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ARCAT
Happy campers wave from their lakeside perch at Marygrove Camp for Girls, Penetanguishene, Ontario.
1950s
PH 73/51P Rev. John J. Kelly Fonds ARCAT Photographs Collection
For well over a century, March 8th has been celebrated as International Women's Day. Since 1911, this day has brought attention to women's struggle for equality and celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
Each year, IWD selects a year-long campaign theme that highlights how we can continue to strive for complete equality amongst men and women. With 2019's theme being Balance for Better, the campaign focuses on achieving a more gender-balanced world. This includes a gender-balanced workplace, a gender-balance in wealth, and a gender-balanced government.
Campers at Marygrove Camp for Girls in Penetanguishene, Ontario.
Photograph taken by Rev. John J. Kelly
1956
Msgr. Jean Marie Castex of St. Ann's Parish established the camp exclusively for underprivileged girls. Over the years it developed into one of the best-equipped, best-run camps in the province.
Rev. John J. Kelly Fonds
PH 73/51P
To appreciate how far we've come, let's jump back 80-90 years. With the stock market crash in 1929, the 1930s were marked with great economic struggle. The Toronto Civic Unemployment Office and Central Bureau for Unemployment Relief was created in 1930, and in 1932 the Public Welfare Department began finding jobs for the unemployed through relief work. By 1933, the unemployment rate for Torontonians reached 30%. Within the Archdiocese, the Catholic Adjustment Bureau was created specifically for unemployed Catholics, with Rev. Michael John McGrath leading as its Director.
Rev. Michael John McGrath
Photograph Collection
PH 24MC/32P
At the same time, the 1930s brought better employment opportunities for women in female-dominated occupations and many women became the primary breadwinners for their families. In her book, Breadwinning Daughters: Young Working Women in a Depression-Era City, 1929-1939, Katrina Srigley examines how young women were central to the labour market and family economies in Toronto during this time.
This shift in gender roles challenged the stereotypes of men being the sole providers and women remaining home to care for the children. While many women enjoyed this independence and economic responsibility, it left many men feeling ashamed for not being able to provide for their families. In the context of the time, this shift was quite jarring for society.
As a response, Rev. Michael John McGrath anonymously wrote to the editor of the Globe and Mail proposing a solution:
A letter of the Rev. Michael J. McGrath (signed "student") to the Globe and Mail suggesting that married female wage-earners resign their jobs in favour of unemployed men who have families to support.
June 16, 1939
James C. Cardinal McGuigan Fonds
MG SO06.126
It was news to me that many states in the U.S. enacted legislation during the 1930s that removed married women from competitive gainful employment.
Now, let's jump to today. International Women's Day gives us a chance to celebrate women and our changing attitudes about their role in the world. IWD is celebrated at the Vatican and marked with a number of events sponsored by various groups looking to bring women's voices to the forefront. Last year, the Vatican called for more gender equality in the Church, specifically at the Vatican level. Pope Francis has spoken out against the continuing marginalization of women, and recognizes that a more gender-balanced world is a better world overall.
From the women at the Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, we wish you a Happy International Women's Day!
For many Ontarians, summer is synonymous with camping. Maybe it’s a long weekend at a campground roasting marshmallows or a family road trip in the camper van. For many children and teenagers, it’s an annual tradition to go away to camp with their peers.
In the early 1950s, Mgsr. Jean Marie Castex, pastor of St. Ann’s in Penetanguishene, began an all-girls Catholic summer camp. Marygrove Camp was situated within parish territory on the shores of Georgian Bay. Over the years it developed into one of the best-equipped, best-run camps in the province. However, by 1961 its success made the camp too much for the parish to handle. Msgr. Castex asked that Catholic Charities take over and run the program specifically for underprivileged girls:
“Monsignor knows there are hundreds of needy girls in the in the Archdiocese who would benefit from a two-week period at the Camp. He wants to see the Camp used exclusively for needy girls rather than girls who possess and can afford forms of summer recreation, including camping, in other surroundings. In addition, the Camp is quite an enterprise for one parish and might not be continued by a succeeding pastor.” (OC12.MC01, 21 Mar 1961)
Catholic Charities welcomed the transfer of Marygrove Camp to their care and gave the Toronto Central Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society responsibility for its supervision and financing.
Generations later, the Council continues to offer fully subsidized 8-day camping holidays for 1,100 girls aged 5 to 13. The Marygrove Camp for Girls is supported by special collections taken at Archdiocese of Toronto parishes, as well as outside charities, like The Toronto Star’s Fresh Air Fund. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Toronto Central Council also runs a similar Camp Ozanam for Boys in Stouffville.
The following photos were taken in the 1950s, when Marygrove was still run as a Catholic girls' camp by one of the parish priests at St. Ann's. The collection comes from Rev. John Joseph Kelly, who was the associate pastor under Msgr. Castex from 1949 to 1962.
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-126P
Rev. John Jospeh Kelly, associate pastor at St. Ann's Parish in Penetanguishene, oversees the construction of camp cabins [ca. 1950]
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-80P
Aerial photograph of the Marygrove Camp shoreline on Georgian Bay near Penetang [1956]
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-117P
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-11P
Group photo of the 1954 Marygrove Camp staff, including counsellors, nurses, kitchen staff, custodians and Rev. Kelly
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-10P
Making a splash [1954]
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-23P
It's all fun and games [1954]
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-29P
Each cabin was named after a patron saint [1955]
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-126P
Sitting on the dock of the (Georgian) Bay [1956]
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-50P
Campers in front of Mary shrine [1955]
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-53P and 55P
Always a bit of drama! [1956]
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-94P
The camp accepts girls as young as five [1959]
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-95P
Target practice [1959]
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-102P
Arts and crafts [1959]
Rev. John Joseph Kelly fonds, PH73-107P
Row, row, row your boat Gently down the stream Merrily, Merrily is Marygrove verily Life is but a dream! [1959]
