Almost 100 years ago, Delia was put on the map for breaking ground as Violet Barss became the first women in Canada to head a municipality in Canada.
The year 1916 was a historic year as women finally earned the right to vote in Alberta. In the small community of Delia, members of the Delia Women’s Institute were determined to see a woman run for council. That came in December 1919, when Barss was one of three councillors elected in the municipal election. This caused a spontaneous parade of women supporters on the streets of Delia.
At the Organizational Meeting in January 1920 Barss was chosen as Reeve.
The Delia and District Historical Society and the Alberta Historic Resources Branch will be unveiling a sign at 11:30 a.m. on October 13 at the Delia Museum. The sign, sponsored by the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, recognizes Violet McCully Barss who was Reeve (the title used for mayors of villages at the time) of Delia from 1920-1922.
Tim Showalter of the Delia Historical Society explains that Al McCully, Barss’ great-nephew, and his brother was cleaning out their parents home in Delia, and found material pertaining to this. They brought it to the museum. They donated much of the material and, with some gentle urging, the society began to look at how to recognize this.
“We started to gather information and contact different archives and were able to get some things like correspondence between her and the provincial government when she was reeve and other sources that helped to nail it down. It wasn’t just a story,” said Schowalter
Violet Barss was a human dynamo and became an influential person in Alberta. She sat on the Board of Governors of the University of Alberta from 1923 to 1940, was Convenor of the Immigration Committee of the Provincial Women's Institute, and sat on an advisory committee on immigrant women’s issues to the Minister of Agriculture. She is mentioned in several editions of Who’s Who in Alberta.
She was an active member of the community. She was trained as a registered nurse and served informally as local health nurse for most of her life. Many residents recall getting vaccinated by her and the very large needles used. Some have questioned if the needles had not dulled over time. Violet continued her commitment to the Women’s Institutes and made presentations about health issues at meetings of the Women’s Institutes in the region. She also was active in supporting CGIT, speaking contests for young people, her church, and volunteered for many charitable fund-raising campaigns.
Violet Barss was presented, in 1936, at the height of the Depression, with a silver cup from the community for her selfless service.
Other events on the day: October 13 is the Delia Agricultural Society annual Fall Fair. Doors open at 12:00 noon to a variety of exhibits and activities.
