“That’s the devil, Bud,” she
said gravely. “He gets into people and tells them they’re
no good, an’ never will be. It’s just
his way of keepin’ people from doin’ good things. You see, Bud, the devil ain’t so terrible
particular about gettin’ us to do bad things as just to keep us from doin’ good
ones. If you do nothin’ at all it will
please him all right.”
-
N. L. McClung[1]
[1] Nellie Letitia (Mooney) McClung was born 1873, near
Chatsworth, Ontario. In 1880 the Mooneys, lured by reports of fertile soil and
free land, left their marginally profitable farm to homestead in southern
Manitoba. Nellie was ten before this pioneer district had a school, but at 16 she
received a teaching certificate. She was an innovative teacher in Hazel,
Manitou, and Treherne before marrying Robert Wesley McClung in 1896.
In Manitou, where Wesley was a druggist, Nellie became active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. In 1908 Doubleday published the first of her five novels, Sowing Seeds in Danny, a witty portrayal of a small western town also serialized in the Woman’s Home Companion. In Canada it quickly became a best seller. McClung was soon well known as an author of short stories and articles in Canadian and American magazines and was a popular speaker in demand throughout the West.
In 1911 the McClungs moved to Winnipeg, the booming provincial capital. Here a vigorous women’s rights and reform movement appreciated Nellie’s capacity to win audiences. She took a leading role in the 1914 political campaign in which the Liberal Party advocated women’s suffrage and temperance. During the campaign her much-quoted speeches made her the target of bitter attack in the Conservative press.
By this time Nellie’s speaking tours had covered most of Canada, and in 1917-18 she had also toured extensively in the United States promoting suffrage. In 1921 she was a delegate and challenging speaker to the Methodist Ecumenical Conference in London, England, and made a speaking tour through England and Scotland. The same year Nellie won election as a Liberal member of the Provincial Legislature of Alberta. Although sitting as an opposition (minority party) member, she staunchly supported any reform legislation introduced by the government. Defeated in 1926, she did not run again for political office.
In 1933 the McClungs moved to British Columbia. Here Nellie completed a two-volume autobiography: Clearing in the West (1935), a graphic portrayal of Manitoba pioneer life, and The Stream Runs Fast (1945), a less effective account of her political activities and writing career. She continued to write short stories and a popular syndicated column. Many of her shorter works were published as collections. In addition to her writing she continued an active life in the Canadian Authors’ Association, as the only woman on the first board of governors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as a delegate to the League of Nations in 1938, and as a public lecturer. During the last ten years of her life poor health severely limited her activities, but she still welcomed many visitors and kept in close touch with world affairs through radio, books, and magazines. She died in 1951. (Source: answers.com)
In Manitou, where Wesley was a druggist, Nellie became active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. In 1908 Doubleday published the first of her five novels, Sowing Seeds in Danny, a witty portrayal of a small western town also serialized in the Woman’s Home Companion. In Canada it quickly became a best seller. McClung was soon well known as an author of short stories and articles in Canadian and American magazines and was a popular speaker in demand throughout the West.
In 1911 the McClungs moved to Winnipeg, the booming provincial capital. Here a vigorous women’s rights and reform movement appreciated Nellie’s capacity to win audiences. She took a leading role in the 1914 political campaign in which the Liberal Party advocated women’s suffrage and temperance. During the campaign her much-quoted speeches made her the target of bitter attack in the Conservative press.
With their five
children the McClungs moved, in 1914, to Edmonton, Alberta, where Nellie also
fought for prohibition and suffrage—achieved in western Canada during World War
I. Subsequently she continued to fight for factory safety legislation, better
rural health care, minimum wage laws, dower rights, equality under the Divorce
Act, and equal opportunities for women in education and the work force. Nellie
was one of five Alberta women who, under the leadership of Judge Emily Murphy,
won “The Persons’ Case”: the judicial decision that women as “persons” had the
right to be appointed to the non-elected Canadian Senate.
By this time Nellie’s speaking tours had covered most of Canada, and in 1917-18 she had also toured extensively in the United States promoting suffrage. In 1921 she was a delegate and challenging speaker to the Methodist Ecumenical Conference in London, England, and made a speaking tour through England and Scotland. The same year Nellie won election as a Liberal member of the Provincial Legislature of Alberta. Although sitting as an opposition (minority party) member, she staunchly supported any reform legislation introduced by the government. Defeated in 1926, she did not run again for political office.
In 1933 the McClungs moved to British Columbia. Here Nellie completed a two-volume autobiography: Clearing in the West (1935), a graphic portrayal of Manitoba pioneer life, and The Stream Runs Fast (1945), a less effective account of her political activities and writing career. She continued to write short stories and a popular syndicated column. Many of her shorter works were published as collections. In addition to her writing she continued an active life in the Canadian Authors’ Association, as the only woman on the first board of governors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as a delegate to the League of Nations in 1938, and as a public lecturer. During the last ten years of her life poor health severely limited her activities, but she still welcomed many visitors and kept in close touch with world affairs through radio, books, and magazines. She died in 1951. (Source: answers.com)
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