Built as a tribute to the founder of Scouting, Lord Baden-Powell (1857-1941), Baden-Powell House serves as a scouting hostel and conference centre in South Kensington, London, England. (Source: www.towntocountry.co.uk/bphouse/)
Scope and Content
Photograph shows a group of boyscouts presenting a plaque to the Deputy Warden of Baden Powell House. The plaque reads: The Day the Medicine Man Lost His Hat... One of the boyscouts is Fred McGuinness, Jr.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: 16th August, 1965, Canadian Boy Scouts from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, present a plaque to Baden Powell House, Queensgate, London. (L-R) Mr. R. Flower, Deputy Warden of Baden Powell House receives the plaque from Stephen McQuarie (14), Fred Olmstead (15), Fred McGuinness (14), George Russell (14) from Medicine Hat and Pat Lannigan (16) [at back] from Camrose, Alberta.
Stamp on back of photograph reads: 1737/4A from Editorial Press, 2 Salisbury Court, Fleet Street, London, E.C.4
Photograph shows troops of what appear to be boys scouts walking in the brush. A number of boys in the photograph appear to be wearing the standard Boy Scout uniform: knee socks, shorts, khaki shirt with shoulder badges, bandanas, and campaign hat.
Photograph shows a group of five young boys standing shoulder-to-shoulder as they pose for the picture. Don McPherson has been identified as the boy in the middle. The boys appear to be standing in a residential backyard on a summer's day. The children are wearing shorts and some are wearing straw hats.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: 300 block 14th St., ? Clement, ? Hill, Don McPherson, ?- , ?-, 1922
Photograph was in possession of Mrs. Ruby Miles, who passed the image on to Fred McGuinness. McGuinness makes reference to Mrs. Miles and this photograph in his Sunbeams column (Brandon Sun 14 September 1978).
Scope and Content
Photograph shows a team portrait of Canadian footballers (soccer players) posing in the Melbourne Cricket grounds in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Members of the Canadian team include: front row - Fred Bowman, George Forrest, Bob Harley, Jimmie Adam, Dickie Stobbart, Bill Linning, Leslie Ford; back row - Jack Armstrong, J. Hood, Jim Wilson, George Anderson, Hank Noseworthy, Mitch McLean, Fred Dierden, William Sanford (source: Canada Soccer Flickr page, https://www.flickr.com/photos/canadasoccer/7257687442, accessed 23 Nov 2015). Canada won 3-nil (source: The Argus, 2 July 1924, 17).
Notes
Writing on the front of the photograph reads: Canada v. Australia, Melbourne 5th July 1924, with the complements of V.A.B.F.A., The Sears' Studios, Melbourne. Writing on the back of the photograph reads: Mrs. R. Miles.
According to Fred McGuinness, J. Hood was from Brandon (Source: F.A. Rosser, "Picture treasure trove shows some city history," Brandon Sun 14 September 1978)
Photograph shows Fred McGuinness standing with Newfoundland Premier Joey Smallwood (centre) and the Centennial Commissioner John Fisher (right). The men are standing before an architectural model.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: On tour of Newfoundland as member, board of directors Canadian Centennial Commission, McG, Premier Smallwood, & John Fisher, Centennial Commissioner, 1965
Thomas "Tommy" Clement Douglas (1904-1986) was a Baptist minister and social democratic politician. In 1935, he became a member of parliament representing the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). From 1944 to 1961, he served as Saskatchewan's seventh premier whose CCF party introduced the universal health care program. In 1961 Douglas returned to federal politics, where he served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP). He remained in federal politics until 1979.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas at a microphone. Behind him are large ionic columns on which a "Saskatchewan Day" wooden banner is mounted. Mounted on the frieze above the columns is another sign that partially reads "National Exhibition."
Thomas "Tommy" Clement Douglas (1904-1986) was a Baptist minister and social democratic politician. In 1935, he became a member of parliament representing the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). From 1944 to 1961, he served as Saskatchewan's seventh premier whose CCF party introduced the universal health care program. In 1961 Douglas returned to federal politics, where he served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP). He remained in federal politics until 1979.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas at a microphone. Behind him are large ionic columns on which a "Saskatchewan Day" wooden banner is mounted. Mounted on the frieze above the columns is another sign that partially reads "National Exhibition."
Thomas "Tommy" Clement Douglas (1904-1986) was a Baptist minister and social democratic politician. In 1935, he became a member of parliament representing the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). From 1944 to 1961, he served as Saskatchewan's seventh premier whose CCF party introduced the universal health care program. In 1961 Douglas returned to federal politics, where he served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP). He remained in federal politics until 1979.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows a close-up of Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas at a microphone at the Canadian National Exhibition.
Photograph shows a junior boys hockey team in a hockey rink. The boys are wearing Maple Leafs jersies. Hanging on the boards behind the team is a pennant that reads: The Rotary Club, Medicine Hat, Alta. Gallagher McGuinness is the goalie.
Copy of The Khaki Lads: Why Our Soldier Boys are Fighting, presented by The Army & Navy Veterans in Canada. Words and Music by Pte. H.W. Ellerton, with half the proceeds to patriotic purposes.
Notes
Copyright 1916 by W.H. Ellerton. Jean C. Scott is written on the front.
The Canadian Federation of University Women was founded in 1919 under the leadership of Margaret McWilliams of Winnipeg to promote the interests of women with higher education at local, national and international levels. It is a voluntary, non-profit, self-funded organization with a membership of over 10,000 university-educated women and 122 local clubs. The CFUW promotes high standards of public education; encourages advanced study and research by women university graduates; encourages active participation in public affairs by qualified women; works to safeguard and improve human rights and the economic, legal and professional status of women in Canada; and participates in the work of the International Federation of University Women. The Brandon University chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women was established in 1948. It continues to be active.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1997. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains correspondence with other branches of the CFUW, minutes and programs from meetings and seminars held throughout Canada, as well as administrative records and minutes of the Brandon branch. Most administrative records concern the problems of maintaining membership levels and recruiting younger members. Fonds also contains various issues of the "Chronicle," a CFUW publication. Fonds also includes CFUW Brandon minutes, miscellaneous projects, annual reports and member lists, as well as a number of documents relating to the provincial, national and international activities of the CFUW.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees came into existence in September 1963, during a convention in Winnipeg when The National Union of Public Employees and the National Union of Public Service Employees merged. In 1964, the Manitoba Division of CUPE (now CUPE Manitoba) held its founding convention in The Pas. At that time, there were 12 affiliated local unions and a total membership of 1,300. The Canadian Union of Public Employees is Canada's largest union. Public service employees formed CUPE to protect their rights, to negotiate wages and working conditions, and to achieve dignity in the workplace.
Custodial History
Fonds was in the possesssion of the Brandon CUPE Office until its donation to the S.J. McKee Archives in 1995.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains general administrative files of the CUPE including agreements, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and convention records. In addition, fonds includes records for many CUPE locals in southwestern and north-central Manitoba. These includes files for each local containing agreements, lists of officials, correspondence and financial records. An extensive body of records dating from 1956 exists for CUPE local #69. This local began its existence as the Brandon Civic Employees Federal Union formed in April 1919.
In 1988, Sheila Doig was the Rural Liaison Coordinator for the Manitoba Action Committee on the Status of Women. That winter, she travelled to Crystal City, Manitoba, to meet with a group of women that included Verna Menzies. At the meeting, the women were concerned about the efforts of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to amend the Constitution so that Quebec would sign on. They believed that the amending document, The Meech Lake Accord, would jeopardize women’s rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Thus began a chain of events that resulted in the formation of The Westman Coalition for Equality Rights under The 1987 Meech Lake Accord. The group became known simply as The Westman Coalition. During the years 1988-1990, these women—almost all grassroots rural women with no special training in things constitutional—met with and lobbied politicians, other feminists, and the public in order to change Meech Lake or defeat it.
There were many high points to this campaign. Sheila conducted an extensive tour of rural and northern Manitoba, recruiting women to express their concerns in writing to Ottawa. The Coalition presented briefs to the Manitoba hearings and to the Charest Commmission. They were only permitted to appear at the latter after they picketed the hearings in Winnipeg and demanded that women be heard. They were courted by the national media for comments, and became adept at handling interviews and public appearances.
After much turmoil, in June 1990, Meech Lake was defeated in the Manitoba legislature by Elijah Harper on behalf of Aboriginal peoples, who had largely been left out of the constitutional debate. The Coalition was there to support him and to show the face of women, who also felt that they had not been heard.
This should have been the end of Canada’s constitutional debate, but Prime Minister Mulroney was determined to succeed where others had failed, and so a new process (the Charlottetown Accord, as it became known) was soon under way to bring Quebec into the fold by amending the Constitution. This time there was endless consultation with the public, and the women scrambled to respond to the many commissions and hearings. There were the Spicer Commission, the Manitoba hearings, the Dobbie/Beaudoin committee and so on. Finally, there were five (and later, six) constitutional conferences to be held around the country. Ordinary Canadians would be invited to apply to attend, and they would be chosen randomly.
The women were invited to 5 of the 6 conferences. Just a coincidence of random selection? Or a consequence of their high profile in the debate? They thought the latter. In any event, Terri Deller, Kady Denton, Paula Mallea and Sheila Doig all attended at various venues and advanced the position of women on equality rights and on the other issues on the table.
A high point of this second campaign was the visit to Brandon of Marcelle Dolment from Quebec City. As one of the few vocal feminists in Quebec who opposed the new Charlottetown proposal, she was a precious ally. She came to meet with the women, forge solidarity, and show that French and English, Quebec and The Rest of Canada, were capable of meeting and coming to agreement.
Sheila conducted another rural tour in 1992, and also attended the Annual General Meeting of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, where she felt she was given short shrift.
The women were discouraged on many fronts during this campaign. They were out of pocket many thousands of dollars, and the promised funding from the Secretary of State for the Status of Women was finally denied. As well, despite herculean efforts to put their position to politicians and the media, the women felt again as though they were not being heard.
By this time, the Coalition had developed a position on all of the salient issues under the Charlottetown process: property rights, distinct society, an interpretative clause, equal representation of women in the Senate, the economic agenda and the Canada Clause. In the summer of 1992, Canadians were finally shown the text of the Charlottetown Accord and were told that they would be voting on it in a referendum, even though the text was not in its final form.
The women waged a final campaign asking people to vote “No” to the Charlottetown proposals. Politicians, business leaders, many academics and constitutional experts were saying that “No” would mean immediate Quebec separation and the breakdown of the country. The same had been said of Meech Lake. The women of the Coalition did not believe that the country was so frail, and they were proved right. On October 26, 1992, the country voted “No”.
Secretary of State finally came through with funding to cover the Coalition’s many expenses, thanks largely to the efforts of M.P. Lee Clark.
Sheila Doig was awarded the prestigious Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Person’s Case for her work on behalf of rural women. Paula was given the Manitoba Human Rights Award for her work on the constitution.
All of the women who were involved in the Meech and Charlottetown campaigns felt that their lives had been changed by the experience. Like ordinary Canadians everywhere, they did not believe that they could have any real influence over constitutional affairs, much less national politics. They knew nothing about constitutions or the law of the Charter, but they educated themselves on the issues, and became articulate and incisive advocates. They were fearless in front of Prime Ministers and news anchors. They entered corridors of power that they had never thought possible. They were, then and now, a force to be reckoned with.
The Westman Coalition became Women for Equality (WE) after the Charlottetown campaign. They met for many years every week to discuss the issues of the day. Then, as various members dispersed, the group waned. A new crisis threatening the equality rights of women, however, would surely revive what was once a powerful grassroots lobby.
Custodial History
Paula Mallea was using the records in accession 9-2004 to write a book on the Westman Coalition on Equality Rights ("The Fight for Women's Rights: Meech, Charlottetown and Manitoba women" published 2005). Once she was finished with the records, her husband, former president of Brandon University John Mallea, delivered three boxes of records to the Archives in 2004. A small number of photographs were donated later.
The records in accession 4-2011 were originally in the possession of Shiela (Doig) Kingham. They were given to Terri Deller who donated them to the McKee Archives in 2011.
Scope and Content
Accession 9-2004 (96 cm textual records, 9 video tapes - 1987-1993) contains the records of the Westman Coalition on Equality Rights in the Canadian Constitution including newspaper clippings 1988-1991, dealing with the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord and the failed ratification of both; meeting notes and agendas of the Coalition 1987-1993; miscellaneous documents dealing with Canadian constitutional reform circa 1988-1993; documents related to the Manitoba Task Force on Meech Lake; correspondence 1987-1993; budget matters; rural tour by Coalition members; constitutional proposals development and submitted by the Coalition; miscellaneous files relating to Meech Lake and Charlottetown; a file dealing with Manitoba first-wave feminist Nellie McClung; and published commentary on the Charlottetown Accord.
Accession 9-2004 also contains 2 video tapes of an interview conducted with Elsie McLaughlin, niece of Nellie McClung, as well as 7 additional video tapes consisting of panels with Coalition members, information sessions, Meech Lake workshops, the Westman Coalition meeting with Jean Chretien and Sheila Doig receiving the Governor General's Award.
Accession 4-2011 (6.5 cm textual records - 1989-1999) consists of the records of the Westman Coalition on Equality Rights in the Canadian Constitution including notes on the origin and activities of the Coalition; a grant application - 1992 - by the Coalition; Coalition proposals and lobbying stragegies concerning the Meech Lake Accord; a brief to the Special Committee on the Companion Resolution to Meech April 1990; a brief to the Manitona All-Party Task Force on the Meech Lake Constitutional Accord, April 1990; a brief to the Dobbie Commission, November 1991; correspondence, clippings and e-mails concerning Coalition activities; book drafts - history of the Coalition - Paula Mallea, February 1996 and spring 1996; a brief to the Manitoba Legislative Task Force on Canadian Unity [nd]; copies of letters "Rural Tour" 1992; and several published sources on constitutional matters.
Notes
History/Bio information provided by Paula Mallea. See Paula Mallea, The Fight for Women's Rights: Meech, Charlottetown and Manitoba Women (Kagawong, Ont.: Paula Mallea, 2005).
