The Business and Professional Women's Club of Brandon was created in November 1932. The club grew out of a meeting of business and professional women who were interested in forming an association. Guest speakers at the meeting were Miss Hilda Hesson, the Vice President of the Federation of Canadian Business and Professional Women's Clubs, and Miss F. Ingram, the President of the Winnipeg Business and Professional Women's Club. The objective of the Brandon club, according to its constitution, was the "promotion of educational, service, and social facilities for the business and professional women." The club consisted of active and associate members and belonged to the greater Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women's Club. The first President of the club was Miss Margaret Gemmell, with approximately 80 women attended the club's first meeting. The club established sub-committees on a variety of subjects including current events, sports, bridge instruction, public speaking, dress making, photography, stitch craft, manual training, and physical culture. The club also put on exhibitions, participated in drama festivals, held rummage sales and an annual Christmas party. During the Second World War, it established a War Effort Department. This department organized activities such as sewing and knitting in support of the war effort. The War Effort Department also raised money for charities such as the Red Cross. During its meetings, the club often heard local and national speakers or watched films. Women of many different vocations joined the club including florists, teachers, salesclerks, nurses, and housewives. Over the years, additional departments were added to the club including those named poetry, pottery, woodcraft, and drama.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 2002. Previous custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains three small scrapbooks, which cover the years 1932-1939, 1939-1949, and 1950-1959, respectively. The scrapbooks contain newpaper clippings from the Brandon Sun, the Winnipeg Free Press, and the Flin Flon Daily Miner. The scrapbooks also contain exhibition and meeting programs from the Brandon Club. Fonds also contains meeting minutes for the years 1932-1972.
Brandon Business and Professional Women's Club (10-2002); Minnedosa Business and Professional Women's Club (11-2002); Neepawa Business and Professional Women's Club (12-2002); Trilliam Business and Professional Women's Club (2-2006).
The International Toastmistress Club was officially organized in October of 1938, in California by Ernestine White. White thought that communication was the key to success in government, business, and community service. The purpose of the club was to help women gain communication and leadership skills. The North Central Region of the International Toastmistress Club began with the formation of the Winnipeg Toastmistress Club in 1946-47. This club was the first Toastmistress Club in Manitoba and the second club in Canada. The idea of forming a Toastmistress Club in Winnipeg came partly from some members of the Toastmaster Club in the city who had heard of the women's club formed in California. Other North Central Toastmistress Clubs soon followed, including more clubs in Winnipeg, and others throughout southern and central Manitoba, such as the Yellow Quill (Portage), Fort La Bosse (Virden), Colleen (Killarney), Cornucopia (Neepawa), Dauphin, Prairie Horizons (Brandon), Valley Echoes (Swan River), Urban Acres (Brandon), and Kinrossie (Souris) Toastmistress Clubs. The North Central Region was renamed the Land O'Lakes Region in 1966. In 1985, the International Toastmistress Club became the International Training in Communication organization.
Custodial History
This fonds was deposited at the McKee Archives on June 2, 1995 by Marlene Brichon of Brandon, Manitoba.
Scope and Content
Fonds includes a scrapbook made by the Urban Acres Toastmistress Club of Brandon, which spans the years 1963-1977. The scrapbook includes pictures, newspaper clippings, and programs. The fonds also includes the minutes of the Urban Acres Club from 1973-1986 and the club's reports from 1964-1986. A large number of newsletters such as the C4 News, Land O'Lakes Schooner, Ten-Talk, The Communicator, Pieces of Eight, and The Gavel, running from 1967-1990, as well as the official newsletter of the International Toastmistress Club "Toastmistress" from 1963-1972 are included. Fonds contains a history of the Winnipeg Toastmistress Club, as well as a history of the North Central Region, which later became the Land O'Lakes Region. There are also brief histories of the Yellow Quill, Urban Acres, Greenmantle, and Nellie McClung Toastmistress Clubs. Included in the fonds are bylaws and standing rules of the Land O'Lakes clubs, as well as the charters of the Yellow Quill, Colleen, Cornucopia, Fort La Bosse, Dauphin, and Prairie Horizons Clubs. A large part of the record consists of the minutes from international and regional meetings for the years 1969 to 1988. The fonds includes a public relations survey from the Land O'Lakes Region 1977-78, evaluations of various council meetings, Land O'Lakes' agendas and budgets from 1980-1985, and lists of Land O'Lakes executives. Finally, the fonds contains reports from various Land O'Lakes clubs from 1968-1992, as well as Land O'Lakes rosters from 1979-1985.
Photograph was donated by C. Allan Elsey in September 2003. The photograph belonged to the donor's father Charles Spurgen Elsey.
Scope and Content
Item consists of portraits of the members of the Ministerial Association of Brandon College. Members included: J.W. Williamson; L. Whitelaw; C.S. Elsey; C. Gale; R. Standerwick; A.S. Parnell; W.P. Freeman; John Erb; A. Bowbrick (Vice President); E. Selley (President); H.S. Sneyd (Sec. Treasurer); A.W. Mayse; H.S. Mullowney; William Parsons; Rev. R. McKay; Dr. A.P. McDiarmid; R.J.M. Caul; W. Smalley; H. Winton; George Reynolds; George Merritt; G. Siemens; F.W. McKinnon; F. Crossley; H.F. Finch; H.H. Best; J.H. Frith; H.S. Bagnell; and James Start.
Photograph of the Brandon College Literary Society Executive 1911-1912.
Back Row (L to R): F. Freer ’15 (Editor of Critic); H.E. Green, Theo. (Pres.Deb.Soc.); W.Wilkin ’13 (Reading Room Com.); J. Robinson ’13 (2nd Vice Pres.); and H. Wilson (Treas.).
Front Row (L to R): M. Reid ’14 (Pres.C.H. Lit.); K. Johnson ’14 (1st Vice Pres.); J. Evans ’13 (Pres.); and W. Speers ’13 (Sec.).
The photograph has bubbled but it hasn't damanged the image.
Scope and Content
Photograph is mostly likely of members of the Clark Hall Literary Society pre-World War I.
Back Row (L to R): ? and Lillian Wilhelmina Speers '13.
Middle Row (L to R): Leslie Alberta Ward '13, ?, and M. H. Strang '13
Front Row (L to R): Evelyn J. Simpson ' 13 and M. McCamis ' 13
Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard) of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows a group of young students holding violins standing on the steps in front of Earl Haig School.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: Edith (Harden) Lepard, Russell Scott, Phyllis Howick, Miss Brown (conductor), Orville Studen, Pete Teresko, Beth McLean, and Andy Teva. "Earl Haig Orchestra" 1930.
Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard) of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows a group of young students holding violins standing on the lawn in front of Earl Haig School. One musician holds a trophy or plaque.
Notes
Students in this photograph are consistent with another in this collection (1-2015.71), Edith (Harden) Lepard, Russell Scott, Phyllis Howick, Orville Studen, Pete Teresko, Beth McLean, and Andy Teva.
83 books and other materials (see Material Details Note)
Material Details
49 booklets
3 maps
3 newsletters
18 periodicals
16 pamphlets
35 newspapers [oversize drawer]
History / Biographical
The publications in this series were collected by Fred McGuinness during the course of his career as a newspaperman. McGuinness’ personal library contained over 500 volumes pertaining to local history. He regularly consulted these materials when writing his radio broadcasts, newspaper columns, and monographs. McGuinness was known to file related materials (e.g., correspondence, newspaper clippings, invitations) between book covers of various titles.
McGuinness donated a substantial portion of his personal library to Brandon University’s John E. Robbins Library when he moved to River Heights Terrace (Brandon, Manitoba). That collection can be found in BU’s library catalogue under the McGuinness local history collection. The titles McGuinness retained upon his move were donated to the McKee Archives by his estate in 2011.
Custodial History
Accession 1-2015 contains records created and collected over the course of McGuinness’ career as a newspaper journalist and freelance writer. The Estate of Fred McGuinness donated the materials to the SJ McKee Archives circa 2011. The Archives accessioned the records in 2015.
Accession 20-2009 contain records created and collected by Fred McGuinness over the course of his career as a newspaper journalist and during the research and writing period of the Brandon history book, The Wheat City. Records remained in his possession at his home until their transfer to the McKee Archives on July 28, 2009.
Accession 6-2008 contains records created and collected during the writing of the Provincial Exhibition book, Pride of the Land. Fred McGuinness, who co-authored the book with Ken Coates, donated these records to the McKee Archives circa 1988. The materials relating to Souris, Manitoba, were given to McGuinness by Kay Sullivan in August 2007, and were subsequently deposited in the Archives.
Scope and Content
This series contains publications collected by Fred McGuinness during the course of his lifetime as a newspaperman. McGuinness was a well-known local history enthusiast and frequently wrote about Brandon’s local history. Many of his readers forwarded booklets and pamphlets for his consideration and review.
Materials in this series include books, booklets pamphlets, periodicals, newspapers and maps. Subjects include, but are not exclusive to: the city of Brandon, the town of Souris, memoirs, family histories, Canadian Pacific Railway, and local businesses.
Accruals
Closed
Finding Aid
A file level inventory is available
Storage Location
All library titles, except the newspapers in the McGuinness oversize drawer, are located in Special Collections
Arrangement
Arrangement was artificially created by the Archives.
McG 8 McGuinness library
McG 8.1 Books
McG 8.2 Booklets
McG 8.3 Maps, newsletters, and periodicals
McG 8.4 Pamphlets
McG 8.5 Magazines and newspapers (oversize)
Photograph shows the McGuinness family in laying in the grass. Baby Fred McGuinness lays before his mother, Isabella Louisa McGuinness, and his three older sisters Mary, Dorreene, and Ruth.
Photograph shows three women standing near a waterfront. The woman on the left is Ruth McGuinness. The woman in the middle has a camera around her neck.
