Photograph is looking northeast and shows the south and west walls of the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre. Portions of the link, the A.E. McKenzie Building and Clark Hall are also visible.
Photograph is looking north northwest and shows students walking across the greenspace with the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre and the link to the A.E. McKenzie Building in the background.
Photograph is looking southwest and shows the north side of the link and the east side of the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre. The Dining Hall and Darrach Hall are visible through the link.
The piano in the photograph is most likely a Steinway piano donated to Brandon College by Abbie Vining, former faculty member of the Department of Music. It is unknown when the piano was removed from the Evans Theatre or what happened to it thereafter.
Scope and Content
Photograph of a grand piano on the stage of the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre.
Photograph is looking northeast and shows the staircase at the rear of the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre. Part of the A.E. McKenzie Building is visible in the background.
Photograph is looking west and shows where the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre meets the link that joined it to the A.E. McKenzie Building. Photograph was taken in winter.
Photograph is looking northwest and shows the J. R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre, the A.E. McKenzie Library and Arts Building and the link between the two buildings.
Photograph is looking northeast from 19th Street and shows the west side of the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre and the A.E. McKenzie Building, as well as the parking lots on the west side of the buildings.
6 cm. textual records; 1921 Brandon College Quill (Commencement Number); approx. 150 photographs
History / Biographical
Evan McDonald Whidden (1898-1980) was born in Galt, Ontario. He was educated at Brandon College. Following service in the Great War he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University (Brandon College) in 1921. He obtained a Master of Arts in history (McMaster [n.d.]) and in 1928, a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Yale. Whidden married Frances Margaret Billington in 1941. Together they had three children: Howard John (b.1943), Roberta Katherine (b. 1945) and Eric Christopher (b. 1947).
Dr. Whidden served in Baptist churches in Saskatchewan and Manitoba before joining the faculty of Brandon College in 1936. In 1938, he was appointed Thomas J. Armstrong Professor of church history at Acadia University. He became Dean of the School of Theology at Acadia in 1954, and served in that capacity until 1963. He retired from the faculty of Acadia University in 1967. Dr. Whidden has written in the field of church history and education. He was awarded honorary degrees by the Pine Hill Divinity Hall, Halifax, N.S. (1950), McMaster University [n.d.] and Acadia University (1969).
Custodial History
Since his death in 1980, the fonds has been in the custody of his widow, Mrs. Frances Margaret Whidden. The first accession was donated to the McKee Archives in April, 2001; the second in 2003; and the third in May 2005.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of Evan Whidden's reports to family members, in particular to his father and mother, on his experience as a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the years 1917-1919. Records also include correspondence from his mother, Katherine Louise Whidden (nee Ganong), to Evan during these years. In these reports, Whidden records his impressions of military life through his training in Canada and England and his experience of war in Europe with the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1917-1918. He was involved in the conflict only briefly at the conclusion of the war. His letters provide an account of life in France, Belgium and Germany in 1918.
The fonds also contains correspondence dating from the early 1920s from Chester New, a history professor at McMaster, who had previously taught at Brandon College. Fonds also contains correspondence from Whidden's father, Howard Primrose Whidden, President of Brandon College 1912-1922 and, from 1922-1949, Chancellor of McMaster University. This correspondence deals principally with the progress of Evan Whidden's education and his choice of a career in the church or the academic world.
Fonds contains several publications containing the work of Evan Whidden, mostly on religious themes. It also includes newspaper clippings and convocation programs dealing with Dr. Whidden's graduation from Yale and the presentation of honorary degrees to him at Pine Hill and Acadia. The fonds contains newspaper stories on the occasion of the retirement of Howard Primrose Whidden following his lengthy career as President of McMaster University. Death notices for Dr. H.P. Whidden and his wife are also to be found.
Finally, fonds containts approximately 150 b&w photographs of group portraits, individual portraits and activites at Brandon College and a copy of the 1921 Commencement Issue of the Brandon College Quill.
MG 1 Brandon College Teaching and Administration
1.8 Evan McDonald Whidden
Related Material
Whidden's father, Howard Primrose Whidden served as President of Brandon College 1912-1922. His records are located in RG 1, series 2.2 (Brandon College fonds, Office of the Pesident). Records from Evan Whidden's time as College Dean are located in RG 1, series 6 (Brandon College fonds, Office of the College Dean).
Photograph is looking north northwest and shows the south side of the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre, the A.E. McKenzie Building and the link between the two buildings.
Photograph is looking north and shows the south side of the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre, the A.E. McKenzie Building and the link between the two buildings. The photograph is looking across the quadrangle.
Photograph is looking northwest and shows the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre, the A.E. McKenzie Building, the link between the two buildings and a number of cars parked on the east side of the buildings. Photograph was taken during winter.
Photograph is looking northwest and shows the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre, the A.E. McKenzie Building and the link from across the quadrangle in fall.
Photograph is looking north, probably from the roof of the Dining Hall, and shows the south side of the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre, the A.E. McKenzie Building and the link between the two buildings. Photograph also shows the quadrangle to the south of the Evans Theatre and on of the H-Huts to the west of Clark Hall.
