Rusland and District WI was founded on August 15th 1944, and there were 35 members at the first meeting. There was a lot of interest and the membership had risen to 44 by 1947. It peaked in 1972 at 50, and currently stands in the low 30s.
In the early days, members came mainly from Rusland, Satterthwaite and Grizedale and the local taxi would transport some members, as access to a car was limited and many women did not drive. Nowadays we have members from Oxen Park, Haverthwaite and Ulverston as well.
A WI Choir was formed in 1979, when we also held our first Carol Evening. (This is now an annual event.) The choir entered competitions and sung at weddings. The formation of the choir initially helped to increase membership, but disbanded some years ago; many of its former members are now members of the Satterthwaite Singers.
Over the years our WI has been incredibly active; several of our members were involved with beginning the WI Market at Ulverston and some of our members once played tennis at WI County tennis evenings! These days, things are no less exciting: many of our members attend ‘Glue and Glitter’ evenings, dabble days and social outings, such as safari suppers. We also raise money for good causes, such as a Satterthwaite defibrillator!
Rusland and District Women's Institute 