Women of Lincoln

Lena A. Davis was born in Beamsville on July 30, 1885. She became a nurse in WWI, after receiving training at the Toronto Western Hospital in 1906, she enlisted in the University of Toronto General Hospital No. 4 Field Unit, part of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, Overseas Expeditionary Forces.
From 1915-17 she was stationed in France, England, Greece and finally Malta. Unfortunately, she contracted malaria and was confined to the same convalescent hospital where she worked. Due to her poor health, she was granted leave of duty and returned home to Beamsville.

Eager to resume her work, she was reinstated in England in late 1917, but the symptoms of her illness returned with detrimental consequences. Lena would fall into a coma and succumb to the disease on Feb 21 1918, at the age of 32.
She received a Memorial Cross in her honor, British War Medal, 1914-15 Star & Victoria Medal.
Her name is engraved on the War Memorial on King St. as the only woman among 40 men who served in WWI.

"The Owl Lady of Canada" as she is affectionately known, Katherine "Kay" McKeever has had a 40-year career in saving, rehabilitating and breeding owls starting in the late 1960's with her late husband Larry McKeever. In 1965, Kay rescued her first owl and her passion for the Strigiformes species was born.

Along with creating The Owl Foundation, Kay has written and published a number of books, including "The Care and Rehabilitation of Injured Owls" which is sold in 30 countries around the world.
Kay is recognized as the world's foremost authority in owl behavior, has two honorary doctorate degrees and is a Member of the Order of Canada.
The non-profit foundation is the only facility of its kind in North America.

Lovingly referred to as “The Mother Teresa of Lincoln,” Doreen Hutchinson’s dedication to assisting those who are less fortunate lead to the establishment of Lincoln Community Care in 1967. Community Care began through a women’s group at the Vineland United church in an effort to help families with clothes, furniture and food. Hutchinson attributes much of her caring nature to that of her parents. She grew up on a farm in Bancroft ON and remembers her parent's generosity to neighbors during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Hutchinson stopped her work with Community Care in 1987 due to poor health.
Mrs Hutchinson has received local and provincial awards for her outstanding efforts including being the recipient of the Ontario Government’s Community Services Award in 1988 presented by the then Minister of Social Services John Sweeney.
“My only goal is to make my job unnecessary”

A drop of good wine, excellent food, and a social gathering space extraordinaire, are the ingredients that make The Good Earth a noteworthy place. Nicolette Novak is a remarkable entrepreneur having successfully built her business from the ground up.
In 1987 Nicolette inherited the farm from her father. She recognized the lack of agri-tourism in the Niagara Region, a void she was inspired to fill. Utilizing her world travel experiences, Nicolette opened the Good Earth cooking school in 1998.

From there the business would grow into a winery, a bistro, and a recreational cooking school serving the locals as well as tourists from far and wide.
Nicolette has spent her entire life in Lincoln and has seen the overwhelming transformations that have taken place within the last few decades. While owning a business is no simple task, she is passionate about what she does. To every woman, Nicolette advises that one must “be prepared to work very very hard."

Born in Brantford, Gladys Huffmann grew up on a farm with her family just outside of the city.
Gladys started her career as a legal secretary in Brantford but soon found herself in St. Catharines when her husband began a new job in the city. This lead her to find a new calling leading in politics.
Gladys and her husband settled in Vineland to raise their family. She worked as a secretary, where she quickly gained a lot of knowledge and became the Head of Office.

Through involvement with her community, Gladys noticed that Vineland was dealing with a lot of changes, primarily the expansion of Victoria Ave and faulty sewer pipes.
Gladys spoke at local meetings and other attendees suggested she run for office in the next by-election in 1973. She became part of Lincoln Town Council in 1975 and in 1978 became the first female Mayor in the Town of Lincoln.

On May 9, 1953, the Jordan Historical Museum of the Twenty opened its doors with members of the founding families as well as a proud Ruth Home in attendance. The idea of a wine-based museum began with Philip Torno of the Jordan Wines Co.
Ruth was recruited by Mr Torno in order to research the viticulture in the area, yet she found that the Twenty Valley had a rich history that stemmed far beyond it's flourishing wine industry.

Ruth Home began her career at the Royal Ontario Museum, where she pioneered the education department from 1928-1945. She also held the position as Director of Museum Research at the Ontario College of Art, as well as running her own historical research firm.
For her role in establishing the Jordan Historical Museum and her contributions to local history, Ruth was given an award by the American Assoc. of State & Local History in 1957 and the Canadian Historical Association in 1960.
Today, Ruth is known to many as one of the first curators in Ontario.