Friday March 8th is International Women's Day, and the Okotoks Museum is inviting people to learn about some special women from Okotoks.

"We thought it would be a great opportunity to honour the women of the Okotoks district who served during World War 2," explained Kathy Coutts, who is the Museum and Archives Specialist with the Town of Okotoks. "So, I will be hosting a free guided tour of the Veterans wall."

Veterans Wall is the memorial along Veterans way that is covered with plaques and photos of those from the Okotoks region who served in the armed forces.

The tour begins at 11 a.m. on March 8th, where Coutts will be sharing the stories of 13 women from Okotoks who served in World War II.

Three of these women were schoolteachers before they joined, with two of those joining Canadian Womens Army Corp., and the other joining the Naval division for women.

"Okotoks was really well represented by women in all three divisions of the armed services, so from the army, air force, and navy," says Coutts. "What is really interesting is these women helped to make history, because World War II was the first time in Canadian's military history that women were able to serve in uniform. And as we'll see as we tour the wall on Friday, there's pictures of those women in uniform."

Coutts adds that's the joy of that Veteran's wall, because it helps to put faces to names, and showcases the men and women who served in the Canadian armed forces.

"The wall extends from the Boer war through to Korea at the present time and it gives a face and name to all those who had the courage to step forward and volunteer," Coutts says.

In total, the guided tour will be roughly 45 minutes to an hour, and people are asked to meet at the bottom of the hill on Veterans way.

While she has done similar tours in previous years, this is the first time she has done one specifically for International Women's Day.

When asked if she was going to do this particular walk again in future years, Coutts says, Yeah, why not?
 
"I think their stories are worth telling. And each time I do a walk, whether it's a historic walk, or a river walk, or a Veteran's Wall walk, I attract new people. So, there's always new people eager to learn information about the town's history."

 

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