March is Women’s History Month. In light of that, I thought I’d research the “Chicken Lady” statue on main street Cochrane. Certainly not a complete list, the friends and families of 40 women had their names added to the base of the statue.
The sculptors are Don & Shirley Begg and the statue cast by Studio West here in town.
A Project of the Cochrane Centennial Celebrations Society. Unveiled June 17, 2003. On the occasion of Cochrane’s 100th Birthday
A tribute to the women of character and perseverance who have built and nurtured the social fabric of our community. Those whose names are inscribed in the base have been so honored by the contributions of their families and friends. They represent generations of women whose hard work laid the foundation for the life of this community.
The project was also made possible by the contributions of the Cochrane and District Community Foundation, Fred Whittle, and the Cochrane Rotary Club.
Sculptors Don & Shirley Begg created this bronze statue of a woman feeding chickens as a tribute to prairie farm women. The original statue, “Egg Money”, is in Fish Creek Provincial Park, Calgary, Alberta. It includes the figures of a boy and a girl. This statue, and a second one in Saskatoon, are based on Egg Money.
Names are impressed into the base of the statue:
Violet DesJardins
Rose McGonigle
Eleanor (McArthur) Berwick
Sarah (Ellis) Edge
Mabel Robena Turner
Gertrude Copithorne
Annabelle (Quigley) MacKay
Mildred Camden
Helen Scott
Mary Crowe
Edith (Callaway) Towers
Annie Beynon
Jemima "Mamie" Callaway
Lady Adela Cochrane
Janet (Johnston) Sibbald
Amy Begg
Letha Whittle
Susanna Nagy
Ethel Margaret (Munro) Crawford
Bertha Harbidge
Ida (Brodie) Edge
Christine Jacobs
Glendale Women's Institute est 1925
Winnie Wearmouth
Emily Lathwell
Yvonne Callaway
Sophia Beynon
Flora Garson
Vernice (Towers) Wearmouth
Marjorie Spicer
Ellen (Ullery) Bryant
Christina Smith MacKay
Jessie Louise Bateman
Isobel (Allan) Fenton
Alice Miriam Callaway
Betty (Hanes) Birchall
Claudia Edge
Nan Boothby
Cochrane Today has an article on the original model for the statue here.
