By Luke Edwards
Some arrived out of a sense of duty, and some out of a sense of adventure. Some wanted to help the cause while others simply wanted to get out of class.
But arrive they did, from every corner of Ontario and even as far as Quebec. For a decade beginning in 1941, young women hopped on their bikes or fiound other ways to get to farms in southwestern Ontario, with many of them coming to Niagara. Their job was to fill the work boots of the young men who were in Europe fighting Hitler and the Nazis in the Second World War.
Farmerettes, as they would come to be known, were as young as 16 - some who fudged their birth certificates, even younger - and played a vital role in the war effort to defeat fascism and end a devastating global war.
And now, those women are being remembered in a documentary created by Colin Field, Bonnie Sitter, and a small team of supporters.
“It was so long ago and it was completely forgotten,” said Field, the filmmaker who teamed up with Sitter to create the 50-minute documentary We Lend a Hand.
“Everybody can contribute. You don’t have to be Winston Churchill. Service comes in so many ways.”
We Lend a Hand tells the story of the women who participated in the Farmerette program, which ran from 1941 to 1952 and saw mostly teenaged girls spending a summer on the farm where they picked fruit and vegetables and helped get the crops off the fields. Much of that food was then sent overseas to help feed the soldiers who were on the front lines.
“It’s women’s history, it’s war history, it’s food history. And people have never stopped to think that before they fired the bullets and dropped the bombs that it all starts with food. And the girls stepped up and did that,” said Sitter, whose interest in Farmerettes began a few years ago when she came across a rather nondescript photo, two inches by two and a half inches.
It had no names, and the only clue was a short inscription on the back that read “Farmerettes, about 1946.”
That photo set her off on a journey to learn more about this largely forgotten piece of Canadian history.
“To be quite honest I felt a little indignant that no one had ever taught me about Farmerettes,” Sitter said.
In time she would uncover troves of information, largely with the help of Shirleyan English, who was a Farmerette in 1952. Later in life she did some outreach and received loads of letters from fellow former Farmerettes, but then sat on them, at least until Sitter turned up.
That all culminated in Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz: Memories of Farmerettes, a self-published book that details the history of the program.
Then came the second chance meeting. Field at the time was learning to play the banjo and was at the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival at the behest of some friends to perform. He’d been staying at their home and wanted to get them a thank-you card.
He came across a vendor table selling cards, and met Sitter. They chatted for a bit and Field learned about the Farmerette program and some of the work Sitter was doing researching it.
A few years later, as Field was venturing into his new hobby of filmmaking, he was once again on the search for some cards. When he reconnected with Sitter he asked about her research project.
Sitter, who will talk to anyone about Farmerettes for as long as they’re willing to listen, gave Field the update.
“As she’s describing it, in my head I’m thinking that this would make a beautiful documentary,” he said.
It turns out, Sitter was thinking the same thing, telling Field what she really wanted was to see the story put on film.
So they set to work developing it. Originally it was to include interviews with 10 former Farmerettes, but that soon doubled to 20.
They then realized archival footage would be necessary, even if it can be expensive. Some amateur actors were hired to re-enact life as a Farmerette.
“If we do it, I want to do it right,” said Field.
Last month they offered a private showing at the Grimsby Museum, inviting supporters and a few Farmerettes to see the nearly-finished product. Throughout the showing there were a few laughs as the women - now in their 80s and 90s - recalled the familiar teenage desire to get away from their parents, or the local farmer boy who caught their eyes and convinced them to return for a second, third or fourth year.
But there were also touching moments. Many of the young women had never been away from home for so long, while others didn’t realize what went into farming and struggled. And as they shared their stories, the film provides regular reminders of what’s going on in Europe and how fraught things were at the time. Field also called it a rite of passage time for the women where they bonded and learned the importance of teamwork.
As the credits - which include photo tributes to several Farmerettes - rolled, and the lights came on, there were more than a few puffy eyes.
“You see what an impact they had on Canada and the war effort,” said Field.
June (Curts) Partridge was at the showing, and her experience with the Farmerettes is a reminder of just how tough the job was.
“I enjoyed it, but then I got sunstroke,” she recalled. The medical emergency cut her time as a Farmerette short.
“A lot of people don’t understand what people did (during the Second World War) so I’m glad they’re making this public.”
Jean Brett was also at the viewing. She was a Farmerette in St. Catharines in 1941, and remembered the challenging conditions.
“We had tents to sleep in,” she said.
Like the others, Brett was happy to see the documentary created.
“Oh yes, it was very nice and interesting,” she said.
Field has entered the documentary into some festivals, including Toronto’s Hot Docs. Rules around some of those entries restrict public viewings. He admitted it’ll be tough to get We Lend a Hand into the extremely competitive Toronto festival, but remains hopeful they’ll get some publicity there or in other, smaller film festivals.
However, once those restrictions are lifted, Field and Sitter plan to offer public viewings of the documentary. They’ll also offer up copies to places like the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa or Juno Beach Centre in France.
The team received limited funding for the documentary, and costs escalated as they decided to grow the scope of the film. Sitter’s collecting funds to help offset some of those costs. There’s a GoFundMe page online titled “We Lend a Hand - Farmerette documentary film.” Sitter will also accept e-transfers at bonnie.sitter@gmail.com, where she can also be reached to answer questions. Families of Farmerettes can also have them included in the documentary, as Sitter will offer to include a photo and description in the credits for a $500 donation.
They also have a website, welendahand.com, that they plan to build out with more interviews material and other information that couldn’t be included in the documentary.
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