The Municipality of Central Huron is hosting a pair of documentary screenings this weekend that explore the story of teenage girls who helped the war effort by working on farms.
We Lend a Hand: The Forgotten Story of Ontario Farmerettes will be showing at Clinton Town Hall on Sunday. The documentary tells the story of the 40,000 volunteer teenage girls that contributed to the war efforts between 1941 and 1952 by coming to Southern Ontario to work the farms that lacked labour.
Angela Smith, Community Development Coordinator for Central Huron, said despite the local ties, she had never heard the story of the Farmerettes until this year.
"It's funny that we've been celebrating Remembrance Day forever, and they couldn't have done what they did without the support of this group, and none of us have every heard of them," she said.
The story was discovered by Exeter's Bonnie Sitter, while sifting through old photographs. That led her to co-author the book Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz: Memories of Ontario Farmerettes. That would become the basis for Colin Field's documentary which was released this summer.
Smith said since she first saw the documentary, she has met up with Sitter and a Farmerette from Clinton.
"It was remarkable to hear her talk about her experiences going out on the farm and meeting people from all over," she said. "Bonnie's story too, of trying to find these women. Most of them, presumably, were married and changed their last names, so it was difficult to find them."
Farmerettes were primarily high school-aged girls, often from non-farming backgrounds. A detail Smith highlighted was that if these girls signed up, they didn’t have to write their final exams.
Those that want to learn more about these selfless war-time teens can go check out the documentary on November 16. The Sunday night show is sold out, so a second one was added for the afternoon at 2 p.m.
After the screening there will be a Q&A with the filmmakers and a chance to get signed copies of Sitter's book.
You can purchase tickets online here.
Those that want more information can contact Smith at 519-476-5922.
