Elsie Cressman: A Trailblazing Life

Elsie Cressman grew up on a Mennonite farm in New Hamburg. At a time when women were expected to fill domestic roles, Elsie pursued her education and her career as a nurse. Her fearlessness and her adventurous spirit led her to Africa where she worked tirelessly in a Leprosarium. After further stints in London, England at a nursing school and a return to Africa, she came home to the Waterloo region where she began her career as a midwife. Her boundless energy and her conviction that women should be able to choose where they give birth made her the perfect advocate for midwifery in Ontario. She not only helped legalise home births but helped deliver over three thousand babies as well. Read more