Nellie McClung's granddaughter feels pride as Manitoba marks women's vote

This week Marcia McClung, one of Nellie McClung's granddaughters, will be in Winnipeg to celebrate the 100th anniversary of most women getting the right to vote in Manitoba.

Nellie McClung's leadership in the women's suffrage movement helped some women win the vote in Manitoba elections in 1916.

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• From the CBC archives: Nellie McClung celebrated in Manitoba

Manitoba was the first province where women were permitted to vote and hold office.

"It's very exciting. A huge sense of pride," said Marcia.

"We're going to be able to share it with Manitobans and with Canada but really, it's to Manitoba's great credit," she said. 

Marcia's father, who was born in Winnipeg, often talked about Nellie in "glowing terms."

"He talked about her as being also very proud of her but having a sense of awe that she accomplished so much on so many different fronts," she said.

Nellie McClung wrote 16 books as well as being an activist, politician and organizer. 

"As an adult, when I started to read, I really realized how significant her contribution had been," she said. 

Nellie and her husband, Wesley, had strong ties to the United Church, Marcia said. 

From the 1920s to the 1930s, Nellie fought for the ordination of women in the Methodist Church and the United Church of Canada. 

"Their lives revolved around five children, the church, her activism," she said.

Marcia said when people recognized her last name growing up, she knew she had something in common with that person. Living up to the name was harder for her older cousins, particularly for the first granddaughter, who was named Nellie McClung and also wanted to be a writer.

"She was constantly compared to my grandmother," Marcia said. "It was harder on her."

Marcia remembers her grandmother being talkative and animated. She found a recording of Nellie's voice at a CBC board meeting. Nellie was the first female member of CBC's board of governors. 

"It was a clear, articulated voice but as you know, she was a very good public speaker and that was one of the big skills she brought to the struggle for the vote," she said.

"She stood up in front of people and she came alive. She was clear, not screaming but loud enough to be heard and a voice that was very well modulated."