In the midst of Women’s History Month, there is a history of our own right here in Lethbridge.
The theme of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day is “Making a Difference,” which was reflected by the speakers at the IWD event at the Galt Museum on Saturday.

Among the speakers was a woman who knows all about making a difference in the community. Barbara Lacey, former city alderman, reminisced about being raised through the Second World War and how community spirit has been in her life.
“In those days everybody had a common purpose. We were all in it together. There was no question we all helped each other. To me that was a normal way of life,” she told the women who had gathered together to celebrate the day.
She talked about how, in spite of times that frowned upon women working, her father always supported her mother having a job and that Lacey got the same support when she went to medical school.
“I wanted to help people and was really wanting to do something about social injustice. It didn’t matter where they came from, they all needed treatment.”
After medical school and qualifying as a physician, Lacey married, settling down to what she described as “a very comfortable life,” in England.
That was, until her husband decided they were moving to Canada, where Lacey would endure all sorts of new challenges. She only knew one person when they arrived in Lethbridge, a friend she had gone to school with. Lacey was also shocked at some of the differences between Canada and England.
“To my horror, there was no provision of daycare here,” she said, sounding a little shocked even after all these years. “I was amazed the concept of day care was not thought of.”
Because of other women in the community and around the province, daycare became accepted despite powerful opposition.  
“The message must have gotten around
because a group of people who wanted to start a daycare program and I got to be part of that board. This was something I felt passionate about.”
The opposition, however, was overwhelming towards the mere suggestion that women would have wanted to be anywhere but the home.
“I couldn’t believe the attitude that was coming out. ‘Women shouldn’t be working, women should be at home, why do we need a daycare?’ And it was very strong.”
Lacey described an incident while lobbying for the government to provide funding for daycare programs. She was speaking about the benefits of a day care program in the community. Once on stage, she experienced a moment that has stuck with her.
“I suddenly realized there was a noise
from behind me. I turned around and
to my surprise the local MLA was actually spitting at me. The only thing I could think to do was to keep going.”
Mothers and wives from across Alberta got together to raise awareness for the importance of quality daycare and early childhood education.
The fact that Lethbridge did indeed get the funding was an example of what the women before this generation had done, an everyday thing that is taken for granted.
Lacey, who served 15 years on city council, said it’s all about caring about the community and tapping into one of the things women are known best for – listening. “Listen to what people want, gauge where their priorities are.  
“I had never been involved by anything like this before. What we did do in this city was we did start a preschool program. We started to get these ideas of daycare and early childhood education started in the province.”
It’s a story even the younger women who attended the IWD event could appreciate.