These records were produced between 1984 and 1985, the researching and writing period for the book The Pride of the Land: An Affectionate History of Brandon’s Agricultural Exhibition. Published in 1985 by Peguis Books (Winnipeg), Pride of the Land is a 222-page soft cover book, containing hundreds of pictures, and 50,000 words of text.
BU faculty members Dr. Kenneth “Ken” Stephen Coates, Assistant Professor of History, and Mr. Fred McGuinness, Lecturer in Journalism, authored the book. Assisting the writers was a research team of four BU history students, which were referred to as “The Pride Team”: Diane Fowler, Rob McGarva, Bruce Stafeld, and Byron Williams.
The Pride Team was tasked with collecting and synthesizing exhibition documents and other materials in city, provincial, and federal records spanning 100 years. Many local newspapers and committee minutes were consulted.
The authors cover 103 years of Brandon Fair history, starting with the first fair in 1882 followed by the development of other agricultural fairs and exhibitions in Brandon, specifically The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, and the Ag-Ex livestock show.
Custodial History
Records were collected and created by McGuinness, Coates, and The Pride Research Team during the process of the creation of the book, The Pride of the Land: An Affectionate History of Brandon’s Agricultural Exhibition. The materials were donated to the SJ McKee Archives by the authors circa 1988. The Archives accessioned the records in 2008.
Scope and Content
The subseries consists of textual records, created and collected during the production of the monograph Pride of the Land. It includes research cards created by the research team, copies of newspaper articles from very early editions of Brandon newspapers (such as the Brandon Sun, Brandon Daily Sun, Western Sun, and The Independent), copies of fair/organizational minutes, photocopies of photographs used in the publication, and chapter drafts. Of particular interest are the detailed summaries of Provincial Exhibition minutes that were specifically produced for each book chapter.
Notes
Information in the history/biography was taken from a Brandon University press release dated June 1985, about the Pride of the Land Project (see file 64)
Description Note: The original accession number is noted on the front of each file folder. The circled number indicates the original file order in the 6-2008 accession
Accruals
Closed
Language Note
Fred McGuinness often uses journalistic jargon to label his files. A “brite” refers to a short, amusing story
Pride of the Land acronyms:
PEM = Provincial Exhibition Association of Manitoba
RCMP = Royal Canadian Mounted Police
WAAA = Western Agricultural & Arts Association
Finding Aid
A file level inventory is available
Storage Location
2015 accessions
Related Material
Provincial Exhibition Association of Manitoba fonds
Arrangement
Arrangement was artificially created by the Archives. Subseries has been arranged according to book chapter. McGuinness often organized his ideas and research materials by potential brite topic
Cypress River Co-operative Elevator Association Limited Organizational papers: 1930 - 1969 Resolution re Accrued Interest and Surpluses, 1930 - 1931 Application for One Share of Stock, July 23, 1931 Bylaw No. 12, July 23, 1931 Bylaw No. 13, July 23, 1931 Shareholders' Meeting re Bylaw No. 12 and 13, July 23, 1931 Agreement between CRC - MPE, August 1, 1931 Bylaw No. 14, November 3, 1931 One Share of Common Stock, December 1, 1931 Meeting re Bylaw No. 15, March 9, 1933 Agreement between CRC - MPE, October 15, 1936 Bylaw No. 16, October 31, 1939 Bylaw, Cancellation of Share Capital, October 29, 1940 Approval of Bylaw - Cancellation of Share Capital, 1940 General Bylaws, October 27, 1941 Bylaw No. 18, October 27, 1941 Bylaw No. 19, October 27, 1941 Bylaw No. 20, October 27, 1941 Resolution re Surplus, 1941 - 1942 Agreement between CRC - MPE, August 1, 1954 Directors' Resolution, October 18, 1961 Agreement between CRC/MPE, December 15, 1966 Bylaw No. 26, March 23, 1967 Arrangement and Transfer Agreement, June 17, 1967 Directors' Resolution accepting Arrangement, no date and Transfer Agreement, no date Minutes of Executive Board meetings, Volume 1 April 5, 1928 Volume 4 January 25, 1991 Minutes of Shareholders Annual meetings, 1938 - 1990 (20 reports). Financial records and statistics Statement of Surplus, 1938 - 1946 (5 reports) Final Statements, 1931 - 1943, (5 reports) Auditors Reports, 1932 - 1968 (14 reports) Detail of Grain Earnings, 1963 - 1968 (4 reports) Review of Operating Results, 1960 - 1968 (4 reports) Comparative Statement, July 31, 1932 Growers Equity Payment, January 12, 1945 Surplus and Terminal Mortgage Payment, December 11, 1945 Financial Statements, December 31, 1945 Receipts, December 30, 1963 Correspondence, 1925 - 1967 Membership list, 1942 - 1969 Miscellaneous, Receipt dated January 1981 for Pool Elevators ad in Newsletter. Corporate Name: Rural Municipality of Victoria
Swan River Co-operative Elevator Association Limited Organizational papers: 1961 Directors' Resolution, 18 October 1961 Corporate Name: Rural Municipality of Swan River.
Red River Valley (Feeder Cattle Association)Co-operative Elevator Association Limited Minutes of Executive Board meetings, 4 January 1966 - 19 December 1967 Miscellaneous Feeder Cattle Association correspondence, 1966 - 1969 Corporate Name: Rural Municipality of Springfield
