The Society’s Records

May Corbett

← People of the Society · on record 1961–2001

Everything the Society’s own records say of May Corbett — the offices held, the standings conferred, and the awards won — gathered on one page. Where the records are silent, so is this one.

This is the Society’s own record of May Corbett. A biography: Who’s Who in Leathercraft · Fall 1974 →

In memoriam · June 2004

A Past President of the Society and a longtime member of the Barrie Branch and Member-at-Large. A contemporary account (newsletter 2004-fall p2) has her President of CSCL around the time the editor joined the Society, about 1974, and an active member of the Barrie Branch.

From Autumn 2004, page 2.

Also recorded as M. Corbett, Mae Corbett, Mrs. C. Corbett, Mrs. C. E. Corbett

Standing

Life Member 1989 · Honourary Life Member 1997

Branch

Barrie

Certification

Associate of the CSCL 1961

Born and educated in Toronto, she moved to Barrie with her husband, Clarence; she was the mother of one son, and in 1974 was working at a local retail craft and hobby store. She joined the Society in 1958, the Barrie Branch’s first year: she attended the October meeting as a visitor and at her second, in November, was asked to become Treasurer — before she had actually paid her membership fee — and accepted. For many years her recreation room was the Barrie Branch’s home base, with the branch’s Weston Trophy plaques on its wall; she held most of the branch’s offices, was its Exhibitions Chairman in 1974 while First Vice-President of the Society, and was always willing to drive any distance to bring Barrie members to Executive Council meetings. In leather she was particularly noted for the many bottles she covered. In 1959 she was named Barrie’s Citizen of the Year for her work for the Children’s Aid Society, the Red Cross Blood Donor’s Clinic, the Cancer Society, the March of Dimes, the C.N.I.B. and other causes; she was President of the Lady Lions, did the banking and other business for the cloistered Redemptoristine Sisters for many years while they had a convent at Barrie, and in 1974 was President of the Simcoe Adult Skating Club. She was named an Associate in 1961, served as the Society's President from 1975 to 1978, and served on the Executive Council in 1980, where the printed list gives her as Mrs. M. Corbett. Her work won prizes at the Canadian Handicrafts Guild competition and the 11th International Assembly in 1965. One piece was chosen for “Ontario Crafts – Leather Today”, the Society’s Centennial travelling exhibition, listed under the name Mae Corbett: a two-tone brown and blue bottle. The Canadian Guild of Crafts (Ontario) selected the articles; the exhibition opened at the Guild Shop on 2 October 1967 and was to travel across Canada during 1968. She showed one piece at Leather '74, the Society's exhibition at the Toronto Public Libraries' Learning Resources Centre, 666 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto, 3-28 June 1974; one piece in the Society's exhibition at the Craft Gallery and Resource Centre of the Ontario Crafts Council, 346 Dundas Street West, Toronto, 2-28 March 1976; two pieces at Leather '78, the Society's exhibition at the Etobicoke Civic Centre, 550 Burnhamthorpe Road, November 1978; and five pieces at Leather '82, the Society's exhibition at the City of Brampton Library and Art Gallery, Bramalea, 3 July to 1 August 1982. She was made a Life Member in 1984. She made a square for the CSCL Leather Quilt.

From Fall 1974, page 6; Autumn 2004, page 2; Autumn 1980, page 10; Fall 1967, page 9; Leather ’74 — exhibition catalogue, Toronto Public Libraries, page 5; Exhibition catalogue 1976 — Craft Gallery of the Ontario Crafts Council, Toronto, page 5; Leather ’78 — exhibition catalogue, Etobicoke Civic Centre, page 5; Leather ’82 — exhibition catalogue, Brampton Public Library and Art Gallery, page 4; and Fall 1998, page 2.

Served the Society as

President 1975–78; 1975–1977
Past President 1978–1979
1st Vice-President 1974
Barrie Branch President 1963–1964
Executive Council 1965
Corresponding Secretary 1966–1968
Program Convener 1966
Chairman Exhibitions Committee 1968
Exhibitions Chairman for C.N.E. 1968
15th Assembly Demonstrator 1969
Vice-President 1969–1974
Barrie Branch Treasurer 1979
Executive Council Member 1980
Director 1981–1987
Council 1988

Honours

Ontario Volunteer Service Award 2001
Named on the Society's roll of Ontario Volunteer Service Award recipients. Presented at the 51st Annual (2001) — Kehoe and Chynoweth in attendance; Corbett, Riddell, Kemp named among "four others" honoured the same year.
Life Membership 1984
Presented at the 34th Annual Meeting by Membership Chairman Hilda Chynoweth. Printed "Mae" in the Annual Meeting minutes; the register keeps May Corbett, the spelling the newsletters use six times as often (77 mentions to 12). Her own newsletter profile (Summer 1984, p4) adds: born and educated in Toronto, moved to Barrie on marrying Clarence; joined C.S.C.L. in 1958, Barrie’s first year as a branch, and became its Treasurer at her second meeting before she had paid her own membership fee; Associate 1961; President of the Society 1975–1978, succeeded by Beulah Reynolds; named Barrie’s Citizen of the Year, 1959.

Awards

Bramalea Ribbon, Leather '82 1982
Canadian Handicrafts Guild Competition First Prize 1965
Craftsman Award, 11th International Assembly 1965
Craftsman Ribbon 1983
Salon Award, 11th International Assembly 1965

Demonstrations given

A purse-size notebook 1962
Barrie Branch, guests of the Hamilton Guild, 1962
From Winter 1962–63, page 11.
Notebook 1962
12th Annual
From Spring 1962, page 2.

Where this comes from

This name in the index of people →