Oil Wives Club holds national convention in Edmonton


CARRIE KELLY The Pipeline


In cities and towns throughout western Canada, groups of women whose husbands work in the oil and gas industry meet for fellowship and fun.


The first Oil Wives Club began in Redwater, Alberta in 1951. A woman named Dean Hunter knew from personal experience how lonely life could be for the wives of oil workers. The club took root with the idea for oil wives to get together one night a month to socialize.


The Association of Oil Wives Clubs currently lists about 30 such organizations in its membership and holds an annual convention.


This year it was held in Edmonton Oct. 21 to 23, hosted by the Oil Wives Clubs of Spruce Grove and Whitecourt.


Carolyn Van Ee, chairman of the convention committee, has been a member of the Oil Wives Club of Spruce Grove for about 15 years.


“I had a friend who was a member and she told me it was a lot of fun,” she says. “From the first meeting I was hooked.”


Approximately 350 women attended this fall’s convention.


“It starts out with a meet and greet and a chance for people to visit and catch up. We have a meeting for what we call the virgins — those who have never been to a convention before,” Van Ee says.


A workshop on the importance of 20 WESTERN CANADIAN PIPELINE | FALL 2010


laughter in a person’s life is on the three- day schedule, as is a tour of the Alberta Legislature.


The theme of this year’s convention was “Around the World” and so participants attended dinner in costume.


The entire membership of the Oil Wives Club of Brooks is about 28 women, and 21 of those members attended the 2010 Convention.


Holly Olivier-Webber has been a member of that club for 21 years, previously serving as president, as well as on the board of the directors of the Association of Oil Wives Clubs.


“It’s a sisterhood and it’s awesome to go to the convention and see everyone once a year. Even if you haven’t seen someone for a couple of years, it’s such a warm feeling — like a family reunion,” she says.


The Brooks’ club is a tight bunch, Olivier- Webber says.


“I became a member and stayed a member for the friendships,” she says. “When my son was born, he was sick and they were there to help and cook meals without me calling them.”


In addition to helping each other, the membership also gives of their time in helping make the community a better place.


“We volunteer and host blood donor clinics,” she explains. “We help the women’s shelter and the food bank as well.”


Oil Wives clubs across British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan are made up of women from all generations, from newlyweds to great- grandmothers.


Katherine Wanner,


Holly Olivier-Webber


who has been a member of an Oil Wives Club for 50 years, is also planning to attend the 2010 convention.


She originally joined the Oil Wives Club of Estevan and is now a lifetime member of the Oil Wives Club of Swift Current.


“I had a young family and so I joined to meet people,” Wanner says.


She is the president of the Oil Wives of Swift Current, a club she has been part of since her husband started Wanner’s Oilfield Services there in 1970.


She hopes that more women will decide to become part of the legacy of the Oil Wives Clubs.


“There is room for growth. We are looking for the younger generation to join and get involved. We meet the fourth Tuesday of each month to go out for supper,” she says.


The Oil Wives creed is “A small, a handclasp, a word of welcome, are the links in our chain of friendship. This we believe.”


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