Over 50 years ago, the women of Nelson told Vita Luthmers they needed a home of their own.
Luthmers had just moved to the city from Toronto in 1972 when she was hired for a federally funded project that included assessing the educational needs of local women.
At the time, progress was only just beginning to be made in Canada for basic women's rights. In 1970, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada called for the elimination of the wage gap and more women to be represented in politics. One year later, the labour code was amended to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sex and marital status while also introducing maternity leaves.
In Nelson, Luthmers surveyed households, held public consultations and came to the conclusion that the city could use a dedicated place for women.
“We'd have meetings about all kinds of things like politics and birth control and abortion and child birth. And so we decided we needed a space, a focus, a physical place to get together.”
Few women's centres existed in Canada at the time. Luthmers used her work to receive a grant of $7,600, which in January 1973 led to the opening of what is now called the Nelson and District Women's Centre, the first in B.C. to be located outside the Lower Mainland.
On Friday the centre celebrated the 50th anniversary of the West Kootenay Women’s Association, which signed its constitution in 1974. The centre is now considered the oldest of its kind in rural Canada.
Luthmers was among the attendees during the event at the Nelson Museum, Archives and Gallery. She said she is proud of the centre's legacy, and that she has continued to be part of its work.
“Being a feminist, I love to be in situations where women are gathering to work on social change and making the world a better place, making it better for women. So being here, I was 26 when I started the women’s centre, so now 50 years later I feel like I’m still working for the same things.”
In the decades that followed, the women's centre has became a vital hub for advocacy and services. Women can access children's clothing, find information on employment and housing, and access an expansive feminist library.
The women's centre first operated on Ward Street but moved to multiple locations before finally settling at its permanent home at 420 Mill St. in January 1995.
Malia Joy, the centre's current executive director, said they felt a deep respect for the generations of women who have kept the centre alive and relevant.
“It's a testament to how great our community is, and how nice it is when everyone comes together. Overcoming challenges is something clearly we're capable of. I think it is remarkable, and I don't see it stopping anytime soon.”
Mayor Janice Morrison, who herself is only Nelson's second ever female mayor, praised the centre for its pioneering work to raise awareness of women's issues, as well as its 2022 constitutional change that broadened its programming mandate to include gender diverse individuals.
“Their goal of ending oppression, I mean that's a goal that we still strive for today. I think that's also why we've seen the move from gender equity as their lens is to gender diversity, and welcoming in those people that are gender diverse and gender fluid and two spirited, because there still is oppression, and we still have to fight it.”
Volunteers past and present took part in the event. Among them was Hannah Hadikin, who joined centre in the mid-1990s and led a program that paid up to $1,000 loans for women to kick start their education and careers. The program, named after the pagan goddess of fertility and generosity Habondia, provided 99 women with loans over a 15-year span.
Hadikin said she had recently ran into a woman who years ago was granted funds to study in Hawaii. The business she started with that trip is still going.
“She said to me, ‘I’ll never forget about Habondia being open to me, going specifically to Hawaii at that time and learning about botanicals, learning so much.’”
Marcia Braundy, a founding member of the West Kootenay Women's Association, helped start the newsletter IMAGES in 1973. The publication provided news on women's issues during its 19-year run.
Braundy, who maintains a digital history of the centre at kootenayfeminism.com, expressed her support for the current direction of the organization.
“They are opening their arms, and they are still feeding people and giving people free clothes. But that's not the only focus, and feminism is more than that. Feminism is political and even with the direction that they’re moving in with that, I’m comfortable because I believe we have to find a way to reach each other. But you can only do that with an open heart.”
Joy said the centre recently completed its strategic planning that will include programming to a more diverse audience. The centre, they said, remains as relevant now as it was in the 1970s.
“I think there's always going to be a need to dismantle patriarchy for women and everyone else.”
