The Olds Handicraft Guild has decided to disband after 70 years of formal activity in Olds.
They held a last meeting in late June, which was more of a coffee social, long-time member Glenna Theaker says.
"We just thought, 'we're paying rent to have a space to meet and this money could go in the community and we can meet somewhere else and have coffee. So we disbursed all of our equipment and our money. It's a bit sad but it's -- I think most of us feel pretty fulfilled from what we have done for a small group," she adds.
"We just don't want to lose touch. We've had a good association for a long time so we're just going to keep in touch with each other."
The guild was chartered in 1949 and for many years its members learned and shared a variety of arts and craft courses and participated in many local activities, including arts and crafts.
They contributed funds to the Olds Municipal Library, the Olds Aquatic Centre, Mountain View Museum and Archives as well as the TransCanada Theatre.
They also participated in horticultural events at fairs and created many items for the hospital. Annual teas were held to display and sell crafted items members had created.
"We made gift bags, we made tote bags, we learned hand quilting. Just anything we thought was a challenge we took it on," Theaker says with a laugh.
"One of our newest members came up with this iris paper folding and one of our members now has just gone bonkers over making beautiful, beautiful greeting cards."
"Funds realized by these activities were used to purchase items required for performing and teaching as well as to support other activities in the community. When teaching activities discontinued, most of these items were given to schools and organizations or sold," a news release from the guild says.
One of their most famous creations were the teddy bears they made which were sent to orphanages around the world, mostly in third world or other poor countries.
Guild members began making the teddy bears in about 2011. In total, they made: 1,457 teddy bears from February 2011 to September 2017.
"The Romanian Knitters would take them to missions overseas," Theaker says. "Some went to Romania, some went to Indonesia, some went to South America.
"A lot of these kids in foreign orphanages have nothing. They have no personal property -- nothing. And it's just a comfort item for them and it was felt that it was very helpful for them and we were happy to make them.
"We were just happy to make them. They served a purpose."
In 1997, the guild was dissolved under the Societies Act of Alberta. However, the members continued to meet each month to teach and share talents. Meetings were held in various locations in town. Starting in 2014, they met at the Evergreen Centre.
The guild's remaining assets and funds raised were disbursed to other local non-profit organizations in the Olds area.
Theaker joined the guild in 1993, not long after moving to the community. She says decades ago, the guild was very active.
"They taught classes in various things, like leather tooling, woodworking, lapidary, silk screening. I think they owned two looms, so they did weaving," she says. "And as the members aged and we weren't able to do a lot of this stuff, we sold a lot of that equipment."
Theaker and Krause say decades ago, at least 40 people belonged to the guild, with about 20 showing up regularly. In the last few years, only 10 or so regularly attended meetings and participated in the guild's activities.
"At one time there were men and women and then the last years since I've been a member it was all women that were members," Theaker says.
She and Pat Krause, the club's president for the last few years, note that aging was also a factor in the decision to disband the guild.
"You know, with arthritic hands and mobility and things like that, because most of our members were close to 80 or over 80," Theaker says.
Theaker says it's sad that the guild had to disband, but she says it was time.
"We were getting pretty thin in members and not able to do the things that we would like to have done as a guild," she says. "And a lot of us are into quilting and into a lot of other kinds of things, so we're still active in other activities."
"We've gotten so low in numbers," Krause says. "I mean, when we had a bigger membership, it was great. But it's almost gotten now that it's a 'let's get together for coffee and visiting, which is great, too."
