The importance of knowledge and education to the Manitoba Wheat Pool is made clear in the The Scoop Shovel, the official organ of the Manitoba Wheat Pool and other co-operatives in Manitoba. Established in the 1920s, The Scoop Shovel owed its existence to a decision by the directors of the Pool to set aside small percentage of income per bushel for educational purposes. R.A. Hoey began to hold meetings to discuss the idea that the Pool was about more than just marketing grain, and in 1926 a Department of Education and Publicity was organized within the Pool. It was directed by J.T. Hull and advised by R.A. Hoey; they expanded and supervised The Scoop Shovel.
They also began to accumulate the educational volumes that would become the Pool library. Hull announced in November of 1926 that the library would be open by the end of the month and reported that: "We have a good representation of works on sociology... On co-operation we have about every book that we can find published in the English language. We have also a good selection of books on economics, history, science, general literature, and rural life. In a word, we have tried to make the library one of usefulness to people whose life is on the land."
He also encouraged Pool members--who were the only ones allowed to use the library at this time--to utilize the library to educate themselves, saying “Use it, for knowledge is power”.
Once the library was open to all Pool members, Hull wrote a regular column for The Scoop Shovel called “In the Library”, in which he would review books and recommend reading in response to frequent questions from members. When the library gained new books, which was almost continually, he would list them and sometimes discuss them.
The library service was a mailing one; the main collection was kept at the Manitoba Wheat Pool central office in Winnipeg and members could request a catalogue of all the library holdings. If they wanted to borrow a book or books on a specific topic, they could write to Hull and the books would be mailed out to the member and returned by mail, all postage costs covered by the Pool Library.
During the crisis of the early 1930s, the library was saved because the Manitoba Co-operative Conference believed it was vital to the success of the Pools and the co-operative movement. The Conference took over administration of the Pool library in 1931, leasing the books and equipment from the Wheat Pool. The library was formally incorporated under a charter after it changed hands, the other charters members being the Co-operative Marketing Board and the United Farmers of Manitoba.
In 1935 the service was made available free of charge to all rural Manitobans with the financial support of the Co-op Marketing Board. By 1939, Manitoba Pool Elevators had begun to prosper again, and took back responsibility for the administration and housing of the library. The traveling library was also established around this time, and hundreds of boxes were distributed to all MPE points. The boxes were rotated and refreshed twice a year.
In 1942 Hull estimated that there were approximately 4,700 books in the Pool Library with an annual circulation of 4,000 to 5,000 books. Operating the library cost around two thousand dollars per year, although the cost was split between the members of the Manitoba Co-operative Conference, at least it was in theory. The Pool library ran as a free service to all rural Manitobans, regardless of whether they were members of the Pool, and the federal government census in 1941 indicates that over half of Manitoba’s population (56%) still lived in rural areas. In 1948, the majority of the Pool Library’s services were rendered unnecessary by an act called the “Public Libraries Act” that had been passed by the Manitoba legislature on April 22, 1948, and would go into effect July 1, 1948. The act provided for the establishing of a provincial “Public Library Advisory Board” that would be appointed by the government. Once the board had been established, the act allowed for the establishment of municipal and regional libraries that would be the administrative responsibility of the municipality or region they served and would be supported by a land tax levied on the population that would have access to the library. All employees of the central provincial library would be considered civil servants.
When the Provincial Library was being established in 1949, the Minister in charge of education--Ivan Shultz--actively sought both the advice of those who operated the Pool Library and the physical resources of the Library. In a letter to W.J. Parker, the President of Manitoba Pool Elevators, Shultz wrote that: "We find that in looking at the province as a whole that the box library service of the Manitoba Pool Elevators is the best developed and the best distributed within the province... We would feel that to a considerable extent you had pioneered in this field and we would be using your accomplishments as a springboard for a wider coverage of the province and an enlargement of the service."
He also requested that Miss E.L. Shields—the Pool Librarian--be released from Pool employment so that the Provincial Library could hire her for a year to aid in setting up the new library system.
An agreement was reached between MPE and the Provincial Library, and the bulk of the Pool Library was transferred to the province. The Pool retained the volumes it wished to keep as reference for its employees, and donated the rest of the open shelf library to the province. The traveling library service was sold at a discount to the province, with the caveat that service not be interrupted during the transfer and that the quality of service to rural Manitoba not diminish once the Library had been entirely transferred to the government. In a letter to Ivan Shultz after the agreement to sell the traveling library had been reached, W.J. Parker wrote that: "...Manitoba Pool Elevators has maintained an open shelf library for a period of some twenty years. These books have been made available to anyone in Manitoba, outside the City of Winnipeg, and the postage both ways was paid by the Pool. We feel it has served a very useful purpose, but that it is not primarily our function and if the government proposes to offer a more complete and universal service we are prepared to retire from the field and avoid what might be considered unnecessary duplication."
Scope and Content
Series contains items once held as part of the Manitoba Pool Library. It has been divided into the following four sub-series: (1) MPE E 1 Manitoba Pool Library publications; (2) MPE E 2 The Scoop Shovel; (3) MPE E 3 The Manitoba Cooperator; and (4) MPE E 4 Pamphlet collection.
A commission to inquire into the formation and operation of the Manitoba Pool up until 1931. Charges were brought against the Pool by J.R. Murray, then Assistant General Manager of UGG. The four charges were, briefly: (1) producers had been mislead into forming elevator associations, (2) members are bound by contract to the association, (3) financial statements sent out to associations are inaccurate, (4) Pool members are not getting as good a deal as they would on the free market.
The first two charges were deemed provable by the commission, while the last two were not. It was noted by the commissioner that no pool members had come forward with complaints.
See also fonds level description of RG 4 for history/bio of MPE
Scope and Content
.This sub-series contains volumes 1 - 25 of the Royal Commission on Manitoba Pool Elevators.
Thomas Russell Wilkins was born in Toronto in 1891. He received his B.A. from McMaster University in 1912, and became the Science Master at Woodstock College the following year. In 1916, he and his wife Olive moved to Chicago, where Wilkins was an instructor of Physics at the University of Chicago. The next year he served as a master signal electrician in the U.S. Signal Corps. During World War I, Wilkins completed pioneer research for the United States Navy, which led to the development of pulse sonar devices in the 1920s. He had also been researching the possibilities of a wireless telephone.
Wilkins and his wife moved to Brandon in 1918, where he took up the position of Professor of Physics. During his time at Brandon College, Wilkins introduced the latest technology to classrooms, designed the original Science Building, and along with the Brandon Citizen's Committee, seucured building funds for the Citizen's Science Building.
Receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1921, Wilkins resigned from Brandon College in 1925 to pursue postgraduate study at Cambridge University. In 1926, he began research at the University of Rochester, where he also took up the position of Professor of Physics. From 1930 to 1938, he acted as the Director of the Institute of Optics.
Widely known for his work in the fields of cosmic rays and atomic disintegration, in April 1939, Wilkins announced the perfection of a camera that was able to record the "footprints" of invisible atoms after they collide. In October 1939, he received a medal from the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain recognizing his work regarding the use of photographic emulsions in the study of radium. The following year, Wilkins perfected a camera that could determine the energy levels inside the nuclei of stable chemical elements. He received a grant from Sigma Xi, the National Society for the Promotion of Scientific Research, in November of 1940.
Wilkins married twice. The first marriage, to Olive Anges Cross took place on June 17, 1913. Olive Wilkins died suddenly on May 13, 1937, at the age of 45. Wilkins married Susan Gwendolyn Whidden, the daughter of former Brandon College president Dr. H.P. Whidden, in 1938.
Thomas Russell Wilkins died suddenly of a heart attack on December 10, 1940, on his way back to his laboratory after a faculty meeting. He was 49 years old.
Custodial History
Records were accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
T. Russell Wilkins’ reocrds contain correspondence between himself and Mrs. Wilkins and Dr. Whidden concerning their employment with Brandon College. There are letters between the two men regarding the building of the Science Building in 1920. There is also a copy of the Canadian Baptist. Besides programmes and a picture, there is also correspondence between various people. Dr. Wilkins kept the papers he had written for various classes at McMaster University in the years 1911 and 1912. There is a "toast to the ladies" that he delivered at a banquet of some sort, that gives an interesting view on how Wilkins, and possibly other men of his time, viewed women. There are numerous newspapers clippings, and several pages taken from journals such as Popular Mechanics, Popular Electricity and others. Dr. Wilkins was at the top of his field of study. He was an extremely bright man who managed to create some very useful tools of science. His papers are interesting and informative to read.
Notes
History/Bio information taken from Campus News May 1990
The idea of the Keystone Centre was first mentioned in 1958, at a meeting of the board of directors of the Manitoba Winter Fair. The Manitoba Winter Fair wanted a new facility because the old Wheat City Arena had a leaking roof and a deteriorating west wall. The old facility also had limited space and the Winter Fair felt it needed more space for expansion. The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba also had problems with their facilities, such as old barns and poor display areas. The idea of the Keystone Centre was put on hold until 1969, when the boards of the Provincial Exhibition and the Manitoba Winter Fair joined together as the Provincial Exhibition Association of Manitoba and the Wheat City Arena was sold and demolished. The original estimate for the cost of the Keystone Centre facilities was $4.5 million and funding would be proportioned so that the federal and provincial governments would each put in one-third of the money, with the rest coming from local donations. The financial campaign for the Keystone Centre began in 1970, and construction began in November 1970. The grand opening of the Centre was in March 1973, and coincided with the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair of that year.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains many folders full of correspondence, financial statements, meeting minutes and other documents relating to the development and construction of the Keystone Centre from 1970-1974, including those from the Keystone Executive Committee, as well as the Building Committee. Fonds also contains one folder that pertains to the Brandon Area Agricultural Development Survey from 1959. This folder contains the names and locations of all farmers in the Brandon area in 1959. The Brandon Area Agricultural Development Survey was created in 1959, in order to make farming in the Brandon area more profitable. The survey was aided by Doane Agricultural Service from St. Louis, Missouri, who had success creating agricultural development programs in the United States. Fonds also contains folders from the Provincial Exhibition with correspondence, pamphlets, estimates, and studies from the 1960's. There is also one folder belonging to the Manitoba Winter Fair, which contains correspondence and financial statements relating to the Wheat City Arena. Fonds also contains information pertaining to the proposals made in the 1960's, for the building of the Keystone Centre, as well as one folder about the Keystone campaign from 1970-73. There is also one folder about the opening of the Keystone Centre, which contains newspaper clippings and guest lists. Finally, the fonds contains information about a court case involving Albert Bobyk and Robert Stewart. Stewart was the project manager for the Building Committee and Bobyk worked on the Keystone Center. The fonds includes a report about the trial of the two men who were charged with fraud involving their work on the Keystone Centre.
Esther Moore was born in Norfolk, Nebraska and moved to Canada at age 3. There is a vague reference to her being related to the composer Dvorak in The Quill of 1913. She registered as a music student at Brandon College in 1909. In 1910, Miss Moore received a medal for sight-reading and accompanying in Edmonton. She took her examinations of the Toronto Conservatory of Music in 1910, and her Senior examinations in 1911. She completed her theory work in 1913, as well as finishing the academic requirements. In 1913, Esther Moore became the first graduate of the Music department at Brandon College. After graduation, Miss Moore taught music in Unity, as well as being the choirleader and organist. She returned to her home in Olds, Alberta for a rest from teaching. However, she was not idle for long. She took up teaching again, and she was the organist and choirleader at church. She also began a Glee Club. Between these responsibilities Miss Moore finished a course in the Household Science Department at the Olds Agricultural College. She returned to Brandon College to take postgraduate work, becoming the first Brandon College student to receive her L.T.C.M. in 1916. In 1922 Miss Moore began to teach piano at Brandon College. She received her Bachelor of Music in 1925, and her Master of Music in 1926.
Custodial History
Records were accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Esther Moore’s records consist of newspaper clippings, recital programmes, concert programmes, and commencement programmes. As well, there are dance cards, invitations, tickets, and the programme for the annual Graduation Banquet for several years. There are Track and Field programmes and a ribbon. There are also Alumni Luncheon programmes for a few years. There is an issue of The Western Baptist from 1926, and the programmes for the installation of Dr. Robbins as President and the opening of the Arts and Library building and the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre in 1960. There is also a letter from William L. Wright, director of the music department at Brandon College.
File consists of correspondence, pamphlets and notices for various Brandon University departments/services/events, a membership list of the Brandon University Women's Auxillary, news releases, a Department of Extension report, a draft questionnaire, a detailed account of building structures past/present/future on Brandon University campus, and the listing of artists in the "150 years of Art in Manitoba" exhibit.
