Flora C. Cowan (nee Cruickshanks) was born on July 15, 1902 in Edinburgh, Scotland. She immigrated to Canada with her family in 1913. Flora married Edgar Clarence Cowan (1894-1951) on August 15, 1922. The couple had two children: Franklin and Ruth. Edgar, who served in the First World War with the Royal Canadian Engineers, was employed as municipal engineer at Springfield, MB. In 1927, Edgar was appointed district engineer with the highways branch in Boissevain; a year later he was transferred to Brandon and the family moved to the city.
For much of her life, Flora was a leader in the Brandon community. During the Second World War, she mobilized Brandon's volunteer efforts and in 1953, she was appointed Dean of Women at Brandon College. In 1954, Flora became only the second woman ever elected to the Brandon City Council. She served on the council for 16 years and stepped down as Dean of Women in 1969. A champion for Fairview Personal Care Home, she chaired its board for more than 20 years. Flora Cowan Hall on the Brandon University campus is named in her honour. Flora Cowan died on September 25, 1986 in Brandon, MB. She is buried at Brandon Municipal 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 Flora Cowan about her involvement in community and civic affairs in Brandon, 1927-1981. This first hour includes the following subjects: church involvement, including the union of the Methodist and Knox churches, the Women's Auxiliary and volunteer work; the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE); her recollections during her tenure as Dean of Women at Brandon College, including the death of JRC Evans, the official opening of the McKenzie Building, the expansion of campus, the layout of Clark Hall, social functions, the granting of the University charter, the retirement of John E. Robbins, the BJ Hales Natural History Museum and her retirement; her work as an alderman on Brandon City Council; and the history of Fairview Personal Care Home. The interviewer is Marjorie Fitton.
Notes
History/bio information from the records, the article reporting Edgar Cowan's death by drowning and Flora Cowan's obituary. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Conservation
Preservation copy made 2021 (R. Hess)
Related Material
Brandon College fonds
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Kathleen Joan "Kaye" Rowe (nee Moreland) was born on June 10, 1910 in Winnipeg, MB. Kaye attended St. John's Technical High School. She moved to Brandon following her marriage to Gabriel Richard "G.R." Rowe (1898-1968) on July 12, 1932. Kaye had widespread interests in fashion, politics, the arts and journalism. Her journalism career began in 1935, when she began writing book reviews for CKX Radio. Four years later she became a society columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press and from 1945 to the 1980s she was a freelance columnist for the Brandon Sun, writing pieces on people, fasion and the arts. In 1958 and 1960, Kaye won awards for the best fashion stories of the year in Canada, and in 1970, she received a Margaret McWilliams Award from the Manitoba Historical Society for the best newspaper story on Manitoba history in the province's centennial year. The Rowes had no children. Kaye Rowe died on December 16, 1995 in Brandon, MB. She is buried at Brandon Municipal 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 Kaye Rowe about her knowledge and memories of Brandon entertainment, 1900-1983. The interviewer is Betty Gibson.
Notes
History/bio information from the records and the Manitoba Historical Society website. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Conservation
Preservation copy made 2021 (R. Hess)
Audio Tracks
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The writer's desk book : being a reference volume upon questions of punctuation, capitalization, spelling, division of words, indention, spacing, italics, abbreviations, accents, numerals, faulty diction, letter writing, postal regulations, etc., etc.
