Aida Maud Boyer McAnn Flemming, (7 March 1896 – 25 January 1994) was a Canadian teacher, writer and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...

advocate. She founded the

Kindness Club The Kindness Club is a humane education organization. It was founded by Aida Flemming in Fredericton, New Brunswick, in 1959. Origin and growth In 1957 Aida Flemming, the wife of New Brunswick premier Hugh John Flemming, sponsored a children's ...

, a

humane education Humane education is broadly defined as education that nurtures compassion and respect for living beingsUnti, B. & DeRosa, B. (2003). Humane education: Past, present, and future. In D. J. Salem & A. N. Rowam (Eds.), ''The State of the Animals II: 2 ...

organization for children between the ages of 5 and 13. She was the wife of

Hugh John Flemming Hugh John Flemming (January 5, 1899 – October 16, 1982) was a politician and the 24th premier of New Brunswick from 1952 to 1960. He is always known as "Hugh John". Born in Peel, New Brunswick, Canada, the son of James Kidd Flemming, Premi ...

, who was

Premier of New Brunswick The premier of New Brunswick ( French (masculine): ''premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'', or feminine: ''première ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The ...

from 8 October 1952 to 11 July 1960.

Family and early life

Her father was Charles Whitfield McAnn. Originally from

Kent County, New Brunswick Kent County (2016 population 30,475) is located in east-central New Brunswick, Canada. The county features a unique blend of cultures including Mi'kmaq, Acadian, and English. Some larger tourist attractions include the dune de Bouctouche, Kouch ...

, he earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...

Sackville, New Brunswick Sackville is a town in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It is home to Mount Allison University, a primarily undergraduate liberal arts university. Historically based on agriculture, shipbuilding, and manufacturing, the economy is now driven ...

and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. After practising law in Moncton, New Brunswick, he moved to Kaslo, British Columbia, with his wife, the former Ada Boyer. She died three months after their daughter Aida was born at the Boyer family home in

Victoria Corner, New Brunswick Victoria Corner, New Brunswick is a community in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada located on the west side of the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, 3.71 km north of Wakefield, New Brunswick, Wakefield, 10 miles from Woo ...

, on 7 March 1896. Aida was her parents' only child. She was named Ada but later changed the spelling of her name to that of the

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

opera '' Aida''. Aida McAnn lived with her father, his second wife and their two children in Kaslo. Charles Whitfield McAnn was a successful lawyer who became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

and was the mayor of Kaslo when he died in 1907 at the age of 42. Aida was then 11 years old. She returned to New Brunswick to live with her uncle L. Wesley McAnn, who later became the mayor of Moncton. In 1910 she entered Netherwood School in Rothesay, New Brunswick, where she excelled academically.

Education

She graduated from Mount Allison University with a BA in English at the age of 20 and earned a

Certificate in Education The Certificate in Education (Cert Ed) is a professional qualification for teachers in the United Kingdom. There have been two incarnations of the Cert Ed over the years. New Cert Ed The current Cert Ed is a non-compulsory qualification offering ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1917. She later attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where she earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in English in 1930.

Career

Aida McAnn began her working life as a teacher, first at Mount Allison University, where she taught English and History, and later at Dongan Hall, a private secondary school in New York City where she taught English, Latin, History and Current Events in 1930 and 1931. She worked as a freelance writer of advertising copy in New York before returning to New Brunswick where she worked as a writer for the department of Tourism for nine years. In 1938 she published a

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

entitled ''The New Brunswick Cookbook.'' She also directed "The Cooking School of the Air", a program on CHSJ radio in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

. She began working as a reporter for the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

's official records of debate in 1944.

Marriage

On 20 August 1946, she married

, a businessman from

Juniper, New Brunswick Juniper (2001 pop.: 450) is a hamlet in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada. Juniper is located in Aberdeen Parish. It is situated on Route 107, which runs from Route 105 at Bristol, northeast to Juniper, and then bends southeast towards Nap ...

, who had been elected to the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly in 1944. This was her third marriage, as two previous marriages had ended in divorce. Hugh John Flemming was

from 1952 to 1960 and then served as a member of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

from 1960 to 1972. Aida Flemming was active in the community affairs of Juniper, where she lived after her marriage. She organized a local branch of the

Canadian Red Cross Society The Canadian Red Cross Society ()Fredericton Public Library, which opened in 1955. She served on the library's board of directors from 1955 to 1958.

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

appointed her to the board of governors of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery when it opened in 1959. She was also active on the boards of directors of the Fredericton

SPCA A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate in ...

and the Fredericton Children's Aid Society.

Kindness Club

She founded the

, a club to teach children between the ages of 5 and 13 to love and be kind to animals, in 1959. The organization grew rapidly, reaching 2000 members in over 100 chapters in North America and England by 1961. She remained closely involved with the Kindness Club, whose headquarters were at her home in Fredericton. By the late 1960s she regularly received up to 50 letters a day from club members, which she answered on her own until the organization hired a secretary to help with the correspondence in 1973.

Honors and recognition

Aida Flemming was named Humanitarian of the Year by

the Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...

in 1964. She was awarded an Honorary Doctor of law degree by Mount Allison University in 1958. In 1962 she was named "Atlantic Woman of the Year" and in 1976 she was given the Fredericton

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

's Distinguished Citizen Award. She was made a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1978 for "her many services to the community of Fredericton and the founding of the Kindness Club, an organization dedicated to the protection of animals, which now has branches in twenty-two countries".

Alden Nowlan Alden Albert Nowlan (; January 25, 1933 – June 27, 1983) was a Canadian poet, novelist, and playwright. History Alden Nowlan was born into rural poverty in Stanley, Nova Scotia, adjacent to Mosherville, and close to the small town of Windsor ...

's "A poem for Aida Flemming", which was published in 1982, begins:

May God have mercy
on the porcupine
broken free
but with the snare
still around his neck
the end of it still trailing
behind him
and bound to catch
on something.

Later years and legacy

Hugh John Flemming died on 16 October 1982. Aida Flemming died on 25 January 1994. In the 1960s she had purchased a large rural property near

Woodstock, New Brunswick Woodstock is a town in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada on the Saint John River, 103 km upriver from Fredericton at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River. It is near the Canada–United States border and Houlton, Maine and the inter ...

, formerly owned by

Tappan Adney Edwin Tappan Adney (July 13, 1868 – October 10, 1950), commonly known as Tappan Adney, was an American-Canadian artist, writer, and photographer. Biography Edwin Tappan Adney was born in Athens, Ohio, the eldest child of William Harvey Glen ...

with the intention of establishing a wildlife sanctuary. Her will left the 27 hectare property first to the province of New Brunswick, and secondly to the town of Woodstock. The province did not accept the bequest and the town took title of the land in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flemming, Aida McAnn 1896 births 1994 deaths Mount Allison University alumni University of Toronto alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Canadian women non-fiction writers People from Carleton County, New Brunswick Members of the Order of Canada Spouses of Canadian politicians Animal welfare workers Canadian cookbook writers