Hall of Fame
Jean Fewster
Written by Helen Hatton and Marg Fraser. Presented by Marg Fraser
Jean - As a dynamo home economist, you accomplished so much in your pre-retirement days that it's mind-boggling to try and sort it all out. Talk about pioneering. It certainly equates with the hardy Saskatchewan stock you come from. And as for global travel, you must be nearing the magic number of 100 countries.
Some of you will remember Jean from the good old days, but for those of you who don't know her, here is a little background. Jean received her Bachelor of Household Science from the University of Saskatchewan in 1946, then did postgraduate dietetic internship at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal.
Her first job, in Ontario, was as assistant provincial nutritionist with the Canadian Red Cross Society, Ontario Division, for three years. In 1951, she became Food Editor, Dairy Foods Service Bureau, Dairy Farmers of Canada, in Toronto. For this post, the Bureau coined the familiar name “Marie Fraser”, Canada's first non commercial, consumer-friendly pseudonym.
The Bureau served as liaison between Canadian dairy producers (dairy farmers) and consumers, through a national bilingual program of dairy food editorial publicity and promotion, nutrition education and public relations. What's remarkable is that this position was the first of its kind - a pioneer first in Canada for primary producers to employ a home economist to promote their products. As it developed, the Bureau served also as a model for other Canadian producers - including meat, poultry and eggs, and bakery foods, although they did not use trade names for the home economists they employed.
Initially, recipe development and testing, along with food photography, was done under contract with Chatelaine magazine, Marie Holmes food editor there. Subsequently, the Bureau re-located and had its own test kitchen. As the work of the Bureau increased, home economics assistants were employed, but Jean does not think they became known as “Marie Fraser” At least when she was there, recipe booklets and magazine advertisements frequently used Jean's photo as “Marie Fraser”.
In the summer of 1964, after a course at the University of West Virginia, on “The Social, Psychological, Cultural and Anthropological Aspects of Food and People Around the World”, Jean made a career change and hasn't looked back since. First there was a Master's degree in Home Economics Journalism at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison. As a graduate assistant in the Department of Agricultural Journalism, Jean researched and wrote news stories with home economics content for weekly distribution to newspapers and to University Extension County Home Economists. She was so good at doing this that midway through the MS year, the Department hired her as part time faculty, to replace a retiring broadcaster. Her task was to plan, produce and broadcast a daily half hour consumer information radio program, on the University station and over the state network. Daily. A full half-hour. No commercials. No music. No director. No producer. And this along with her studies!
When she decided to “go for broke” and begin a doctoral program, she continued with the radio program, the Department giving her her own graduate assistant. Subsequently, with a Canada Council Social Science Doctoral fellowship, Jean completed the inter-disciplinary PhD program in Mass Communication, at Wisconsin, graduating May l969.
At that time, and just about to sign a contract to teach at the University of Guelph, Jean got a call from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations , Rome HQ, offering her a three month consultancy there in the Home Economics Service. This was the international break she had hoped for and the three months lasted 15 years. In that time, our intrepid Jean was involved in helping design and operationalize FAO's “Planning for Better Family Living” program, helping home economists in education and extension programs in the developing world integrate population education concepts into programs for rural women and families. She also helped develop a project communication component for reaching rural women. Jean can tell many tales of working in the field and also of life as a roamin' Roman.
Over the years, Jean has contributed much to CHEA and THEA ( OHEIB did not then exist). It was, in part, through Jean's proposal from Rome that CHEA developed and implemented an international development twinning program between Canadian home economists and those overseas. On her return to Canada Jean was invited to become a member of CHEA's first International Development Committee, serving a three year term.
I know that Jean feels that it was a great privilege to work for the UN in Rome, and the people, history, food and ambiance of Italy are hard for her to forget or replace. In retirement, Jean has settled back into life in Toronto, albeit fairly critical of our political system - at all three levels. She has audited courses at the University of Toronto and Ryerson, goes to scores of cultural and arts events, practices calligraphy, and line-dances. And she's catching up on the English TV programs she missed while in Rome…
For years after my arrival in Toronto, I was known as “Jean Fewster's little sister”—and I really just wanted to be known as me. But at times like this, I bask in reflected glory as we honour a deserving fellow Home Economist in Business…my sister, Dr. Jean Fewster.
Jean, may I present to you the Ontario HEIB Hall of Fame Award for 1997. Congratulations.