The first meeting of the new year for the Bloomingdale Women’s Institute was held on Monday, February 11th at the Bloomingdale United Church at 7:30 p.m. The weather was good for this meeting which is why there was no meeting held in January.
Roll Call was talking about a favourite “blankie” or “stuffie” we had growing up. There were many cute stories told. Each member was also encouraged to bring a “stuffie” to the meeting which will be donated to the Conestogo Fire Department.

The program for this meeting was having the ladies “knotting comforters” . Judy Reist had pieced together a large comforter which will be going to the Mennonite Central Committee while Elinor Rau had made several small lap comforters which will be donated to area Nursing Homes.
The “Women’s Day” programs were handed out. The date is Saturday, April 13th at Bethel Evangelical Missionary Church in New Dundee. The topics this year are on Lyme Disease and the ongoing research at the University of Guelph. Retirement & Long-term Care – future style options for yourself and family. Lucy Pearlie Studio and Vintage Market – things past and present, antiques, home décor and more. Fraud – Don’t Get Fooled – presented by Investigative Services with the Waterloo Region Police – don’t get scammed. Musical Entertainment by the Shout Sister. Cost is $35 per person if registering before March 14 or $40 after. Some of the proceeds will be going to the University of Guelph for research on Lyme Disease.
President Pauline Weiland gave a brief report on the District Annual planning meeting. Bloomingdale will be hosting the 2019 District Annual meeting on Wednesday, May 15th at the Bloomingdale United Church at 1 p.m.
The Guelph Area Convention will be on Wednesday, October 23rd. More information will be coming later on this event.
Next meeting will be on Monday, March 11th at 7:30 p.m. at the Bloomingdale United Church. The roll call is before TV what games did you play and the program will consist of members playing those games – crokinole, bingo, dominoes, etc.