The International Toastmistress Club was officially organized in October of 1938, in California by Ernestine White. White thought that communication was the key to success in government, business, and community service. The purpose of the club was to help women gain communication and leadership skills. The North Central Region of the International Toastmistress Club began with the formation of the Winnipeg Toastmistress Club in 1946-47. This club was the first Toastmistress Club in Manitoba and the second club in Canada. The idea of forming a Toastmistress Club in Winnipeg came partly from some members of the Toastmaster Club in the city who had heard of the women's club formed in California. Other North Central Toastmistress Clubs soon followed, including more clubs in Winnipeg, and others throughout southern and central Manitoba, such as the Yellow Quill (Portage), Fort La Bosse (Virden), Colleen (Killarney), Cornucopia (Neepawa), Dauphin, Prairie Horizons (Brandon), Valley Echoes (Swan River), Urban Acres (Brandon), and Kinrossie (Souris) Toastmistress Clubs. The North Central Region was renamed the Land O'Lakes Region in 1966. In 1985, the International Toastmistress Club became the International Training in Communication organization.
Custodial History
This fonds was deposited at the McKee Archives on June 2, 1995 by Marlene Brichon of Brandon, Manitoba.
Scope and Content
Fonds includes a scrapbook made by the Urban Acres Toastmistress Club of Brandon, which spans the years 1963-1977. The scrapbook includes pictures, newspaper clippings, and programs. The fonds also includes the minutes of the Urban Acres Club from 1973-1986 and the club's reports from 1964-1986. A large number of newsletters such as the C4 News, Land O'Lakes Schooner, Ten-Talk, The Communicator, Pieces of Eight, and The Gavel, running from 1967-1990, as well as the official newsletter of the International Toastmistress Club "Toastmistress" from 1963-1972 are included. Fonds contains a history of the Winnipeg Toastmistress Club, as well as a history of the North Central Region, which later became the Land O'Lakes Region. There are also brief histories of the Yellow Quill, Urban Acres, Greenmantle, and Nellie McClung Toastmistress Clubs. Included in the fonds are bylaws and standing rules of the Land O'Lakes clubs, as well as the charters of the Yellow Quill, Colleen, Cornucopia, Fort La Bosse, Dauphin, and Prairie Horizons Clubs. A large part of the record consists of the minutes from international and regional meetings for the years 1969 to 1988. The fonds includes a public relations survey from the Land O'Lakes Region 1977-78, evaluations of various council meetings, Land O'Lakes' agendas and budgets from 1980-1985, and lists of Land O'Lakes executives. Finally, the fonds contains reports from various Land O'Lakes clubs from 1968-1992, as well as Land O'Lakes rosters from 1979-1985.
The Brandon Council of Women (BCW) was active between 1895 and 1927, when it disbanded. Principally through the efforts of Mrs. Kaye Rowe of Brandon, the BCW was officially restablished in 1952. The Brandon Council of Women remained active until c. 1973. It brought together fifty-two women's organizations in Brandon, representing 2600 women.
Custodial History
The Brandon Council of Women fonds was transferred to the McKee Archives during the 1970s. It was accessioned in 1998.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of papers and photographs of the International Council of Women (ICW), the National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC), the Manitoba Council of Women (MCW), and the Brandon Council of Women (BCW). The ICW papers include meeting minutes. The NCWC papers include meeting minutes, resolution lists, pamphlets, newsletters, correspondence, financial records, yearbooks, and copies of Acts pertaining to women. The MCW papers contain copies of the MCW constitution, meeting minutes, resolution lists, correspondence, and committee reports. The BCW materials comprise the largest part of the fonds, and include meeting minutes, committee reports, financial records, correspondence, short course agendas, posters, pamphlets, memos, resolution lists, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, photographs, and scrapbooks.
The Brandon Golf and Country Club was created in 1914, to serve the recreational needs of Brandon's social and economic elite. Leading Brandon politicians, professionals, and businessmen belonged to the club and served on its executive. The club was a place for Brandon's elite to play golf and socialize, and was affiliated with the Royal Canadian Golf Association. The club included a separate Verandah Club composed of women. In 1926, the Brandon Golf and Country Club became a member of the Canadian Ladies Golf Union. The club sponsored dances and dinners for its members. Strict policies for non-members were enforced. Brandon residents that were not members of the club could only play golf once a week, had to pay daily green fees, and had to be invited and accompanied by a member.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. Previous custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of one scrapbook that runs from 1914-1948. The scrapbook contains minutes from director and shareholder meetings, as well as notices of upcoming meetings. There are also secretary and treasurer reports included in the scrapbook. Finally, there are a few newspaper clippings dealing with the club included in the scrapbook.
73 cm textual records; approx. 70 photographs with negatives
History / Biographical
The first conference of Western Canadian Registrars was held in January, 1952, at the University of Alberta. The four western Canadian Universities were represented by G.B. Taylor (Registrar, University of Alberta), C.B. Wood (Registrar, University of Saskatchewan) and A.D. Cairns (Assistant Registrar, University of Alberta). No attempt was made at this meeting to set up a formal organization or to plan regular meetings.
It was not until the University of Alberta and The University of British Columbia jointly hosted the “Second Triennial Conference of Registrars of Canadian Universities and Colleges” at the Banff School of Fine Arts in January 1962, that plans were made to establish a western regional organization of registrars of degree granting universities and colleges. Since the national group would meet every two years, it was agreed that the western group would meet in the intervening year.
The first official meeting of the Western Universities Registrars was held at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, in 1963. The Association was established as a regional component of the Association of Registrars of the Universities of Canada (ARUC). The second meeting was held in January, 1965 at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.
Since the national group chose to forego its regular meeting in 1966 in order to hold it in Montreal during Expo 1967, the University of Calgary hosted the third western conference in June, 1966. This was the first conference to which delegates from non-degree granting colleges were invited.
The fourth western regional conference was hosted by the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, 1968; the fifth at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus, 1970; and the sixth, hosted by the University of Alberta at Jasper, Alberta, 1972.
During the 1972 conference a steering committee was formed to develop a structure and constitution for a formal organization. The committee consisted of Barry Browning (Registrar, The University of Manitoba), Jerry Della Mattia (Director of Admissions, Douglas College, Vancouver), Len Semrau (Registrar, NAIT, Edmonton) and John Dorgan (Registrar, University of Saskatchewan).
The next meeting was held the following year in Brandon, Manitoba. At this time the constitution was approved and the name Western Canadian Association of Registrars of Institutions of Post-Secondary Education (WCARIPSE) was adopted for the newly formalized organization. Fred Bennett, Registrar of Camosun College, Victoria, BC was selected to serve as the first chair of WCARIPSE, serving a two year term.
Institutional membership was open to all provincial and federal institutions of post-secondary education located in the four western provinces of Canada. The 1973 membership roster consisted of 42 institutional members and 94 individual members.
The western association was originally established as a regional component of the Association of Registrars of the Universities of Canada (ARUC). However, a rather serious problem arose in 1966 when the western group agreed to include non-degree granting institutions in its membership even though ARUC membership was restricted to degree granting institutions. The issue, and some other problems closely related to it, was not settled until the ARUC Conference of 1974. At that time, the motion to extend membership to include non-university registrars was moved, subsequently carried and ARUC became the Association of the Registrars of Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC).
The University of Saskatchewan hosted the 1979 WARUCC conference in Saskatoon. In 1981, at the conference in Winnipeg, the four founding members, Alex Cairns, Douglas Chevrier, Norm Cram and Jack Parnall were presented with honorary memberships in WARUCC.
Vancouver was the site for the 1983 conference, at which time Doug Burns, Edith Allen and Alan Wallis were honored as life members of the association.
Subsequent meetings were held in Lethbridge, 1985, and in Regina, 1987. By 1987 membership had grown to 65 institutional members and 225 individual members. The constitution was amended to extend membership boundaries from the four western provinces to 88 degrees (W) longitude, providing for participation by Lakehead University and colleges of the Northwest Territories and Yukon.
The 1989 conference was hosted by The University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. In 1991 Capilano College hosted the conference at Whistler in British Columbia. In 1993 the University of Calgary hosted the conference in Calgary. In 1995 the University of Saskatchewan hosted the conference in Saskatoon. In 1997 The University of Manitoba hosted the conference in Winnipeg. In 1999 the University of Northern British Columbia hosted the conference in Prince George, British Columbia.
Custodial History
Records had been in the possession of various secretaries of WARRUC until their donation to the McKee Archives in 2006.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of minutes, financial records, membership records, photographs and miscellaneous documents.
Notes
History/Bio information taken from the WARRUC website at: http://www.brandonu.ca/emu/mcleod/warucc/web_pages/history.htm (February 2006). Some processing completed. Financial records (ie bank statements, invoices) were culled from the records. Description by Christy Henry.
The Brandon Assisted Passages Association was created in 1911, for the purpose of providing loans to "english speaking artisans" [sic] who wished to immigrate to Canada and work in Brandon, MB. In 1913, the Association was renamed the Brandon Imperial Home Reunion Association. The Association continued to operate and provided passage assistance in the form of loans to many immigrants until loan defaults mounted during World War I. After 1917, no further loans were given.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned in 1997. Its custodial history prior to this is unknown, but it was at one time in the posession of a H.R. Hoffman, and well as Richardson & Bishop Ltd. in Brandon.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of a minute book and a single page letter. The minute book is a record of every meeting of the B.A.P.A./B.I.H.R.A. and includes the names of the board members, the names of the applicants (in some cases their addresses), and the amounts loaned. In some instances, the fonds provides a documentary record of loan repayment.
2.4 m textual records; c. 5 photographs; 1 minute book (measuring 1"x 9"x 14")
History / Biographical
The Brandon Trades and Labour Council was established in 1906, as an affiliate of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada. The original Council contained thirteen locals, including those of railway workers, sheet metal workers, plumbers and steam fitters, bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, cigar makers, printers, and barbers. By 1912, the Council contained twenty four locals. The Council's principal function was to advance the corporate interests of labour within the framework of a largely unregulated capitalism. After 1955, the Council was affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress, which was created through a merger of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada and the Canadian Congress of Labour.
Custodial History
Fonds remained in possession of Brandon and District Labour Council prior to donation to the S.J. McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of financial and administrative records of the Brandon and District Labour Council. Records also include collective agreements, correspondence, publications of the Labour Council and affiliated unions, some union local minutes, newspaper clippings, petitions, and various miscellaneous files. Fonds also includes a minute book for the Council (1971-1985) and two union charters.
Greenway was located seven miles east of Baldur in southwestern Manitoba. The hamlet started out as a branch point in a railway spur and took its name from Thomas Greenway, one of the early premiers of Manitoba. The Greenway Fair was held annually in Greenway until 1973, when it was moved to Baldur where better facilities were available.
Custodial History
The records were donated to the Archives by Glen Olmstead prior to 1997 (approximately 1990). The fonds was originally in the possession of Doris Stone.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of newsclippings, a membership to the Greenway Agricultural Society, a paper napkin from the 60th Anniversary (1914-1974) of the Greenway United Church, "The History of Greenway 1889-1975", the program for the Manitoba Centennial Service 1970 held at Glenora Anglican Church, Greenway Agricultural Society prize lists from 1923, 1945-1951, 1953-1954, 1957-1990, two publications on the standards for judging foods, clothing and handicrafts at fairs and exhibitions and a copy of the program for the Greenway cairn dedication.
The Roseland Church was built in 1883 as a Presbyterian church, funded in large part by the Roseland Ladies Aid Society. In 1912, thirteen years before formal union between these two denominations took place, the Roseland Presbyterian Church was united with a local Methodist congregation. The Roseland Church was closed for a few years following the Second World War. However, the Church was revived and it continued to function until 1969, when it was officially closed. Subsequently, the building was sold and moved, and a cairn was placed where the church had been located.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1997. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains a minute book for the Roseland Church from 1882-1969, a summary of the organization and development of the Roseland Church, clippings dealing with the history of the community of Roseland, and a summary history of the Roseland Curling Rink.
The name Berbank was created by combining the names of two local districts: Riverbank and Bertha. Both were located south of Brandon in the Rural Municipality of Oakland. The Berbank Church was built in 1919. Its construction grew out of the work of the Berbank Red Cross founded in 1917. The Berbank Church was a "union" church, constructed in anticipation of the formation of the United Church of Canada. In 1966, the Berbank congregation joined with the Nesbitt congregation to operate out of the Nesbitt United Church. The final service at the Berbank United Church was held in 1966.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1997. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains a document titled "Berbank Church History." This document is partially in a printed format with a portion handwritten. Fonds also contains minute books and legal documents pertaining to the ownership of the land upon which the Church was constructed.
James Buckley was born in Arnprior, Ontario in 1877. He moved to Manitoba in 1904. In 1906, he settled in Brandon, Manitoba where he was employed as a Canadian Pacific Railway conductor for thirty-six years. In the same year he arrived in Brandon, Buckley married Helenea Stavenaw. Togerher they had two daughters Ruth and Margaret. James Buckley was a member of the Brotherhood of Railway Conductors and the Knights of Columbus. He passed away in Brandon, Manitoba on December 8, 1957.
Custodial History
Fonds passed into the hands of Buckley's daughter Margaret following the death of Helenea (Stavenaw) Buckley in 1959. Following Margaret's death the fonds was retained by Lesley Liversidge who donated the fonds to the Daly House Museum in 2004. The Museum then donated the fonds to the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Fonds includes Conductors' Local Passenger tariff No. C 6 Brandon to Moose Jaw in effect June 23, 1918; Constitution of Railway Conductors of America revised and adopted May 4, 1925; CPR Rules for Heating, Ventilating, Lighting and for operation of water rising system on passenger equipment, revised January 1924; Souvenir, Canada's Great Inland Port Fort William and Port Arthur [n.d.] 127 illustrations; poster The Spirit of 1918: Sticking To It, supplement to The Graphic, The Railway Conductor, July, 1939 Royal Visit Edition; Wonderland of Canada, The Rocky Mountains Specially Selected Views of the Canadian Rockies on the Canadian Pacific Line, photographs by WM Notman & Son. Valentine & Sons, Publishing Company, Montreal and Toronto[n.d.]; Over the Kettle Valley Route British Columbia published for Canadian Pacific Railway News Service 20 pp. [n.d.]; postcard with steam engine traveling through a flooded rail-line and CNR key.
Archie Cleveland Miller owned and operated a farm near Roland, Manitoba from 1918 to 1938. Miller was engaged principally in a commercial grain operation.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned in 1997 by the McKee Archives. Prior custodial history is unknown. .
Scope and Content
Fonds contains legal documents from A.C. Miller's farm near Roland, Manitoba from 1916 to 1938. They include mortgage documents, lease agreements, and bank receipts.
30 cm textual records; 44 audio tapes; approx. 30 photographs
History / Biographical
Gerald "Gerry" Allen McKinney was born in 1932, in Melita, Manitoba. In 1950, McKinney enlisted as a medical assistant with B Company, First Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment. A participant in the Korean War, McKinney was captured and held as a prisoner of war for one year. McKinney remained in the Canadian Armed Forces until 1958. Subsequently, McKinney lived in Winnipeg where he was an advocate for workplace health and safety causes and tenant rights. He was also active in raising opposition to large water diversion schemes, such as the Garrison Diversion Project in North Dakota, the Rafferty-Alemada Dams Project in Saskatchewan, and the Pelican Lake-Pembina River Diversion Project in Manitoba. McKinney was awarded the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt in 1984, for his work against the Garrison Project. McKinney was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from Brandon University in 1985.
Custodial History
This fonds was donated to the McKee Archives by Professor Joe Dolecki in 1984.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists mainly of McKinney's correspondence and clippings from the Edmonton Journal dating from 1985; a folder of campaign pamphlets of various New Democratic Party candidates in Alberta in 1985 and newspaper clippings about the Alberta NDP. Fonds also contains a folder of newspaper clippings about various environmental issues and several booklets of articles collected by the Garrison Focus Office of Manitoba Natural Resources from 1987. Fonds contains an extensive collection of newspaper clippings about the 1985 Jim Keegstra trial in Red Deer, Alberta, and a folder of clippings about Alberta labor and strikes, as well as rally pamphlets. The fonds also includes a collection of speeches that McKinney gave from 1980-1984, and c. 30 pictures taken by McKinney of various places in Edmonton, Regina, and Ireland. Correspondence between McKinney and Professor Joe Dolecki of Brandon University and 44 audio tapes of interviews done with McKinney by Professor Dolecki in the mid-1980's are also included.
The OddFellows has a long international history as a mutual assistance society for men. OddFellow Lodges were open to white males over the age of 21, who were in good health and possessed good moral character. Upon joining an OddFellow's Lodge, a member received social and financial benefits. The Constitution of the Subordinate Lodges in Manitoba, 1899, notes that OddFellows Lodges were obliged to teach the importance of fraternity. Under the organization's constitution, lodge members assumed five obligations: to visit the sick, to relieve the distressed, to bury the dead, to educate the orphan, and to aid the widow. The Progress Lodge of the Basswood OddFellows was created in 1910; it continued as a group until early 1955, when it amalgamated with the Minnedosa OddFellows. The Progress Lodge of the Basswood OddFellows included men of many different occupations and social classes including, farmers, merchants, ministers, teachers, agents, carpenters, grain buyers, clerks, and laborers.
Custodial History
The records of the Basswood Oddfellows Lodge were in the possession of Donald McNabb, who for many years was an active member of the Minnedosa Oddfellows. He donated the records to the McKee Archives in June 2000.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of five books. The first book is a membership list from 1910-1948. The list includes the members' names and occupations, the date that they joined the lodge, and their status within the hierarchy of the lodge. The other four books consist of minutes for the years 1910-16, 1916-25, 1935-44, and 1945-54.
Hector Ross Hume was born on December 8, 1902, in the R.M. of Glenwood to John Hume and Jean Gordon. He grew up on the family farm, section 29-7-22, later known as Abergeldie Stock Farm, and attended Whitefield School and then Souris High School. Along with his father, Ross operated the 640-acre farm near Souris, Manitoba, where they sold purebred Angus cattle, shopshire sheep, Yorkshire swine, seed grain and had a government approved flock of hens. John Hume retired in 1947, and died in January 1953.
Ross married Mina Radcliffe on December 20, 1929. Together they had one daughter, Margaret (b. April 11, 1932). In the fall of 1953, Ross lost part of his right arm in a farming accident; he continued to operate the farm with the help of his wife for an additional year before the couple sold the farm to Henry Gordon and moved to Souris where Ross obtained a job as Business Manager of the Souris Hospital.
Mina Hume died on February 14, 1960, and shortly thereafter Ross enrolled in a correspondence course in accounting with the Central School of Chicago and in a two year course in Hospital Administration, with the University of Saskatchewan. Upon graduation in 1962, Ross became the Administrator of Souris and Hartney hospitals, a position he held until 1972. Following his retirement, Ross wrote two books - "The Hospital Tree Grows Tall" and "Tale Wagging By and Old Time" - which he published and sold locally.
During his time on the farm, Ross was a member of the Manitoba Cattle Breeders Association and a member of the local Agricultural Society. He was also secretary of the latter organization. From 1968-1981, Ross was on the Board of Directors for Victoria Park Lodge, and for a while in the 1970s, he was on the Board of Directors for the Souris Hosptial.
Ross Hume died on January 9, 1986 at Victoria Park Lodge in Souris, Manitoba.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1997. Prior custoridal history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds includes Ross Hume's tabulations and tables of statistics relating to prairie agriculture. The data includes market information (sources the Winnipeg Free Press) for the years 1890 to 1940, derived from correspondence with Cora Hind of the Winnipeg Free Press. The fonds also includes a variety of other statistical data. Some of this data was derived from the work of Hume's father, John Hume. (See The Country Guide (February 1943) article included in the fonds).
Notes
History/Bio information taken from The Hume Family entry in "The People of Souris and Glenwood: from the earliest beginnings to the present" published by Souris and District Heritage Club Inc. (2006). Description by Christy Henry.
Zoltan Kodaly was a philosopher and musicologist who introduced new ideas about teaching music in his native Hungary during the 1950’s. In 1964 in Budapest, Kodaly addressed the International Symposium of Music Educators and his ideas were introduced to the world
Canadian music educators were made aware of the Kodaly approach primarily through the work of Richard Johnson who taught music theory at the University of Toronto. He brought method classed to the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, summer school in 1965 and also integrated principles from the method into sight-singing class at the Faculty of Music there.
Edna Knock, an Associate Professor of music education and musicianship, brought the Kodakly approach to Brandon University music educators in the 1980’s. She was introduced to Kodaly methods in her studies at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto and also trained at the Kodaly Musical Training Institute in Wellesley, Mass., and in Hungary.
The Kodaly approach to teaching music presents concepts of rhythm, melody and written symbols in structured, developmental sequence using familiar, quality music from the folk culture of the students being taught.
In the early 80’s a group of music education students at Brandon University were studying classroom methods with Edna Knock. These musicians quickly realized how well the new ideas worked for their classrooms and for their own musicianship.
The first meeting of these nine enthusiasts was held in September, 1982, at Edna’s home. They decided to become a formal group to promote Kodaly in Manitoba in five ways:
1.Lobby MMEA to include Kodaly clinicians at the Provincial Music Educators Conference, SAG. They accomplished this in 1983, and there has been a Kodaly clinician at SAG ever since.
2.Sponsor regular Kodaly workshops based on practical demonstrations for classroom teachers, private music teachers, and specialists. A yearly workshop in January was established in Brandon and continued until the mid 90’s.
3. Initiate study sessions for Professional Development and musicianship. The first meetings of the group included solfege exercises, canon singing and sight-singing. Later, KIM was active in promoting Summer School classes at BU and offered scholarships to students in these classes.
4.Share pedagogical material with all music educators in the province. A NEWSLETTER was produced twice a year for distribution to members, and articles were placed in other music education publications.
5.Provide a connection to the national Kodaly organization, Kodaly in Canada (now called Kodaly Society of Canada) to advertise national and provincial meetings, courses and events.The group was accepted as a branch of Kodaly in Canada in 1985 and went on to host the National Kodaly Convention in Winnipeg called SPECTRUM in 1988.
By February, 1984, at the first Annual General Meeting, the founding group had a constitution, eighteen members, and an executive elected to a two year term. By the second AGM in 1985, eight students had completed Level III training at Summer School, and KIM membership totaled 28 music educators across the province. Membership continued to increase to 36 by 1990.
During its 22 years of operation, KIM continued to sponsor highly trained clinicians at SAG in October and in Brandon in January. A Kodaly for Kids day was introduced to have a more direct reach into classrooms and give experience to students as well as teachers. KIM actively promoted Summer School courses and provided scholarships to students attending these sessions. The last Level III graduating class of 1992 formed the core of KIM executive for the last 10 years of operation.
In the new millenium, plagued by budget cutbacks in arts education and devaluation of music as an essential component of public education, declining membership and executive burnout, KIM had to face the reality of disbanding the organization.
On August 24, 2004, the executive voted to end the organization on October 31, 2004, the end of the membership year. Financial assets from the organization were placed in a designated fund at Brandon University School of Music to be used to promote Kodaly course in education and provide seed money to reinstate the organization. Historical documents were placed in the Brandon University archives and working files were left with Brandon Kodaly advocate and past president of KIM, Elizabeth Grant. It is thus hoped that the strong and vibrant role of KIM in music education in Manitoba will be remembered and available for future generations.
Custodial History
Records were in the possession of Kodaly in Manitoba until their donation to the McKee Archives in December 2005.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of minutes, reports, correspondence, membership lists, financial statements, the KIM constitution, newsletters, Spectrum '88, teacher workshops and Kodaly for Kids.
Notes
All descriptive information and inventories provided by Carolyn Durston, Archivist and Past President of KIM. Various faculty members, particularly Edna Knock and Shelia Scott, in the Brandon University School of Music had a close association with Kodaly in Manitoba, teaching kodaly methods and sponsoring kodaly workshops.
Biographical information on Anna B. Enns is currently unavailable.
Custodial History
Donated to the McKee Archives in 2005 by Anne Eaton, a relative of Anna B. Enns.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of a copy of the "Mothergoose Primer" and a handwork book (1922) from the Brandon Normal School. The latter contains samples of various kinds of art and craft work.
Generally good. Some small holes along the centre fold line.
History / Biographical
Reverend John Crawford, faculty member at Woodstock College (Baptist institution), Woodstock, Ontario took the initiative in 1879, to come west to Rapid City, Manitoba to establish a Baptist seminary to train Baptist ministers for service in Western Canada. He established Prairie College for this purpose. Students at the College would homestead in the area, farming in the summer and studying in the winter. Prairie College only lasted a few years and consumed most of Crawford's limited private wealth. Prairie College closed in 1881.
Custodial History
This document is a copy found in the Neepawa Land Titles Office. It was donated to the McKee Archives when the Office was culling historical records.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the Dominion Lands grant to the Reverend John Crawford situated in the Province of Manitoba, Township 13, Range 19, Section south 1/2 of 32, dated December 16, 1882.
A number of the letters are samples of "cross writing"
Physical Condition
Some of the letters are fragile, but generally the fonds is in good condition.
Custodial History
Ann Murdoch donated a copy of "My Dear Will" to the McKee Archives in February 2008. The formal donation of the Baker family letters occurred on September 27, 2008 at a reception in the Gathering Space at the John E. Robbins Library.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of a collection of about 200 letters primarily written by William Baker (although letters written by other family members are also included), who left Liverpool and settled in Oak Lake, to his son William who remained in England. The letters offer insights on a wide range of subjects including the conditions of immigrants and the Riel "situation".
The fonds also contains a supplement to "My Dear Will: Reflections of Prairie Pioneer Life." This latter publication consists of transcribed copies of the letters in the Baker family fonds. The letters were originally transcribed by Ronald James Parsons and his wife Rita Olive Parsons (nee Blake) and published, along with some letters, photographs and other documents for family c. 1997. The booklet was updated in 2007 by Ronald and Rita's daughter, Ann Murdoch. The Supplement was prepared by Ann Murdock and her sister Dawn Powell.
Notes
Description by Christy Henry.
Finding Aid
My Dear Will booklet
Storage Location
2008 accessions. Booklets and family tree stored in Rare Books: RC 3399.B73Z495 2007 v.1 and v.2.
The Business and Professional Women's Club of Brandon was created in November 1932. The club grew out of a meeting of business and professional women who were interested in forming an association. Guest speakers at the meeting were Miss Hilda Hesson, the Vice President of the Federation of Canadian Business and Professional Women's Clubs, and Miss F. Ingram, the President of the Winnipeg Business and Professional Women's Club. The objective of the Brandon club, according to its constitution, was the "promotion of educational, service, and social facilities for the business and professional women." The club consisted of active and associate members and belonged to the greater Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women's Club. The first President of the club was Miss Margaret Gemmell, with approximately 80 women attended the club's first meeting. The club established sub-committees on a variety of subjects including current events, sports, bridge instruction, public speaking, dress making, photography, stitch craft, manual training, and physical culture. The club also put on exhibitions, participated in drama festivals, held rummage sales and an annual Christmas party. During the Second World War, it established a War Effort Department. This department organized activities such as sewing and knitting in support of the war effort. The War Effort Department also raised money for charities such as the Red Cross. During its meetings, the club often heard local and national speakers or watched films. Women of many different vocations joined the club including florists, teachers, salesclerks, nurses, and housewives. Over the years, additional departments were added to the club including those named poetry, pottery, woodcraft, and drama.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 2002. Previous custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains three small scrapbooks, which cover the years 1932-1939, 1939-1949, and 1950-1959, respectively. The scrapbooks contain newpaper clippings from the Brandon Sun, the Winnipeg Free Press, and the Flin Flon Daily Miner. The scrapbooks also contain exhibition and meeting programs from the Brandon Club. Fonds also contains meeting minutes for the years 1932-1972.
Brandon Business and Professional Women's Club (10-2002); Minnedosa Business and Professional Women's Club (11-2002); Neepawa Business and Professional Women's Club (12-2002); Trilliam Business and Professional Women's Club (2-2006).
32.5 cm of textual records
21 photographs, various sizes
Material Details
Includes 5 audiocassettes, 1 scrapbook, 2 maps, 2 theatre programs, ca. 40 postcards, ca. 25 brochures and programs, ca. 20 posters
Physical Condition
Very good
History / Biographical
Stephen Adolph Magnacca was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on 12 October 1902. He joined the Winnipeg Highland Cadets at the age of twelve. In 1940 he was posted to Brandon, Manitoba, where he opened the A4 Training Camp. After the Second World War, Magnacca was transferred to the militia from active service and became a hospital manager with the Department of Veteran Affairs. He resigned in 1947.
Although he left the service, Magnacca remained interested in military matters. For the next three decades, he attended functions at CFB Rivers and CFB Shilo. He also collected clippings about the activities of the Canadian militia. As well, Magnacca was interested in civic affairs. In 1961 he was elected mayor of Brandon, a position he held until 1969. Many of his mayoral projects were connected with the military, including an attempt to build a new road to CFB Shilo, an effort to prevent the closure of CFB Rivers, and the coordination of a Freedom of the City Ceremony. In 1967, Magnacca was made honorary colonel of the 26th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery.
A construction boom in the city marked Magnacca’s term as mayor. Throughout the sixties, Magnacca was instrumental in the building of the Keystone Centre, the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium, a new city hall, and the residential subdivisions of Riverheights and Kirkcaldy Heights. Magnacca’s business interests aided the development of these subdivisions—during this time he was president of Magnacca Real Estate and general manager of the Magnacca Housing Project.
Besides being a colonel, a mayor, and a president of a real estate company, Magnacca held numerous other titles. These included at different times president of the Brandon Lions Club, president of the Royal Canadian Legion Brandon Branch No. 3, treasurer of the Brandon Progressive Conservative Association, and director of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Brandon. In recognition of these efforts, Magnacca was named a member of the Order of Canada in 1973.In the middle of the seventies, Magnacca was active in historical pursuits. He became president of the Assiniboine Historical Society and helped to establish the Brandon Daly House Museum. To prevent Brandon’s Prince Edward Hotel from being demolished, he formed a protest group called “Save the Eddy.” In his spare time, he wrote unpublished accounts of local political figures and collected various artifacts.
A member of St. Matthew’s Cathedral, religion was important to Magnacca. Also important to him were hard work, efficiency, and hierarchy. He was a British loyalist and was devoted to public service and political life. As mayor, he prized industrial and urban development. Much of his public life was dedicated to furthering awareness of governmental and industrial activities.
Magnacca’s wife, Grace, played an integral role in her husband’s career, attending numerous networking and volunteer functions, and often organizing his activities. They had two children, Patricia (Coleman) and Allan. On 4 August 1980, at the age of seventy-seven, Stephen Adolph Magnacca passed away due to heart failure.
Custodial History
Little is known of the custodial history of the fonds. On 1 May 1995 Magnacca’s Thomas Mayne Daly collection and Magnacca’s Manitoba Historical Society papers were deposited in the Archives.
Scope and Content
The fonds consists of minutes of meetings; correspondence with politicians and military officials; newspaper clippings of military affairs; documents about governmental and military celebrations; notes on Louis Riel; a manuscript about Thomas Mayne Daly and other local politicians; papers of the Daly House museum; issues of nineteenth-century Brandon newspapers, and various historical artifacts.
The fonds is valuable for researchers interested in Brandon city council history 1882-1969, regional military history 1955-1975, and general Manitoba history 1882-1981. For social historians, this fonds is important because it demonstrates which actions and which beliefs gave Magnacca access to his many esteemed positions. Historians of gender will discover that Magnacca had a specific definition of masculinity that permeated all his activities in the public realm.
The fonds is divided into four series, including: (1) mayoral papers; (2) historical interests; (3) military interests; and (4) photographs.
Notes
Description by Tom Mitchell. Biographical sketch: Information in the biographical sketch comes from the fonds itself, as well as from two articles of the Brandon Sun: “Steve Magnacca warmly recalled,” Tuesday, 5 August 1980, p. 1; and “Brandon loses one of its finest,” 5 August 1980, p. 3. Biographical information about Stephen Adolph Magnacca is located in the Biography Files of the McKee Archives.
Associated material: Brandon Sun: “Man for the Sixties,” 30 December 1969; “History Comes Alive,” 15 June 1978; “Tenure Appointment,” 18 October 1978; “Steve Magnacca warmly recalled,” Tuesday, 5 August 1980, p. 1; “Brandon loses one of its finest,” 5 August 1980, p. 3; and “Magnacca,” 9 August 1980, p. 16, located on microfiilm in the John E. Robbins Library at Brandon University.
Conservation
Original processing of records and preparation of finding aid by Donica Belisle (22 July 1999)
Finding Aid
Patricia Coleman, daughter of Stephen Adolph Magnacca, provided the funding for the creation of this finding aid.
Storage Location
1998 accessions
Related Material
Twenty-four file drawers at the Brandon Daly House Museum contain records donated by Magnacca that deal with local political, military, and economic history.