David Andrew Brown was born on October 30, 1894 near Dumfries, Scotland. His family arrived in Canada in 1908 and settled on a farm east of Deloraine, MB in the Hazeldean district. David attended Manitoba Agriculture College, graduating in 1920. Following graduation he was appointed assistant to the professor of horticulture and was given responsibility for directing all the experimental work with vegetables, fruits and flowers, as well as upkeep of the College campus. He briefly accepted a teaching position in botany in the Teulon, Gunton and Balmoral high schools, before becoming the assistant superintendent of the Federal Government Station in Mordon, MB in 1922. David married Edith Merle McKenzie (1900-1995) on July 22, 1922 and together they had three children: Ian, Dorothy and Shirley.
In 1928, David moved from the Morden Experimental Farm to take the position of supervisor of illustration stations at the Brandon Experimental Farm. In this role he travelled the province planting experimental cereal crops and working to reclaim soil lost to erosion during the draught of the 1930s. In 1947, he became the assistant superintendent, a position he held until his retirement in 1959. Following his retirement, David was instrumental in establisting the Agricultural Hall of Fame. He was very active in this organization until he was involved in an accident in March 1988. David was a life member of the Agricultural Institute of Canada and served terms as the president of the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists and the Manitoba Horticultural Society. He was also a well-known landscape planner for many Brandon residents and rural homesteads, a judge at local summer horticultural fairs and a member of Knox United Church, where he served as a choir member, an elder on the church board and as clerk of session. In 1977, the University of Manitoba conferred the honorary degree of L.L.D. upon him to acknowledge his oustanding contribution to agriculture in Manitoba. David Brown died on July 4, 1990 in Brandon, MB. He is buried at Rosewood Memorial Gardens.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, this collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item is an audiocassette tape containing an interview with David A. Brown, about his life and career, as well as the early history of Manitoba agriculture. The interviewer is Frank Anderson.
Notes
History/bio information from the records and Brown's obituary. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Conservation
Preservation copy made 2021 (R. Hess)
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Mary Ellen Birtles was born at Sheffield, England in 1858. She emigrated to Canada with her family in June 1883, settling in Winnipeg. In 1889, she was one of the first three graduates of the nurse training program at the Winnipeg General Hospital. During her nursing career, Mary Ellen worked in North Dakota, Medicine Hat, Brandon and Calgary. In Brandon she served first as a senior nurse (approximately 1892-1894), then returned in 1898 to become Matron of the Brandon General Hospital. She retired from that position in 1919. In 1935, Mary Ellen received the Order of the British Empire from the Governor General of Canada for her role in the pioneer nursing of Western Canada. She never married. Mary Ellen Birtles died on June 22, 1943 in Alexander, MB. She is buried at Alexander Cemetery.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, this collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item is an audiocassette tape containing Phyllis Long reading an article written by Mary Ellen Birtles in 1925, about the history of the Brandon General Hospital.
Notes
History/bio information from the Manitoba Historical Society website. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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