Popularly known as the “voice of the prairies,” Fred McGuinness was known by many titles and honorifics: wordsmith, apiarist, author, beekeeper, brother, columnist, editor, father, historian, husband, journalist, memoirist, Morse operator, member of the Order of Canada, member of the Order of Manitoba, public speaker, publisher, radio broadcaster, son, telegrapher (CP), telegraphist (Navy), vice-president, and writer.
Frederick George McGuinness (b. 21 January 1921 – d. 22 March 2011) was born in Brandon, Manitoba. He attended Park and Earl Oxford public schools. Upon his father’s death in 1933, McGuinness worked as a paper carrier for the Brandon Sun, whose route covered the City’s downtown core. In 1937, he quit school and began working for the CP Telegraph Service initially as a telegram messenger and later as a Morse code operator.
In 1939, McGuinness enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy in Winnipeg and served as a wireless operator on the HMCS Alachassee. On 23 September 1940, McGuinness was seriously injured in a naval accident when his ship ran aground; McGuinness’ leg was broken when the ship’s tow cable snapped and he spent the next 11 months convalescing at Camp Hill Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia. While in hospital McGuinness contracted scarlet fever and diphtheria and developed osteomyelitis as a complication of his femur facture. McGuinness returned to Winnipeg to continue his convalescence at Deer Lodge Hospital and was ultimately discharged from the navy in 1941.
Fred McGuinness’ newspaper, public speaking, and broadcasting career began after he enrolled at St. Paul’s College in 1941. At St. Paul’s, which was affiliated with the University of Manitoba, McGuinness was able to complete his high school equivalency and university preparation courses. Additionally, in 1942, he served as a Sports Editor for St. Paul’s College Crusader student newspaper.
In 1943, McGuinness began his undergraduate university career at United College, which was also affiliated with the University of Manitoba. From 1943 to 1946, McGuinness served on the student union’s Public Relations Committee; in 1945, he became chairman of the Radio Subcommittee working as the Director of the University Radio Series where he was responsible (i.e., writing, casting, directing) for a half-hour Saturday afternoon radio programme. During this period McGuinness also uitilized his pervious military experience to work as an Assistant Veterans Counsellor in the univeristy, and, following a recommendation from the President of the University of Manitoba, as a speaker for the War Finance Committee in the Winnipeg Area.
In 1946, McGuinness moved to Port Arthur to work in public relations with the Wartime Prices and Trade Board. He married Christine Thompson (d. 14 August 2009) in Port Arthur, Ontario on 29 June 1946. Married for 61 years, the couple had four children together: Colleen, Fred Jr., Gallagher, and Timothy.
In 1947, the couple returned to Winnipeg when McGuinness took a job as a Public Relations Officer for the National Employment Service’s Unemployment Insurance Commission (UIC). During the 1950 Winnipeg Flood the UIC offices served as a communication base between the federal, provincial, and municipal governments and McGuinness received commendation from the military for his assistance during the disaster. While employed with the UIC, McGuinness also travelled the summer fair circuit with displays promoting the UIC and its benefits. During that time, Royal American Shows also hired McGuinness as its Director of Publicity and Exploitation while the show toured with the fairs on the Canadian prairies. As part of his responsibilities McGuinness had to submit weekly reports to Billboard Magazine on the Royal American fairs. McGuinness also sold his first manuscript to the CBC in 1947, recording a 14-minute broadcast titled the “Class A Circuit” about the Royal American tour, after his summer fair schedule concluded.
McGuinness continued his work with Royal American and the UIC until he accepted a position with the Saskatchewan government in 1952 to promote its upcoming 1955 golden jubilee. McGuinness worked closely with Tommy Douglas during the jubilee preparations, driving the premier to sites throughout the province. His experience with the Saskatchewan Jubilee preparations lead to McGuinness being appointed as a provincial representative to the Canadian Centennial Commission in 1963.
Fred McGuinness worked with The Medicine Hat News for 10 years, starting in 1955, when he was hired as an assistant to the paper’s publisher. In 1958, he was promoted to publisher of the newspaper. At the same time McGuinness was also appointed vice-president of Southam Company Limited. In addition to his administrative and editorial work, McGuinness also authored a column titled, “The Lighthouse” while employed by The Medicine Hat News. During his time in Medicine Hat, McGuinness was heavily involved with the Chamber of Commerce and community service organizations. His position within the community had him delivering talks to many local groups and working in tandem with the Chamber to actively solicite businesses to the City.
In November of 1965, McGuinness resigned as publisher of The Medicine Hat News and moved with his family to Winnipeg where he was appointed manager of the New Personnel and Information Division with James Richardson and Sons. At that time McGuinness began developing broadcast scripts for the CBC in earnest.
In November 1966, McGuinness was hired as associate editor and vice-president to the Brandon Sun. He moved to Brandon with his family and had a career with the paper until his death in 2011. During that time McGuiness also had an extensive career as a freelance writer and journalist for the CBC, Reader's Digest, and prairie weekly newspapers, as well as authoring several books. By the 1970s, McGuinness was writing copy for CBC’s Radio Noon and Information Radio, as well as producing Ashgrove Farm, a CBC radio drama.
During his years with the Sun, McGuinness wrote a tri-weekly “Sunbeams” (sometimes spelled “Sun Beams”) column using the nom-de-plume F.A. Rosser. The F.A. stood for “Fifth and,” and referenced the fact that the Brandon Sun offices and publication plant occupies the city block between 6th Street and 5th Street along Rosser Avenue, and McGuinness’ office overlooked the intersection at 5th Street and Rosser Avenue. The Sunbeams column was similar in style and content to McGuinness’ “Lighthouse” column for The Medicine Hat News; commenting on a variety of current events, Sunbeams also included book reviews, local events, and reminiscences.
In 1979, McGuinness started writing the syndicated weekly news column “Neighborly News.” He would write the column for 22 years until his age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diagnosed in 2001, became an impediment to his research, writing, and editing abilities. The column initially began with a dozen subscriptions from prairie weeklies and grew to publication in 55 weeklies.
The “Neighborly News” column evolved from the interest in and the impending cancellation of McGuinness’ CBC Radio broadcast “Neighborly News from the Prairies,” that he hosted from 1980 to 1983. The show was cancelled in 1983 but was picked up by Altona broadcaster CFAM later that year with McGuinness at the microphone. The radio show ended its run in the summer of 1987. McGuinness continued working with the CBC, however, and is popularly known for his work as the prairie essayist for CBC Radio’s Morningside with Peter Gzowski, a position he held for 17 years.
Many of McGuinness’ Morningside essays were autobiographical in nature. He often reported about life on Christmas Tree Farm, a section of land where the McGuinnesses built their dream home in the late 1970s. The couple planted a Christmas tree farm on the property and Christine maintained an extensive kitchen garden, while Fred tended honey bees. Life on the farm made its way into radiobroadcasts, Neighborly News columns, and the book Letters from Section 17: A Collection of Morningside Essays.
Upon his retirement in January 1987, McGuinness was made publisher emeritus of the Brandon Sun. A week after his retirement, he began writing a new column for the Sun called the “Diary.” McGuinness continued writing the “Diary” until his hospitalization in 2010. The Diary column was primarily a historical retrospective of Brandon, although it also touched on broader topics of interest to McGuinness during the time period.
During the 1980s and 1990s, McGuinness co-taught an undergraduate journalism class at Brandon University with English Professor John Blaikie. Around that time, he also partnered with Brandon University History Professor Ken Coates and published a number of popular books on Manitoba social history. McGuinness also delivered community workshops on memoir writing, a past time he continued until shortly before his death.
McGuinness took an active roll in the community and cultivated his interest in local history. Consequently he was invited to guest speak and chair sessions on local history, rural development, and the economy while providing his personal insights as a newspaper publisher. His previous experience with the Saskatchewan Jubilee and Canadian Centenial Commission made him a desirable committee and board member for many local organizaitons and planning committees. McGuinness’ lifelong commitment to prairie social history, earned him numerous awards and recognitions including an honorary doctorate from Brandon University, the Order of Manitoba, and the Order of Canada.
Fred McGuinness died on 22 March 2011 in Brandon, Manitoba.
Custodial History
Records in this collection were acquired by the S.J. McKee Archives in four accruals. Prior to their donation to the Archives the materials were in the possession of Fred McGuinness.
Accession 18-2002 contains records created and collected by Fred McGuinness until the publication of Only in Canada, a history of the Kinsmen Club Association in Canada co-authored with BU history professor Ken Coates. During the research and writing process for the book, originals and copies of Kinsmen Club of Canada records were amassed at the McKee Archives. Coates and McGuinness added their research materials to these records circa 1987. The Kinsmen records have since been deaccessioned by the McKee Archives and transferred to Kin Headquarters in Ontario.
Accession 6-2008 contains records created and collected during the writing of the Provincial Exhibition book, Pride of the Land. Fred McGuinness, who co-authored the book with Ken Coates, donated these records to the McKee Archives circa 1988. The materials in the accession relating to Souris, Manitoba, were given to McGuinness by Kay Sullivan in August 2007, and were subsequently deposited in the Archives. The material in the accession related to Kemnay, Manitoba, was given to Colleen McGuinness (Fred’s daughter) by Mona McKinnon (nee Corkish) in the fall of 2007. Colleen then passed the materials on to her father, who in turn donated them to the S.J. McKee Archives.
Accession 20-2009 contains records created and collected by Fred McGuinness over the course of his career as a newspaper journalist and during the research and writing period of the Brandon history book, The Wheat City. Records remained in his possession at his home until their transfer to the McKee Archives on July 28, 2009.
Accession 1-2015 contains records created and collected by Fred McGuinness over the course of his career as a newspaper journalist and freelance writer. The Estate of Fred McGuinness donated the materials to the S.J. McKee Archives in March 2011. The Archives accessioned the records in 2015.
Scope and Content
The records in this collection touch on every aspect of Fred McGuinness’ life. From his childhood, his education, his war experience, his newspaper and freelance career, his work in radio and public speaking, and his family the collection covers both his personal and professional life. In addition to the records created by McGuinness, there are also records created and collected by a variety of his relatives (on both sides of the family), as well as correspondence from his readers. The collection includes newspaper clippings, research materials, letters, certificates, scrapbooks, photographs, books, periodicals, pamphlets, sound recordings, artifacts, maps, newsletters, magazines, teaching materials, workshop materials, and financial records.
Because of McGuinness’ wide-ranging interests, the records include a significant number of subjects, both within his own writing and correspondence, but also within his library. They would be of particular interest to researchers who share McGuinness’ passions for local history and rural topics.
The scope and importance of McGuinness’ work in the prairies also resulted in a number of noteworthy honors, in particular the Order of Manitoba and the Order of Canada. The collection contains materials related to both.
The Fred McGuinness collection consists of nine (9) series further divided into subseries, including: (McG 1) Personal papers; (McG 2) Newspaper career; (McG 3) Freelance; (McG 4) McGuinness research materials; (McG 5) Monographs; (McG 6) Broadcasts, lectures, workshops; (McG 7) McGuinness artifacts and sound recordings; (McG 8) McGuinness library; and (McG 9) McGuinness photographs.
See the Arrangement Note for a more detailed breakdown of the collection’s arrangement.
Notes
The description of the Fred McGuinness collection was made possible by financial assistance from: The Manitoba Government Department of Tourism, Culture, Heritage Sport and Consumer Protection through the Manitoba Heritage Grants Program & The Fred McGuinness Endowment for Rural Archives, Brandon University
Information for the history/biography was compiled by the Archives and can be found in the Fred McGuinness timeline containing footnotes (see the S.J. McKee Archivist). Additional information was taken from his book, Letters from Section 17: A Collection of Morningside Essays, which is autobiographical in nature
Description by Suyoko Tsukamoto and Christy Henry (2015)
Finding Aid
A file level inventory is available for each subseries, see subseries descriptions
Provincial Exhibition Association of Manitoba fonds
Lawrence Stuckey collection
Jack Stothard collection
Trillium Business and Professional Women’s Club records
Oriole Vane-Veldhuis collection
William Wallace papers
Fred McGuinness local history collection (John E. Robbins Library)
CBC Radio Archives – Morningside
Trent University, Peter Gzowski fonds (99-015)
Kin Headquarters, Mississauga
Arrangement
The arrangement was artificially created by the Archives with the intention of grouping like materials. Records within files were placed in chronological order wherever possible. An inventory of the prearranged materials is available (consult the Archivist)
McG 1 Personal papers
McG 1.1 McGuinness family papers and letters
McG 1.2 Fred McGuinness correspondence
McG 1.3 Fred McGuinness Ltd. business documents
McG 1.4 Fred McGuinness certificates and scrapbook
McG 2 Newspaper career
McG 2.1 The Medicine Hat News
McG 2.2 The Brandon Sun
McG 2.3 Neighborly News
McG 3 Freelance
McG 3.1 Reader’s Digest
McG 3.2 Miscellaneous freelance
McG 4 McGuinness research
McG 4.1 Local history research materials
McG 4.2 Newspaper clippings
McG 5 Monographs
McG 5.1 Pride of the Land (1985)
McG 5.2 Only in Canada (1987)
McG 5.3 Old Pathways, New Horizons (1995)
McG 5.4 Manitoba: The Province & The People (1987)
McG 5.5 The Keystone Province: Manitoba Enterprise (1988)
McG 5.6 The Wheat City (1988)
McG 5.7 Chronicle of Canada (1990)
McG 6 McGuinness broadcasts, lectures, workshops
McG 6.1 Radio broadcast scripts
McG 6.2 BU Journalism course
McG 6.3 Talks and workshops
McG 7 McGuinness artifacts and sound recordings
McG 8 McGuinness library
McG 8.1 Books
McG 8.2 Booklets
McG 8.3 Maps, newsletters, and periodicals
McG 8.4 Pamphlets
McG 8.5 Magazines and newspapers (oversize)
McG 9 McGuinness photographs
6-2008 photographs
20-2009 photographs
1-2015 photographs
See collection level description for history/biography information on Frederick George McGuinness.
Custodial History
Accession 1-2015 contains records created and collected over the course of McGuinness’ career as a newspaper journalist and freelance writer. The Estate of Fred McGuinness donated the materials to the SJ McKee Archives circa 2011. The Archives accessioned the records in 2015.
Scope and Content
Subseries consists of records created and collected by Fred McGuinness during his years in the Canadian navy, college, and as a journalist and publisher with The Medicine Hat News.
The subseries includes of variety of certificates pertaining to McGuinness’ marriage, volunteer work, professional memberships, and awards. The scrapbook contains ephemera (e.g., photographs, newspaper clippings, programmes, invitations, certificates, napkins) during McGuinness’ early years in the navy, college, and at The Medicine Hat News.
Notes
In the file level inventories, square brackets at end of file names reference the original location of the file in the unprocessed Fred McGuinness collection. The original location is also noted on the front of each file folder
Accruals
Closed
Finding Aid
File level inventory is available for the certificates
Storage Location
2015 accessions
Related Material
Materials from McGuinness’ time during his navy and college years may be found in the Personal papers series (McG 1). Materials pertaining to his time at The Medicine Hat News are in the Newspaper career series (McG 2)
Arrangement
Arrangement was artificially created by the Archives. Subseries has been re-arranged according to publication period.
All records are reproductions. Photographs are digital scans.
History / Biographical
Reverend Elijah Daniel Pound (1881 – 1931) was a Brandon College alumnus and pioneer Baptist missionary tasked with opening the largest and most northern Baptist mission fields at Swan River and Bowsman, Manitoba.
Elijah D. Pound was born August 16, 1881, in Bayham Elgin County, Ontario, the second son of John and Rhoda Pound. Both Elijah and his brother, Orlo Lydia (b. February 12, 1880 – d. September 11,1916), were trained in cabinetmaking but Elijah left the trade to enter the ministry, first at Woodstock Baptist College and then at Brandon College.
Pound was a student and boarder at Brandon College from 1910 to 1916 and again in the 1918-19 academic year. Brandon College registration cards identify Pound as an Arts student in 1912-13 and as a Theology student from 1913 onwards. On his Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) attestation papers, Pound identified the Brandon College COTC as his prior military experience.
Pound’s name was listed in a Brandon Daily Sun article (26 April 1916) about five college students - Wallace Donogh, Norman McDonald, Frank Noble, James Rowell, and Herbert Staines – who withdrew from Brandon College examinations to head to Winnipeg to enlist with the 11th Field Ambulance Corps. Pound was reported to be joining them four days later.
In the interim, Pound married Bessie Lavinia Tolton (b. November 26, 1893 – d. August 11, 1987) on April 27, 1916, at her family home in Oak Lake, Manitoba. They would later have four children: John Henry Pound, Alberta Pound (Stevenson), Norman Elijah Pound, and Ernestine Pound. Pound’s best man was Brandon College’s COTC officer Sergeant Frederick Julian. Pound and his wife entrained to Winnipeg for a short honeymoon before he departed for service overseas. He formerly enlisted (regimental # 531794) with the 11th Field Ambulance Division in St. Vital, Manitoba, on May 1, 1916.
During the war, Pound’s field ambulance cohort remained in contact while overseas and would often submit updates about each other to the Brandon College Quill; it was in The Quill that Pound was reported wounded and later invalided home. Pound was discharged from the CEF in May of 1918 after being deemed medically unfit.
After being invalided home, Elijah Pound was eligible to have his college expenses covered through the Department of Soldiers’ Civil Re-Establishment Invalided Soldiers’ Commission. He returned to Brandon College to complete his theology degree.
Prior to the war, Pound worked as a student Baptist preacher in the summers between College terms. In 1912, he preached in the district around Emmaville, northwest of North Battleford, Saskatchewan. After graduation, Pound became a travelling Baptist minister and lived in the Bowsman River (now Bowsman, Manitoba) parsonage with his family in the 1920s. He preached in the communities of Swan River, Bowsman River, Birch River, Lady Hubble, and Lenswood and was reported to have four other appointments in the Swan Valley. He also did missionary work north of Boswman with the fishermen, lumbermen, and Aboriginals. This territory was considered the largest and most northern Baptist mission field in Manitoba.
Rev. Elijah D. Pound passed away on February 11, 1931, at Deer Lodge Hospital in Winnipeg following a kidney cancer diagnosis (hypernephroma). The Winnipeg Free Press (14 February 1931) reported his funeral service would be held at the Broadway Baptist Church on February 14th followed by an interment at Brookside Cemetery (Plot D2-0661-0). Another Brandon College alumnus, Reverend Evan McDonald Whidden, was in attendance at Pound’s funeral as part of the contingent of Winnipeg Baptist ministers.
After his death, the Pound Memorial Baptist Church was opened in Bowsman, Manitoba. The formal dedication was held on November 8, 1931, with Rev. Dr. Litch, superintendent of the Manitoba Baptist mission, and the Rev. and Mrs. Smith among the 200 participants in attendance. At the opening, Pound’s widow gifted the Memorial Church with its communion table.
Custodial History
The collection of digital images are from the Rev. E.D. Pound’s family photo album titled, “1920 to 1930; Rev. E.D. Pound and Family; Bowsman River, Manitoba; Pictures of Family, Local Church Members & Friends, Lumbering, Fishing, & Travel.” The photographs are in the possession Rev. E.D. Pound’s granddaughter, Patricia Ann Pound Holl of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who is the daughter of Pound’s third child Norman Elijah Pound. The records were passed down to her through the family.
Ann Pound Holl visited Brandon on September 9, 2014, to see the exhibition “Brandon College and the Great War” (September 1, 2014 to December 23, 2014) on display in the Tommy McLeod Curve Gallery at Brandon University’s John E. Robbins Library. The photographs in this collection were digitized that day. Ann’s grandfather, E.D. Pound, was referenced in a letter on display from the Department of Soldiers’ Civil Re-Establishment Invalided Soldiers’ Commission (dated February 17th, 1919) [RG1 Series 11 Military Training Box 1 File 14] as well as listed in the College’s new nominal roll. She brought with her her grandfather’s photo album, copies of E.D. Pound’s papers, and the Tolton Family self-publication “The Two Who Made Us Tell” written by Lillian Tolton Smith.
Scope and Content
The collection consist of copies of Rev. E.D. Pound’s marriage, enlistment, and death records; copies of newspaper clippings pertaining to Pound’s marriage and death; and digital copies of photographs originally taken while Rev. Pound worked as a traveling Baptist missionary in the Swan Valley mission field.
DIGITAL IMAGES
The digital images were selected from the Rev. E.D. Pound’s family photo album titled, “1920 to 1930; Rev. E.D. Pound and Family; Bowsman River, Manitoba; Pictures of Family, Local Church Members & Friends, Lumbering, Fishing, & Travel” and pertain to Rev. Pound’s marriage in 1916 before serving overseas with the field ambulance division and his life after the war in northern Manitoba as a travelling Baptist minister in the 1920s. Northern Manitoba images consist of scanned photographs depicting the Bowsman River parsonage and congregation, the Lenswood School congregation, the Birch River Pioneer Store, winter logging and fishing activities, Rev. Pound performing baptisms and open air services, and the Pound Memorial Baptist Church.
TEXTUAL RECORDS
The textual records in the collection pertain to Rev. Pound’s marriage in 1916, enlistment in the Great War, and death in 1931. Marriage records include copies of Pound-Tolton’s 1916 marriage certificate, wedding photographs, and newspaper clippings announcing the marriage. Military records include 1916 attestation and 1918 discharge papers from the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Death records include copies of Pound’s Manitoba Death Certificate and non-sourced newspaper clippings about Pound’s death.
Copy of Pound-Tolton Marriage Certificate (dated April 27, 1916)
Copy of photograph of married couple Elijah Daniel Pound in military uniform with Bessie Lavinia Tolton
Copy of photograph of married couple Elijah Daniel Pound in suit with Bessie Lavinia Tolton and newspaper clippings “Emmaville News (1912)” and “Wedding Bells Pound-Tolton (April 27, 1916)”
Copy of Pound’s Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force No. XI Overseas Field Ambulance Attestation Paper (dated May 1, 1916)
Copy of Pound’s Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force Discharge Certificate (dated May 25, 1918)
Copy of Pound’s Province of Manitoba Medical Certificate of Death (dated March 1, 1931)
Copies of non-sourced newspaper obituaries and articles about Pound’s death:
o “Rev. E.D. Pound, Baptist Minister, Dies in Hospital” [from The Manitoba Free Press (16 February 1931, p. 4)]
o “The Pound Memorial Church”
o “Missionary on Frontier to be Buried Today”
o “Bowsman News”
o “Our Honored Dead” [from The East Elgin Tribune (Aylmer Sun) for 12 October 1916]
o “Obituaraies – Pound”
o “In Loving Memory”
o “Rev E.D. Pound Dies in Winnipeg”
o “Lavender News”
Copies of photograph of Rev. E.D. Pound from vanity publication of Tolton family history, “The Two Who Made Us Tell” (Lillian Tolton Smith)
Notes
Description by Suyoko Tsukamoto
Accruals
open
Finding Aid
none
Location Original
Original materials were retained by Anne Hall
Storage Location
2014 accessions (textual records)
Shared 02 web photos (photos)
Related Material
RG1 Series 11 Military Training Box 1 File 14
The Quill
Arrangement
DIGITAL IMAGES
7-2014.1.1 Elijah Pound wedding photo in uniform
7-2014.1.2 Elijah Pound wedding photo folder
7-2014.1.3 Elijah Pound and Lavinia Tolton Fairview Farm May 4, 1914
7-2014.1.4 Kenton Baptist Church Post Card photo printed by Gowen’s Studio, Brandon, Man. (Photo album notes Elijah Pound and Lavinia Tolton married in Kenton Baptist Church in 1916.)
7-2014.1.5 Boswman River Parsonage 1921
7-2014.1.6 Boswman River Baptist congregation in front of parsonage (Elijah Pound on right holding child)
7-2014.1.7 Boswman River Baptist congregation in front of parsonage (Elijah Pound top centre)
7-2014.1.8 Lenswood School congregation
7-2014.1.9 Wedding (set-up in Lenswood School?)
7-2014.1.10 Lumbering 1920s
7-2014.1.11 Lumbering 1920s
7-2014.1.12 Lumbering 1920s (logs being hauled on 8 foot lunks to saw mill)
7-2014.1.13 Lumbering 1920s
7-2014.1.14 Lumbering 1920s
7-2014.1.15 Lumbering 1920s
7-2014.1.16 Pound and fishing nets (1920s)
7-2014.1.17 Fishing nets on lake (1920s)
7-2014.1.18 Pound and fishing nets in background (1920s)
7-2014.1.19 Boxes of frozen fish ready to ship (1920s)
7-2014.1.20 Birch River Pioneer Store
7-2014.1.21 Pound with Anglican Minister
7-2014.1.22 Pound performing baptism (walking into creek)
7-2014.1.23 Pound performing baptism (submerged to waist)
7-2014.1.24 Pound performing baptism (pants wet)
7-2014.1.25 Pound (middle), Mr. Blackwell and baptism candidate
7-2014.1.26 Annual get together open air service
7-2014.1.27 Pound Memorial Church
7-2014.1.28 Pound Memorial Church dedication
7-2014.1.29 Rev and Mrs. Smith, Dr. Hitch at Pound Memorial Church
7-2014.1.30 Rev and Mrs. Smith, Dr. Hitch at Pound Memorial Church
7-2014.1.31 Rev. E.J. Pound from Tolton Family history book, “The Two Who Made Us Tell” (Lillian Tolton Smith 19??, p.45).
Mary Ellen Ross was born in July 1872. She married David Henry Schwalm in Woodstock, Ontario on January 2, 1889. David died ca. 1895, leaving Mary with two small children - Clara Amy and Annie Irene. At some point after 1901, Mary was transferred (the nature of the transfer is unknown although it may amount to a character reference) to the Methodist Church in Brandon, Manitoba from the Central Methodist Church in Toronto. It appears that Mary was back in Woodstock by 1907. By 1911, she and her daughters were living in Toronto.
Custodial History
The items in the collection remained in the possession of Mary Schwalm until her death, at which point they passed to her grandson (Annie Irene's son). Schwalm's great-granddaughter Linda Tripp donated them to the McKee Archives in July 2007.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of :
3 photographs (b/w) - includes one of Brandon College c. 1905 and two of unidentified faculty members. The faculty members appear to be from Toronto.
4 Brandon College artifacts - includes a small plate, cream pitcher, sugar bowl and bud vase. All the pieces were made in Germany and have the same drawing of the Brandon College Original Building on them. They are primarily green and yellow in color.
1 drawing - architectural drawing of the front view of Brandon College as it would appear when the Ladies' Building (Clark Hall) was completed in September 1906.
2 letters - both letters were written by J.A. Rankin, Pastor at Central Methodist Church, Toronto re the transfer of Mary Schwalm from the Central Methodis Church on Bloor Street East to Methodist Church, Brandon.
Notes
Biographical information was provided by Linda Tripp and obtained from the 1911 Canadian Census. Description by Christy Henry (2007).
Storage Location
The Brandon College photograph and drawing are located in the RG 5 Western Manitoba Manuscript collection - photograph storage drawer. The other two photographs and the letters are located with the 2007 accessions. The artifacts are on display in the Reading Room display case.
Some pages in the scrapbooks have fallen out and some of the glued pieces are no longer attached to pages
History / Biographical
Dilys Collier (nee Pearce) was born 4 December 1937, in the Rural Municipality of Daly near Rivers, MB. Before studying at Brandon College, Collier was educated in Bradwardine, MB. Collier graduated from Brandon College with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Pedagogy in 1958 and 1959 respectively. In 1961, Collier married a Brandon College classmate, Clare Coburn. She spent much of the next two decades working as a homemaker and mother to her three children.
After she and her husband separated in 1979, Collier decided to go back to school. In the next ten years, Collier completed a Bachelor of Education degree (1980), a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Regina (1982) and a Master of Education degree from the University of Saskatchewan (1987). Across her working career, Collier held many posistions including public school teacher, adult educator, social worker, researcher and personal counselor. Along with her work, Collier volunteered extensively with the Knox United Church and the Brandon Cooperative Nursing School. Through the years, she worked for a variety of organizations, including The Saskatoon Family Service Bureau and the REgina John Howard Society. Collier has lived and worked in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Swansea, Wales.
Currently (January 2017), Collier is retired and lives in Mission, BC with her husband of thirty-four years, Kenneth Collier.
Custodial History
The records were created and collected by Dilys Collier during her years as a student and alumna of Brandon College/University. The records were stored in her home huntil they were donated to the McKee Archives in 2013.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of records created and collected by Dilys Collier as a means to document her life as a Brandon College student in the 1950s.
Included are three scrapbooks and two folders containing: newspapers and newspaper clippings from The Brandon Sun and The Quill, dealing primarily with Brandon College students, faculty and events; Brandon College administrative records such as the Clark Hall Rules, Collier's proof of registration records, her Brandon College acceptance letter, class schedules and exam timetables; photographs and programmes that cover events such as Freshie Week, dances and other student functions on campus; records documenting campus student activities, including the words to Hail Our College and various College Yells performed after student dances and other functions; decorations from fall proms and Valentine's Day dances, as well as Convocation (1958); programmes from various College convocation ceremonies; various cards Collier received, including those for her birthday and Valentine's Day; election advertisements, primarily for those students running for Student Administration "Stick" positions.
The collection also contains a green taffeta, net and rhinestone gown purchased by Collier to wear to some of the formal dances held at Brandon's Prince Edward Hotel.
Notes
History/Bio information was provided by the donor in late 2016/early 2017. Information on the green gown can be found on prairiehistory.ca. Description by Brian Erixon (October 2016) and Christy Henry.
Oriole A. Vane Veldhuis is the great-granddaughter of Percy Criddle and Elise Harrer Vane. She grew up on a farm in southwest Manitoba and received an education at Stockton school, Brandon College and Central Normal School in Winnipeg. Veldhuis balanced teaching at schools in Manitoba, Newfoundland and Ontario, with studying at MacDonal Institute in Guelph, ON and at the Centre for Christian Studies in Toronoto for Diaconal ministry. Alongside her husband Art, Veldhuis served in United Church congregations in God's Lake Narrows, Holland and Winnipeg, MB, as well as Elmira, ON. Oriole and Art had four children together, whom they raised while she was working part-time and studying to recieve her Bachelor in Education, Post Baccalaureate in Education and Master of Divinity.
Once retired from her teaching and ministry duties, Veldhuis shifted her focus to maintaining a promise to her father that she would try to uncover the mystery of his grandmother. Veldhuis self-published her discoveries regarding the secret life of Elise Vane and Percy Criddle in her book, For Elise: Unveiling the Forgotten Woman on the Criddle Homestead.
Veldhuis was awarded the Margaret McWilliams Award by the Manitoba Historical Society for best local history book in 2012. In 2016, her book was a finalist for the Whistler Independent Bood Award in the non-fiction category. Three editions of the book have been published (2012, 2013 and 2014), as well as ebook and audio book versions.
Custodial History
Records were collected and created by Oriole Vane Veldhuis during the research, writing and promotion of her book, For Elise: Unveiling the Forgotten Woman on the Criddle Homestead. They were donated to the McKee Archives in two accessions between 2014-2015.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of the research materials that Veldhuis compiled between 2001-2012, in the writing of her book, as well as materials created and collected during the promotion of the book. The records deal with the relationships between different members of the Criddle/Vane family after they had immigrated to Canada and were living at their southwestern Manitoba homestead. The correspondence between Edwy Vane and his fiancee, Emily Steers, provides insight into the relationships between Percy and his illegitimate children. The records containing Elise Vane's homestead material shows Percy's loyalty to his agreement with Elise to provide for their children in his fight to ensure the government's approval of her homestead.
Collection consist of records - diaries, letters, homestead applications and files, and receipts, as well as addressed envelopes and postmarks - related to the Criddle and Vane families. Some of these documents are copies from materials held in the Archives of Manitoba, while others are copies of family records transcribed by Verna Vane Pannycook in 1976, and later given to Veldhuis. Other records were obtained from a private source and prepared by Oriole Vane Veldhuis.
The collection also includes two booklets containing Veldhuis's original and continued research. The first booklet outlines Veldhuis's motivation for beginning research on her great-grandmother's past, information on Elise that she received from relatives in Europe, and an account of Elise and Percy's years together before immigrating to Canada. The second booklet contains documentation of Veldhuis's travels in 2004 to Germany in search of further information on her German ancestors, as well as a general account of Heidelberg's history, and family trees for both the Veldhuis and Harrer families.
The collection also contains an article promoting For Elise in an issue of the Winnipeg Free Press (August 9, 2014), as well as two book reviews by Lois M. Wilson and Greg Pohl, an article regarding the Criddle Homestead by Neil Holiday, an interpretive trail brochure from the Criddle/Vane Homestead Heritage Committee, and a copy of For Elise (2nd edition).
Finally, the collection includes a DVD containing digital copies of Percy Criddle's diary from 1882-1918. The DVD contains 38 Word documents (one document for the London diary years [1876-1882] and one document per diary year for 1882-1918). It aolso contains the same diary entries broken down into three PDF documents: 1882-1890, 1891-1903 and 1904-1918. The original London diaries were transcribed by typewriter by Alma Criddle and converted into computer file by Myrna Paquette.
Notes
History/Bio information was taken from the records. The copies of Percy Criddle's diaries in the collection contain minor changes from Percy's original hand-written diaries housed in the Archives of Manitoba. The copies of Elise Vane's Homeseated files were obtained from the Archives of Manitoba and copied in the 1970s before they were converted to microfiche. Description by Caroline Stitt (October 2016)
Fleming School, located at 2320 Louise Avenue, Brandon, MB, was a part of the Brandon School Division from its creation in 1914 until its closure in 2005. The school was named to commemorate the life of pioneer Dr. Alexander Fleming. Fleming, who was a Scottish born immigrant, came to Brandon in 1881, where he worked as Brandon's first medical doctor and pharmacist. He also held the role of chairman for the Brandon School Board. Fleming died in Brandon on November 26, 1897.
Rapid population growth in the City of Brandon in the early part of the 20th century resulted in a need for additional school buildings; Fleming School was among the schools established during this period. Designed by W.H. Shillinglaw, the structure was constructed out of concrete, wood and brick, and included a basement. When the school first opened, it was composed of six classrooms; after two renovations in 1953 and 1962, the school expanded with more classrooms and a gymnasium. At the time of its closure, Fleming School could accommodate seven classes, covering grades kindergarten to grade six.
Around 2004, the Brandon School Division decided to close Fleming Elementary School. Prior to the closure a celebration was held on January 14, 2005, to honour the school's 90th Anniversary. Following the school's official closing, students were reallocated to Earl Oxford Elementary School (540 18th Street). Some of the former staff found work in other schools within the Division, while Craig Manson, the last principal of Fleming School, became principle of Green Acres Elementary School.
The building formerly used as Fleming Elementary School became a high school for the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation in late 2006. The Band bought the building in late 2010.
Custodial History
Records were collected and created by Fleming School staff and administration, many for the 90th anniversary and closing of the school. Craig Manson, the last principal of Fleming School, gave the records to David Wilson, who donated them to the S.J. McKee Archives in 2015.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of records that document the history of Fleming School. Many of the records were created and gathered specifically by Craig Manson and others for the school's 90th anniversary; on November 19, 2006 an ad written by Grant Hamilton was placed in the Brandon Sun with Jean Pickard asking for potential archives from Fleming School to be donated by contacting Keith Heide at the Brandon School Division. The archives were to be used in a display on education in Brandon to be located in the Town Centre in June 2007. Other records were collected and created by the school's staff and administration to document the activities and student of their school.
Textual records include newspaper clippings, staff and administration lists (1914-2005), programs, calendars, correspondence, anecdotes, as well as records related to the events surrounding the 90th anniversary and the closure of the school. The 90th anniversary celebration materials include Craig Manson's speech and agenda, the lyrics to the school song, and a list of people in attendance. The newspaper clippings, with capture the experiences of Fleming students, are evidence of the staff's interest in the lives of their current and former students.
Also included in the textual records is in depth genealogical research for the Fleming family. The research includes birth and death dates, photographs of grave sites and residences of Fleming family members, as well as some correspondence around the school's 90th anniversary. The photographs in the album include both originals and photocopies.
Photographs in the collection, like the newspaper clippings, document the activities and events of Fleming School, its students and staff. They include candid's from the classroom, various ceremonies (including the 90th anniversary), and the celebration of holidays (especially Halloween). There are also a number of class and staff portraits.
The collection also includes audio visual materials. The VHS recording entitled "Fleming School 90th Birthday Tea," runs approximately 75 minutes and was videoed by Ian Carkener. The DVD, which runs 42 minutes, was created by the staff and students for the 90th anniversary celebration. It has three components: "Through the Decades" shows students re-enacting school scenes from earlier decades; "Students at Work and Play," shows the 2004-2005 students in their classroom environment during holiday celebrations, school ceremonies and working on assignments; and "Reflections," which includes a slide show of photographs of Fleming School throughout the years set to music.
Finally, the collection includes four artifacts: one 90th anniversary celebration balloon with an image of the school building and the its years of operation printed on it; a school magnet with the school phone number and an image of the brick school building; and two pins. The first pin is circular with a black background and gold details including the school's name, three silhouettes and three maple leaves. The second pin appears to have a hornet or bee emblem with the number 72.
Notes
History/bio information was taken from the records, as well as the Manitoba Historical Society's website (Alexander Fleming, Fleming School - accessed on September 30, 2016), the Brandon School Division website (Fleming School - accessed on September 30, 2016) and Grant Hamilton's article "Gathering school archives while they can" (Brandon Sun, November 19, 2006). Description by Megan Treloar (September 2016) and Christy Henry.
Some of the pages and photographs in the scrapbooks have become loose
History / Biographical
Verda Joan McDonald (nee Peden) was born in Brandon, MB on May 2, 1934. She was the middle daughter of Bill, a school principal, and Phyllis Peden. McDonald attended school at King George, Alexandra (now Betty Gibson), Earl Oxford and Brandon Collegiate Institute.
In 1951, McDonald enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program at Brandon College. A fellowship program from the local YMCA enabled her to teach gym and swim programs after school and on Saturday for a small salary, which enabled her and some other students to finance their education. She graduated in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. During her graduating year, McDonald served as Lady Stick for Brandon College; the title of Lady Stick was an elected position and an honour, and gave McDonald and the person elected Senior Stick, Frank McKinnon, the responsibility of leading the student council for that year. In 1956, McDonald obtained her Bachelor of Pedagogy degree, also from Brandon College, which allowed her to teach grades 1 to 12 in Manitoba.
Verda married her college sweetheart, Dick McDonald, on August 25, 1956, and the couple moved to Dauphin to teach at the Dauphin Collegiate and Technical Institute for two years. They returned to Brandon in September 1958, and Verda proceeded to teach at Brandon Collegiate, Neelin High School and Vincent Massey until December 1960.
When Dick finished his degree at Brandon College and started teaching, Verda stayed at home to raise their three sons, Rick, Paul and Daren. During this time she began her many years of volunteering within the community. She served seven years on each of the following three boards: The Brandon Schools Instrumental Music Association; The Brandon University Alumni Board; and The Board of Fairview Nursing Home. She became President of each board during her term.
McDonald supported her husband throughouet his teaching and financial career, as well as his strong involvement in the Artillery Reserve Army with the 26th Field Regiment where he served as Commander and later Honorary Colonel. Both McDonald and her husband maintained strong ties with Brandon University and have contributed generously to funding campaign and scholarships. The Sports Wall of Fame in the Health Living Centre on the Brandon University campus is named in their honour.
In addition to their involvement with Brandon University, the McDonald's were members of the Kinsmen, K40 service club, gold and bridge clubs and enjoyed many years together in Brandon. They enjoyed going on cruise ship holidays and visited many countries together.
Since Dick's death in September 2015, Verda has tried to maintain her involvment in university activities. She continues to reside in Brandon, MB.
Custodial History
Records were created and collected by Verda McDonald during her years as a student and alumna of Brandon College/Brandon University. The records were stored in her home until their donation to the McKee Archives in 2015.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of records dealing with Verda McDonald's experiences as a student and alumna at Brandon College/University. The majority of the collection contains records from the early 1950s during McDonald's college years (1951-1955). These records, which cover the social and athletic aspects of Brandon College in the 1950s, provide a detailed look at college student life during this time period. The collection also contains a small number of records (1955-2005), documenting McDonald's experiences as an alumna of Brandon College/University.
The collection consists of four scrapbooks, which contain photographs, newspaper clippings, graduation cards, lyrics for class songs, and programs for graduation banquets, school dances, graduation ceremonies and drama productions. The scrapbooks also contain ephemera such as sports emblems, table decorations, election paraphernalia. It also includes McDonald's oath of office from when she was sworn in as Lady Stick, as well as her acceptance speech from the same ceremony.
The three file folders in the collection include: a list written by Frank McKinnon, a classmate of McDonald's, outlining his reasons for coming to Brandon College and his recollections of being a student at Brandon College; the rules of Clark Hall residence hall; and pamphlets for various celebrations and events at Brandon University (Homecoming 2009, Homecoming 2006, Reunion Weekend 2005, Reunion Weekend 2004, Homecoming 1995 and 1995 Reconovocation program, Homecoming 1980, 1975 Open House).
Finally, the collection contains 18 loose photographs. A number of the photos document important reunions for the Class of 1955 (40th Anniversary in 1995, 50th Anniversary in 2005), while others were taken at alumni events over the years (1988-1997). There is one postcard of Brandon University buildings (Original Building and Clark Hall, McMaster Hall and the Queen Elizabeth II School of Music building). Some of the 1995 reunion photos include images of the Brandon College Building and Clark Hall under renovation. Also included are a composite portrait of the Class of 1955 and class portraits Arts and Science for the Class of 1960.
Notes
History/Bio information provided by Verda McDonald. Description by Emily Bate (October 2016) and Christy Henry.
The textual records and artefacts are in good condition. Many of the photographs are bent and the paper based photo albums have some tearing.
History / Biographical
Nadia Irene Lewis (nee Chernec) was born in Shoal Lake, MB on December 31, 1926. Shortly after her birth, Nadia was place in the care of a nurse in Brandon, BM while her parents were attempting to set up a home in the United States. Her mother was a teacher and her father was in training to become a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), but because they were unmarried and had a child out of wedlock, they both lost their jobs and felt they needed to start a new life in a different place. As they were driving up the Brandon Hill, they were tragically involved in a three car collision, which killed them both.
The nurse caring for the newborn baby girl and a social worker from the Children's Aid Society assigned to the case decided to palce Nadia in an orphange in Brandon. During her stay at the orphanage, the caretakers named her "Katy" after a popular song of the day and discovered that she really enjoyed music. Nicholas and Maria Chernec adopted "Katy" from the orphanage when she was 3 1/2 years old, and in her brief autobiography, Nadia wrote that she suspected that Nicholas Chernec was her biological uncle (her father's brother). In June 1929, baby "Katy" was christened "Nadia Irene Chernec."
According to Nadia's autobiography, Nicholas Chernec urged his wife Maria to adopt the baby for three years as she remained in the orphanage. Maria had suffered a fall from a ladder during their marriage and as a result, was unalbe to have children. Maria "was often quite ill" and id not want to raise another person's child, but eventually she agreed.
Both Nicholas and Maria were of Ukrainian descent, and therefore Nadia was raised with a knowledge of Ukrainian traditions and within the ukrainian community of Brandon, something that she embraced. Nadia grew up in Brandon's North End and graduated from the Normal School in 1945. She immediately began a teaching career that would last for 32 years, though she also worked in an office for three of those years. She married Alexander Mitchell Lewis on July 23, 1971 in Vancouver, BC. Alexander was a contractor and boat builder.
After Maria Chernec's death in September 1984, nadia began correspondence with Oseredok, the Ukranian Cultural and Educational Centre in Winnipeg, MB. She ultimately donated many traditional Ukrainian items to the Centre, including a painting much beloved by her father (who died in 1955) and garments handmade by her mother, thus preserving some of her family's cultural heritage.
As noted previously, Nadia loved music as a child and eventually learned to play the violin. She performed with several orchestras throughout her life, including the New Westminster Symphony and the Kitsilano Orchestra. in November 1998, she was diagnoed with trigeminal neuralgia, a neurological disorder that affects the nerves in the head. This disorder, which can cause unexpected and debilitating pain in the affected area, led to Nadia giving up driving, and ultimately, her violin playing. Through presecription drug experimentation under the supervision of her physican and neurologist, Nadia was eventually able to control the effects of the disease. Nadia Irene Lewis died on September 14, 2013 in Richemond, BC at the age of 86.
Custodial History
The collection was transferred to Ms. Lewis' lawyer after her death in 2013. The records were then given to Drew Mitchell, a distant cousing who had been named in her will. Mitchell donated the records to the McKee Archives in 2017.
Scope and Content
The collection was created by Nadia Chernec Lewis throughout the course of her adult life and chronicles her activities from her birth in Manitoba, and moves to British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, New Zealand and finally back to British Columbia where she died.
Collection consists of an autobiography, her parents' biographies (written by Nadia), vital records related to her family, correspondence with classmates from the Normal School and Oseredok and many photographs of Nadia, her friends and family. Some of the photograph depict Brandon and Brandon's North End. Also included in the collection is a set of wooden rosary beads and a doll dressed in traditional Ukrainian garments, handmade by Maria Chernec.
Notes
History/Bio information taken from the records. Description by Megan Demarest (December 2018).
Language Note
English and Ukrainian
Finding Aid
A file list for the collection is available, as well as a photo inventory.
Storage Location
2018 accessions
Arrangement
Photographs 3-2017.5 through 3-2017.88 were in a card box labeled "Lewis Pictures (1956-'58, 1960's, 1970's)," which has been discarded.
Photographs 3-2017.89 through 3-2017.104 were in a candy box labeled "Pictures and Background Material in relation to Nicholas and Maria Chernec of Brandon, Manitoba . . . the Ukrainian Community in the 1930's-1940's mostly . . .," which has been discarded. An envelope in the box labeled "Ukrainian Shirt, History of . . ." contained a handwritten description of the shirt and its history along with photographs 3-2017.89 through 3-2017.94. The note is in Folder #6, Oseredok-Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre. Photographs 3-2017.95 through 3-2017.104 are Polaroids taken to document items that Ms. Lewis donated to Oseredok in 2000.
Photographs 3-2017.105 through 3-2017.152 were remeoved from a green self-adhesive photo album, which has been discarded.
Photographs 3-2017.153 thorough 3-2017.198 were removed from a self-adhesive photo album with a waterside lanscrape image on the front, which has been discarded.
Sub sub series consists of documents relating to various Board projects including the Evans Lecture Theatre, the Library Building, a sanitary trunk sewer, electrical and telephone distribution service and the steam plant extension. There are also files on the Brandon University Chancellor and long range planning consultants. The sub sub series includes correspondence, minutes, blue prints, reports, financial information, statistics, recommendations and other records.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 2: Board of Governors
2.6 Board Projects
4.2 m textual records; 5 cassette tapes; 2 cd roms, 110 photographs (colour and b/w) various sizes
History / Biographical
Errol Black was born on September 8, 1939 in Brandon, Manitoba. He was the son of Thomas Alexander Black, who immigrated to Canada from Limerick, Ireland in 1929, and Roberta Jean (nee Groat) Black, a native of Chatham, New Brunswick. Black attended King George Elementary, Earl Haig Junior High, Brandon Collegiate Institute for Grade 10, and completed high school through correspondence courses for Grandes 11 and 12. He left school in 1956 to work a variety of jobs in Brandon, Calgary and on the west coast. He spent a short time in the Royal Canadian Navy. Errol Black undertook post-secondary education at Brandon College (1963-1965, graduated with a B.A.), the University of Alberta (1965-1967, graduated 1973 with an M.A. in economics) and Warwick University (1975-1977). Black taught economics at Brandon University from 1970 until his retirement in 2002. Following retirement he was granted Professor Emeritus status in 2003.
Errol Black has published three books, as well as many articles and reports in leading academic journals. He has a longstanding interest in the history of organized labour and working-class politics in Brandon. These remain important themes in his research and writing. He served on the Executive of the Brandon University Faculty Association for many years, and was President of the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations for two years. Black is also a member of the Brandon District Labour Council, a founding member of the Manitoba branch of the Canadian centre for Policy Alternatives, and a board member of the Brandon Regional Health Authority (2000-2006). He was elected to Brandon City Council in 1998, and for a second term in 2001. In 1999 he was the federal NDP candidate for Brandon-Souris.
Black married Margaret Millard from Waskada, MB in 1961, with whom he had three sons: Sean, Dennis and Tom.
Custodial History
Accession 17-1997 was originally owned by Jim Davis, brother to Communist activist Stanley Forkin. Taimi Davis, Jim Davis' wife, mailed the collection from her residence in Ontario to Errol Black in 1994. Professor Black donated the collection to the McKee Archives. Accession 02-2003 was donated to the Archives in November 2002 by Errol Black. Accession 15-2003 was donated to the Archives on April 30, 2003 by Errol Black. Accession 17-2003 was donated to the Archives on July 15, 2003 by Errol Black.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of a number of accessions. Accession 17-1997, dating from 1935-1936, consists of twelve of the thirteen issues of the "Unemployed Worker," published in Brandon in the 1930s. The "Unemployed Worker" was the organ of the Brandon Unemployed Workers' Council. This Council, like its counterparts in other communities, was created by Canadian Communist Party militants. The "Unemployed Worker" covered the activities of the Unemployed Workers' Council, the plight of Brandon's unemployed, efforts by the city's unemployed to improve their lives, and City Council decisions, specifically those regarding relief policy.
Accession 02-2003, dating 1917, 1936-1939, 1970-2002 (predominant 1970-2002), contains extensive correspondence from former Brandon University Economic Professor Don Wheeler to Errol Black. In addition, the accession contains an important body of correspondence received by Professor Black from Taimi Davis written by Pat Forkin and his wife Pheobe Forkin to family members in Canada during the years 1936-1939, while Pat was a Moscow based corespondent for the Canadian Communist Party Clarion. The accession also contains personal correspondence of Errol Black dating from ca. 1970, drafts of papers, newspaper clippings, pamphlets related to labour and labour political matters. Two publications of note include: "Labour in Brandon" published by the Brandon and District Labour Council and a student guide to labour law written by George MacDowell. The accession also contains several documents related to Black's involvement in the provincial Industrial Adjustment Committee.
Accession 15-2003, dating 1930-2002 (predominant 1930-1939; 1971-2002), contains extensive clippings from the Canadian Communist Party publications "The Worker" and the "Daily Clarion" from the years 1930-1939; twenty-one personal and family photographs (b/w 3x5) of the Forkin family of Brandon, many of whom were active in the Canadian Communist Party; various historical photographs (b/w 8x10) related to the history of labour in Brandon, Manitoba; personal files containing correspondence, letters and opinion pieces to various newspapers, course outlines, research materials and draft publications, arbitration awards and documents related to Black's involvement with the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations (MOFA).
Accession 17-2003, dating 1970-2002, contains correspondence, a manuscript of an autobiography written by Black's father Tom Black, research files, letters to the editor and draft publications by Errol Black.
Accession 3-2011, dating 1909-2010, contains an extensive record of newspaper clippings often of Professor Black's correspondence with the Brandon Sun from the early 1970s through to 2011. Clippings relate to civic issues, labour relations, social justice, economic questions. Documents (membership cards, cards of thanks, stamps) of various kinds, and photographs of Professor Black, family members, and various labour related events including parades and rallies, appear throughout these clippings. Collection includes miscellaneous files relating to the 75th Anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike including the Brandon Sympathetic Strike of 1919, the Brandon Greys Baseball team, the Assiniboine College BMHC lobby campaign, Brandon and Area Environmental Council, the Brandon East NDP Contituency Association. Editions (1925-31) of the Sons of England - Official Organ of the Sons of England Benefit Society - published in Oshawa, Ontario, and copies of documents related to the Commission of Inquiry (1928) into labour issues at the Brandon Mental Hospital are included.Collection also contains extensive correspondence associated with Professor Black's activities as a department member, scholar, and activist in the Department of Economics at Brandon University. Collection contains as well research materials related to the Brandon labour movement, strikes at A.E. Mckenzie Seed Company 1940s, cd roms containg research materials - clippings and images - for Labour Council Anniversary book ( 2006), and civic politics in Brandon. Records also contain research materials on various members of the Forkin family - in particular the Pat Forkin, Tom Forkin, and Stephen Forkin (aka Jim Davis) - who were active members of the Canadian Communist Party during their adult lives. A collection of family photographs and six tape cassettes containing accounts of the experiences of single unemployed men during the Great Depression and the funeral of Stephen Forkin ( Jim Davis) and correspondence from Taimi Davis the widow of Stephen Forkin (Jim Davis) supplement the sources on the Forkin family.
Notes
Photographs of Joe Forkin, Pat Forkin, Stan Forkin, Jim Davis and other members of the Forkin family are contained in Box 3 (15-2003) and Box 10 (3-2011).
Some restrictions. Consult the University Archivist for access.
Repro Restriction
Researchers are responsible for observing Canadian copyright restrictions.
Storage Location
MG 3 Brandon University Teaching and Administration
1.1 Errol Black
Related Material
MG 3 1.12 contains additional records related to George MacDowell; RG 6, Series 15 (BUFA) contains additional records on the Brandon University Faculty Association; RG 6, Series 7, Sub sub series 7.1.5 (Department of Economics) contains additional records related to the Department of Economics at Brandon University; RG 6, Series 7, Sub-series 7.1 (Dean of Arts) contains files on Don Wheeler and George MacDowell.
15 cm textual records; 48 photographs; 10 medals; 1 plaque
Physical Condition
Good
History / Biographical
See RG 6, series 3, sub sub series 3.1.5 (Office of the President - President's files - John Mallea) for biographical information on John Mallea.
Custodial History
Accession 12-2003 was donated to the McKee Archives by John Mallea on March 15, 2003. The materials in accession 18-2007 were donated to the Archives by Mallea in August 2003 and in 2006. Materials in accession 5-2010 were sent to Charlotte Magee, President's Office, who transferred them to the Archives on December 19, 2007.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of a number of accessions.
Accession 12-2003 includes 1 b/w photograph; ca. 40 parchments, many commemorating Dr. Mallea's installation as President of Brandon University in 1985; three books written by, edited by or containing work by Dr. Mallea; five article length publications by Dr. Mallea; one file of press clippings ca. 1985-1986, dealing with Brandon University matters; one file of Presidential correspondence dealing with planning and priorities ca. 1986-1989; one scrapbook from the Chinese University of Hong Kong as a memento for Dr. Mallea on the occasion of a lecture given by him at that institution in 1999.
Accession 18-2007 includes an external review of technical universities in Mexico; several participation certificates; ten medals; a photograph album (30 4 x 6 color photos) of the International Evaluation Team for Technological University System of Mexico 1996; one photograph (7.75 x 5" color) of the 1996 Distinguished Education Award Recipients - The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.
Medals include: (1) The Pre-Congres Conference of the Fourth World Congress; (2) Tor Vergata; (3) Beiging Normal University China; (4) Xian Jiaotong University; (5) The People's University of China; (6) Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara; (7) Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; (8) Bessenyei Gyorgy Tanarkepzo Foiskola; (9) Universitas Helsingiensis; and (10) Universidad Technologica de Nezahualcoyotl. The majority of the medals are in their original boxes.
Accession 5-2010 Consists of a copy of Mallea's curriculum vitae, three certificates from La Asociacion Mexicana Para la Educacion Internacional otorga el presente and a copy of Las Universidades Tecnologicas Mexicanas - Un modelo eficaz, una inversion publica exitosa, un sistema a fortalecar.
Some materials are in Spanish. Others are in Chinese
Storage Location
MG 3 Brandon University Teaching and Administration
1.2 John Mallea
Related Material
Additional material relating to Dr. John Mallea are located in RG 9, series 3, sub sub series 3.1.5 (President's Office - President's files - John Mallea).
3 m textual records; 100 photographs and drawings; 19 books and pamphlets
History / Biographical
John Tyman was born in Kent County, England. After briefly serving with the British Army, Tyman attended the University of Oxford. He came to Canada first in the summer of 1957 to work for a short time, before returning to England in the fall. In 1959, he returned to study at McGill University, and obtained an M.A. in 1961. In 1962, he moved to Brandon to establish a Geography department at Brandon College. Tyman served as a professor and, for a short time, as Dean of Science during his time at Brandon University. In 1970, he obtained a Ph.D. from the Oxford University. In 1976, Tyman left Brandon University and moved to Australia. In Australia he taught at Mount Gravatt College in Brisbane until his retirement in 1994. As of January 2006, John Tyman continues to reside in Australia.
Custodial History
The Tyman fonds remained in the possession of the Geography Department at Brandon University following Dr. Tyman's departure to Australia in 1976. With Dr. Tyman's approval the records were transferred to the McKee Archives in May 2001.
Scope and Content
This fonds contains a copy of "By Section, Township & Range: Studies in Prairie Settlement," by John Langston Tyman. This publication was based on Tyman's doctoral thesis, which is also included in the fonds. His doctoral thesis was completed in 1970 and titled, "The Disposition of Farm Lands in Western Manitoba, 1870 - 1930: Studies in Prairie Settlement."
Fonds also includes extensive research materials compiled by Dr. Tyman on prairie settlement. They include: copies of the Annual Report of the Department of the Interior; documents relating to C.P.R. land sales (c.1870-1900); personal accounts and local histories of municipalities in southern Manitoba such as Shoal Lake, Justice, and local C.P.R. lines; the Canadian Homestead Settlement Co.; The Free Land Homestead Co,; the Canadian Northwest Lands Co.; the N.W.H.B., C.N.R., Lake Manitoba Railway & Canal Co.; land grants given to Veterans; Wellams and Dominion Steamship Co.; maps of southern Manitoba RM's; Sowden and Co. (a land settlement company); correspondance to a Rev. L.O. Armstrong in Emerson (c. 1885); legislation; agricultural progress; history of school lands; correspondance to and from J. Tyman (c.1960); the settlement of Icelandic, Hungarian, and Scandinavian immigrants; a plethora of maps both relating to prairie settlement and to world geography; a manuscript by William Pearce (1925); a transcript titled "Patterns of Settlement"; 5 rolls of microfilm containing maps and copies of some publications acquired by Dr. Tyman; a number of books and c.1900 publications to do with prairie settlement; maps by township and range of the prairies; 100 photos and drawings all c.1880 to 1900; extensive township summaries; and extensive land disposal records as recorded by the Lands Department, including the names of settlers.
Notes
Fonds level description written by Mike White (2001).
Many documents in this collection were copied from originals at the Glenbow-Alberta Institute, Calgary, Alberta, Library and Archives Canada, the Archives of Manitoba, land titles and corporate offices.
Storage Location
MG 3 Brandon University Teaching and Administration
1.3 John Langston Tyman
1.5 cm textual records; 25 photographs various sizes; 3 strips of negatives
Physical Condition
Very good
History / Biographical
William Robert Morrison was born January 26, 1942, in Hamilton, Ontario. He graduated from McMaster University with a B.A. (Hons. English and History) in 1963, and an M.A. (History) in 1964. He completed his Ph.D. in Canadian History at the University of Western Ontario in 1973.
From 1964-1965, Morrison was a secondary school teacher in London, Ontario and from 1968-1969, he was a historical researcher at the National Historic Sites Service in Ottawa. Morrison began his career at Brandon University in 1969. During his time there he taught in the History Department and was also a member of the Knowles-Douglas Commission (1986-1987), a member of the Brandon University Senate (six years), Chairman of the Scholarship Committee (three years), a member of the Senate Executive Committee (two years), Chairman of the Athletic Directorate (three years), a member of the Board Budget Committee (two years), the originator of the English Proficiency Test for Graduating Students, a member of various Arts Faculty Committees, a member of the BUFA Executive (three years) and Chairman of the Department of History (three years). In addition, Morrison also played in the Brandon University Wind Ensemble, was a member of the Executive of the Western Manitoba Science Fair (four years) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Manitoba Record Society (two years). Morrison resigned from Brandon University in August 1989 to accept a position at Lakehead University.
At Lakehead University, Morrison was a professor of history at the Centre of Northern Studies. He left Thunder Bay in 1999 and moved to Prince, George, British Columbia to teach at the University of Northern British Columbia. Throughout his career he has also taught courses at the University of Victoria and Duke University. In addition, Morrison was the founding Dean of Research and Graduate Studies at UNBC. Morrison's research interests include Northern Canadian history, First Nations and Canadian-American relations. He is the author and co-author of twelve books and many book chapters and journal articles, most of them on the history of Northern Canada. In particular, beginning at Brandon University, Morrison has develped and maintained a close academic partnership with Kenneth S. Coates, and together they have published a number of works. Morrison has also served as the co-editor of the "Northern History Newsletter" and as a member of the advisory board of the "Northern Review."
William R. Morrison is married, with four children, and as of January 2006, living in Prince George, British Columbia.
Custodial History
Some the the material in this fonds was in the possession of the Brandon University Library prior to its possession by Dr. Morrison for use in the production of My Dear Maggie. The materials created by Dr. Morrison were in his possession until their donation to the McKee Archives in July 2002.
Scope and Content
The Morrison fonds is a result of the research conducted by Morrison in the Shellmouth region of Manitoba between 1986 and 1991 for the production of "My Dear Maggie." The fonds consists primariloy of pictures, homesteading documentation, and personal correspondence. Pictures include memberts of the Wallace family, their homestead and the Shellmouth area. Textual records consist of correspondence between Andrew Wallace and individuals at Brandon College ca. 1941, regarding the donation of the Wallace letters to the Brandon College Library. Photocopies of homesteading information from 1881 to 1905, as well as corresondence between Morrison and residents of the Shellmouth area regarding information about the Wallace family, are also included. Finally, there is extensive correspondence to and from Morrison in connection with the publication of "My Dear Maggie: Letters from a Western Manitoba Pioneer," a production of edited letters from the William Wallace fonds.
Notes
Information in the Location of Originals field, the History/Bio field, the Scope & Content field and the Arrangement field was taken from the William R. Morrison fonds finding aid written by Katie Pollock (2005).
There are photocopies of homsteading documentation, as well as letters to Maggie Wallace from William Wallace once he arrived in Canada. The orignals of the letters to M. Wallace can be found in the William Wallace fonds, while the originals of the homsteading documentation can likely be found in either the William Wallace fonds or through Archives Canada.
Storage Location
MG 3 Brandon University Teaching and Administration
1.5 William R. Morrison
Related Material
Additional records related to William R. Morrison are located in RG 6, series 7, sub sub series 7.1.1 (Dean of Arts). Other records relating to the Wallace family of the Shellmouth region can be found in the William Wallace fonds located in the McKee Archives (47-1997).
Arrangement
The fonds is divided into two files. The first file contains information that Morrison accumulated in his research for "My Dear Maggie," including pictures, as well as correspondence between Morrison and members of the Shellmouth community. The second file also contains correspondence between Morrison and members of the Shellmouth community, but consists primarily of communication between Morrison and a number of publishing companies.
The Brandon College and Brandon University Art Exhibition Committee was active from 1960 to 1972. The Committee was established to promote the visual arts in Brandon through education and to sponsor exhibitions featuring the work of local artists.
Custodial History
The records were assembled by Robert Inch of the Brandon University Extension Office and Professor D.V. Reilly, who taught art through the Faculty of Education at Brandon University. They were donated to the McKee Archives in 1997.
Scope and Content
The sub-series contains records of past exhibitions, minutes and correspondence of the Brandon University Art Exhibition Committee. Sub-series also contains personal files on some artists consisting of correspondence and information pertaining to exhibitions of their work. There are also extensive files on past exhibits including advertising, correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications and files concerning local affiliated art clubs, such as the Student Camera Club at Brandon University.
3.85 m textual records; 880 photographs (220 negatives); 26 slides
Physical Condition
Good
History / Biographical
The Brandon School of Nursing was established in 1921, at the Brandon Hospital for Mental Diseases (hereafter B.H.M.D.). It was first alluded to in 1913, when the Superintendent of the B.H.M.D., J.J. McFadden, recommended it as a means of enhancing the reputation of the hospital. In 1919, the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene released a highly critical report on the state of custodial institutions for the mentally ill in Canada that paved the way for reforms such as the establishment of psychiatric nursing schools. In 1920, the new superintendent, Dr. Charles A. Baragar, in his first annual report, again mentioned the need for trained nurses and instructional facilities in which to train them. Lectures began at B.H.M.D. in October of 1920 for attendants and nurses, but they were not compulsory and were not part of a formal program of studies. This was followed in 1921 with the establishment of the School of Nursing through which courses were offered beginning in 1922. The program consisted of a two year Mental Nurses Diploma Course, and a shorter "demonstrative" course that was required for all employees of the B.H.M.D. who elected not to enroll in the diploma course. The Class of 1923 was the first class of graduates from the Brandon School of Nursing. They were, by all accounts, the first graduates in all of Western Canada with a diploma in Mental Nursing. In 1924, wages at the B.H.M.D. were adjusted to take into account the completion of formal training in psychiatric nursing. In 1925, a short lived affiliation with the St. Boniface General Hospital in Winnipeg, that ended in 1927, was begun. That year also saw the beginning of a graduate studies course. In 1930, the diploma course grew to a three year program. In 1986, as many aspects of the B.H.M.D. - now referred to as the B.M.H.C. (Brandon Mental Health Center) - were phased out in favor of community based care, the B.M.H.C. School of Nursing was incorporated into Brandon University's School of Nursing, which began to offer a 2 year Post-Diploma Degree in Nursing and Mental Health.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 2000. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Sub sub series consists of a collection of records dealing with the history of the School of Nursing at the Brandon Mental Health Centre. The records consist primarily of administrative documentation created by the school dealing with various internal issues, such as student recruitment, graduation services - including an almost complete collection of graduation programs - and records dealing with the behavior of the students. Administrative records also refer to external issues faced by the B.H.M.D. as a whole, such as its burgeoning patient population and the constant problem of adaquate accommodations for patients, staff, and student nurses. The collection also includes staff recollections, and correspondence from within and from outside of the B.H.M.D. Also included are documents relating directly to the history of the School of Nursing and of the B.H.M.D. as a whole. A smaller amount of curriculum materials, including instruction manuals, notebooks, and hand-written lecture notes are also included. Publications from within the B.H.M.D.., including "The Opinion" from 1970-1990, and the "The Ego" 1956 - 76 (seven editions) are also included, as well as a collection of outside publications dealing with psychiatric nursing, mental diseases, medical ethics, and heredity. Fonds also includes medical dictionaries and handbooks of different nursing institutions such as the Victorian Order of Canadian Nurses. Lastly, the collection includes approximatley 880 photographs, 220 negatives, and 26 slides, that provide a graphic portrayal of the history of the Brandon Mental Health Centre.
Notes
A detailed inventory for the textual records exists. An inventory for the photo collection is also avaiable. The description for this sub sub series was written by Mike White (2002).
Access to these materials is restricted. Those interested in the collection should consult the Archivist.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 7: Faculties and Schools
7.5 School of Health Studies
Related Material
Other material relating to the BHMD./BMHC. are housed at the Manitoba Provincial Archives.
Arrangement
The sub sub series is organized into eight sub sub sub series, including: (1) History; (2) Correspondance; (3) Administrative Records; (4) Curriculum Materials; (5) Publications of B.M.H.C.; (6) Outside Publications; (7) Photographs, Slides, and Negatives; and (8) Miscellaneous Items.
Carole Paintin-Dence was raised in Souris, Manitoba and attended Brandon College in the early 1960s. While at Brandon College she was active in the Glee Club, I.R.C. and French Clubs. She was also Quill reporter for the Music Department.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of a small collection of Brandon College memorabilia and slides. The memorabilia includes programs from various Brandon College Student Association events, Alumni News, and a copy of "The New Brandon College School of Music" by Peggy Sharpe. The slide images include: the opening of the Music Building 1963 (3) - Sir Ernest MacMillan, Lady MacMillan and Lorne Watson; raising the class flag 1964 (2); the JRC Evans Lecture Theatre 1964 (1); Brandon College Original Building 1964 (1); Freshie Parade 1962 (1) - glee club float and 1963 (3) - "wedding of Jack & Jill"; French Immersion class Summer 1964 (4) - Mme Ragot, Neil Forsyth, Henri Francq; party for John 1963 (2) - Ken May, Morlene Sparrow, John Sushelnitsky, Norma Walmsley, Poppy Cumming, Chris Cassels, Pat Brake, Eleanor Riesberry; W.U.S. parties (4) - Joan Garnett, Norma Walmsley, Claude Paintin, Brian Foster, Rae Westcott, Clark Brownlee, Nina Kosakawiecz, Berth Paintin
Collection also includes school texts and pedagogical guides - forty-seven in total - dealing with reading, spelling, social studies and particularly music.
70 b&w photographs (various sizes)
7 mm textual records
Physical Condition
Good
History / Biographical
Frances Elizabeth Percival (nee Fraser) attended Brandon College in 1928-1929. She was from Wawanesa, Manitoba and passed away on August 3, 2004 at the age of 93 years.
Custodial History
The records were donated to the McKee Archives by Joy Lalonde, a realtive of Fran Percival's, in 2005.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of three dance cards from the Brandon Normal School, a photograph album of Brandon College students and activities (many of them identified) and an autographed copy of the 1929 Brandon College Annual Graduation Program.
6 cm. textual records; 1921 Brandon College Quill (Commencement Number); approx. 150 photographs
History / Biographical
Evan McDonald Whidden (1898-1980) was born in Galt, Ontario. He was educated at Brandon College. Following service in the Great War he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University (Brandon College) in 1921. He obtained a Master of Arts in history (McMaster [n.d.]) and in 1928, a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Yale. Whidden married Frances Margaret Billington in 1941. Together they had three children: Howard John (b.1943), Roberta Katherine (b. 1945) and Eric Christopher (b. 1947).
Dr. Whidden served in Baptist churches in Saskatchewan and Manitoba before joining the faculty of Brandon College in 1936. In 1938, he was appointed Thomas J. Armstrong Professor of church history at Acadia University. He became Dean of the School of Theology at Acadia in 1954, and served in that capacity until 1963. He retired from the faculty of Acadia University in 1967. Dr. Whidden has written in the field of church history and education. He was awarded honorary degrees by the Pine Hill Divinity Hall, Halifax, N.S. (1950), McMaster University [n.d.] and Acadia University (1969).
Custodial History
Since his death in 1980, the fonds has been in the custody of his widow, Mrs. Frances Margaret Whidden. The first accession was donated to the McKee Archives in April, 2001; the second in 2003; and the third in May 2005.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of Evan Whidden's reports to family members, in particular to his father and mother, on his experience as a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the years 1917-1919. Records also include correspondence from his mother, Katherine Louise Whidden (nee Ganong), to Evan during these years. In these reports, Whidden records his impressions of military life through his training in Canada and England and his experience of war in Europe with the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1917-1918. He was involved in the conflict only briefly at the conclusion of the war. His letters provide an account of life in France, Belgium and Germany in 1918.
The fonds also contains correspondence dating from the early 1920s from Chester New, a history professor at McMaster, who had previously taught at Brandon College. Fonds also contains correspondence from Whidden's father, Howard Primrose Whidden, President of Brandon College 1912-1922 and, from 1922-1949, Chancellor of McMaster University. This correspondence deals principally with the progress of Evan Whidden's education and his choice of a career in the church or the academic world.
Fonds contains several publications containing the work of Evan Whidden, mostly on religious themes. It also includes newspaper clippings and convocation programs dealing with Dr. Whidden's graduation from Yale and the presentation of honorary degrees to him at Pine Hill and Acadia. The fonds contains newspaper stories on the occasion of the retirement of Howard Primrose Whidden following his lengthy career as President of McMaster University. Death notices for Dr. H.P. Whidden and his wife are also to be found.
Finally, fonds containts approximately 150 b&w photographs of group portraits, individual portraits and activites at Brandon College and a copy of the 1921 Commencement Issue of the Brandon College Quill.
MG 1 Brandon College Teaching and Administration
1.8 Evan McDonald Whidden
Related Material
Whidden's father, Howard Primrose Whidden served as President of Brandon College 1912-1922. His records are located in RG 1, series 2.2 (Brandon College fonds, Office of the Pesident). Records from Evan Whidden's time as College Dean are located in RG 1, series 6 (Brandon College fonds, Office of the College Dean).
