Mrs. Hilda Rosa Osmond (nee Bridgeman) was born in Hampshire, England in 1888 to parents Edwin Samuel Bridgeman (b.16 Jul 1852; d. 19 June 1922, Brandon) and Rosa Holkham (b. 26 Mar 1859; d. 27 May 1927, Brandon). Edwin was a sailor and Rosa was a dressmaker.
Following the death of her brother Edwin Frederick Bridgeman (1886-1890), the family immigrated to Canada in 1891. The Bridgeman's took the train to Griswold, Manitoba, and settled near Edwin's brother, Albert Bridgeman, and together they farmed the N 1/2 of 36-12-23. The Bridgeman's had three more children, Ellen Grace (b. 27 Jan 1893; d. 22 Feb 1893), Harry Volantine/Valentine (b. 14 Feb 1894), and Charlie Cuthbert (b. 03 Aug 1896; d. 25 Aug 1901). Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Bridgeman retired in 1913 and moved to Brandon where they lived until their respective deaths. The couple are interred in the Brandon Municipal Cemetery.
Hilda married William Arthur Osmond (b. 1867; d. 26 Oct 1943) of Baisingstoke, England, on 31 Jan 1913. They had a daughter Nellie who later married Glen Mossey. The family continued to farm the property on section 36.
Hilda Rosa Osmond passed away in 1980 at the age of 91. She is interred in the Greenwood Cemetery near Harding, Manitoba, where her husband and siblings also rest.
(Sources: England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013 [online]; Findagrave.com; Harding History Committee, Home to Harding 1879-1981 (Brandon: Leech Printing, 1981; Manitoba Vital Statistics Database)
Custodial History
Photograph given to Fred McGuinness by Burton Strange of Kenton, 25 Nov 1974
Scope and Content
Photograph shows Mrs. Osmond and her dog in front of her tractor that she purchased in 1947.
Notes
Label accompanying photograph reads: Mrs. Osmond tractor & dog
Elizabeth ? Tully was born on November 5, 1873 in Bruce County, ON to John Patrick Tully and Mary Anne Doran. She married William Kenneth MacKenzie (1872-1935) on July 4, 1900 in Strathclair, MB. Together they had at least four children: Kenneth, John, Gladys and Ellenore. Elizabeth MacKenzie died on November 5, 1968 in Los Angeles, California. She is buried at Rapid City Cemtery.
Ellenore Kathleen (Nora) MacKenzie was born on September 13, 1908 on 36-13-19W in the RM of Saskatchewan to Willam MacKenzie and Elizabeth Tully. She was a school teacher at Glanton School Division, Brandon Hills and Riverview School Division between 1928-1935. She returned to the classroom in Brandon in 1953, retiring in 1972. Nora MacKenzie married John (Jack) Lane (1903-1975) on March 14, 1936 in Brandon, MB. Together they had two children: Robert and Anne. Nora and Jack Lane were pioneers in bluebird conservation in the Westman region. Their work began in the 1950s when the birds were approaching endangered species status. In 1975, following Jack's death, Nora helped organize a society in Brandon called 'Friends of the Bluebirds,' a group of citizen volunteers dedicated to the ongoing survival of bluebirds. In 1982, the society established the John and Nora Lane Award, presented annually to those members who have distinguished themselves in the preservation of the bluebird species. In 1984, Nora moved to Toronto to be closer to family. Nora Lane died on July 19, 2004 in Toronto, ON. She is buried at Brandon Municipal Cemetery.
Robert Kenneth Lane was born on February 7, 1937 to Jack Lane and Nora MacKenzie. Bob grew up in Brandon. Early in his career he worked as a meteorologist in Churchill, MB. He completed his PhD in Oceanography at Oregon State University in 1965, and then spent his entire career with the Canadian federal government, retiring as the Western Regional Environmental Protection Director. Bob married Gail Ann Christianson in Vancouver in 1961, and together they had a son, Chris. Robert Lane died on May 5, 2021 in Edmonton, AB.
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 audiocasette tape that contains excerpts from a recording conducted in 1963 with Mrs. W.K. MacKenzie and her grandson Robert Lane. Norah Lane, Mrs. MacKenzie's daugheter, provides comments to clarify some of the excerpts. Interviewer is Marjorie Lange.
Notes
History/bio information from the records, articles about John and Nora Lane in The Brandon Sun, the Find A Grave website, the Manitoba Vital Stats website and Bob Lane's obituary. Manitoba Vital Stats and Find A Grave has the family's last name spelt "McKenzie," while the records spell it "MacKenzie." Description by Christy Henry.
Audio Tracks
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Robert Harvey's portrait has come loose of the backing. Matting is torn at base.
History / Biographical
John B. Cole, who operated Cole's Photographic Studio, first at 656 15th Street and then at 831 Rosser Avenue, was a photographer in Brandon from c. 1911 to c. 1914.
Scope and Content
Item consists of eleven oval shaped portraits of the members of Brandon College's graduating class of 1913. L to R: Lillian Wilhelmina Speers; Robert Harvey; James Robinson, Muriel Vivien McCamis; Tom Hare Harris; Leslie Alberta Ward; J.R.C. Evans; Evelyn J. Simpson; W.E. Wilkin; Archibald Gordon; and Constance Gunn.
Alfred Walter Pryce was born in England c. 1880. He emigrated from England in 1903 and was hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway, likely in Manitoba. His wife, Kate Louisa Buchan, was older than her husband. She was born in England c. 1873. They were married in England? and she followed her husband to Canada in 1904. Alma Jane Pryce was born June 24, 1905 and Herbert Walter Pryce was born May 12, 1907 in [Elton] Manitoba. In autumn 1911, the Pryce family returned to England for a Christmas visit. They sailed from Halifax on the Empress of Britain and arrived in Liverpool on December 9, 1911. The family returned to Canada on the Empress of Ireland from Liverpool in early 1912, landing at St. John, New Brunswick.
Alfred Walter Pryce died in Brandon, MB on January 31, 1922. Kate Pryce died in Winnipeg, MB on March 18, 1938.
Custodial History
Donated to the McKee Archives by Jennifer L. Bunting in November 2013.
Scope and Content
Studio portrait of Alma and Herbert Pryce, The Railway Foreman's children, taken June 1911 in Kenora, ON. Writing on the back reads: To Granfather with Love from Herbert and Alma. Alma Jane Pryce Age 6 years. Herbert Walter Pryce Age 3 years 5 months. Keonra, Ont. Canada. June 1911.
Notes
History/Bio information provided by Jennifer Bunting. Additional information is available in the custodial file.
Harry Spafford (b. 22 Oct 1888, d. 10 May 1978) was born in Holmfield, Manitoba. He married Isabella Hawking of Ninga in 1914 and the couple moved to Brandon in 1915 where they continued to reside until 1973. Harry worked as a locomotive fireman and then as an engineer with the Canadian Northern Railway (CN). While with CN, he was an active member of the Brotherhood of Local Engineers and Firemen No. 788 of Brandon. He served as an alderman in Brandon from 1928 to 1945. In 1932, Harry ran in the Manitoba by-election for Brandon as an Independent Labour candidate and lost to the Conservative member George Dinsdale. In 1952, Harry ran as a Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) member in the provincial election and lost to Conservative party representative Reg Lissaman. Harry Spafford passed away in Burnaby, BC, and is interred in the Ocean View Cemetery. (Source: see obituary in McG 4.1 File 66)
Alva/Alvery/"Alvie" Reddell/Riddell/Ridall Spafford (b. 15 Mar 1891, d. 23 Aug 1985) was born in Enterprise, Manitoba, in the R.M. of Turtle Mountain. In 1911, he married Francis Ethel Harrison (d. 1979) in Killarney and had three children. Alvie farmed in Bannerman from 1902 to 1936, after which he moved to Boissevain to work as a Rawleigh salesman. In 1942, the family moved to Brandon where Alvie worked as a conductor with the CNR until his retirement. Alva Spafford passed away at the age of 94 at the Brandon General Hospital. His funeral was held in Killarney, Manitoba. (Source: Obituary, Brandon Sun, 23 Aug 1985)
Scope and Content
Postcard is a studio portrait of the Spafford brothers. Alvie is seated, Harry is standing.
Notes
Writing on the front of the postcard reads: out of the past, Harry & Alvie Spafford, 1909 Winnipeg. The back of the postcard reads: Harry on left, Alvie on right, in our early, days, Railway.
Harry Spafford (b. 22 Oct 1888, d. 10 May 1978) was born in Holmfield, Manitoba. He married Isabella Hawking of Ninga in 1914 and the couple moved to Brandon in 1915 where they continued to reside until 1973. Harry worked as a locomotive fireman and then as an engineer with the Canadian Northern Railway (CN). While with CN, he was an active member of the Brotherhood of Local Engineers and Firemen No. 788 of Brandon. He served as an alderman in Brandon from 1928 to 1945. In 1932, Harry ran in the Manitoba by-election for Brandon as an Independent Labour candidate and lost to the Conservative member George Dinsdale. In 1952, Harry ran as a Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) member in the provincial election and lost to Conservative party representative Reg Lissaman. Harry Spafford passed away in Burnaby, BC, and is interred in the Ocean View Cemetery. (Source: see obituary in McG 4.1 File 66)
Alva/Alvery/"Alvie" Reddell/Riddell/Ridall Spafford (b. 15 Mar 1891, d. 23 Aug 1985) was born in Enterprise, Manitoba, in the R.M. of Turtle Mountain. In 1911, he married Francis [sic.] Ethel Harrison (d. 1979) in Killarney and had three children. Alvie farmed in Bannerman from 1902 to 1936, after which he moved to Boissevain to work as a Rawleigh salesman. In 1942, the family moved to Brandon where Alvie worked as a conductor with the CNR until his retirement. Alva Spafford passed away at the age of 94 at the Brandon General Hospital. His funeral was held in Killarney, Manitoba. (Source: Obituary, Brandon Sun, 23 Aug 1985)
Scope and Content
Postcard is a studio portrait of the Spafford brothers. Harry is seated on the left, Alva ("Alvie") is standing with his right arm around his brother.
Notes
Writing on the front of the postcard reads: Harry on left, Harry & Alva Spafford, our early Railroad days in Winnipeg 1909 or 1910.
Mrs. Flora Cowan (1902-1986) was born on July 15, 1902 in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was the daughter of Adam and Helen Cruickshank and immigrated to Brandon with her parents in 1927. She married E.C. Cowan, and they had two children, Franklin and Ruth. From 1953 until Brandon College became Brandon University, she served as the Dean of Women. In 1966 she received the Good Citizenship Award of the Golden Boys of Manitoba. She was a member of the I.O.D.E. and a life-member of the International Peace Garden, and the Provincial Council of Women. From 1954 to 1970 Mrs. Cowan served as a member of the Brandon City Council and was the first woman to be appointed acting mayor. She was also the Chairman of the Board for Fairview Home, Inc. In 1967, Mrs. Cowan received the Trillium Business and Professional Club Woman of the Year Award. She was also a member of several other community committees. The women's residence at Brandon University, Flora Cowan, is named in her honour. In December 1980, Mrs. Cowan finally retired from her many positions. She died in Brandon on September 25, 1986 at the age of 84.
Photograph shows a group of individuals posing with Queen Elizabeth II. Fred McGuinness is standing behind the Queen.
Notes
Behind the photograph is a letter dated 15 November 1984 to Fred McGuinness, Brandon, Manitoba, from Michael B. Decter, Clerk of the Executive Council, Cabinet Secretary, re: Her Majesty's Visit to Manitoba
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