The first attempts to hold a winter agricultural fair in Brandon happened in 1884, when a show was held in the buildings owned by A. Harrison and Company. However, this did not become an annual event. There were also several unsuccessful attempts to establish annual Stallion Sales in the late spring by horsemen in the area. In 1904, J.D. McGregor petitioned Brandon City Council for a winter fair. The petition was accepted by the city, and in 1906 Brandon’s first winter fair was held. It was a big success, and the Board of Directors looked forward to it becoming an annual event. The summer fair, which had been in operation since 1882 welcomed this new exhibition. The Board of the summer fair felt that a winter fair would be complementary to the summer exhibition. Although the two fairs were not amalgamated, they did share a secretary-treasurer and several Board members.
In 1907, the Cattle Breeders Association decided to make the Brandon Winter Fair the site of its annual stock sale. With this support, it was felt that the winter fair would become an annual event. A joint stock company was created in 1907 entitled the Brandon Winter Fair and Livestock Association (BWFLA), to be used primarily as a land-holding company. Land was purchased at Tenth Street and McTavish Avenue in order to erect a winter fair building.
The following year, the Provincial Winter Fair and Fat Stock Association was created to manage the winter fair. The name was soon changed to the Manitoba Winter Fair and Fat Stock Association (MWFFSA). Unlike the summer fair, the winter fair was solely an agricultural event. The Board felt no need to please the citizens with carnivals and midways. The winter fair was “by and for the farmers...[and]...the primary functions of the Brandon Winter Fair were to educate the agricultural community and to honour the community’s accomplishments.”
Additional land was bought on Eleventh Street and Victoria Avenue to build a new winter fair building. The building opened in 1913. By this time, the Brandon Winter Fair was one of the best livestock and agricultural exhibitions in the province.
When the First World War broke out, the winter fair buildings were requisitioned by the military for troop accommodation and eventually as a detention centre for Ukrainian internees and other “enemy aliens.” Unlike the summer fair, which was allowed to use their buildings during fair week, the winter fair buildings were not released for the exhibition. This led to the cancellation of both the 1915 and 1916 winter fairs.
By 1917 the winter fair was allowed to open again, but by this time both the BWFLA and the MWFFSA were experiencing financial difficulties. It was at this time that the proposal first went out regarding an amalgamation of the summer and winter fairs. The provincial government approved of the idea of an amalgamation, and both fair Boards considered the proposal. However, in early 1920 the winter fair Board pulled out of the discussions, as it felt that the winter fair would lose out to the WAAA. The winter fair Board decided to struggle on independently.
Financial problems heightened Board concerns that the winter fair was not exciting enough to keep the public interest. To add to the financial concerns of the winter fair board, in the fall of 1920, the old winter fair pavilion caught fire and burned. Forty six horses were killed and the fair Board had to cancel the 1921 winter fair. When the new winter fair building opened in 1922, it was greeted with enthusiasm. The Directors, in an attempt to ease the increasing financial burden they were feeling, tried to keep the buildings open year round for other events.
In 1929, the Depression began in Canada. While the winter fair continued to run, its buildings were once again requisitioned by the government, this time to house men looking for work. The winter fair Directors were conscious of the problems that the citizens of Brandon were facing, and they offered free admission to those on relief. The fair received grants from the government to provide work relief programs, but these were often small or canceled. The Board members may have resorted to helping to pay for the fair out of their own pockets.
Despite financial problems, the winter fair managed to survive the Depression. Unfortunately, as Brandon recovered from the Depression of the 1930s, the Second World War broke out. For the third time in as many decades, the government requisitioned the winter fair buildings. This time, however, instead of canceling the fair as in previous years, the winter fair went on as scheduled, although it was held on the summer fair grounds.
By 1945, the directors were at a loss financially. They decided that the best course of action in order to keep the fair going was to turn over the buildings to the City of Brandon. By the fall of 1946 the BWFLA had ceased operations.
While the Manitoba Winter Fair and the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba were still not amalgamated, they continued to share the same secretary-manager and several Board members. After the cessation of the war, the Directors knew they had to become more appealing to the wider public. There were promotional events held and more entertainment was offered to attract the public. These additions led to dessention among Board members, as some wanted the fair to remain purely agricultural. The appeal for the greater good of the fair, even if it did include some non-agricultural attractions, eventually won out.
The fair was still to be plagued with difficulties though. In 1952 the fair had to be canceled because of an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease. Despite setbacks such as this, the Board persevered. The following year a 4-H seed show was created and sponsored by the provincial agronomist, P.F. Ford. A carcass class was added in 1957. Soon the fair was successful and stable and rapidly outgrew its facilities.
It was decided by 1966 that the winter fair and the summer fair should be housed in one building. In 1969, the respective Boards went one step further and decided to become one organization. The Manitoba Winter Fair and the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba amalgamated in 1969 to become the Manitoba Exhibition Association. In 1970, the year of Manitoba’s Centennial, it was decided that an organization in the province would receive the designation “Royal” by Queen Elizabeth II. After much consideration by the province, the Manitoba Winter Fair was chosen, and in 1970 it became known as the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. In 1972 the construction of a common facility was completed, and the 1973 winter fair was the occasion of the official opening of the Keystone Centre. The winter fair continues in this facility and under this designation to this day.
Custodial History
The records were housed at the MWFFSA, the MWF and the MEA until c1986 when they were transferred to the S.J. McKee Archives at Brandon University.
Scope and Content
The sous-fonds consists of textual records and photographs pertaining to the Winter Fair. The textual records include prize lists, programs, minutes, financial, administrative files, original results, news releases, scrapbooks, and tickets. The photographs include animal shows and events, dignitaries, entertainment, ceremonies, buildings, and other events.
The sous-fonds has been divided into eleven series, including: (1) Documents; (2) Minutes; (3) Financial records; (4) Administrative files; (5) Prize lists and programs; (6) News releases; (7) Original results; (8) Tickets; (9) Photographs; (10) Scrapbooks; and (11) Miscellaneous
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
The records found within the fonds were collected by Bill Paton from a number of people, including Lynda Macson and Gus Henzil, who were involved with various aspects of the Hortline project throughout the years. Prior to their donation to the S.J. McKee Archives at Brandon University, the records were stored in Dr. Paton’s Office in the John R. Brodie Science
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings regarding the Hortline and their activities within the community, monthly reports (summer of 1979), Plant Problem Forms and related missellania associated with the activities of the Hortline.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 7: Faculties and Schools
7.2 Faculty of Science
7.2.5 Department of Biology
The records are in excellent condidtion, but the extensive use of photocopying of available records occasionally leads to difficulty in clarity of content.
History / Biographical
The project originated in the summer of 1987 at Brandon University. It was undertaken by several Brandon University students under the guidance of Dr. William R. Morrison and Dr. Ken Coates, both professors in the Department of History. From the perspective of all involved, research and future publication were the original aims of the project. The intention was to produce a combination of documentary and oral history of the Brandon region during the Great Depression, including an extensive study of Brandon College. Initially, an outline and project summary was presented to Manitoba Heritage Grants Program for consideration and after being chosen as a recipient for the grant, regular reports on research progress were submitted. The project was discontinued at the end of the summer due to a lack of funding and availability of the researchers.
Custodial History
The records were held in the custory of Dr. Morrison until his departure from Brandon University in 1989. At this time, the records were given to Tom Mitchell, who donated the entire project to the McKee Archives, where they were accessioned in 1997.
Scope and Content
The sub sub sub series consists of textual records relating to Brandon and the surrounding area during the years of the Great Depression, predominantly 1929-1939. The material in the sub sub sub series falls generally into the following categories: city, provincial, and federal government documents and correspondence; newspaper articles and other publications, and statistical data. Of particular interest are four papers written by Brandon University students and six years of the Henderson Directory. Also included is a folder containg documents associated with the research project undertaken by Dr. Morrison et al. during the summer of 1987.
The sub sub sub series has been divided into four boxes:
Box 1 - Brandon City Council file index, City Council membership and minutes, relief regulations, proposals for burials and children's shelters, relief work projects reports, Brandon-Cornwallis Health Unit reports, correspondence between the City of Brandon and numerous levels of government, Brandon Public Health Nurse reports, farm reports, Brandon bank clearings, Provincial Election results, Employment Service of Canada documents, various published articles, Brandon University student papers.
Box 2 - Civic, provincial and federal documents related to various features of the Great depresion and its impact on Brandon including lists of relief recipients and personal letters to the City, Brandon General Hospital reports. Some of thes documents remain unsorted but clearly identified by title and archival institution of origin.
Box 3 - Censuses of Canada, Henderson Directory for Brandon, City of Brandon Property Address Listing, United Farmers of Manitoba documents, rural rehabilitation programs, Brandon by-law voting, Archives of manitoba documents, Westman Municipal News articles, Economic Survey Board provincial data, project documents.
Box 4 - Brandon Sun articles including a file index to articles of interest.
Notes
The description for this sub sub sub series was taken from the Brandon - Great Depression research project fonds written by Codee Lorrain (2005). Part of RG 6, 7.1.4 (Department of History).
Because of privacy issues, correspondence relating to the recipients of relief is restricted. They are still available in the sub sub sub series, however, and discretion on the part of the examiner is necessary.
Location Original
Provincial document originals are available at the Archives of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Federal document originals can be found at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. City of Brandon document originals can be obtained through City Hall. The original Brandon Sun papers are located at the Brandon Sun office in Brandon.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 7: Faculties and Schools
7.1 Faculty of Arts
7.1.4 Department of History
Related Material
Records relating to the Faculty of Arts at Brandon College during the Great Depression can be found in the Brandon College fonds. Other records specifically relating to the Great Dpression in Brandon can be found in the Errol Black fonds and the Manitoba Pool Elevators fonds. All fonds are available at the McKee Archives.
Arrangement
Each subject of information has been compiled into separate folders. The first three boxes are composed of various documents sorted by the archivist. The fourth box is entirely composed of Brandon Sun articles arranged by the researchers. If there is one subject that covers a number of years, each year will typically have a folder; however, in some cases, like the Brandon Sun articles, more than one folder was needed per year.
