Dr. Sweet was born in Dayton, Ohio. He graduated from Denison University, Granville, Ohio in 1889. In 1892 he graduated from the Rochester Theological Seminary in Rochester, NY. His first pastorate was in Adrian, Michigan, where he was ordained. Dr. Sweet served ten years at the Calvary Church in Minneapolis. In 1920, Dr. Sweet was appointed to a committee by the Northern Convention to inquire into the loyalty of schools to the historic faith of the Baptists. Sweet received his Doctor of Divinity from Denison University in 1921. He worked for the Y.M.C.A. during World War I in the United States and Overseas. After Dr. Whidden retired in 1923, Dr. Sweet was offered the position of President of Brandon College. He accepted the offer and arrived in Brandon with his wife and six children on September 10, 1923. Mrs. Sweet was a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College, and she had been a faculty member at Denison University. Dr. Sweet felt that Brandon was a call of God. He was inaugurated on October 11, 1923, and was readily accepted by students and faculty members alike.
His enthusiasm for fund raising was apparent, and he often took long trips in search of yet another subscription. He won the approval of the faculty, the students, the community and the Baptists. It was thought that Brandon College would prosper under the capable leadership of Dr. Sweet. Unfortunately, he died very suddenly at his home in Brandon on December 30, 1924. He was 55 years old. A funeral was held on January 3, 1925, and a memorial on January 7, 1925.
Scope and Content
Because of his short term of office, there are few papers left from Dr. Sweet. The collection includes invoices from Brandon College accounts, correspondence to and from the Bursar and Registrar, and Board of Director Meeting minutes. There is considerable correspondence from Dr. Sweet to various people regarding sermon topics, foreign missionary work, and his own faith. As well, Dr. Sweet was very conscious of the need for funds to run the College. He was very involved in the fundraising efforts of the College and the Baptists on behalf of Brandon College. There is also correspondence dealing with the MacNeill controversy in the early 1920’s.
Dr. Bovington was born in Gonbridge Wells, Kent County, England on December 2, 1869 to Richard and Emma Bovington (nee Deuch). He came to Canada in 1890. After training for the ministry at Woodstock College and McMaster University, where he graduated in 1899, he attended Rochester Theological Seminary before being ordained in Victoria BC. In addition to Victoria, Bovington held pastorages in Windsor and St. Thomas, ON.
Bovington married his wife Martha Lockhart (1870-1957) in Oxford, ON on January 3, 1900. The couple had at least four children: Richard Dadson (1901-1972), Marguerite Agnes (1902-1975), David L (1904-1953) and Archibald T (1906-1983).
In 1906, Bovington went to Rochester to take his Doctor of Divinity; while there he was an instructor in Systematic Theology and Homiletics. In 1915, he took his Master's in Systematic Theology at the University of Chicago. From 1916 - 1925, Bovington served as the pastor of First Baptist Church, Cleveland, OH.
In 1925, Bovington was asked to become the fourth president of Brandon College. Although he accepted the position his wife and family did not accompany him to Brandon when he arrived in the summer of 1925. Bovington resigned from the Presidency on May 24, 1926, claiming that the pressure of trying to secure funds for the financial support of the school was beyond his strength.
David Bovington died in Cleveland, OH on August 21, 1955.
Scope and Content
Dr. Bovington was President for only nine months. His collection includes correspondence regarding the Baptist Union of Western Canada, Modernists, and Dr. MacNeill. As well, religious field work is documented. There is quite a bit of correspondence from the Registrar and Bursar regarding student accounts. Fundraising for Brandon College is documented, especially the Davies’ Fund campaign and the Endowment Fund campaign. There is quite a bit of correspondence to and from Dr. MacNeill, who was Acting President, from before Dr. Bovington arrived in Brandon and after he resigned.
Dr. Evans was born in Nanaimo, B.C. on March 15, 1891. In the fall of 1907, at the age of sixteen, Dr. Evans entered the Academic Department of Brandon College. He played an integral part at the College, participating in academics, sports, and various other college functions and organizations. In his final year he was Senior Stick, the highest position in the Student Government. In 1913, Dr. Evans graduated from Brandon College. Immediately after graduation he was hired to teach Science and Academic Mathematics. In 1917, he became Principal of the Academic Department, while continuing to teach Mathematics and Science. Dr. Evans took leave in 1920 to study post graduate work at the University of Chicago. During the summers, he was the Acting Dean of the Department of Geology in Chicago. He received his Ph.D. in Geology in 1923, and returned to Brandon College. His new positions at the college were of Professor of Geology and Resident Master. He also taught some Chemistry.
On August 1, 1927, Dr. Evans married Adelene M. Bailey (Class of 1921, Music 1924) at the Joseph Bond Chapel in Chicago. He took over as College Dean in 1928 after the position became vacant. In September of 1928, Dr. Evans accepted the position of President of Brandon College, thus becoming its fifth president since the college’s inception. Dr. Evans was head of the college at a very difficult time. He guided the College through the Depression and repeated threats of closure from the Baptists. Dr. Evans resurrected the Department of Theology in the mid-1930’s. He helped with the reorganization of Brandon College as a non-denominational college in 1938, and its new affiliation with the University of Manitoba. During World War II, Dr. Evans started a War Emergency Fund, aimed at keeping the College from sinking into debt during the war years as enrollment shrank. With increased financial support from the government, Dr. Evans began expansion plans for the College. In 1958, he created the Dr. J.R.C. Evans Student Loan Fund in conjunction with the Alumni Association in order to provide worthy students with interest-free loans. It was also in 1958 that Dr. Evans was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Coronation Medal for his outstanding contribution to education in the British Commonwealth.
On July 29, 1959, Dr. Evans died suddenly at his summer home in Robson, B.C.. On his desk was the programme for the sod-turning ceremony for the new Arts and Library Building and Lecture Theatre. When it was completed, the Lecture Theatre was christened the Dr. J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre on behalf of the man who had made sure that it would be built. The Theatre had been his dream, a place to hold Chapel and Assemblies, as the student body grew in number.
Scope and Content
Dr. Evans collection is quite substantial, owing to the fact that he was President of Brandon College for thirty one years. His collection is primarily made up of correspondence between Dr. Evans and various people. The letters deal with students, teachers, finances, fundraising, the Bursar, the Registrar, and legal matters. The collection also includes the minutes from various meetings, including Board of Director meetings and National Conference on Canadian Universities. There are accounts dealing with World War II, its affect on campus, the C.O.T.C, and the lending of part of Brandon College to the R.C.A.F. during the war. The complete withdrawal of Baptist support for Brandon College is well documented in this collection, as is the ensuing affiliation of the College with the University of Manitoba. The Brandon College Campaign and other fundraising endeavors are documented in Evans’ papers as well. Evans was bent on the expansion of Brandon College, and there is a lot of correspondence dealing with this topic. There are various financial accounts and financial histories of Brandon College in Evans’ collection.
Dr. John Everett Robbins was born 9 October 1903 in Hampton, Ontario the son of John and Gertrude (Brown) Robbins. He married Catherine St. Denis on 11 June 1934 in Ogdens, New York. John Robbins was raised in Darlingford, Manitoba. He attended the University of Manitoba graduating with a B.A. Hon 1928 and M.A.in 1929. Dr. Robbins completed a Ph.D at the University of Ottawa in 1935. From 1936-1951 he was Director of the Education Division, Dominion Bureau of Statistics.
Dr. Robbins helped to found the Canadian Association for Adult Education, the Social Science Research Council of Canada, the Humanities Research Council of Canada, the United Nations Association in Canada, and the Canadian Citizenship Council. In 1942 he became a member of the Board of Directors of Carlton University. Dr. Robbins was active in UNESCO work: he was a member of Canadian Government delegations to foreign conferences, and, in 1951-52, he spent a year as Director of an educational project for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East.
In 1960, while editor-in-chief of the newly compiled “Encyclopedia Canadiana,” Dr. Robbins was asked to become President of Brandon College. From 1960 to 1967, he oversaw construction of the Arts and Library Building and Lecture Theatre, a Men's Residence, a Dining Hall, a Heating Plant, a Ladies’ Residence, a Music Building, a Physical Education Building and an Education Building. After the university charter was granted in 1967, Dr. Robbins was installed as the first President of Brandon University.
After his retirement from Brandon University Dr. Robbins was appointed Canadian Ambassador to the Vatican 1970-73. In the years after his departure from Brandon, he held many positions including President of World Federalists of Canada 1977-79 and President of the Canadian Writers Foundation
1976-78. Dr. Robbins served as Executive Chairman and Treasurer of Amnesty International in Canada 1973-75.
He was the recipient of an honorary LLD from the University of Manitoba (1967), Carleton University ( 1969) and Brandon University (1974). In 1994, the title President Emeritus of Brandon University was conferred on John Robbins by the Board of Governors of the University. Dr. Robbins died in 1995, at the age of 91.
Scope and Content
Dr. Robbins' administrative records are located in the Brandon University fonds.
Notes
Dr. John E. Robbins archival papers are held at the Library and Archives Canada.
These records consist of notes that Lady Sticks have written regarding functions during their term in office. The records contain suggestions for future Lady Sticks on how to deal with certain aspects of the job.
Storage Location
RG 1 Brandon College fonds
Series 8: Brandon College Students Association
This book contains the minutes of Memorial Gymnasium Committee meetings during the years 1923 to 1932. There is also a subscription card within the book.
Storage Location
RG 1 Brandon College fonds
Series 8: Brandon College Students Association
This committee was in charge of deciding which students would be allowed to join extra-mural clubs and committees based on satisfactory schoolwork. The committee consisted of the President, faculty and students.
Scope and Content
This file contains minutes from the meetings of the Functions Committee.
Storage Location
RG 1 Brandon College fonds
Series 8: Brandon College Students Association
The high biodiversity and evidence of pre-Europeon contact prompted the decision to test the Crepeele locale. The survey was named in recognition of the Casselman family, the original landowners.
Archaeological testing began in the Crepeele locale in May 2003 on property now owned by the Crepeele family. The locale covers over 6 sections or approximately 3,800 acres of land in an area of stabilized sand dunes and wetlands covered with mixed forest and prairie grass. Given the terrain, the size of the crew and time constrains, an area of approximately 60 acres was chosen for the survey. The survey used the established archaeological methodology of walking the selected area and using a shovel test surveyed grid. The use of GIS technology to locate the exact test spot and record the information into a GIS database was a significant advance and was one of the advantages of the integration of multi-disciplinary techniques encouraged by the SCAPE project. Over one half of the test pits resulted in the recovery of cultural materials. The results of the Casselman survey indicated several areas for further examination including areas that became the Crepeele, Sarah and Graham sites.
Scope and Content
Sub sub series has been divided into five sub sub sub series including: (1) Summary information; (2) Field journals; (3) Site records; (4) Artifact catalogues; and (5) Photographs.
Site records have been scanned in multi-page PDF files.
History / Biographical
The Crepeele site was excavated in 2003 as Crepeele 3. Standard archaeological methods were used to excavate the units. Site records of excavation units XU 110 – 113 are in seperate pdf files.
Scope and Content
Site records of excavation units may include: level summaries, floor plans, feature sheets, wall profiles, unit summaries and any other additional information relating to the unit.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format.
History / Biographical
The Sarah site was initially chosen for excavation based on the results of the Casselman survey. The survey recovered significant amounts of faunal remains, some ceramics and lithics from the test pits. Excavations took place in 2003 at Crepeele West (Units 1-5) and Crepeele East (Units 6-9). The site was subsequently renamed the Sarah site DiMe-28.
Units 1 to 9 were excavated by supervisor James Graham and crew of Sarah Graham, Mike Evans, Todd Kristensen, Shayne Kolesar, Lisa Sonnenburg and Emily Ansell.
Scope and Content
Sub-sub-sub series contains: Summary information of field methology, number and co-ordinates of excavations, personnel and their staff position.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format.
History / Biographical
The Crepeele site was identified from the results of the Casselman survey and excavated in 2003. Further units 1 to 8 were excavated in 2004. Funding was through the SCAPE project, directed by Dr. Bev Nicholson. The site was excavated by Crew Chief Tomasin Playford and crew.
Scope and Content
Sub-sub-sub series contains: Summary information of field methology, number and co-ordinates of excavations, personnel and their staff position.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files.
History / Biographical
In 2005 the Brandon University Field School was held at both the Crepeele and Graham sites in the Crepeele locale.
At the Crepeele site nine units were excavated (XU10-16 & 20, 21). Units 20 & 21 were referred to as Meadow in the notes but are considered part of the larger site based on recoveries.
Denise Ens instructed the school and James Graham was teaching assistant. Field journals were kept by both instructors.
Scope and Content
Record of daily observations at the site including: excavation methods, items recovered, features, local environment and weather.
Site records have been scanned in multi-page PDF files.
History / Biographical
The Crepeele site was identified from the results of the Casselman survey and excavated in 2003. In 2004 the site was funded through the SCAPE project, directed by Bev Nicholson. The units were excavated by Crew Chief Tomasin Playford and crew.
Eight units were excavated in 2004, XU 1 to XU 8. Each unit has a seperate pdf file.
Scope and Content
Site records of excavation units may include: level summaries, floor plans, feature sheets, wall profiles, unit summaries and any other additional information relating to the unit.
Artifact catalogue containing 1258 records from Crepeele site 2004.
Scope and Content
Spreadsheet containing information about the artifacts recovered, including: unit, level, artifact number, catalogue number, depth, co-ordinates, entry date, date recovered,count, weight, UTM co-ordinates, notes(excavators initials and comments) and artifact identification.
