Catherine Elizabeth "Kay" Dennis was born on November 26, 1916 at Brandon, MB. She attended school in Brandon and received her Psychiatric Nursing degree at the Brandon Mental Health Centre (BMHC) in 1938. Kay worked at the BMHC for 42 years. Her hobbies included natural history, bird-watching and summers at at Clear Lake. She never married. Catherine Dennis died on December 16, 2003 in Brandon, MB. She is buried at Brandon Municipal Cemetery.
Evelyn MacKenzie was born on September 29, 1905 at Craggie Inn, Daviot, County of Inverness, Scotland. She came to Canada with her parents in 1909, first to Winnipeg and then to Balmoral in 1911. Evelyn came to Brandon in 1924 or 1925 to take her nurses training at the Brandon Mental Hospital, graduating with a diploma in Psychiatric Nursing in 1927. From 1927-1942, she worked on BMHC wards, before being promoted to Acting Superintendent of Nurses. Evelyn enlisted in the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRENS) during the Second World War, and was stationed at Halifax. Following the war, she returned to the BMHC where she was Assistant Superintendent of Nurses until her retirment in 1970. Evelyn enjoyed golfing, curling and bowling, was a member of the Brandon Golf and Country Club, an honorary charter member of the Brandon Quota Club, a member of Ex-WRENS Association (Chippawa Division) and a member of First Presbyterian Church. Evelyn never married. Evelyn MacKenzie died on April 19, 1993 in Brandon, MB. She is buried at Stonewall Cemetery.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, this collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item is an audiocassette tape containing an interview with Catherin Dennis and Evelyn McKenzie about the Brandon Hospital for Mental Diseases, and their experiences as students and nurses there. The interviewer is A. Lloyd Henderson.
Notes
History/bio information from the records, Dennis' obituary and MacKenzie's obituary. Description by Christy Henry.
Access Restriction
Consult University Archivist for access
Language Note
English
Conservation
Preservation copy made 2021 (R. Hess)
Audio Tracks
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Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows two women in period dress posing for a formal cabinet portrait. The woman on the left, wearing a gown and straw hat, stands while holding what appears to be a rolled-up periodical. The woman on the right is seated in an upholstered chair with tassles and holds her purse on her lap.
Notes
Advertisement on back photograph reads: J.A. Brock & Co., Artistic Photography, Brandon, Manitoba, Instantaneous Process Used Exclusively, Duplicates Can Be Had At Any Time, Negative, Preserved for Future Orders. [Date range determined from photo studio period The backdrop is consistent with the cabinet photograph of another family in this collection, see 1-2015.57.]
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