Ontario Agricultural College Red Cross Dance Card, 1916. Archival and Special Collections, University of Guelph Library (REI OAC A0632).

During the war, many women on the homefront found purpose organizing events to boost morale and fundraise for the war effort. Patriotic concerts fulfilled both of these purposes. Songs, skits, and recitations were performed by community members. Rilla’s Junior Red Cross organizes a patriotic concert to raise money for the soldiers overseas. The patriotic concert represents an important moment of personal growth for Rilla, who learns from Irene Howard, that Walter has enlisted. Rilla resists the urge to flee and abandon her responsibilities: “What would they think of her if she shirked her little duty here—the humble duty of carrying the programme through for her Red Cross?

Montgomery, herself, participated in patriotic concerts, as seen in this programme from a concert held in Leaskdale in 1916 where “Mrs. E. Macdonald” provided a reading, thus demonstrating one way in which Rilla of Ingleside reflects Montgomery’s personal experiences on the homefront. The Red Cross also operated on the Ontario Agricultural College campus in Guelph during the war. A Red Cross dance card from a fundraising dance held at Macdonald Hall, was used to record the names of one’s partners for the evening, can be seen here.