The series was created by a member of the administrative staff of the Board of Directors. It is believed that these files were originally part of a larger administrative file, but before deposit in the archives they were separated from the files and a new series was created.
Custodial History
The records were held by the MEA until c1986 when they were transferred to the S.J. McKee Archives at Brandon University.
Scope and Content
The files include original results for the different events from 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985.
Notes
Part of RG2SF2. Inventory of the documents in the series is available in the printed finding aid.
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
RG2SF2 Manitoba Winter Fair
These documents were created between 1910 and 1972 by the administration of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba.
Custodial History
See sous-fonds RG2SF1 for custodial history.
Scope and Content
This series includes various contracts and agreements between the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba and companies hired for the fair. These companies include musicians, entertainment, stage hands, concessions and more. The series also includes inventories, by laws, the 1920 Act of Incorporation. Most of the documents are from 1957 to 1962.
Notes
Inventory of documents in the series is available in the printed finding aid.
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
RG2SF1 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba
The minutes were created by the summer fair Board of Directors and the various committees and sub-committees associated with the Board.
There is ample evidence in the minutes of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba that the administrative structure was largely one by committee. By 1903, there were at least nine separate committees. These committees were Grounds and Buildings, Sports and Attractions, Public Comfort, Advertising and Printing, Privileges, Gates, Finance, Excursion and Transportation, and Prize List. Of these committees only Public Comfort, Privileges, and Excursion and Transportation were comparatively short-lived. These committees are not mentioned after 1903, 1920, and 1925, respectively. The remaining six committees all survive in various forms to this day.
In 1908 there is mention of a Speed committee, which dealt with the racetrack at the fairgrounds. This committee was in existence until the early 1970s, when racing, along with the condemned grandstand, was discontinued. By 1915 there is mention of a Reception committee that continues on until the mid-1970s.
In the 1920 minutes several committees are mentioned. The committees included Concessions, Grandstand, Accommodation, Police/Security, and Wild Birds and Animals. The Wild Birds and Animals is not mentioned in further minutes, but Grandstand and Accommodation are mentioned into the mid 1950s. Both the Concessions and Police/Security are mentioned until the late 1970s.
In 1925, there are several new committees mentioned. They include Heavy Horse, Light Horse, Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Sheep, Swine, Farm Boy’s Camp, Poultry, Grains and Grasses, Horticulture, Dairy Competition, Machinery Row, Natural History, Fine Arts and School Exhibits, and Livestock Parade. The enormous expansion of committees is a reflection of the expansion of the exhibition. Almost all aspects of farming now had its own committee, and an effort to help young people continue in farming was made with the forming of camps for farm boys. All of these committees were long lived, although not necessarily with the original title. From approximately 1930 to 1940, all of the Cattle were lumped together, but by 1950 a Commercial Cattle committee was mentioned, and by 1974 there was also a Special Agriculture Display and Exotic Breeds. By 1979 there were Steer Show and Bull Sale committees. Around 1930, a Calf and Colt Competition committee was also added.
In 1930 there is mention of a Dining Room committee, but it is not mentioned again. In response to changing society, a Car Parking committee was created around 1935. This committee remained under various titles through to today. Another short-lived committee, Grandstand Gates, is mentioned from about 1935 to 1940. For some time there was also a Band Competition committee. It is mentioned from 1940 to 1945, and then not again until 1979.
In 1950 there was a Dogs committee, but no further mention is made of this committee. From 1955 to 1960 there was a separate Fire committee, until it was amalgamated with Police/Security. In 1955 two new committees are mentioned. These are the Trade Fair and Homecraft committees. While the Trade Fair is not mentioned after about 1960, the Homecraft committee seems to have been in existence until the mid 1970s.
A 4-H and Junior Activities committee was formed around 1960 to take the place of the Farm Boy’s Camp. This committee continued the exhibition’s attempts to keep young rural people interested in farming.
In the minutes for 1970, two more committees are mentioned. They are the Food and Beverage and the Bees and Honey committees. While one would suppose that the Food and Beverage Services committee was a new title for the Concessions committee, the Concessions committee is also mentioned. The Bees and Honey committee is mentioned until about 1974 in committee minutes.
By 1974 three more committees are mentioned in the minutes. They were the Baby Fair committee, which was a petting zoo, the Expansion, Project and Grants committee and the Midway committee. While the Midway and Baby Fair committees lasted until at least the late 1970s, the Expansion, Projects and Grants committee is not mentioned past the mid 1970s. Also mentioned in 1979 are the Pork Congress, Family Fair, Entertainment, and Exhibitor’s Lounge committees.
Custodial History
See sous-fonds RG2SF1 for custodial history.
Scope and Content
The records consist of minutes created by the Board of Directors, Shareholders, and various committees and subcommittees of the Provincial Exhibition. It should be noted that while the minutes are extensive, they are not organized according to committee. Rather, they are organized by the year in which they were created.
Notes
Inventory of documents in the series is available in the printed finding aid.
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
RG2SF1 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba
The records were created by a member of the administrative staff of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba.
Custodial History
The scrapbooks were housed at the PEM and MEA until c1986 when they were transferred to the S.J. McKee Archives at Brandon University.
Scope and Content
The scrapbooks mainly contain newspaper clippings that deal with the Provincial Exhibitions of various years. Most pictures and articles that appeared in various newspapers during this time are included in the scrapbooks.
Notes
Part of RG2SF1. Inventory of the documents in the series is available in the printed finding aid.
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
RG2SF1 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba
See Administrative History RG2SF1 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba.
Custodial History
The scrapbooks were housed at the PEM and MEA until c1986 when they were transferred to the S.J. McKee Archives at Brandon University.
Scope and Content
The file consists of various records that in some way involve the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, but do not belong to a specific series. There are newspaper clippings, a cartoon, a file believed to have originated with the Schidlof family, and some letters.
Notes
Inventory of the documents in the series is available in the printed finding aid.
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
RG2SF1 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba
See Administrative History for RG2SF1 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba.
Custodial History
The records were housed with the MEA until c1986 when they were transferred to the S.J. McKee Archives at Brandon University.
Scope and Content
The series include various files from the Provincial Exhibition from 1980 and 1982. The contents include staff meetings, mailing lists, insurance, contracts, tenders, trophies and ribbons, animal events and shows, exhibits, results, etc.
Notes
Inventory of documents in the series is available in the printed finding aid.
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
RG2SF1 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba
This series is a product of the Publicity committee of the Board of Directors. The collection has minutes from this committee from 1903, when it was known as the Advertising and Printing committee, until approximately 1979. The name change occurred in the 1920s.
Custodial History
The records were housed with the MEA until c1986 when they were transferred to the S.J. McKee Archives at Brandon University.
Scope and Content
The series contains copies of the news releases that went out to various forms of media before, during, and after the Provincial Exhibitions from 1984 to 1990.
Notes
Part of RG2SF1. Inventory of documents in the series is available in the printed finding aid.
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
RG2SF1 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba
The Prize Lists and Programs are products of the Prize List Committees and the Programs Committees respectively. The committees were attached to the Board of Directors. The history of the committees can be traced from 1903 to 1979 by using Appendix 1 in the printed finding aid.
Custodial History
See sous-fonds RG2SF1 for custodial history.
Scope and Content
The series consists of five boxes containing the prize lists and programs from the summer fairs. The prize lists and programs encompass virtually all events held at the summer fair. The programs include daily programs, as well as the programs for specific events and competitions. The competitors for each class are also listed. The prize lists include all classes and list the amount of prize money or the prize to be won in each class.
Notes
Inventory of documents in the series is available in the printed finding aid.
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
RG2SF1 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba
These records were produced between 1984 and 1985, the researching and writing period for the book The Pride of the Land: An Affectionate History of Brandon’s Agricultural Exhibition. Published in 1985 by Peguis Books (Winnipeg), Pride of the Land is a 222-page soft cover book, containing hundreds of pictures, and 50,000 words of text.
BU faculty members Dr. Kenneth “Ken” Stephen Coates, Assistant Professor of History, and Mr. Fred McGuinness, Lecturer in Journalism, authored the book. Assisting the writers was a research team of four BU history students, which were referred to as “The Pride Team”: Diane Fowler, Rob McGarva, Bruce Stafeld, and Byron Williams.
The Pride Team was tasked with collecting and synthesizing exhibition documents and other materials in city, provincial, and federal records spanning 100 years. Many local newspapers and committee minutes were consulted.
The authors cover 103 years of Brandon Fair history, starting with the first fair in 1882 followed by the development of other agricultural fairs and exhibitions in Brandon, specifically The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, and the Ag-Ex livestock show.
Custodial History
Records were collected and created by McGuinness, Coates, and The Pride Research Team during the process of the creation of the book, The Pride of the Land: An Affectionate History of Brandon’s Agricultural Exhibition. The materials were donated to the SJ McKee Archives by the authors circa 1988. The Archives accessioned the records in 2008.
Scope and Content
The subseries consists of textual records, created and collected during the production of the monograph Pride of the Land. It includes research cards created by the research team, copies of newspaper articles from very early editions of Brandon newspapers (such as the Brandon Sun, Brandon Daily Sun, Western Sun, and The Independent), copies of fair/organizational minutes, photocopies of photographs used in the publication, and chapter drafts. Of particular interest are the detailed summaries of Provincial Exhibition minutes that were specifically produced for each book chapter.
Notes
Information in the history/biography was taken from a Brandon University press release dated June 1985, about the Pride of the Land Project (see file 64)
Description Note: The original accession number is noted on the front of each file folder. The circled number indicates the original file order in the 6-2008 accession
Accruals
Closed
Language Note
Fred McGuinness often uses journalistic jargon to label his files. A “brite” refers to a short, amusing story
Pride of the Land acronyms:
PEM = Provincial Exhibition Association of Manitoba
RCMP = Royal Canadian Mounted Police
WAAA = Western Agricultural & Arts Association
Finding Aid
A file level inventory is available
Storage Location
2015 accessions
Related Material
Provincial Exhibition Association of Manitoba fonds
Arrangement
Arrangement was artificially created by the Archives. Subseries has been arranged according to book chapter. McGuinness often organized his ideas and research materials by potential brite topic
See fonds level description of RG 4 for history/bio of MPE
Scope and Content
This sub-series consists of MPE's involvement in four different inter-provincial committees: Canadian Co-operative Wheat Producers, Inter-provincial Co-operative Ltd, Inter-provincial Pool Board, and Canadian Pool Agencies. The records include the following:
Box 1:
Canadian Co-operative Wheat Producers Minute Book 1924-1944
Canadian Co-operative Wheat Producers / Prairie Pools Minute Book 1945-1983
1a. Inter-provincial Co-operative Ltd. 1966-1979
1b. Inter-provincial Co-operative Ltd. 1965-1979
1c. Inter-provincial Co-operative Ltd. meeting in Toronto Sept 25 1979
1d. Inter-provincial Co-operative Ltd. By-laws 1960-1963
2a. Inter-provincial Pool Board Minutes 1971-1983
2b. Inter-provincial Pool Board Minutes & By-laws 1971-1983
2c. Inter-provincial Co-operative Limited Board and Annual Meeting Minutes 1980, 1982
3a. Co-operative Union of Manitoba Organizing Documents and Minutes 1953-1964
3b. Co-operative Union of Manitoba Minutes March 31 1959 - June 16 1966
4. POS Pilot Plant 1973 - 1975
Box 2:
Inter-provincial Pool Board Minute Book 1945-1984
Canadian Co-operative Wheat Producers Limited / Canadian Pool Agencies Limited Minute Book 1924-1944
Canadian Pool Agencies Limited Minute Book 1945-1980
5. Co-operative Crop Development Group Constitution and Annual Reports 1984-1993
6. Prairie Pools Inc. Directors Reports 1985-1986
Notes
Description by Jillian Sutherland (2009)
Documents for the Canadian Co-operative Wheat Producers can be found in MPE B.2
In celebration of Brandon's 125th Birthday, the McKee Archives organized the photo exhibit "Wonder City of the Northwest," on display from June 28 until the end of August 2007 in the Curve Gallery, located on the second level of BU's John E. Robbins Library. The photographs in the exhibit marked various passages in the history of Brandon from 1882 to the beginning of the Great War in 1914. A special opening for "Wonder City of the Northwest," sponsored by the President's Office, was held on Thursday, June 28 at 2:00 p.m. in the Curve Gallery.
Custodial History
Contents of the file were created during the process of organizing and curating the Wonder City of the Northwest exhibit.
Scope and Content
File consists of all bids made on the photographic prints in the exhibit, the silent auction form, research gathered for the information boards (including sections of Steen and Boyce's book on Brandon)
Notes
Correspondence and budget records related to the exhibit are held in the annual correspondence and budget files.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 8: Library Services
8.2 S.J. McKee Archives
The program for the McKenzie Centennial Exhibit describes the materials in this sub-series as a "visual collection of artifacts, printed materials and photographs, 1883-1996, celebrating the centennial of A.E. McKenzie Co. Inc."
Created by current employees and based on research by Nancy McLennan, Sandra Head and J. Lasby Lowes, the McKenzie Centennial Exhibit opened on April 25, 1996. It remained open to the public on every Thursday between 2 to 4 p.m. to the end of June, 1996. Some of the furnishings used in the display were contributed by the Daly House Museum. Located in the McKenzie Building, the exhibit was assembled along the corridors of the building. It contained a variety of materials, such as invoices, pay envelopes, blueprints, documents, furniture and photographs from the one hundred years of McKenzie Seeds’ history.
Following the close of the exhibit, a smaller permanent installation was to be constructed at the McKenzie Building.
Custodial History
In the course of preparing the exhibit, Nancy McLennan took documents from the collection, but failed to make a record of where the documents came from. As a result, these materials have been left in the Centennial sub-series. It proved impossible to return them to their original place in the fonds.
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
This sub-series includes the individual descriptions of each exhibit printed on small white envelopes, a guide to the exhibit, a photograph listing for photos used in the various displays and the 1973 Directory of Canadian Chartered Accountants. The sub-series also includes intact files for exhibits 1, 5, 7, 8, 10, 39 and 40, Wholesale Sales Literature, Steele Briggs Seed Co., Scrimping and Spending Big Time, Seed Wagon, Mostly Catalogue Inserts, Letterhead, and For Your Reading Pleasure, respectively.
In addition, a number of booklets made by the creators of the exhibit are also contained within the sub-series. These booklets are primarily a combination of original and reproduced sales literature and catalogues, but also may or may not contain some correspondence, seed packets, clippings and history for McKenzie Seeds, Pike Seeds/Robertson Seeds, Acquisitions (Steele Briggs, Canada Seeds, Brett-Young Seeds), and McFayden/McConnell.
In addition to the above booklets, there are also materials dealing with the catalogues and sales literature of McKenzie Seed Co. suppliers, such as Bodger Seeds, H. Keft from Holland, the Denholm Seed Company, and the Vis Brothers. A number of documents, programs and booklets relating to the seed industry in general, such as the "Black Leaf" Bulletin and a number of documents relating to agriculture in Manitoba are also included.
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
McS 6 Miscellaneous
Related Material
Photographs from the Centennial Exhibition of McKenzie Seeds can be found in Series 5 (Photographs), sub-series 5.9 (Centennial Photos).
See fonds level of the Alexander MacPhail collection.
Scope and Content
Sub sub series consists of six files:
1. Grade VIII physiology and hygiene - Marion MacPhail
2. Grade XII physics - John Armstrong
3. Grade XII poetical literature and Grade XII rhetoric and prose - Marion MacPhail
4. Grade XI french - Iain MacPhail
5. Grade XI french grammar (1929-1930) - Iain MacPhail
6. Grade XI french authors (1930-1931) - Iain MacPhail
During the independent existence of Manitoba Pool Elevators, the Manitoba Co-operator, published by the Manitoba Co-operative Conference Ltd., was the official organ of the cooperative movement in the province. The sub-series consists of issues of The Manitoba Co-operator from 1931-1936 and 1943-2001.
These records were produced between 1986 and 1987, the researching and writing period for the book Manitoba: The Province & The People. Published in 1987 by Hurtig Publishers (Edmonton), Manitoba is a 203-page hard cover book, containing 2 maps, and 58 images.
BU faculty members Dr. Kenneth “Ken” Stephen Coates, Assistant Professor of History, and Mr. Fred McGuinness, Lecturer in Journalism, authored the book. Assisting the writers was a research team of three BU history students: Diane Fowler, Rob McGarva, and Bruce Stadfeld. All three students were former research assistants for The Pride of the Land monograph.
The authors cover 117 years of Manitoba social history, starting with the Red River Settlement and the Dominion of Canada expansion in the 1870s, followed by the war years, and the emergence of modern, contemporary Manitoba.
Custodial History
Records were collected and created by McGuinness, Coates, and the research students during the creation of the book, Manitoba: The Province & The People. The materials were donated to the McKee Archives by the Estate of Fred McGuinness circa 2011. The Archives accessioned the records in 2015.
Scope and Content
The subseries consists of textual records, created and collected during the production of the monograph Manitoba: The Province & The People. It includes copies of newspaper articles from newspapers (such as the Brandon Sun, Brandon Daily Sun, Winnipeg Free Press, and Saturday Night), copies of journal articles about the Red River Valley, Government of Manitoba industrial publications, photocopies and a few original photographs used in the publication, and drafts for chapter “brites.”
Notes
Information in the history/biography was taken from the “Manitoba: The Province & The People’s” acknowledgments section
Accruals
Closed
Language Note
Fred McGuinness often uses journalistic jargon to label his files. A
“brite” refers to a short, amusing story. McGuinness often organized his ideas and research materials by potential brite topic
Finding Aid
A file level inventory is available
Storage Location
2015 accessions
Related Material
Original copies of the July 10, 1899 and July 12, 1899 editions of the Brandon Daily Sun containing articles about the Hilda Blake trial are available in the oversize drawers in the Reading Room
See McG 1.2 Box 3 File 48 for correspondence pertaining to royalties for this monograph
Arrangement
Arrangement was artificially created by the Archives. Files in this subseries have been arranged according to the order in which brites first appear in the book
Original file titles, where available, have been recorded in square brackets after the file title assigned by the Archives
For this subseries, the original photographs have been relocated to the McGuinness collection photograph series (McG 9)
The documents were created by members of the Board of Directors, and others involved with the management of the winter fair.
Custodial History
See sous-fonds RG2SF2 for custodial history.
Scope and Content
The series includes several copies of the MWF Constitution, a 1908 constitution, 1909 MWFFSA shares belonging to John Bradley, a 1968 agreement for the non-military use of property, and several agreements between the MWF and several other companies spanning the dates 1934 to 1963.
Notes
Part of RG2SF2. Inventory of the documents in the series is available in the printed finding aid.
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
RG2SF2 Manitoba Winter Fair
These minutes were created by the Board of Directors and the Shareholders at the meetings that they held from 1908 to 1932. The Board of Directors was created in 1908. While the collection currently houses minutes from 1908 to 1932, it is evident from Prize Lists and Programs that the Board of Directors structure evolved in the following way.
The structure of the winter fair was quite different from the summer fair. Instead of having a committee structure, the winter fair had both committees and representatives from various agricultural associations. The representatives were part of the Board of Directors. In 1908 these representatives included men from the Horse Breeders’ Association, the Cattle Breeders’ Association, the Sheep Breeders’ Association, the Swine Breeders’ Association, the Poultry Breeders’ Association, the Brandon Winter Fair and Fat Stock Association, and the Manitoba Agricultural College. With the addition of representatives from the Manitoba Clydesdale Association, and the Manitoba Seed Growers’ Association, these committees continued virtually without change until 1930.
By the 1930s, several more representatives joined the Board of Directors including the Winnipeg Livestock Exchange, the Manitoba Percheron Association, the Canadian Shorthorn Association, and the Hereford Association. By 1935 there were also representatives from the Prairie Thoroughbred and Racing Association, the Manitoba Boards of Trade, the Western Manitoba Board of Trade, the Aberdeen Angus Association, and the Canadian Percheron Association. The Canadian Clydesdale Association joined the Board by 1940.
By 1950, several more agricultural associations had joined the Board of Directors. They included the Brandon Light Horse Society, the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, the Manitoba Veterinary Association, the Minister of Agriculture, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, and the Canadian Red Poll Association. By 1955, a representative from the City of Brandon rounded out the representatives on the Board of Directors.
The first committees of the Board of Directors began in 1908 with the formation of the Brandon Winter Fair and Fat Stock Association. The committees included an Executive, Horse, Livestock, Cattle, Sheep, Swine, Poultry and Seed. By 1915 there were also Program, Prize/Accounts, Carcass, Exhibits/Public Comfort, Building, and Provincial Government committees. Most of these later committees were not long lived, or were not mentioned much past 1915. A Judging Competition Committee was added in 1925 and lasted until sometime in the 1940s. In 1950 an official Finance committee was formed, as well as a Gates/Tickets committee. By 1955, three more committees had been added including 4-H/Junior Activities, Light Horse and Heavy Horse.
By the 1960s, a Publicity committee was also added. In 1965 there were several committees formed including Police/Traffic/Parking, Concessions, Calf/Pig Scrambles, Baby Fair, Flower Show and the Fall Feeder Show and Sale. A Fashion Show committee was added by 1970. In 1975 a Property committee is also mentioned.
The 1980s appear to have been a time of great growth for the winter fair, as there was a large increase in the number of committees. By 1985 the following committees had been formed: Dance, Hitching Ring, Steer Show, Bull Sale, Western Breakfast, Egg Show, Entertainment, Exhibitor’s Lounge, VIP, Cattle Parade, Calcutta, Winter Fair Sponsors, Casino and Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. These committees continued for the most part through into the 1990s.
Custodial History
See sous-fonds RG2SF2 for custodial history.
Scope and Content
The series includes the minutes from meetings held from 1908 to 1932. An interesting aspect to these records is that they include the first meetings held by the newly formed winter fair Board of Directors. The early minutes are an interesting look into the formation of an organization.
Notes
Inventory of the documents in the series is available in the printed finding aid.
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
RG2SF2 Manitoba Winter Fair