The Canada Seed Company was formed in 1913 by Mr. R. C. (Clark) Steele at Hagersville, Ontario with the intent to process and export farm seeds. However, in later years, the company branched out into the Garden Seed business. Early in the 1930's, R. C. Steele merged his company with the Steele Briggs Seed Co., which was owned by his brother Walter D. Steele. Following the deaths of W. D. Steele and E. F. Crossland, R. C. Steele was elected President of Steele Briggs.
A few years later, Vancouver interests took over the seed companies under Steele Briggs, including the Canada Seed Company. At this time, R. C. Steele retired from the company to form Steele Robertson Co., headquartered in Edmonton. W. D. Dack was appointed President of Steele Briggs. In June 1951, W. D. Dack took control of company operations from the Vancouver interests and, in 1961, the Steele Briggs Seed Co. purchased the Rennie Seed Co.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
This sub-series contains the resignation of A.J. Maruca as an officer and director of
Canada Seeds Ltd. and a report on operating results for the nine-month period ending
February 28,1967. The remainder of the records in this sub-series are financial
statements prepared by Meyers Norris Penny & Co.
The sub sub series is divided into two sub sub sub series, including: (1) Financial; and (2) Miscellaneous.
Historical information regarding Canada Seeds Ltd. is located in Series 2 (Office of the President/GM), sub-series 2 (J. Lasby Lowes), Historical Topics file 10 (Tape 23) and file 11 (Tape 24) of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds.
James (Jock) W. G. MacDonald was born in Thurso, Scotland in 1867. He studied at Edinburgh College of Art, and later worked as a fabric designer. He taught at Lincoln School of Art; Vancouver School of Art; School of Decorative and Applied Arts, Vancouver; Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, Calgary; and at Ontario College of Art after 1947. MacDonald was a member of Canadian Group of Painters and Painters Eleven. He died in Toronto in 1960. The artist was conducting independent experiments in Vancouver while the others worked in Winnipeg and Toronto. He had painted 'automatics' by 1934 and completely abstract or non-objective works by 1935 or 1936. (Painting in Canada: A History. Harper J. Russel. U of Toronto Press, 1977. P 327) Jock MacDonald was one of Canada's first painters to explore the relationship between abstraction and landscape. What MacDonald did is take the formal qualities of his subjects and isolate or abstract them form the landscape. (The History of Painting in Canada. Barry Lord. Toronto: NC Press, 1974. P 205-7)
Dimensions
23.5 X 33.5 cm
Size Overall
45 X 52.5 cm
Medium
watercolor
Condition
Slight cockling of surface.
Primary Support
paper
Secondary Support
mat, plexiglass, backing board; frame - wood and plaster with gild
approximatley 65 cm textual records;
approximatley 30 photographs
History / Biographical
Bessie Marie Hill was born in 1933. She graduated from Winnipeg Normal School in 1953. Throughout her forty year teaching career, she taught at Hagyard (1953-56), Melita (1956-62), Shilo (1962-65), Kenora (1965-68), DND Germany (1968-76), Kenora (1976-80), Assiniboine South School Division - Laidlaw (1980-84), and Assiniboine South School District - Royal (1984-92).
Florence Mabel (Nelson) Hill was born on June 19, 1907 in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. She attended the Brandon Normal School in 1924-1925, then taught at Rose Lea School (1925-1929), Errol, at Lenore (1929-1931) and Ravine School (1955-1956). In 1931, she married Gordon Orval Hill (1898-1969). Together they had three children: Allan Hill, Bessie Marie Hill and Georgina Bernice (Hill) Matiation. Florence Mabel Hill died in Lenore, Manitoba on December 23, 1992 in her 86th year.
Sarah Viola Hill was born on June 28, 1900, and was Florence Mabel (Nelson) Hill's sister-in-law. Viola attended the Brandon Normal School in 1916-1917, and took graduate studies at the University of Manitoba. During her thirty-nine year teaching career she taught at Hagyard, Oak Lake (1917-1918), Cottonwood (1918-1919), Rose Park (1919), Grand Coulee (1919-1920), Virden (1920-1922), Lumsden, Saskatchewan (1922-1925), Lenore (1925-1934), Gunton (1934-1936), Birtle Indian Residential School (1936-1941), Ravine, Lenore (1947-1950), The Pas (1950-1956) and Woodnorth (1956-1966). During the war years, Viola worked as part of the Civil Service in Ottawa in the Department of Finance (1941) and later in Vancouver, B.C. Sarah Viola Hill died on January 19, 1988 at Virden District Hospital.
For biographical information on Georgina (Hill) Matiation, see the Georgina (Hill) Matiation collection (29-1998).
Custodial History
Records in all accessions were in the possession of Bessie Marie Hill until she gave them to Gerald Brown who delivered them to the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Accession 33-1999: 1 photograph; 6 cm textual records (c. 1900-1952; predominant 1925-1930)
The accession includes one b/w photograph (30x 36 cm) of the Brandon Normal School 1926.
Textual records include a Herbarium and Plant Description workbook including pressed samples (1900); Florence Nelson’s Dominion Drawing Book 1925-1926; Florence Nelson’s Handwork, 1925-1926; Florence Nelson’s Professional Second Class Teacher’s Certificate, 1928; Florence Nelson’s Reading Course Certificate in The Teaching of History, Educational Measurement; A schoolmaster of the Great City, Manitoba Department of Education Examination 1922 in Drawing; Manitoba Department of Education Inspectors Tests June 1952 Literature Level One; The Canadian Teacher Vol. 34, No. 3, October 1929.
Accession 12-2001: 15 photographs; 55 cm textual records (1916-1950, predominant 1916-1935)
The accession includes a b/w photograph (5x7) of Florence Nelson (Hill); a b/w photo (2 ¾ x 4 ½") of the Birtle Residential School class “when Viola Hill was teaching there"; a b/w (10x14) class portrait of the Brandon Normal School 1916-1917 “Second Class” and 13 b/w photographs of various sizes.
Textual records include a Science Notebook created by Florence Nelson (Hill) c. 1924; 3 documents associated with the work-life and career of Florence Nelson (Hill); 21 Inspector’s “Teacher’s Report” on the teaching performance of Miss Viola Hill [n.d.]; various documents and publications including: Manitoba Department of Education Professional Certification documents; “A Union Jack Figure Drill;” Department of Education (Manitoba) Grade XII examinations in Algebra, Geometry, French, Rhetoric and Prose Literature, History of English Literature, Composition, Additional English – A, Tennyson, Additional English – B, Browning, History; Physical Science: A Handbook of First Aid (Toronto: Bauer & Bauer); Santa Claus Christmas Book [no publisher, nd]; School Broadcast Materials, Manitoba Department of Education in co-operation with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; Bernhart P.O. Horst (ed.), The New Teachers’ and Pupils’ Cyclopedia – A Reference Library of History, Geography, Biography, Literature, Economics, Civics, Arts, Sciences, Discoveries and Inventions (Holst Publishing Company); The Source Book: An International Encyclopedia Authority written from the New World Viewpoint. 10 volumes including study guide and index; Walter Keast, Canadian Business Arithmetic, Part I. (Pitman; E.C. Hills & R.T.); Holbrook (ed.), French Short Stories with vocabulary and notes (Copp Clark); Clarence Perkins, Introduction to World History. Educational Book Company.
Accession 5-2003: 15 b/w photographs and four certificates (1955-1956)
The accession includes 15 b/w photographs of members of the Brandon College Teacher Training Class of 1955-56. Textual records include the Graduation Certificate for Georgina Bernice Hill, and other certificates.
Accession 16-2008: 3mm texual records and eight certificates/diplomas (1917-2007). Accession consists of certificates, grades, contracts and correspondence relating to the education and teaching career of Sarah Viola Hill and a newspaper clipping and biographical sketch concerning Bessie Marie Hill.
Notes
History/Bio information provided by Bessie Marie Hill. The Normal School photograph from accession 33-1999 has been located with the Normal School collection in the map drawers of the Reading Room.
Storage Location
2003 accessions
Storage Range
2003 accessions
Related Material
Georgina (Hill) Matiation is Bessie Marie Hill's sister. Her records are located at 29-1998.