The historical producer involved in a new documentary hopes the film about Ontario farmerettes will highlight the crucial role thousands of young girls played during a time of war, as well as the importance of the agriculture sector.
The film, We Lend A Hand: The Forgotten Story of Ontario Farmerettes, tells the story of approximately 40,000 teenage girls who volunteered to sustain Canada's food supply during and after the Second World War.
Historical producer Bonnie Sitter of Exeter said the idea for this project began with a photograph from her late husband's family farm, near Thedford, that was dated in 1946.
"I do enjoy history, and this was history that was missing as far as I was concerned," Sitter said. "I thought, why is this not in our history books?"
Sitter published an article in The Rural Voice and later co-wrote a book, Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz: Memories of Ontario Farmerettes, in 2019 with Shirleyan English, a retired journalist and former farmerette.
Shortly after, Sitter met Director/Producer Colin Field and the two decided to take on this larger project.
"As I found farmerettes, I felt that they needed to have their faces, voices, and memories recorded," she said.
Sitter said originally, they planned to interview 10 farmerettes for the documentary and in the end, Field interviewed 20 women who are now in their 90s.
"I'm just absolutely blessed that I was able to find farmerettes and learn their stories," she said.
The film took two years to complete. The project received support from Lambton County's Creative County Grant Program.
“It has been a privilege to travel the province and hear the stories of these surviving farmerettes,” Field said in a statement. “If it wasn't for these girls, the soldiers wouldn't have had food to eat and the economy would have ground to a halt”.
Sitter said she wasn't allowed to see the film until it was finished.
"I thought that Colin Field and Felipe [Giaj-Levra] did a fabulous job," Sitter said.
When asked what she hopes viewers will take away from the film, Sitter became emotional.
"I would hope that each and every day, that they remember that before you can do anything, you need food," she said. "You can't build the bullets, and the bombs, and the planes, and the tanks -- none of that could happen if somebody didn't produce the food. Everything starts with food. So I think the lesson is, every day thank the farmers."
Throughout this whole process, Sitter said she has also learned about what young girls are capable of when called upon.
"The parents didn't think it would work, the teachers didn't think it would work," Sitter said. "By the end of the first season, the farmers were saying to the farmerettes, 'I couldn't have done it without you.'"
Sitter said teens with good grades were exempt from writing exams and were sent to work in farm fields for 13 weeks, earning 25 cents per hour. Many of them went back the next season, and some returned with their younger sisters.
"It was a big growing-up time," Sitter said. "I think this is where the greatest generation came from. Learning that... you were assigned a job, the farmer showed you how to do it, and you're expected to do the job and follow through -- and that's what theses girls did."
Sitter said she continues to find former farmerettes and imagines this will continue as more people see the film.
"I'm just absolutely blessed that I was able to find farmerettes and learn their stories."
The documentary will premiere at the Sarnia Library Theatre on Thursday, June 12 at 7 p.m. Sitter and Field will participate in a Q&A session after the screening.
Tickets can be purchased online. Proceeds will go toward the film's production costs.
A screening will also be held at the Kineto Theatre in Forest on July 24 at 7 p.m.
The documentary will also be featured during the Stratford Film Festival on June 14 and the Windsor International Film Festival on June 21.
Lambton County played a significant role in the farmerette program, as young women worked in onion and celery fields near Thedford. The Lambton Heritage Museum's website includes an online exhibit, sharing stories of local farmerettes.
Sitter said some girls were also sent to fields in Essex County.
The farmerettes were featured in an episode of The 519 Podcast in 2021.