The Avonlea Village Improvement Society, or the A.V.I.S. for short, was a society founded by Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe.
Members[]
- Gilbert Blythe (president and co-founder)
- Fred Wright (vice-president)
- Anne Shirley (secretary and co-founder)
- Diana Barry (treasurer)
- Jane Andrews
- Julia Bell
- Gertie Pye
- Carrie Sloane
- Charlie Sloane
- Clifton Sloane
- Oliver Sloane
- Other miscellaneous Avonlea youth
Description[]
The A.V.I.S was founded by Anne Shirley, who at first asked for the advice of several elders including Mr. Allan and Mrs. Allan, Marilla, and Mrs Lynde. All of them approved except Mrs. Lynde, who was undecided because she heard that village improvement societies were started by Yankees, which was a negative factor to her. When she learned that Mr. and Mrs. Allan approved, Mrs. Lynde began to see the more positive aspects of the group.
They funded their enterprise by collecting funds from subscribers.
Gilbert's role[]
Gilbert was sort of a semi-founder, although it wasn't his idea to start the A.V.I.S, he often received insider information from Anne even before Diana. He received a gift for "founding" the A.V.I.S., namely a fountain pen.
List of canvassed people[]
Name | Contribution |
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Eliza and Catherine Andrews |
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Daniel Blair | |
Mrs. White | |
Isabella Spencer | |
Thomas Boulter |
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Esther Bell |
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Simon Fletcher | |
Sloane family |
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Robert Dickson | |
Lorenzo White |
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James A. Harrison |
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Projects[]
The Blue Hall[]
The Blue Hall, always remembered in Avonlea's history as a comical mishap, was the first attempt of the A.V.I.S.
Not intended to be blue, the A.V.I.S. were going to paint the hall. They had all decided on a dark green for paint, and red shingles. The order for the colour of paint, though, went through several people and ended up coming out as blue! Joshua Pye, the painter, shrugged it off and said he was hired to paint and not to colour coordinate.
The A.V.I.S., of course, was heartbroken. 'Despair personified', Anne Shirley and Diana Barry were distraught. Nonetheless, nothing was to be done about it.
Jacob Donnell wrote about the Avonlea Hall in his letter to Anne Shirley, the teacher of the Avonlea School.
Dear Miss Shirley,
You told us to describe something strange we have seen. I will describe the Avonlea Hall. It has two doors, an inside one and an outside one. It has six windows and a chimney. It has two ends and two sides. It is painted blue. That is what makes it strange. It is built on the lower Carmody road. It is the third most important building in Avonlea. The others are the church and the blacksmith shop. They hold debating clubs and lectures in it and concerts.
Yours truly,
P.S. The hall is very bright blue.
The A.V.I.S. was mortified about their mistake. The hall was later repainted by the A.V.I.S. after Anne and Gilbert left.
Removal of the Boulter house[]
The A.V.I.S. tried very hard to get the Boulter house, an old and tumble-down place that was an eyesore to all that passed, removed. However, the owner was stubborn. When a bad storm came up, though, it was so beaten up that the owner consented its removal... although he claimed ever afterward that the A.V.I.S. had called up that storm just on purpose!
Installation of the telephone[]
People in Avonlea enjoyed the telephone and were able to contact each other more conveniently, with the only setback being that other people could listen to the conversation.
End[]
The A.V.I.S. disbanded after Anne married, as it could not survive without her ideas and enthusiasm.
Appearances[]
Book appearances
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TV series appearances
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