Johnston, Louise Vogel

Johnston, Louise Vogel

Louise Vogel, 1905-1999, was born in Ottawa, Ontario, came to Alberta as a young child and grew up on a ranch near Carstairs. She taught in rural schools from 1923 to 1927, then married Russell Johnston in 1928. They farmed in the Helmsdale district of southeastern Alberta where, in 1929, she became a founding member of the Helmsdale local of the United Farm Women of Alberta (UFWA). In 1946 she became the UFWA Director for District 11, and she served continuously as a Director of the UFWA and its successor, FarmWomen's Union of Alberta (FWUA) for 20 years. She was particularly active in issues relating to education and health. She was president of the FWUA from 1963 to 1967. She also sat on the boards of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture, 1965-1968; Canadian Federation of Agriculture, 1965-1968; National Farmers' Union, 1963-1967; and the Farmers' Union & Cooperative Development Association, 1964-1967. She was the FWUA representative to the Associated Country Women of the World, and attended its conferences in Dublin, Ireland, 1965, and East Lansing, Michigan,1968. Louise was also very active in educational bodies, and was director / president of the Alberta Education Council, 1964-1970; a member of the General Curriculum Committee of the Alberta Department of Education, 1958-1966; and a member of the University of Calgary Senate, 1967-1971. The Johnstons were supporters of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and its successor, the New Democratic Party (NDP). Louise ran, unsuccessfully, as a CCF candidate in the 1940 provincial election. Russell was a founding member of the Alberta New Democratic Party in 1962, and sat on the provincial council, 1962-1965. The Johnstons had four sons, C. Wesley, ?-2003, Vernon, Donald, and Duncan. They moved from the Helmsdale district to Calgary in 1966. Louise Johnston was inducted into the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame in 1982.

Glenbow Archives