Harry Spafford (b. 22 Oct 1888, d. 10 May 1978) was born in Holmfield, Manitoba. He married Isabella Hawking of Ninga in 1914 and the couple moved to Brandon in 1915 where they continued to reside until 1973. Harry worked as a locomotive fireman and then as an engineer with the Canadian Northern Railway (CN). While with CN, he was an active member of the Brotherhood of Local Engineers and Firemen No. 788 of Brandon. He served as an alderman in Brandon from 1928 to 1945. In 1932, Harry ran in the Manitoba by-election for Brandon as an Independent Labour candidate and lost to the Conservative member George Dinsdale. In 1952, Harry ran as a Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) member in the provincial election and lost to Conservative party representative Reg Lissaman. Harry Spafford passed away in Burnaby, BC, and is interred in the Ocean View Cemetery. (Source: see obituary in McG 4.1 File 66)
Alva/Alvery/"Alvie" Reddell/Riddell/Ridall Spafford (b. 15 Mar 1891, d. 23 Aug 1985) was born in Enterprise, Manitoba, in the R.M. of Turtle Mountain. In 1911, he married Francis Ethel Harrison (d. 1979) in Killarney and had three children. Alvie farmed in Bannerman from 1902 to 1936, after which he moved to Boissevain to work as a Rawleigh salesman. In 1942, the family moved to Brandon where Alvie worked as a conductor with the CNR until his retirement. Alva Spafford passed away at the age of 94 at the Brandon General Hospital. His funeral was held in Killarney, Manitoba. (Source: Obituary, Brandon Sun, 23 Aug 1985)
Scope and Content
Photograph shows [left to right] Carl Spafford, Alva Spafford, and Harry Spafford posing together in a banquet room.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: Harry Spafford on right, Alva Spafford center, Carl nephew of Harry on left. Harry retired in 1962 as an Engineer. Alva retired in 1965 as a Conductor. Carl retired in 1977 as a Conductor. [Note: conflicting dates are provided on photographs for Alva's retirement, i.e., 1956 vs. 1965]
Catherine "Kate" Harden (nee Chalmers) (b. 24 May 1890, Brandon; d. 22 Sep 1975, Kenora) was the daughter of Ed and Agnes Chalmers, early residents of Brandon, Manitoba (c. 1882). Kate worked as a cashier at Nation & Shewin's from 1913-1914 before marrying Edward Harden (b. 26 Jan 1886, Hawkhurst, Kent, England; d. 10 April 1962, Brandon) on 03 December 1914. At the time, Harden worked as a driver with the Brandon Fire Department. The couple had two daughters, Edith and Agnes. (sources: Manitoba Vital Statistics database and Henderson's Brandon City Directories)
Custodial History
Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows two men and two women standing outdoors on a carpet. Kate Harden (nee Chalmers) stands on the right, her husband Edward "Ted" Harden stands second from the left.
Notes
Writing on back photograph reads: ?, Ted Harden, ?, Kate Harden. Photograph is stamped Crawford's Drug Store, Brandon, Man. [Date range determined from drug store period.]
Reverend Edward A. Lykens was Pastor at the Church of Nazarene in Brandon, MB in the early 1980s.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, this collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item is an audiocassette tape containing an interview with Rev. Edward Lykens about the history of the Church of the Nazarene in Brandon, MB. Interviewer is Effie McPhail.
Notes
History/bio information taken from the records. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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Edward Robert McGill was born on September 21, 1912 in Vancouver, BC. The family returned to Manitoba in 1919, and settled in Brandon, MB. Ed received his schooling in Brandon, including one year at Brandon College before he enrolled at Queen's University. Graduating in 1934, with a Bachelor of Commerce, Ed was employed by Inco at Sudbury before enlisting in the RCAF in 1940. He was posted to No. 4 Service Flying School in Saskatoon and subsequently became a flying instructor. While in Saskatoon Ed married Marguarite Eve Shaw (1918-1992) on May 30, 1942. Together they had four children: Mickey, Douglas, Patricia and Frances. From Saskatoon, Ed was posted to No. 19 EFTS in Virden where he became C.S.D. In 1943, Ed was sent overseas with the City of Edmonton 418 Night Intruder Squadron. In 1944, he was appointed CO of "B" flight and promoted to squadron leader.
Ed returned to Brandon in 1946, where he was appointed secretary manager of the Brandon Flying Club. While in this position, Ed also served as chief flying instructor, airport manager, co-founder and president of Maple Leaf Aviation and helped to organize the Flying Farmers in Manitoba. Upon his retirement in 1971, the Brandon Airport was renamed McGill Field to honor his contribution to aviation in western Manitoba. In 1969, Ed was elected to the Manitoba Legislature as the member for Brandon West. He was re-elected in 1973 and 1977, then retired from active politics in 1981.
Ed was committed to community service, and was a past president of the Brandon Kinsmen Club, the Brandon Gegneral Hospital (BGH) board of directors, the Brandon Golf and Country Club and the Wasagaming Golf Club. He served as a member of the Brandon Police Commission and was appointed to the federal Civil Aviation Tribunal. Ed was a member of Tweed Lodge #113 AF & AM, a member of the Brandon Scottish Rite and past master of the Brandon Chapter of Rose Croix. Edward McGill died on December 3, 1996 in Brandon, MB.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, this collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item is an audiocassette tape containing an interview with the Honorable Edward McGill about his life history. Interviewer is Marjorie Lange.
Notes
History/bio information taken from the records and McGill's obituary. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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Photograph shows the exterior of the Royal George Hotel located at 142-6th Street, Brandon. Striped awnings cover the second and third storey windows of the hotel. Dogs roam the sidewalk in front of the hotel. Advertisements cover the fence adjacent to the hotel and include: Fort McMurray town site settlement; Mortgage sale for city property; Starland Theatre featuring Miss Amy Lawrence, Soprano; Sherman Theatre; 15th Annual Horticultural Exhibition
Notes
Date ascertained from 15th Annual Horticultural Exhibition advertisement posted on fence adjacent to hotel. Address obtained from Henderson's Brandon City Directory for 1913.
The Wheat City Hotel was located at the southeast corner of the intersection of 10th Street and Pacific Avenue.
Scope and Content
Photograph is looking southeast from the northside of Pacific Avenue and shows the main entrance to the hotel. Two of the windows on the north side of the hotel have the word "parlor" written on them. McKenzie Seeds is in the background.
Repro Restriction
The McKee Archives is the copyright holder for the Stuckey materials.
