Showing 61 results

The Fine Arts Five was an “eclectic groups of award winning artists” that resided and exhibited their work in Mission, British Columbia. The five primary members were Doris J. Patterson, Dorothy St. Hilaire, June Pender, Malonie Kasian, and Ruth Adams Booth. Each specialized in a different art medium and they joined together to form the Fine Arts Five in 1992.

Ruth Pender was born in England and is a graduate of the London Art School. Her preferred medium is oils and her area of focus is the B.C. landscape, particularly the coastal areas and the Gulf Islands. Ruth Adams Booth received her artistic education at the University of Washington, in Seattle. Her technique is the colagraph to create images in texture and color. Dorothy St. Hilaire was born and raised in B.C.. She started painting as a watercolorist, but also paints mixed media paintings specializing in the landscape of the province. Malonie Kasian studied at the University College of the Fraser Valley and at the National Academy of Design in New York City. Her preferred media is watercolor. Doris J. Patterson was born and raised in England and trained in Canada. Her chosen media is acrylic and collage as well as oil on canvas.

The artists held eight annual exhibitions of their work from 1993-2000 and invited local guest artists to participate in the exhibitions. As a result of the group's efforts many Mission artists received exposure and recognition for their work. The group disbanded in 2000 due to new interests and influences in the lives of the artists, taking them in a new direction.

The Mission Women's Institute was established in 1910. Its first activity was sending blankets and parcels to soldiers serving overseas in World War I. As the chief organizer of the civilian war effort in Mission, MWI also made thousands of jars of jam, knitted garments and packed tobacco for men overseas. The MWI sold patriotic buttons and organized concerts and a play to raise money for the overseas aircraft fund and hospitals. It formed the first public lending library in Mission and brought the first public health nurse to Mission to start the first baby clinic. It organized the first tag day to start the building of Pleasant View Home. It participated in numerous fundraising efforts and community movements to establish and maintain the Mission Memorial Hospital. In 1925, it donated a new bandstand to the Mission City Community Brass Band. In 1945, it made five quilts for Russian relief. It regularly made donations to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. It held baby contests and an annual flower show for at least fifteen years, the fifteenth show being in June 1931. In 1918, it donated fruit and vegetables to the Rescue Home in Vancouver. In 1921, it offered night classes in sewing, dressmaking, millinery and bookkeeping. In 1949, it made donations to the Queen Alexandra Solarium Junior League, Conquer Cancer, and the Mission Film Council. Affiliated with the Agricultural Board, it often used the Agricultural Hall for meetings and other gatherings. It was funded by a small annual government group. The purpose of members was to serve "home and country". After 85 years of existence, members voted on October 23, 1995 to go into abeyance. MWI funds were donated to Mission Transition House children's program

James (Jimmy) Gunn was born in New Westminster. He worked for the Motor Vehicle Branch of the B.C. Provincial Police and was transferred to Mission City in 1945. Gunn was active in a variety of community service and sports groups and headed a project under the auspices of the local Rotary Club to construct the first public swimming pool in Mission. He is most noted for being the founder of the Mission City Soap Box Derby, an annual event which ran from 1947 to 1973.