James David McKeand was born on April 11, 1925 on section 22-11-17 in the Douglas district of Manitoba. His early education was at Elton School. His grandfather was Robert McKeand (1848-1910) and his grandmother was Marion Johnstone (1860-1920). His father was David McKeand (1893-1979) and his mother was Mary Ethel Muirhead (1891-1963). David McKeand was inducted into the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1982.
Jim married Eva Meryl Gillespie (b. 1927) on May 7, 1947 and together they had two dauthers: Elaine and Janet. The couple lived five miles north of Douglas and Jim attended an agricultural course at the Ag Centre in Brandon, graduating with a certificate. A pedigreed seed grower, Jim achieved his 25 year Long Service Certificate from the Canadian Seed Growers' Association. He also grew seed plots for foundation production. Outside of his farm, Jim served on the local school board, was a Manitoba Pool Elevators delegate, served as a director of the Manitoba Agricultural Museum, the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame and the Brandon Consumers Co-operative. He was also active in politics and his church. James McKeand died on January 31, 1987 in Winnipeg, MB. He is buried at Madford 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 James McKeand about the lives of his parents and grandparents. Interviewer is Blair Loree.
Notes
History/bio information from the records and McKeand's obituary. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
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James Miller Young was born on February 4, 1901 at Eden, MB. Jim married Verna Mary Osborne (1907-1997) on October 27, 1930. Together they had three children: Gerald, Patricia and Marjorie. Jim served as a school trustee for the Eden Consolidated School District and Beautiful Plains School Division for more than 30 years, including 15 years at Board Chairman. Jim retired in 1967, and the couple's retirement years were spent in Neepawa, where they were very active in their community. Jim's service was commemorated by JM Young School in 1970. James Young died in May 1986. He is buried at Neepawa 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 James Young about education in rural Manitoba. Interviewer is Winnie Cheetham.
Notes
History/bio information from the records, Verna Young's obituatary and the Manitoba Historical Society website entry on James Miller Young. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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James "Jim" Guild was born on December 2, 1905 in Dundee, Scotland. He immigrated to Canada when his father was hired as a farm laborer in 1907. Jim farmed in the RM of Elton, where he ran a hog and cattle operation. He was an avid curler and interested in sports. A member of the Brandon Curling Club and the Forrest Curling Club, he was also a member and president of the Justice Pool Elevator, the Forrest Church Board, and the Elton Seniors Club. Jim was active in the early years of the Forrest 4-H Club, a director of the Brandon Consumers Board and Credit Union Board, the Brandon Consumers Cooperative and the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Bernice Rae Klusedorf was born on February 19, 1909 in Welcome, Minnesota. She moved to Manitoba at the age of 8, when her parents established a farm in the Sinclair district. A graduate of the Brandon General Hosptial (BGH) in 1931, Bernice worked as a nurse until her marriage to Jim on September 21, 1934. The couple had five children: Janice, Elaine, Alan, Murray and Betty. After her marriage, Bernice was dedicated to the farm and her family, while also making her nursing skills available to families in the community. She was active in the nurses' alumni of BGH and represented the Justice chapter of the Women's Institute at meetings throughout southern Manitoba. A member of the Justice and Forrest United Churches, Bernice also enjoyed travelling.
The Guilds retired from farming in the late 1970s. Jim Guild died on May 26, 1982. Three years later, Bernice moved into Brandon where she continued her practice of visiting hospital patients and residents of senior citizens homes. Bernice Guild died on March 18, 1995. They are both buried at Rosewood Memorial Gardens.
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 James and Bernice Guild about their lives and experiences. The interviewer is Blair Loree.
Notes
History/bio information from the records, Jim Guild's and Bernice Guild's obituaries. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Conservation
Preservation copy made 2021 (R. Hess)
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James Gilmour was born on December 4, 1910 at Griswold, MB. In 1936, he moved with his family to the Forrest District where he worked on the McPhail farm. In 1938, he went to Norway House where he and his twin brother Wesley were on the staff at the Residential School.
Isabel Marjory Forsyth was born on January 25, 1917 in the farm home south of Pipestone, MB. After graduating from high school, Isabel attended the Women's Institute Course in Deloraine for dressmaking and cooking, where she learned skills she used for the rest of her life. In 1939, Isabel travelled to Norway House with a group of teachers, and that is where she met Jim Gilmour.
Jim joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942, and on November 7 of the same year he and Isabel were married. Following the marriage, the couple were stationed in Lethbridge, AB and then Mossbank, SK where Jim was a flight instructor. At the end of the war, the Gilmours moved to Pipestone where Jim was manager of the Co-op store. In 1948, they moved to join Jim's brother Hughie on the farm in the Forrest district. During his farming years, Jim was active in Forrest United Church, the rink board, the Pool Elevator board and the School board. He loved to garden, curl and visit. Isabel enjoyed cooking, canning, gardening and entertaining. She was involved in community activities including the United Church and as a 4-H leader for 17 years, and enjoyed curling and baseball. She also sketched and painted.
Jim and Isabel moved to Brandon in 1982, where they enjoyed bowling, bridge playing and square dancing. Isabel was also associated with "The Writer's Circle." In 2000, the couple moved to Virden to the Evergreen Place to be closer to family. Jim spent the last year of his life in the Sherwood Home in Virden.
Together the Gilmours had three daughters: Carol Anne, Joan and Lynne. James Gilmour died on March 20, 2003 in Virden, MB. Isabel Gilmour died on September 5, 2007 in Virden, MB. They are both buried at Rosewood Memorial Gardens.
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 James and Isabel Gilmour about early agriculture in Manitoba and life at Griswold. Interviewer is Frank Anderson.
Notes
History/bio information from the records and the obituaries for James and Isabel Gilmour. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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Kenneth Ralph Hanly was born in Clinton, Ontario on July 30, 1932. He obtained his B.A. (Honors in English and Philosophy) from the University of Saskatchewan in 1959, his M.A. in Philosophy from the same institution in 1960, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy with honors from the Unveristy of Oregon in 1967. Hanly was initially appointed to the Philosophy Department at Brandon University in 1963. He retired as of June 30, 1996 and in 1998, the Board of Governors of Brandon University conferred the title of Professor Emeritus on him.
At Brandon University, Hanly was the poetry co-editor of "Pierian Spring" for 1982 and 1983, the editor for that publication for 1984 and 1985, and the editor of "Dollar Poems" from 1983-1987. He also seved as a representative on the University Tenure Committee and the Senate. His research interests included the Canadian left and political radicalism and labour movements in Brandon. During his tenure at Brandon University he was active in the NDP and particularly interested in municipal politics.
Hanly was also a member of the Manitoba Police Commission (1982-1987), the Manitoba Law Reform Commission (1970s), Amnesty International, the Canadian Authors Association, the Manitoba Writer's Guild, the Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties, and an associate member of the League of Canadian Poets (1984-1986).
As of January 2006, Ken Hanly divides his time between Oakburn, MB and the Phillipines. He can be contacted at northsunm@yahoo.com.
Custodial History
While doing research in 1974, Ken Hanly sent three tapes and a request to William Pritchard to record an oral history of the Socialist Party of Canada. The tapes were recorded in October of 1974. Wiszniowski and Pirozek were interviewed by Hanly himself in the same year. Magnacca was also interviewed by Hanly. Hanly kept these materials from 1974 until 1997 when he decided to donate them to the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Fonds includes cassette tapes of a conversation with W. A. (Bill) Pritchard in which he provides an oral history of the Socialist Party of Canada (SPC) and describes his activities as a militant within the party from 1911 to 1927. Pritchard devotes a good deal of time to describing his many experiences as editor of the Western Clarion, the party newspaper, running in various elections, and his tours of B.C. and Alberta on behalf of the party. Pritchard also discusses the ideology of the Socialist Party of Canada and the ideological splits within it that occurred in the 1920s.
Fonds also includes a recording of a conversation with Brandon Communist Frank Wiszniowski dealing with Wisznoiwski's evolvement in various organizations following his arrival in Brandon in 1926. Fonds also includes a taped conversation with former Brandon Mayor Stephen Magnacca concerned with various features of political life in Brandon.
