According to G.F. Barker (Brandon: A City, 1977, 291), William (Billy) Muir worked at Coombs & Stewart's on Pacific Avenue until he opened his own grocery store in 1888. The shop was located at 143-6th Street, Brandon, and was demolished for a parking lot in 1952.
Custodial History
Donated to Fred McGuinness by Allena Strath (nee Coombs).
Scope and Content
Photograph shows the "Wm. Muir General Grocer" building on 6th Street. Two men pose in the doorway of the store. The man on the left is likely William Muir. Barrels are lined on the boardwalk in front of the store. Apples and mason jars can be seen in the shop's windows.
Notes
Front of photograph reads: Sixth Street between Rosser - Princess. Back of photograph reads: Billy Muir's Store, 143 6th Street Brandon - 57 years in business in this location. An address label affixed to the back of the mat reads: Mrs. James Strath, Box 421, Souris, Man.
Photograph shows four men posing in front of a wood-framed shop on 8th Street and Rosser Avenue. The men are wearing three-piece suits or vests and long-sleeved shirts. A painted sign above the shop reads: Wright & Wright, Hamilton Stove & Tin Store. Hanging from the exterior walls are various tin items for sale: lantern, ladel, dust pan, pots and pans.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: Corner of 8th & Rosser. Photograph is stamped Public Archives Canada.
The 1901 Canadian Census places the Lehigh family near Brockville, Ontario, where Everett E. Lehigh (b. 19 May 1881) was farming with his widowed father Solon (b. 20 Aug 1849) and younger sister, Edna (b. 08 Feb 1884). The findagrave.com genealogical website identifies a Mary Wickware as marrying Everett E. Lehigh in Alqonquin, Ontario, on 04 April 1905.
E.E. Lehigh appears in the Henderson's Brandon City Directories in 1919. By 1923, he was Vice-President of Motors Ltd., which had its shop on 151-7th Street. By 1925, Lehigh had taken over the garage, renaming it Lehigh Motors, which became the sole agent for McLaughlin Motor Cars. By 1927, Lehigh Motors had opened a second branch on 12th Street and Princess Avenue, which was formerly the Brandon Auto Garage. Lehigh had become the exclusive dealer for McLaughlin-Buick, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile motor cars.
It appears Lehigh moved his business, E.E. Lehigh Ltd., to 799 Pacific Avenue by 1929. By then, Lehigh had a head office in Winnipeg at 640 Portage Avenue where he served as president and was the provincial distributor for Rugby trucks and Durant cars. Although E.E. Lehigh had a residence in Brandon (325 - 14th Street), Mr. S.G. Cunningham was listed as the Brandon representative for Lehigh Motors Ltd. in the Henderson Directories. By 1931, E.E. Lehigh Ltd. had moved once again, this time to 151-153 - 9th Street.
E.E. Lehigh disappears from the Henderson's Brandon City Directory by 1933 and a Mrs. E.E. Lehigh (possibly Mary (Wickware) Lehigh, d.21 July 1943) is listed under the 14th Street residence. The 9th Street garage address is divided between Munns Taxi (151-9th Street) and Wheat City Auto Wreckers (153-9th Street.)
Custodial History
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 (Source: F.A. Rosser, "Another interesting chat with a daughter of the plains," Brandon Sun 18 Aug 1981).
Scope and Content
Photograph shows a group portrait of 33 individuals standing and seated in front of the business E.E. Lehigh Ltd., Brandon. The storefront window has a sign that reads: Durant Motor Cars, E.E. Lehigh Ltd., Brandon. The door to the business has Lehigh Motors stencilled on the window. The men are wearing jackets and ties, and there are three women, possibly clerical staff, wearing 1920s era dresses. The elderly man seated in the centre of the photograph, wearing a long-sleeved white dress shirt might be Everett E. Lehigh.
Notes
Writing on the front of the photograph is embossed: C.J. Smith
Photograph shows eight men posing in front of a wood-framed building on the corner of 8th Street and Rosser Avenue. Above the building's entrance is a painted sign that reads: Apothecaries' Hall. A. Fleming, Druggist is painted in the window above the door. Street signs designating 8th Street and Rosser Avenue are affixed to the building. A transit/theodolite is mounted on a tripod in front of the store.
Notes
Writing on the front of the photograph reads: Corner 8th St and Rosser Ave May 1882. Writing on the back of the photograph reads: Corner 8th St and Rosser, May 1882, Apthecaries' Hall, A. Fleming, Druggist. Photograph is stamped Public Archives Canada.
Photograph shows seven men posing in front of a wood-framed shack on 10th Street. The men are wearing three-piece suits or vests and long-sleeved shirts. One man can be seen holding an axe another a saw. A double ox-team wagon is in front of the structure.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: 10th St. May 1882, Brandon. Photograph is stamped Public Archives Canada.
Photograph is stained and water damaged. A newspaper clipping about William (Billy) Muir is glued to the top left hand corner of the mat. The image is exfoliated in the right hand corner. The negative has been reverse printed.
History / Biographical
Coombs & Stewart opened the first general store in Brandon in 1881, which was located on 6th Street and Pacific Avenue. According to G.F. Barker (Brandon: A City, 1977, 291), William (Billy) Muir worked at the store until he opened his own grocery store in 1888.
Custodial History
Donated to Fred McGuinness by Allena Strath (nee Coombs).
Scope and Content
Photograph shows the Coombs & Stewart general store located on the corner of Pacific Avenue and 6th Street. A group of men pose in front of the wood-framed store.
Notes
Back of photograph reads: One of first stores in Brandon, Coombs...[?]
Reg Forbes was born September 16, 1924. He and his wife Clara have two children, Bob and Faye. Forbes served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Navigator during World War II. From 1945-1949, he attended the University of Manitoba where he received his B.Sc.A. While working as Village Councillor and as Secretary-Treasurer for the Pilot Mound Hospital, Forbes initiated the "Save the Soil Campaign," a soil conservation programme that became province-wide, between 1952-1962.
From 1956-1975, Forbes was the Principal of the Agricultrual Extension Centre in Brandon, where he reorganized the Adult Education Centre into the Agricultural Extension Centre. During this period, Forbes was a founding member of the West-Man Regional Development Corporation and a founder of the Manitoba Committee on Rural Leadership. He was also instrumental in the amalgamation of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair and the Provincial Exhibition and in the resulting construction of the Keystone Centre.
From 1975-1977 Forbes was a Commissioner for the Grain Handling and Transportation Commission (Hall Commission/GHTC). Following his work with the Commission, Forbes was employed as the General Manager of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba (1977-1979), the Director of the Grain Handling & Transportation Section of the Manitoba Department of Agriculture (1979-1983), the Industrial Commissioner for the Brandon Industrial Commission (1983-1986), and as the Westarc Group Inc. Project Director for delivery under contract of Canadian Rural Transition Programme in Manitoba.
Forbes also held a number of voluntary and elected positions, such as Long-term Director and President of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair and of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. In 1970-1971, he was the President of the Agricultural Institute of Canada, and from 1978-1981, Forbes was the first chairman of the Agricultural Advisory Committee of the Canadian Broadcasting Corportation. He was also a member of the Canada West Foundation Board, the Brandon University Board of Governers (1974-1976), and the Federal-Provincial Transportation and Industrial Development Advisory Committee (TIDAC). Forbes is also a Fellow of the Agricultural Institute of Canada. In 1977, he received the Jubilee Medal and in 1987, he was given the Distinguished Agrologist Award by the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists.
Custodial History
Reg Forbes donated his working collection of briefs, correspondence and other documents relating to his work as a commissioner of the Grain Handling and Transportation Committee (GHTC) to the McKee Archives c. 1985.
Scope and Content
The majority of the collection consists of records created and received by the Royal Commission on Grain Handling and Transportation (GHTC). Included are documents detailing numerious hearings from all four Western provinces. In addition to the GHTC hearings, there are also a number of documents given to the GHTC as reference material. These include information on the Snavely Commision, documents for the province of Alberta, various reports, the Prairie Regional Studies in Economic Geography (No. 1-27) and General Information. The collection also includes two maps given to the GHTC.
Photograph shows the 700-block of Rosser Avenue facing west. Visible businesses on the north side of Rosser Avenue include: Burchill's Music Store, E.W. Woolworth Co. Ltd. 5-10 and 15 Cent Store in the E.E. Evans Block, Empire Hotel, and W.A. Paterson Drugs. Automobiles are parked on both sides of the avenue and at the time the photograph was taken, Rosser Avenue was a two-way street.
Notes
Part of "Souvenir of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada [viewbook], Printed by Photogelatine Engraving Co. Limited, Ottawa." Dates obtained from the Burchill's Music Store Henderson's Brandon City Directory listings (1927-1929). Writing on the front of the photograph reads: Rosser St. [sic.] - Brandon, Man.
Photograph shows a street view of 10th Street facing north. There are many automobiles parked along the street and several pedestrians in summer dress are on the sidewalks and street. Visible business signs include: Hentzman & Co. Pianos (possibly belonging to J.J.H. McLean Co. Ltd.), the Strand Theatre, T & D Clothes, Campbell & Campbell, the CPR Station, and Bowling Alley and Billiards.
Notes
Part of "Souvenir of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada [viewbook], Printed by Photogelatine Engraving Co. Limited, Ottawa." Dates obtained from the Burchill's Music Store Henderson's Brandon City Directory listings (1927-1929). Writing on the front of the photograph reads: 10th St., looking north (C.P.R. Station at end of Street) Brandon, Man.
Photograph shows the CPR Train Station on Pacific Avenue and 10th Street.
Notes
Part of "Souvenir of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada [viewbook], Printed by Photogelatine Engraving Co. Limited, Ottawa." Dates obtained from the Burchill's Music Store Henderson's Brandon City Directory listings (1927-1929). Writing on the front of the photograph reads: CPR Station, Brandon, Man.
Photograph shows a southwest view of the Prince Edward Hotel and train station.
Notes
Part of "Souvenir of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada [viewbook], Printed by Photogelatine Engraving Co. Limited, Ottawa." Dates obtained from the Burchill's Music Store Henderson's Brandon City Directory listings (1927-1929). Writing on the front of the photograph reads: Prince Edward Hotel, Brandon, Man.
Photograph shows a panorama, bird's-eye-view of downtown Brandon, between Pacific and Rosser Avenues and 7th Street facing east. Photoraph likely taken from the McKenzie Seeds Building. Visible businesses include: Western Canada Flour Mills, Hanbury Hardware Co. Ltd., Cockshutt Plow Co., New Pacific Hotel, Gordon McKay Building, and Arlington Hotel.
Notes
Part of "Souvenir of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada [viewbook], Printed by Photogelatine Engraving Co. Limited, Ottawa." Dates obtained from the Burchill's Music Store Henderson's Brandon City Directory listings (1927-1929). Writing on the front of the photograph reads: Panorama of Brandon, Man.
Postcard was sent to Chuck Wilson's aunt, Mrs. W.M. Wilson in Creelman, SK by the McKenzie Seed Company in 1912. Chuck Wilson found the postcard in some of his aunt's papers in 2009 and mailed it to the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item consists of a colour postcard of the McKenzie Seed Company building located on the west side of the 100 block of 9th Street. The card was sent to Mrs. W.M. Wilson of Creelman, SK to acknowledge her order.
Writing on the front of the card reads: A.E. McKenzie Co., Limited, Seedsmen, Brandon, Man