Dear editor and friends

In the early twentieth century, drawn west by the promise of free land, economic success or religious and political freedom, women moved from eastern Canada and overseas to farms and ranches in North-West Canada. They discovered that it was not the utopia touted by government propaganda or land agents. They also discovered that there was a select but diverse group of rural women who shared their common experiences of isolation, of hard work and duty, of poverty and neglect. But, more importantly, they shared knowledge of independence and self-reliance and of pride in what they had accomplished. Through letters written to the women's pages in the agricultural newspapers, they forged a vital network that supported, encouraged and educated women in ways that improved their lives. Their letters show how these rural women made significant and vital contributions to the settlement and development of the Canadian North-West.