th year and I would like to think that the "Rural" will still be going strong for many years to come.
(Written in Spring 2000)