Frank Ernest "Ernie" Ellis was born on April 3, 1915. He lived and farmed all his life just north of Wawanesa, MB, and established a seed cleaning and fertilizer business entitled Ellis Farm Supplies on the south side of Wawanesa. Ernie married Margaret Alyce Viola Medd (1922-2022) in in 1946 and together they had five children: Margaret, Brenda, Kathryn, Jennifer and Warren. In 1985, Ernie and Alyce moved to Winnipeg and their son Warren took over the farm.
Ernie was active in his community, local politics and the agriculture and health care sectors. His commitment to land conservation and a love of nature, led him to serve on the boards of many farming organizations, including the Wawanesa Crop Improvement Club, the Wawanesa Cooperative Elevator Association, and the Wawanesa Consumers Co-op Association. He was also one of the founders ot the Manitoba Stock Growers' Association, which became the Manitoba Beef Growers' Association. Additionally, Ernie served on the board of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, was a member of the Canadian Seed Growers' Association, served terms as president for both the Brandon-Souris Liberal Association and the Souris-Killarney Association, ran as the MLA Liberal candidate for the Souris-Lansdowne constituency and served on the Oakland Council for 11 years. He was also elected chairman of the first Board of Directors for the Wawanesa & District Recreation Centre, was a trustee of the governing board of the Wawanesa & District Hospital, including 12 years as chairman. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Manitoba Health Organization, where he advocated for health care in Wawanesa and rural areas. Ernie wrote two newspaper columns, "The Rural Scene" for the Wawanesa Optimist, and "On the Manitoba Range" for The Canadian Cattleman, and along with his wife Alyce, did much of the research and writing for the Wawanesa centennial local history book. Aside from writing, Ernie was also passionate about music, and played the trombone in the Wawanesa Band.
When he became ill in 2010 the Ellis' left Winnipeg; Ernie moved to the Personal Care Home in Wawanesa and Alyce moved to the Wawanesa Valley Lodge. Ernie Ellis died on February 16, 2011 in Wawanesa, MB.
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 Ernie Ellis. This final hour includes rural roads, recreation, World War II years on the farm, and life in Wawanesa since the war. The interviewer is John Moore.
Notes
History/bio information from the records and obituaries for both Ernie and Alyce Ellis. Description by Christy Henry.
Audio Tracks
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For custodial history see the collection level description of the Lawrence Stuckey collection.
Scope and Content
Katherine Stinson & aircraft with Indigenous peoples
Notes
Photo taken in Brandon, Manitoba
Miss Stinson was half Indigenous
See Lawrence Stuckey file (Finding Aids) for biography of Katherine Stinson.
[Please note that in the title we have chosen to maintain the original terminology used by Mr. Stuckey in order to maintain the original context and order of the record. P.E. 08/07/09.]
Built 1882. Sold to Hughes & Co. July 1, 1905. Became part of Strathcona Block, built on front out to 10th Street in 1905.
[From 1871 to 1890 the Manitoba school system was based on the Quebec model of religiously-aligned primary education. As such, Brandon’s first Central School was actually the first school built as part of the Brandon Protestant School Board. In contrast, St. Joseph’s Academy provided education to the children of Brandon’s Catholic community and was overseen by its own Catholic school board. Many non-secular school boards would be eliminated in Manitoba in 1890. (Mitchell, T. 1986. In the Image of Ontario: Public Schools in Brandon 1881-1890. Manitoba History, Number 12, Autumn 1986)]
Custodial History
For custodial history see the collection level description of the Lawrence Stuckey collection.
[This photo shows the remains of Brandon's first Central School, built 1882. A "T" shaped addition was added to the east side of the original school in 1883. In 1905 the Brandon School District sold the building to Hughes & Company, who subsequently added an eastward extention to the building bringing it out to 10th Street. This combined building would become known as the Strathcona Block. P.E. 12/06/09]
[From 1871 to 1890 the Manitoba school system was based on the Quebec model of religiously-aligned primary education. As such, Brandon’s first Central School was actually the first school built as part of the Brandon Protestant School Board. In contrast, St. Joseph’s Academy provided education to the children of Brandon’s Catholic community and was overseen by its own Catholic school board. Many non-secular school boards would be eliminated in Manitoba in 1890. (Mitchell, T. 1986. In the Image of Ontario: Public Schools in Brandon 1881-1890. Manitoba History, Number 12, Autumn 1986)]
Custodial History
For custodial history see the collection level description of the Lawrence Stuckey collection.
Built in 1914 and located on the south side of Louise Avenue, west of 23rd Street. An extension to the south was added at a later date.
[Mr. Stuckey] attended this school from the fall of 1927 to the summer of 1933, grades 1-6, with one room for each grade. Teachers [that Mr. Stuckey] remembered: Grade 1 - Mrs. Mary Wilson (widow); Grade 2 - Miss Mary Harrison, Miss Harrap; Grade 3 - Miss Pottinger; Grade 4 - Miss Doak; Grade 6 - Mr. Allan Mitchell (married Miss Harrap). Principal 1927-28: Mr. Wood, Principal 1934: Mr. Allan Mitchell.
Custodial History
For custodial history see the collection level description of the Lawrence Stuckey collection.
[St. Joseph’s Academy provided education to the children of Brandon’s Catholic community and was overseen by its own Catholic school board. Non-secular school boards would be eliminated in Manitoba in 1890. (Mitchell, T. 1986. In the Image of Ontario: Public Schools in Brandon 1881-1890. Manitoba History, Number 12, Autumn 1986.)]
Custodial History
For custodial history see the collection level description of the Lawrence Stuckey collection.