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Kate Aitken

For busy housewives in postwar Canada, Kate Aitken's singsong voice was a welcome diversion from their everyday duties. Three days a week, Mrs. A and a rotating cast of male sidekicks shared advice on cooking, child care and fashion and offered a perspective on the broader world of women and politics. Only eight Kate Aitken programs from 1948 to 1950 survive, but they allow a glimpse into an era when "women's programming" was its own category at CBC and the ads were just part of the conversation.

Kate Aitken: The jetsetter

Broadcast Date: Jan. 17, 1949

For the people of British Columbia, margarine is still a forbidden food in 1949. But it's no menace to butter, according to Kate Aitken. In Vancouver on the cusp of an 18-day trip around the world, Mrs. A talks about the city and local issues with co-host Ross Mortimer. Then it's on to a preview of the trip. Mrs. A says she's doing it because she's determined to know more about the women of the world and how they face its problems.

Kate Aitken: The jetsetter

• A 1950 article about Kate Aitken for Maclean's magazine was titled "The Busiest Woman in the World." It described Aitken's relentless pace: she was women's editor of the Montreal Weekly Standard, director of women's activities for the Canadian National Exhibition, broadcaster of two different radio shows, a food consultant and cookbook author. She also gave about 150 speeches and travelled 240,000 kilometres yearly.
• Aitken had a staff of 21 secretaries to answer the 5,000 letters she received every week.

Kate Aitken: The jetsetter

Medium: Radio

Program: Kate Aitken

Broadcast Date: Jan. 17, 1949


Host: Kate Aitken, Ross Mortimer

Duration: 13:15

Program recorded in progress.

Photo: CBC Still Photo Collection

Last updated:
March 16, 2011


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MediaTitle and dateDescription
Radio
14:23 		March 31, 1950
Kate Aitken: Mrs. A in Paris 		The focus is on French fashions as Kate Aitken broadcasts from the City of Light.
Radio
14:37 		Dec. 14, 1949
Kate Aitken: Meet the Mowats 		Mrs. A interviews a young writer, Farley Mowat, and asks his wife Fran how she managed meals and housekeeping in a bush tent way up north.
Radio
14:38 		April 13, 1949
Kate Aitken: Eye on Princess Margaret 		In this Easter program, Mrs. A shares a recipe for glazed ham and tells listeners how Princess Margaret spends her time.
Radio
13:15 		Jan. 17, 1949
Kate Aitken: The jetsetter 		Mrs. A broadcasts her show from Vancouver as she embarks on a whirlwind world tour.
Radio
14:37 		Dec. 31, 1948
Kate Aitken: Notable women of 1948 		On the last day of 1948, Kate Aitken salutes an international roster of women of the year.
Radio
14:31 		Nov. 19, 1948
Kate Aitken: Sunday dinner 		Kate shares a chicken recipe and polls the music charts across Canada.
Radio
14:46 		Oct. 22, 1948
Kate Aitken: The audience asks 		Mrs. A addresses listeners' questions on topics ranging from emigrating to the United States to the size of eggs.
Radio
14:27 		Sept. 27, 1948
Kate Aitken: No blue Mondays 		"Your women's editor," Kate Aitken, brings news and views to Canadian homemakers.
Radio
4:21 		Sept. 27, 1948
How a nursery school is born 		CBC Radio's domestic maven Kate Aitken profiles a successful nursery school in this 1948 clip.
Radio
1:46 		Sept. 27, 1948
Mrs. A's cold remedy 		One of Kate Aitken's cures for the common cold involves briskly rubbing your hands together.
10 results available