Gerry Beaubier was born in Wainwright, Alberta to Beatty and Babe Beaubier. He completed his high school in Saskatoon, before receiving a BSc in Geography from Brandon University.
Before attending university Gerry served in the army as a special reserve, while working as a night clerk at the Bessbourough Hotel in Saskatoon. His post-graduate career consisted primarily of work for Canada Agriculture, under the PFRA Branch (Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration). Later he would work as an Executive Manager, helping develop forage and range management programs for several post secondary schools, including, Assiniboine Community College, as well as schools in Red Deer, Lethbridge, and Saskatoon.
Gerry Beaubier married Joyce Abercrombie, of Saskatoon. Together they had two sons: Neil and Dean. Neil, an Account Advisor for the Royal Bank, was born in Regina, and currently works in Swift Current. Dean was born in Swift Current, received his PhD in Education and currently lives in Forrest working at Elton Collegiate.
The Beaubiers, who were originally from Ireland, emigrated to the Canadian West, making Gerry part of the fourth generation of his family to call the region home. His great-grandfather, along with his grandfather and great uncle were amongst the first one hundred settlers in Brandon. Together they first built the Beaubier House, a boarding house for early settlers and travellers. After it burnt down they began construction on the Beaubier Hotel, which stood at the corner of 8th Street and Princess Avenue in Brandon until August 17th, 2008. His grandfather, David Wilson Beaubier, continued to build and operate hotels throughout the prairies, including the Empire Hotels (of Brandon and Saskatoon) and The Park (Moose Jaw).
David Wilson Beaubier served as a secretary of the Orange Lodge of Manitoba. As an Orange Lodge Colonel, he worked with other Orange Lodge members, to recruit throughout the prairies for the purpose of World War One. For his efforts , David was promoted to Leftenant Colonel, and later Captain of the 99th Manitoba Rangers. David's sons (Gerry’s father, at University of Manitoba, and uncle at McGill), were both working towards undergraduate degrees when war broke out in 1914, and each would leave school to join their father at Camp Hughes.
Custodial History
Gerry Beaubier collected these photos primarily in the years 2000-2011, largely
from family and friends who knew of his interest in the topic. They were donated to the S.J. Mckee Archives in 2011.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of digital photographs of those who trained for battle in World War I at Camp Hughes and in Brandon, Manitoba. It also includes a digital copy of the cover of the Nominal Roll of Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men, who departed from Brandon in 1917.
The photos, taken primarily at Camp Hughes, are of a number of battalions, including the 34th, 100th, 108th, 181st and 214th. The photo, PT in England, is a postcard sent home from Beaty Beaubier. The Massey Harris building seen on the right side of, WW1 B parade0001, was used to house troops throughout the war. The man standing alone at the front of the parade in, 181 Parade, is David Wilson Beaubier.
Notes
Information for the biographical and custodial histories was provided by Gerry Beaubier on September 25, 2013. Description by Dustin Lane (October 2013).
The original photograph remains in the custody of the donor, who scanned the digital copy and sent it to the McKee Archives in 2014. The donor's paternal grandmother graduated from Brandon Normal School in the Spring of 1912.
Scope and Content
Portrait of the students of Brandon Normal School Spring 1912 class.
In November 1966, McGuinness was hired as vice-president to the Brandon Sun. He moved to Brandon with his family and had a career with the paper until his death in 2011. During his years with the Sun, McGuinness wrote a tri-weekly “Sunbeams” (sometimes spelled “Sun Beams”) column using the nom-de-plume F.A. [Fifth And] Rosser. Sunbeams was similar to McGuinness’ “Lighthouse” column for The Medicine Hat News; commenting on a variety of current events, Sunbeams also included book reviews, local events, and reminiscences.
Upon his retirement in January 1987, McGuinness was made publisher emeritus of the Brandon Sun. A week after his retirement, he began writing a new column for the Sun, called the “Diary.” Initially a bi-weekly column, which was made into a weekly column in 2009, McGuinness continued writing the “Diary” until his hospitalization in 2010. The Diary column was primarily a historical retrospective of Brandon, although it also touched on broader topics of interest to McGuinness during the time period.
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.
Scope and Content
The subseries contains records created and collected by Fred McGuinness during his time as a journalist, editor, and freelance writer with the Brandon Sun. The records consist of scrapbooks of Sunbeams columns, Sunbeam drafts, Diary drafts, article proofs, column research, and correspondence.
Notes
Readers’ correspondence pertaining to McGuinness’ time with the Brandon Sun can be found in Fred McGuinness’ personal papers, subseries McG 1.2 Correspondence. Possible research for his Sunbeam and Diary columns may be found in McG 4.1 Local history research and McG 2.3 Neighborly News (File 3)
Accruals
Closed
Finding Aid
A file level inventory is available
Storage Location
2015 accessions
Arrangement
Arrangement was artificially created by the Archives. Subseries has been re-arranged according to publication period
These records were produced between 1987 and 1988, the researching and writing period for The Wheat City: A Pictorial History of Brandon monograph. Published in 1988 by Western Producer Books (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), The Wheat City is a 117-page soft cover book, containing black and white images.
Western Producer Books pitched the book’s concept to Fred McGuinness in the fall of 1987. This book was part of the publisher’s “city series” which focused on smaller cities such as Medicine Hat and Prince Albert. It was estimated that the book would contain a 6,000-word introduction followed by approximately 80 archival photographs of Brandon spanning from early settlement to the late 1950s/early 1960s.
Brandon University history major Pam Svistovski worked as McGuinness’ research assistant and McGuinness obtained images for the book from his own personal collection, the Brandon Sun, Lawrence Stuckey, the Archives of Manitoba, and the Western Pictorial Index.
Custodial History
Records were collected and created by McGuinness during the writing phase of the monograph The Wheat City. The materials were donated to the SJ McKee Archives by the Estate of Fred McGuinness circa 2011. The Archives accessioned the records in 2015.
Scope and Content
The subseries consists of textual records and photographs created and collected during the production of the monograph The Wheat City. It includes correspondence, newspapers articles, drafts and black and white photographs from the Archives of Manitoba, Western Canada Pictorial Index, and Illustrated Souvenir of Brandon.
Notes
Information in the history/biography was obtained from The Wheat City’s acknowledgements and a letter to Mr. Fred McGuinness from Western Producer Books, dated September 24, 1987 (McG 5.6, File 11)
Where known, archival reference numbers for photographs obtained from the Archives of Manitoba and the Western Canada Pictorial Index and considered/used in The Wheat City have been provided in the item level description
Accruals
Closed
Repro Restriction
Images published in the monograph and stored in files copyright protected by their respective organizations
Finding Aid
A file level inventory is available
Storage Location
2015 accessions
Related Material
Clarence Hopkin collection
Lawrence Stuckey collection
Jack Stothard collection
Fred McGuinness would write/publish about a topic in a number of forums. Therefore, it is possible research materials pertaining to this monograph may be found in the Fred McGuinness collection subseries: Correspondence (McG 1.2), Brandon Sun (McG 2.2) Miscellaneous freelance (McG 3.2), Local history research (McG 4.1), Manitoba: The Province & The People (McG 5.4), and Manitoba Enterprise (McG 5.5)
Arrangement
Arrangement was artificially created by the Archives. Subseries has been re-arranged according to picture sources
The Brandon College/Brandon University Women's Auxiliary was founded on February 17, 1955, with the purpose of a) foster[ing] good public relations between the university and the community, and to stress the importance of Brandon University to Western Manitoba; b) to gain a better knowledge of the functioning of Brandon University and; c) to improve the surroundings of the College/University's students and the university at large. They were to hold four regular meetings per annum, with an annual meeting in April, and one fund-raising tea a year. The organization raised money through these teas, as well as through receptions, with the intention of donating to the college/university and surrounding community, contributing to the furnishing of residences and offices at teh college/ university, as well as facilitating an annual community visitation day for the public to tour the university. The organization's name was change from the Brandon College Women's Auxiliary to the Brandon University Women's Auxiliary along with the renaming of the school itself on July 1, 1967. The organization was sometimes referred to simply as the Women's Auxiliary.
The Auxiliary was run by an elected President and Board of Executives. Its members, who were all mothers of Brandon College/Brandon University students, paid an annual membership fee. Subcommittees within the organization included those in charge of social organization, membership management, program management, phoning management, press and publicity management and project management; all of these were fronted by their own individual leaders from within the members, under the board of executives. The organization ceased meeting in 1975; the minutes from the final meeting reference difficulties filling executive offices before a motion was carried to disband.
Custodial History
Records were created and held by the Brandon College/Brandon University Women's Auxiliary until their dissolution on October 23, 1975, when a motion was passed to move the records to the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records that relate to the organization of and activities coordinated by the Women's Auxiliary, as well as records detailing the contribution that the organization made to the university and community of and around Brandon. The records span the entire existence of the Women's Auxiliary from 1955 to 1975.
Records include meeting minutes, treasurers' statements, financial bookkeeping, correspondence, a copy of the constitution, records of members, members' addresses and phone numbers, lists of members' children attending school and their respesctive degree, lists of council members, event memorabilia, organization letter heads, donation receipts, newspaper clipplings, advertisements, publicity reports, meeting reports, visitation records, scrapbooks and scrapbook inventories.
Notes
History/Bio information taken from the records. Description by Kayliegh Penner (October 2016).
Brandon University photograph collection (Observatory Opening)
Spring 1955 Alumni News (report on the founding of the organization)
Arrangement
Records are arranged in chronological order in four (4) subseries: 1) treasurer's books; 2) minute books; 3) textual files; and 4) scrapbooks and miscellany
