4th Line Theatre Bringing Forgotten Canadian History to Life With Ontario Farmerettes On Nov. 26

4th Line Theatre is shedding light on a largely forgotten chapter of Canadian history with the documentary film ‘We Lend A Hand: The Forgotten Story of Ontario Farmerettes,’ screening on Nov. 26. at Lakefield College School.

Colin Field, Albeiro Films, Producer/Director --’We Lend A Hand: The Forgotten Story of Ontario Farmerettes’ documentary film. Photo courtsy of 4th Line Theatre.

Created by director/producer Colin Field and Bonnie Sitter, historical producer, the documentary tells the extraordinary story of 40,000 teenage girls who volunteered on Canadian farms during and after World War II and helped sustain the nation's food supply, when young men left to fight overseas.

Bonnie Sitter, author, was searching through old family photographs when she found a captivating image of a group of young women taken on her late husband's family farm near Thedford, with a caption on the reverse that read ‘Farmerettes 1946.’

This led her to research the Farmerette story and publish an article in The Rural Voice asking for women who served as Farmerettes to get in touch with her.

Shirleyan English, a retired London Free Press journalist, read the article and wrote a letter to the editor, explaining her own experience as a Farmerette and how it remained the best summer of her life. Sitter and English went on to co-author the book Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz: Memories of Ontario Farmerettes in 2019.

“We wanted to capture the story of how the Farmerettes helped win the Second World War by volunteering to aid farmers with food production,” said Sitter.

Filmmaker Colin Field first met Sitter in 2019 and wanted to bring this forgotten Canadian story to life.

“I was privileged to collaborate with Bonnie on this extraordinary story of dedication and perseverance explained Field. “I got to interview 20 Farmerettes - now in their late 90s - for the documentary, and after two years of work, and with the help of sponsors and generous donors the documentary is finally complete.”

After the screening, there will be a Q&A with the filmmakers and 4th Line Theatre Managing Artistic Director Kim Blackwell. There will also be a chance to acquire autographed copies of the book Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz: Memories of Ontario Farmerettes.

A portion of ticket sales will go to 4th Line Theatre’s 30 to the Future Endowment Fund and Lakefield College’s Northcote Farm Endowment. A portion of the proceeds go towards victims of the Home Hardware fire in downtown Lakefield.

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