When I first met Margaret in the mid-1960s, little did I imagine one day I would make a film about her. I was an undergrad at U of T and she—a doctoral candidate in English—was the Don in our all-girls residence, Whitney Hall. She could be rather formidable, but I later came to realize how much she loved the girls in her charge, that she felt it her duty to awaken in us a belief that we were equal and full-functioning members of society. She wanted us to engage with the world, to march for civil rights and peace, and to tear down the walls of patriarchy—which then abounded at U of T. It was because of Margaret that I headed west to UBC for my Masters, and though it might seem an unremarkable achievement today, back then it was, for a B.A. pretty much capped a woman’s academic career. To boot, there was this prevailing notion that you had to be brilliant to be in grad school but Miss Fulton (or “Peggy” as we undergrads referred to her when by ourselves) made short shrift of that: “Girls. If I can do a PhD—me a farm-girl from Birtle, Manitoba—then you all can surely do a Masters!” And so I did. Jump ahead to the mid-Seventies, and a news article that UBC’s Dean of Women was leaving to become President of Mount Saint Vincent University. By the description it had to be Margaret, and so I summoned up courage to make a goodbye visit. Courage, because I was now a full-time mom and worried she’d think I’d let down the feminist cause. What a relief then when she resoundingly declared I was where I should be, taking care of my two girls…but then in typical Fulton fashion, she added a rejoinder: “There should be pensions for mothers, because you are doing such valuable work!”
Fast forward to the Nineties, and a silver-haired woman bounds up to me at an NDP fund-raiser. “Michelle! Remember me? Peggy Fulton!” Well how could I forget? Still the same energy, still the same forthright voice and hearty laugh, still the same convictions. It was not long after that I asked if I could make a documentary about her. Margaret’s first response was why on earth would anybody want to fund a film about her, let alone watch it? When I said it would be about the ideas that propelled her through life, about structural change and societal transformation…well, we were off to the races! And as it turned out, many wanted to see it made: television commissions from Knowledge Network, Saskatchewan Communications Network, CTV affiliate CFCF 12 in Montreal, Vision TV, Secretary of State (Status of Women), Department of Heritage (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada), BC Arts Council, and private donors. And what an adventure I had, tracking Margaret to places far and wide—Norway, Switzerland, England, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver, and Salt Spring Island. She was a real trooper, even helping me pack heavy gear back to Vancouver when my camera crew had left on earlier flights. Afterwards, when I sent a video copy of “A Round Peg” to SSHRCC, they encouraged me to apply for a second grant to make a User Guide that further explored Margaret’s ideas on structural change. It was quite funny to hear the Ottawa-based SSHRCC bureaucrat say: “Lord knows, we in government sure could use a guide to transforming the hierarchy!” With the help of Margaret and some accomplished women working to effect change in their respective organizations, “Connecting the Dots” Guide was published; together the film and guide are now with libraries and community groups across Canada and abroad. Margaret is no longer with us, but fortunately some of her vitality, wit, and vision remain on film, rallying us to carry on the good fight. Margaret’s family has asked that I provide contact information for anyone wanting to obtain the DVD “A Round Peg”. You can find it through www.movingimages.ca or 1-800-684-3014 (604-684-3014 in Vancouver).