Margaret Hawley Speers was born on February 18, 1908 in Alexander, MB. She attended Alexander School, Brandon College (Class of 1928), the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Manitoba receiving Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Educaton degrees.
Speers had a lengthy teaching career, first as Principal of schools in Saskatchewan at Ravenscrag and Scotsguard, then in Manitoba at Basswood, Newdale and Miniota. In Winnipeg, she taught at Rupertsland Girls' School, and then in Winnipeg School Distric No. 1 at Cecil Rhodes, River Heights and Kelvin High School.
Following her retirement Speers enjoyed travelling and various forms of volunteer work, including that at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. She was also a member of St. Andrew's River Heights United Church.
Margaret Hawley Speers died September 26, 2008 at St. Boniface Hosptial.
Custodial History
Items came from the estate of Margaret Hawley Speers. They were donated to the McKee Archives by her cousin David Speers in July 2009.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of a copy of the 1927-1928 Sickle and a photograph of the Brandon College Arts Class of 1928 taken in 1925.
Notes
Description by Christy Henry. History/Bio information taken from Speers' obituary which appeared in the September 29, 2008 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press.
Storage Location
Photograph: Oversize drawer 5
BUPC 9.102
Sickle: RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 14: BUSU
14.5 BUSU publications
14.5.1 The Sickle
14.5.1.2 The Sickle - archival copies
24 cm textual records
ca. 95 photographs
memorabilia
History / Biographical
Margaret (Peggy) Doran was born on May 27, 1919 in Brandon, Manitoba to parents Sol and Margaret (Honan) Roberts. Doran grew up in Brandon and was very active in theatre during her high school and college years. Her first theatrical success came at age 20, when she directed Brandon Little Theatre's production of "Send Her Victorious," which received top honours in the Manitoba Drama Festival.
Following her graduation from Brandon College in 1941, she trained as a nurse at Montreal's Royal Victoria Hospital during the Second World War and worked at Vancouver General Hospital for almost a year.
On August 25, 1945, Peg married Dennis Roberts, whom she had met in high school. Dennis, a music graduate from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, became interested in psychology after serving overseas with the Royal Canadian Air Force, so the couple moved to Toronto so that he could pursue a psychology degree at the University of Toronto. After Dennis graduated in 1950, the family moved to Sudbury, where Dennis and Peg became actively involved with the education and cultural life of the city. Peg was especially involved with the Sudbury Little Theatre Guild (SLTG), which was founded in 1948.
Between 1950 and 1956, Peg directed or acted in five plays. Her directorial works included: Blithe Spirit, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Glass Menagerie and Antigone. Peg was recognized for her directing of Antigone when she won the Edgar Stone Trophy for Directing in the Dominion Drama Festival in 1955. For the 1956-1957 season, Peg assumed the role of President of the SLTG. During this time, she successfully petitioned the Dominion Drama Festival to create a new region and thus in 1957, the Quebec-Ontario Theatre Association (QUONTA) was founded and Peg acted as its first regional chairperson. Peg's further accomplishments included co-founding and serving on the board of directors of the Sudbury Theatre Centre, as well as acting as drama consultant for the Sudbury Secondary School Board.
Peg was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997 and, shortly after, in 1998, she moved back to Toronto. She died there on April 2, 2003. Peg and Dennis had three children: Judith Marion (b. June 23, 1946), Steven John (b. September 8, 1950), and Patricia May (b. April 5, 1955).
Custodial History
After Peg's death in April 2003, materials in the collection were gathered and donated to the S.J. Mckee Archives by her children Judith, Steven and Patricia Roberts on July 19, 2003.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of textual records, photographs and other material that belonged to Margaret Doran Roberts. The textual materials include various personal letters, yearbooks, newspaper articles, journals, graduation diplomas, playbills and other miscellaneous records. The collection also includes approximately 95 photographs, mostly personal photographs of weddings and family, but also professionally taken group photos of the play casts. Other materials in the collection include various artefacts kept by Peg throughout her life.
Notes
Description and inventory by Ayn Lewandoski (2003).
Storage Location
MG 2 Brandon College students
2.22 Margaret Doran Roberts
Related Material
Additional archival material pertaining to Peg and Dennis Roberts is located in the archives at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario.
Arrangement
Inventory of the collection:
Pack of matches from Mona's Dress Shop
Cigar that belonged to Sol Doran
Water colour picture, in frame, of St. Paul's Cathedral by Ev Lindsay Hunt from Brandon (1930s)
Earl Haig Graduation bracelet and Grade IX notebook belonging to Peg Doran
Nursing diploma and various other memorabilia from Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal
Unidentified pictures of war squadron, World War II
RCAF Christmas card from Sergeant William S. Day
Possible home economic project of Peg Doran filled with cake recipes
Photograph: Gordon Savage and Edith Laycock, plus Royal Winnipeg Rifles locket given by Gordon Savage to Peg Doran (with pictures of Gordon and Peg inside)
Francis Bernard Roberts' (Dennis' father) materials: correspondence with Mayo Clinic, photographs and negatives of Indian Chief etc.
Shares belonging to F.B. Roberts
Unidentified photos of children from Brandon (2)
"Willa Cather and the West," essay by Dennis Roberts
Various letters and memborabilia in letter case including:
- personal letters
- Brandon College Annual Arts Banquet programme 1941
- Brandon College Annual Commencement programme 1941
- Brandon College Alumni Dinner program 1941
- Season ticket Manitoba Drama League Provincial Finals Festival 1939
- Manitoba Medical College 4th Annual Ball dance card 1902
- Postcard to Peggy - University of Manitoba Arts Building 1939
- Various report cards from Brandon Collegiate
- Brandon Little Theatre 1936 production "Hay Fever" programme
- Shares from the Brandon Golf and Country Club 1968
- Margaret Doran's United Church of Canada Member's certificate 1933
Blue scribbler from Expression class, filled with various poems, stories, plays etc. belonging to Peg Doran
Miscellaneous newspaper clippings ranging from 1940-1979 (when dated)
Brandon Sun 75th Anniversary edition Saturday January 19, 1957
Sol Doran's daily journal - 1963 (the year of his death)
Picture of Bessie Scott, housekeeper to Sol and Margaret Doran
Wedding photographs, Peg Doran and Dennis Roberts - one in glass frame
"Through the Gateway to Yesteryear" written by Eric Wells and Gordon Tucker and Friends, with inside inscription from Una Johnston
Sheet music (11) of F.B. Roberts, father-in-law of Peg Doran
Sheet music (8) of May Roberts, mother-in-law of Peg Doran
Sheet music (4) of Peg (Doran) Roberts
Unidentified school project, possibly a rough copy of a play, maybe Peg Doran's handwriting
Photo of cast of play "Out to Sea" 1940
Tube containing various graduation diplomas of Dennis Francis Roberts
Peg Doran's graduation diploma, Brandon College 1941; letter and certificate recognizing the change from Brandon College to Brandon University; recognition certificate of attendance to 50th Reunion (1991) as well as photographs from the event attended by Peg and one of her Brandon friends, Jean Downing
Identification bracelet, probably belonging to May Roberts from hospital in London when Dennis Roberts was born
Small glass from Smith Drug Store
Two teaspoons, with initials G.E.B.- George Edward Bennest - uncle of Doh (Doran) Bennest Hammond, lawyer in Winnipeg (Doh's mother, Nell Doran, married Fred Bennest)
Sterling silver child's cup (Peggy) and baby spoon, both belonging to Peg Doran
Various photographs
Dennis Roberts RCAF memorabilia including a hat, epaulettes, brass buttons etc.
Dennis Roberts' Men's Handicap Singles tennis trophy 1932
L.W.G.A. trophy 1933-34, believed to be awarded to Margaret [Mrs. Sol] Doran, an avid golfer
Several pages of photographs of family holidays
- 1958 - to Cornwall, Ontario to look for Doran relatives before St. Lawrence Seaway flooded low-lying graveyards
- 1959 - when family rented a cottage in Clear Lake
Two framed photos of Peg Roberts: as a baby and as a toddler
Wedding announcement of Peg Doran and Dennis Roberts
Dauphin Musical Society photograph 1924
Playbills: Othello (1943); Wonderful Town; and The King & I
Winnipeg Blue Bombers Annual Blue & Gold Football Game program 1959
Play scripts: "Symphony in Illusion;" "Buddy Speaks a Piece;" "At the Photographer's;" and "At the Matinee"
YMCA Winnipeg song sheet
The New Era: 1937 & 1938
The Sickle: 1939, 1940 & 1941
The Quill: Vol. XXIX No. 4 (Oct. 26/38); Vol. XXIX No. 5 (Nov. 4/38); Vol. XXIX No. 6 (Nov. 9/38); Vol. XXXI Nox. 8 (Dec. 12/40)
In 1984, the Federal government responded to pressure from women's organizations from coast to coast with a program to stimulate women's studies in universities throughout Canada. In the next few years the Secretary of State Endowment Assistance Program provided $500,000 of seed money to establish a Chair of Women's Studies in each of five regions of Canada.
The Chair for the Prairie Provinces and the NWT was awarded jointly to the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg, on the basis of their unique proposal to combine academic excellence with community outreach.
The federal grant stipulated that matching funds should be raised as part of the contract signed in December 1986, by the two universities and the Secretary of State.
Early in 1989, the Laurence family agreed to associate their mother's name with the Prairie Chair of Women's Studies and in the spring, the Senates of the two universities, together with the Board of Regents of the University of Winnipeg and the Board of Governors of the University of Manitoba agreed to designate this chair "The Margaret Laurence Chair of Women's Studies."
Custodial History
The records have been in the possession of the administrative officers of the Margaret Laurence Endowment until their transfer to the S.J. McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
These records were generated by the Margaret Laurence Endowment as a product of meetings, correspondence, consideration of grant proposals, projects, conferences, and publications. Fonds includes minutes, financial records, grant applications, project descriptions, and newsletters.
Notes
Description by Jana Sheardown (2006).
Accruals
Further accruals expected.
Storage Location
2006 accessions
Storage Range
2006 accessions
Arrangement
Box One:
Files:
Financial Records:
Budget 97-98
Other accounting
Budget overview docs
U of M accounts
U of M finances 96-97
MLC finances U of W 93-96
U of W finances 96-97
U of W payment vouchers
U of M finances 94-95
MLC finances 95-96
MLC finances 93-94
Budget Info
U of W accounts
Budget info 99-2000
Budget info 98-99
Past budgets
98-99 budget
Student funding
Student support
Union Centre
MLAP Budget info
MLC Executive Minutes:
Feb 95
Mar 95
May 95
June 95
Oct 95
Jan 17, 96
Mar 18. 96
July 29, 96
Sept 4, 96
Feb 28, 97
Sept 12, 97
Dec 2, 97
Dec 10, 97
Mar 5, 98
Apr 8, 98
June 15, 98
Aug 14, 98
Oct 5, 98
MLEWS Minutes:
99-2000
A panel meeting June 9, 99
A panel meeting May 20, 99
Jan 27, 99
June 28, 98
Oct 29, 98
Oct 29, 98
Box Two:
MLC selection 96-97
Cate Harrington
ML Advisory panel members list
MLE fund proposal 99-2004
MLC history and background
MLC background and doc
MLC letters
Membership
ML Chair original proposal
WS proposals
Requests for funding
Feminist Research Centre
ML Chair 98
Files - Muriel Smith
MLC proposal
MLEWS correspondence
MLEWS community
MLEWS fin
MLEWS speakers series
Dec 1, proposals community
Student fund requests
Minutes contract
Emails of general interest
Emails
Speaker series
Call for grant applications
Oct 2000 grants
2000 successful grants
September 2000 grant applications
MLEWS membership
Lists MLEWS
Fax mailing lists
Speaker series, U Brandon college
Box Three:
Julia Emberley
96-97 U of M admin appt
UNPAC - Alice in Cyberland
PTAM / Choices UNPAC
Colleen Cutschall
Carmen Romero
Reproductive Rights - Carolyn Egan meetings 98
Kay Turner Mtgs
Stirring up a storm Conference
Conference Receipts
Final report to SWC
Stirring up a Storm - grant application
Feminist Activist conference
SUS finances ML chair
Conference Assistant
Stirring up a Storm Publicity
SWC grant Application
Grant to SWC
Conference finances
ASL - Arlene Young
Box 4:
Keith Fulton’s Women’s Studies Newsletters 1988, 1989
Backtalk:
Jan 94 (first issue), March 94, Sept 94, Dec 94
Feb 95, April 95, Sept 95, Dec 95
Feb 96, April 96, Autumn 96, Dec 96
Feb 97, April 97
Why Women’s Studies, Agnes Grant and Ingrid Makus. Proceedings of the WS Conference at Brandon University. March 8, 1987
Margaret Laurence Chair Guide to Women’s Studies, Susan Prentice, Sept 1994
Files
1.Chair (big file of materials used in the proposal for the Prairie Joint Chair in WS)
2.Women’s Organizations Consulted in the Development of the Proposal
3.Women’s chair (1986)
4.Women’s Chair: Letters re person’s day
5.Mail and Messages
6.Celebration 1990
7.Letters about the name: sent and acceptance from Margaret Laurence’s family
8.Women’s Studies steering committee (developed proposal for the Joint Chair in Women’s Studies)
9.Printout of donors for the endowment
10.Women’s Chair Budget and Bills
11.Women’s Studies Fund Raising
12.Women’s Studies Chair Proposal-Federal Government
13.Sept 94 Margaret Laurence Chair Advisory Panel
14.Feb 95
15.Media Skills Workshop Feb 97
16.April 97
17.Marilyn Waring sponsorship
18.Yvette Nolan sponsorship
19.Nathalie Davis sponsorship
20.ml Advisory Panel dated by month and year: 1994-96
21.MLC Appointments to Advisory Panel, 92, 96
Box 5:
1.June Menzies’ notes (up to 87)
2.Leaders, supporters
3.Lists of names for fund raising committee/person’s day
4.4 Folders for presentations: transparencies, flip chart notes
5.News sheets stuff for mlc update
6.Climate committee
7.Debate: chilly climate
8.Misc. info
Very poor. Item has been broken in half on a diagonal from top to botton. Upper right corner is missing. Various tape stains and some tape residue on the bottom left.
History / Biographical
Lottie Louisa Currie was born on September 9, 1876 in St. Mary's, Perth, ON, to William and Eleanor Currie. She came to the Brandon area with her family in the 1880s. Currie worked as a bookkeeper and stenographer for Smith & Burton, from at least 1906 until the business ceased operations in 1917.
Currie continued working in bookkeeping and accounts, first for Brandon Gas & Power Co., then for the Manitoba Power Commission. She appears to have retired around 1942. She is not listed as living in Brandon between 1943-1945, but was once again a resident by 1947. Currie was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, a charter member of the Brandon Business and Professional Women's Club and in 1916, she passed her examinations for the St. John's Ambulance Association.
Lottie Louisa Currie died on November 25, 1972 in Brandon, MB.
Smith & Burton, a grocery store that also had mail order and china departments, was founded by E.B. Smith and John Burton in the 1886. It was housed at a few locations in downtown Brandon; their location at 829 Rosser Avenue is the one that mostly likely appears in the photograph.
Scope and Content
Item is a portrait of office employees at Smith & Burton, grocers. Lottie Currie, daughter of William Currie, is shown standing on the left.
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