This plate was the property of Edna and Carl Bjarnason. It was in their possession for some fifty years prior to its donation to the University on October, 2005. The Development Office took possession of the plate at that time and transferred it to the Archives in March 2008.
Scope and Content
The plate measures 26 cm in diameter and is white with blue glazing. The centre of the plate depicts the Brandon College Original Building and the words "Brandon College, Brandon Manitoba." The outside of the plate is a flower motif. On the back of the plate, in the same blue as the front, are the words "Canadian View Series, Brandon Manitoba." There is also a trademark of a bird with a banner reading "Trademark England."
File consists of correspondence, minutes (Board Executive and Campus Advisory Bookstore Committee), copy of an agreement between Brandon University and BUSU, financial information and motions.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 2: Board of Governors
2.4 Correspondence and subject files
Box 7
File consists of a news release, the program for the second Brandon University exhibition of Western Manitoba art, the programs for Brandon University's second annual spring convocation and Brandon University's fourtheenth annual closing exercises (elementary education courses), as well as the program for "Plaskett the Painter" (1969).
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 4: Office of the Vice-President
4.2 Office of the Vice-President (Administration & Finance)
Box 5
Generally good. Some editions are fragile. Over the years Library, and later Archives' staff, have stamped/ annotated data points on various issues. These annotations have not been noted at the item level.
History / Biographical
The Quill was established in 1910, and is the second oldest student newspaper in western Canada. It was also the first student run publication at Brandon College. The December (Vol. I, No. 1) edition states that "the demand for such a paper [had] been steadily increasing until at last some definite steps towards bringing one into existence became absolutely necessary." The first step was the election of a committe by the Literary Society to look into the possibilites of the project and report at a special meeting. Following the acceptance of the committee's favorable report, another committee was appointed to outline a policy and nominate officers and staff.
The inagural staff of the Quill, "having examined the reasons for the discontinuance of the Brandon College Monthly some years ago, [found] that these have been to a large extent removed by the development of the College in the intervening years." They felt that the "student body [had] grown to such an extent that the problem of getting suffiecient material for a paper, as well as the financial difficulty, [had] been appreciably reduced." For them, this development "not only justified but demanded the advent of a College paper." The creation of the Quill was also influenced by the awareness of the students involved that their college was in a state of constant change. They felt that they "[could not] allow this important period of [their] College history to pass away and be forgotten." The newpaper enabled them to record the growth and changes on campus for the benefit of the students and friends of the College.
Originally the publication of three editions of the Quill, i.e. Christmas, Easter and a special graduates' number, were planned; the policy on the limited number of issues was to allow the Quill and its staff time to establish themselves, with the aim of expanding into a monthly paper as soon as it was thought advisable to do so. In 1911, the Quill was printed quarterly, with the first three issues of the school year consisting of student publications and professors writings, as well as containg various columns on campus activities. The final issue of that year, and subsequent years, was called the Commencement Issue, and it contained a brief biographical sketch of each member of the graduating class.
In 1927, the Quill was split into two separate entities. In the April edition (Vol. XVI, No. 11), the editorial staff wrote that the Quill's ". . . function and the efficiency with which it has performed that function in the immediate past are . . . doubtful. The present management realize this and feel that the "Quill" as conducted at present can assume neither the utility of a newspaper nor the intrinsic value of a year-book." Subsequently it was decided to publish a fortnightly, or bi-weekly newspaper, which retained the title of "The Quill," as well as a new publication, named The Sickle, which was to act as a yearbook. This decision was also influenced by the belief that by creating a sepaprate newspaper and yearbook "Brandon College [would] then be on a similar basis in this respect as her sister institutions throughout the Dominion." Although the Quill has occassionally ceased production (for a week or two at most) throughout its history, usually due to a lack of student participation in its production and/or financial troubles, it has continued to be published as as newspaper since 1927.
In 1933, the Quill was presented in an entirely new form. Weekly, for three issues a month, a bulletin was published, with a fourth and more substantial issue at the end of the month. The introduction of the new broadsheet form was an attempt to "reduce stale news" and allow the publication to operate with a "greatly reduced budget." The broadsheet format of the Quill was abandoned in 1934-1935.
Further changes were introduced with the January 15, 1963 (Vol. 53, No. 6) edition of the Quill. In the editorial section of that issue, the staff commented that "the Quill has remained as it is, in size, pattern and almost in content for the last fifty years!" In response, they introduced a weekly Quill (the Quill was first published as a weekly in 1937) and proclaimed that "we find the miserly, pamphlet-sized, shrunken-like Quill no more. In its stead, a fully-grown, broad-shouldered, new Quill has risen." Changes included the creation of the Feature and Intervarsity sections, with their own editors, a definite format in the 'lay-out' of articles, and the 'set-up' of pages, as well as a basic and overall reorganization of the Quill staff.
In September 1969 (Vol. 60, No. 1), Acting Editor Tom Brook and the Quill staff clarified the position and purpose of the Quill as follows: "The primary purpose of the Quill is to bring to the attention of the students of Brandon University the issues and events that have direct implications on the lives of these people. We do and will continue to editorialize in our reporting. It may be not as strong as that seen in the past. But the Quill staff does feel that subjective evaluation of events after the case has been put factually is valid, and this shall be a policy that will be adhered to during the coming year." They also took a moment to point out that the Quill, although a student press, was not a commercial newspaper. Furthermore, they wanted "to see the Quill move closer to the concept of the bourgeois pressbut not so close that it loses its identification with students and the issues that concern them."
By 1971, the Quill had adopted the statement of principle of the Student Press in Canada as outline in the Resolutions of the Canadian University Press. Printed on the front page of the September 24 edition, the Quill stated the following policy: It is ". . . our belief 'that the major role of the student press is to act as an agent of social change, striving to emphasize the rights and responsibilities of the student citizen', and 'that the student press must in fulfilling this role perform both an educative and an active function.'" The policy went on to declare that the Quill, as an alternative press (an alternative to the commercial press), rather than a newspaper, was "limited to presenting news which the commerical press does not handle and to providing news analysis." The democratic nature of the Quill was also clearly stated in the policy.
The structure of the Quill was altered again in 1984, when an editorial board was instated, replacing the previous editor-in-chief system (although in most cases there was more than one editor in any given year). This board was to function as an organizing unit, with the collective electing officers for a one year term. The collective was made up of members, who had to contribute something to the Quill in one out of every three issues, in order to vote. Contributions included actual content for the paper, production, typing, photography work, office clean-up, or anything else that helped the Quill function. The central concern of the Quill, at the time of these changes, was to represent the "wide variety of social issues which interest Brandon University students." (September 27, 1984). The 'wide variety of social issues' was expanded upon in the September 3, 1987 edition of the Quill's editorial section: "A major purpse of THE QUILL is to provide the community with news and information pertaining to local, regional, national and international issues of concern to students."
By 1993, the Editorial Board was comprised of the News Editor, the Co-ordinating Editor and the CUP Editor and was responsible for the direction and content of the newspaper each week. By 1996, the CUP Editor had been replaced by the Business Manager on the Editorial Board. Clarifying its relationship with BUSU in the November 18, 1996 edition, Co-ordinating Editor Stacey Brown quoted the Quill Constitution: "The Quill collective shall determine and regulate editorial content and policy and shall set such perimeters on acceptable advertising as it shall collectively see fit. Debate and reasonable documentation must be given beofre boycotting anything in the newspaper." She went on to state that "final decisions on most issues are made by the Editorial Board. . . " The position of Editor-in-Chief was reintroduced sometime around 2001.
In the Spring and Fall of 2000, a dispute arose between the students in charge of the production of the newspaper and the Students' Union/BUSU Communications Board. As part of the ongoing dispute the Board shut the paper down. During that time, Quill staff published the unQuill and the Daily Quill. Eventually BUSU and The Quill parted ways, with the newspaper continuing as its own entity, separate from the Brandon University Students' Union.
Throughout its history, the Quill has been a quarterly, a bi-weekly and a weekly publication. It has been printed in various formats, by a number of different companies and has been financed primarily through funding from BUSU, and at present, advertising and a student levy. In 1997, the Quill became one of the first student newspapers in Canada to produce the paper in a completely digital format. Since 2020, The Quill has alternated print and electronic editions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical editions ceased publication, and various articles were published on The Quill website (https://www.thequill.ca/). Starting with the 2023 Winter Term, physical copies, online editions and web articles were used concurrently.
The Quill has been located at a number of locations on campus. Its first home was at the base of the Bell Tower in the original Clark Hall. In the 1970s it was produced in a mobile trailer near the gymnasium, before moving to the former Students' Union office in the lower level of the McMaster Building in 1980. Finally in 1991, the Quill was moved to its current location on the second floor of the Knowles-Douglas Student Centre.
The Quill continues to be a member of the Canadian University Press (CUP), and as such is provided with feature articles, news, graphics and fieldworker assistance. The Quill adheres to the CUP Statement of Principles. As a democratic collective, the Quill is open to all students and staff at Brandon University. An autonomous corporate entity since 2005, the Quill is a student run publication; the articles, editing, layout and distribution are done by the students.
Custodial History
Editions of The Quill have been acquired by the McKee Archives from BUSU and former Alumni.
Scope and Content
Sub sub series consists of editions of The Quill publication. Some issues have been digitized from microfilmed copies held in the McKee Archives, some have been digitized by Archives staff, and others have been digitally created by The Quill and acquired by the Archives.
Notes
Adminitrative information in the History/Bio field was taken from the "Brandon Collge finding aid" prepared by Karyn Reidel for the McKee Archives in 1998 and various editions of the Quill. Post-1927, a handfull of Quill editions contain Literary Supplements. Description by Christy Henry.
For History/Bio information see sub sub series RG 6 14.5.3 the Quill.
Custodial History
For Custodial History see sub sub series RG 6 14.5.3 the Quill.
Scope and Content
The Quill editions held by the McKee Archives are as follows:
Box 1: 1910-1911 to 1920-1921 (19.5 cm, Files 1-10)
*1916-1917 and 1917-1918 are in hardback only
*1918-1919 only had 3 editions
Box 2: 1921-1922 to 1926-1927 (13 cm, Files 11-17)
*1923-1924 The hardback copy is mistakenly identified as vol. 12 rather than vol. 14
*1926-1927 only had 3 editions
Box 3: 1927-1928 to 1946-1947 (Files 20-28)
*1933-1934 is a broadsheet
*1932-1933, 1935-1936 are oversized (located on the bottom of the box and not in chronological order)
Box 4: 1947-1948 to 1961-1962 (Files 39-53)
Box 5: 1962-1963 to 1971-1972 (Files 54-64)
Box 6: 1972-1973 to 1981-1982 (Files 65-74)
Box 7: 1982-1983 to 1991-1992 (Files 75-84)
Box 8: 1992-1993 to 2000-2001 (Files 85-93)
Box 9: 2001-2002 to 2006-2007 (Files 94-99)
Box 10: 2007-2008 to 2013-20014 (Files 100-106)
Box 11: 2014-2015 to present (Files 107-?)
Editions of The Quill for September 1930 to March 1972 are only available on microfilm unless special permission is obtained from the Archivist.
Repro Restriction
Copyright provisions apply.
Location Original
S.J. McKee Archives
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 14: BUSU
14.5 BUSU publications
14.5.3 The Quill
Arrangement
Each file is approximately one school year (September to April), although there are some exceptions. File numbers 18 and 19 have been retained for use in the event that additional editions of the Quill from 1910-1927 are accessioned.
See sub sub series RG 6 14.5.3 The Quill for History/Bio information.
The duplicates retained were chosen to provide an illustration of the changing content and format of the Quill from 1930-1975. They are primarliy for display purposes, as microfilm copies are available for researchers. The original copies of the Quill provide an archival record, but these may be used only under most unusal circumstances. Additional duplicates were culled.
Custodial History
See sub sub series RG 6 14.5.3 The Quill for Custodial history.
Scope and Content
The McKee Archives holds duplicate editions of The Quill for the following years:1930-1931, 1933 to 1942, 1946 to 1949, 1955 to 1959, 1962-1963 and 1975-1976.
The microfilm copies of the Quill cover the period from September 1930 to March 1972, and are located with the originals. The Archives holds both positive and negative versions of the microfilmed editions. The microfilming was made possible through a grant from Dr. Thomas McLeod (Brandon College 1940) in 1999.
Notes
The Quill duplicates and special editions are stored in the same box.
File consists of notices for various activites, biographical material on H. Ian Macdonald, reports and information on the Department of Extension, schedule of fees and residences information, correspondence and an estimate of capital requirements.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 4: Office of the Vice-President
4.2 Office of the Vice-President (Administration & Finance)
Box 3
Introduction: The ghost story, by Booth Tarkington: Shivering shocks, by Clemence Dane: Brothers in arms, by Merrill Denison: A night at an inn, by Lord Dunsany: The valiant, by Holworthy Hall and Robert Middlemass: The Grand Cham's diamond, by Allan Monkhouse: Fantastic flight, by Sydney Box: A marriage proposal, by Anton Chekhov: Shall we join the ladies? by J.M. Barrie: Rory aforesaid, by John Brandane: Campbell of Kilmohr, by J.A. Ferguson: Introduction to radio plays: Pete goes home, by Gerald Noxon: The odyssey of Runyon Jones, by Norman Corwin: Mad flight, by Ray Darby
30 photographs -- 25 at 3.5" x 8" (color and b/w); 5 at 8" x 10" (b/w); 3 magnets; 1 plaque (8 x 3 cm)
History / Biographical
See RG 6, series 1 (Office of the Chancellor) for biographical information on Stanley Knowles.
Custodial History
This collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1997. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Collection contains photographs and memorabilia from Stanley Knowles' political career, and his time at Brandon University. Included are pictures of Knowles with Pierre Trudeau, Queen Elizebeth, Ed Broadbent, and other national political figures. However, the majority of the pictures have to do with the time Knowles spent at Brandon University later in his life, serving as Chancellor. These pictures depict Knowles addressing crowds and attending conferences. Of the three magnets included, two are pictures of Knowles late in life, while the third is a cartoonish representation of him. The plaque is a recreation of a campaign slogan from very early in Knowles' political career.
Notes
Description written by Mike White or Robyn Mitchell (2002).
4.2 m textual records; 5 cassette tapes; 2 cd roms, 110 photographs (colour and b/w) various sizes
History / Biographical
Errol Black was born on September 8, 1939 in Brandon, Manitoba. He was the son of Thomas Alexander Black, who immigrated to Canada from Limerick, Ireland in 1929, and Roberta Jean (nee Groat) Black, a native of Chatham, New Brunswick. Black attended King George Elementary, Earl Haig Junior High, Brandon Collegiate Institute for Grade 10, and completed high school through correspondence courses for Grandes 11 and 12. He left school in 1956 to work a variety of jobs in Brandon, Calgary and on the west coast. He spent a short time in the Royal Canadian Navy. Errol Black undertook post-secondary education at Brandon College (1963-1965, graduated with a B.A.), the University of Alberta (1965-1967, graduated 1973 with an M.A. in economics) and Warwick University (1975-1977). Black taught economics at Brandon University from 1970 until his retirement in 2002. Following retirement he was granted Professor Emeritus status in 2003.
Errol Black has published three books, as well as many articles and reports in leading academic journals. He has a longstanding interest in the history of organized labour and working-class politics in Brandon. These remain important themes in his research and writing. He served on the Executive of the Brandon University Faculty Association for many years, and was President of the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations for two years. Black is also a member of the Brandon District Labour Council, a founding member of the Manitoba branch of the Canadian centre for Policy Alternatives, and a board member of the Brandon Regional Health Authority (2000-2006). He was elected to Brandon City Council in 1998, and for a second term in 2001. In 1999 he was the federal NDP candidate for Brandon-Souris.
Black married Margaret Millard from Waskada, MB in 1961, with whom he had three sons: Sean, Dennis and Tom.
Custodial History
Accession 17-1997 was originally owned by Jim Davis, brother to Communist activist Stanley Forkin. Taimi Davis, Jim Davis' wife, mailed the collection from her residence in Ontario to Errol Black in 1994. Professor Black donated the collection to the McKee Archives. Accession 02-2003 was donated to the Archives in November 2002 by Errol Black. Accession 15-2003 was donated to the Archives on April 30, 2003 by Errol Black. Accession 17-2003 was donated to the Archives on July 15, 2003 by Errol Black.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of a number of accessions. Accession 17-1997, dating from 1935-1936, consists of twelve of the thirteen issues of the "Unemployed Worker," published in Brandon in the 1930s. The "Unemployed Worker" was the organ of the Brandon Unemployed Workers' Council. This Council, like its counterparts in other communities, was created by Canadian Communist Party militants. The "Unemployed Worker" covered the activities of the Unemployed Workers' Council, the plight of Brandon's unemployed, efforts by the city's unemployed to improve their lives, and City Council decisions, specifically those regarding relief policy.
Accession 02-2003, dating 1917, 1936-1939, 1970-2002 (predominant 1970-2002), contains extensive correspondence from former Brandon University Economic Professor Don Wheeler to Errol Black. In addition, the accession contains an important body of correspondence received by Professor Black from Taimi Davis written by Pat Forkin and his wife Pheobe Forkin to family members in Canada during the years 1936-1939, while Pat was a Moscow based corespondent for the Canadian Communist Party Clarion. The accession also contains personal correspondence of Errol Black dating from ca. 1970, drafts of papers, newspaper clippings, pamphlets related to labour and labour political matters. Two publications of note include: "Labour in Brandon" published by the Brandon and District Labour Council and a student guide to labour law written by George MacDowell. The accession also contains several documents related to Black's involvement in the provincial Industrial Adjustment Committee.
Accession 15-2003, dating 1930-2002 (predominant 1930-1939; 1971-2002), contains extensive clippings from the Canadian Communist Party publications "The Worker" and the "Daily Clarion" from the years 1930-1939; twenty-one personal and family photographs (b/w 3x5) of the Forkin family of Brandon, many of whom were active in the Canadian Communist Party; various historical photographs (b/w 8x10) related to the history of labour in Brandon, Manitoba; personal files containing correspondence, letters and opinion pieces to various newspapers, course outlines, research materials and draft publications, arbitration awards and documents related to Black's involvement with the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations (MOFA).
Accession 17-2003, dating 1970-2002, contains correspondence, a manuscript of an autobiography written by Black's father Tom Black, research files, letters to the editor and draft publications by Errol Black.
Accession 3-2011, dating 1909-2010, contains an extensive record of newspaper clippings often of Professor Black's correspondence with the Brandon Sun from the early 1970s through to 2011. Clippings relate to civic issues, labour relations, social justice, economic questions. Documents (membership cards, cards of thanks, stamps) of various kinds, and photographs of Professor Black, family members, and various labour related events including parades and rallies, appear throughout these clippings. Collection includes miscellaneous files relating to the 75th Anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike including the Brandon Sympathetic Strike of 1919, the Brandon Greys Baseball team, the Assiniboine College BMHC lobby campaign, Brandon and Area Environmental Council, the Brandon East NDP Contituency Association. Editions (1925-31) of the Sons of England - Official Organ of the Sons of England Benefit Society - published in Oshawa, Ontario, and copies of documents related to the Commission of Inquiry (1928) into labour issues at the Brandon Mental Hospital are included.Collection also contains extensive correspondence associated with Professor Black's activities as a department member, scholar, and activist in the Department of Economics at Brandon University. Collection contains as well research materials related to the Brandon labour movement, strikes at A.E. Mckenzie Seed Company 1940s, cd roms containg research materials - clippings and images - for Labour Council Anniversary book ( 2006), and civic politics in Brandon. Records also contain research materials on various members of the Forkin family - in particular the Pat Forkin, Tom Forkin, and Stephen Forkin (aka Jim Davis) - who were active members of the Canadian Communist Party during their adult lives. A collection of family photographs and six tape cassettes containing accounts of the experiences of single unemployed men during the Great Depression and the funeral of Stephen Forkin ( Jim Davis) and correspondence from Taimi Davis the widow of Stephen Forkin (Jim Davis) supplement the sources on the Forkin family.
Notes
Photographs of Joe Forkin, Pat Forkin, Stan Forkin, Jim Davis and other members of the Forkin family are contained in Box 3 (15-2003) and Box 10 (3-2011).
Some restrictions. Consult the University Archivist for access.
Repro Restriction
Researchers are responsible for observing Canadian copyright restrictions.
Storage Location
MG 3 Brandon University Teaching and Administration
1.1 Errol Black
Related Material
MG 3 1.12 contains additional records related to George MacDowell; RG 6, Series 15 (BUFA) contains additional records on the Brandon University Faculty Association; RG 6, Series 7, Sub sub series 7.1.5 (Department of Economics) contains additional records related to the Department of Economics at Brandon University; RG 6, Series 7, Sub-series 7.1 (Dean of Arts) contains files on Don Wheeler and George MacDowell.