By Kate Procter,

This summer has provided several interesting history lessons for me, right in my own backyard.  Most recently, seeing the play at the Blyth Festival, Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz, helped provide greater understanding about the Farmerettes and other aspects of life in Ontario during World War II. As with many plays presented at Blyth, there is always a way to relate the story to our current day. 
Live theatre is a great way to bring stories to life, and I have learned a lot from the stage at Blyth. I have learned about the Donnellys, Steven Truscott, Maggie Pollock, and now the teams of young women who left their city homes to work on farms during both World War I and World War II. As we head into harvest season on our own farms, it is interesting to reflect on the lives of the men and women from these time periods.
As young men answered the call to fight in both wars, much of the work at home had to carry on and women, many of whom had not had the opportunity to do this type of work in the past, stepped up to fill these roles. A newspaper headline from that era proclaimed “We Can’t Fight If We Don’t Eat”, raising awareness of the need for young women in an emotional appeal for volunteers to help accomplish the farm work.  The program was promoted as a way for young women to actively play an important role in the war effort and help to bring Canada closer to victory.
Farmerettes were over the age of 16 and were recruited by the provincial government’s Farm Service Corps in Ontario from 1914-1918. The Ontario Farm Service Force operated the Farmerette program again from 1941 to 1953. The book, “Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz”, written by Bonnie Sitter and Shirleyan English, was published in 2019 and provides first-hand accounts of some of the 20,000 young women and some men who participated in the program during WWII. 
The theatre was packed for the last show of this production and the talented actors did a great job of telling some of the stories from that time. I could easily imagine the excitement as the young women learned they could get away from home for the summer - possibly escaping school and the dreaded departmental exams by participating. The hours were long and the pay not great – some were not paid enough to cover their room and board. But it was an adventure, and they were also able to have some fun – shopping, playing ball, and attending dances with young men who were stationed close by. 
The Lambton County Museum (https://www.lambtonmuseums.ca/en/lambton-heritage-museum) provides information about the program, which saw young women from across Ontario – from as far as Sioux Lookout - participate. Most stayed in various accommodations close to the farms where they were working, including hotels, high schools, camp cabins, renovated farm buildings, and tents. The largest camps had up to 100 young women staying there.  A Farmerette camp in Clinton was a renovated packing house, described as a “first cousin to a barn”. Many were operated like a Girl Guide camp, with a house mother, cook, and someone in charge of job assignment, however, the Farmerettes did cook their own meals at some camps and most did their own laundry  (https://www.lambto nmuseums.ca/en/lambton-heritage-museum/camp-living.aspx).
 The Harvester magazine was published by the Ontario Farm Service Force and provided articles written by Farmerettes. The camps were also encouraged to come up with a camp song, many of which were published in “The Harvester”. The play helped bring the stories of these young women to life – their fears of loved ones overseas, their rivalries, and how they learned to forgive and live together during uncertain and stressful times. 
The play also told some darker stories from that period that are not so widely remembered. Two sisters who were born in Canada, but whose ancestors came from Japan, revealed the story of how Japanese Canadians were treated after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, which happened on December 7, 1941. Many Japanese Canadians were farming in British Columbia at that time, their farms were confiscated by Canada’s federal government, sold, and the proceeds used to fund an internment program. Using The War Measures Act, 23,000 Japanese Canadians, over 75 per cent of whom were born in Canada or were naturalized citizens, were removed from their homes on the British Columbia coast, moved to internment camps, and were not permitted to return. More information about this can be found at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights website located at https://human rights.ca/story/japanese-canadian-internment-and-struggle-redress.
Some of these camps were in Ontario, and the play told the story of the sisters who moved with their mother to be closer to their brother. Several Farmerettes befriended the sisters, learning firsthand of the unfair treatment and prejudice that existed both within the communities where they were living and within their families back home. 
While the details may be part of history we would rather forget, as with many of the stories presented on the stage at Blyth, we can see links to our current lives. As the young women on both sides of this issue learned, we can often find common ground with strangers if we take the time to get to know them. I am grateful to all who participated in bringing these stories to the stage, providing us a glimpse of history we would not have had otherwise. ◊