Manitoba Pool Elevators was a part of and associated with many other producer co-operatives in Manitoba.
See also fonds level description of RG 4 for history/bio of MPE
Scope and Content
.This sub-series consists of records from the following co-operative organizations: Canadian Poultry Pool Ltd, Canadian Poutry Sales, Manitoba Co-operative Poultry Marketing Association, Manitoba Dairy and Poultry Co-operative Ltd, The Co-operative Promotion Board, Manitoba Fish Products, Pool Co-operative Seed Association, XCAN Grain Pool
Records for the above organizations may include but do not necessarily include the following: financial records, minutes, correpondence, reports, addresses, and memoranda.
Notes
Description by Jillian Sutherland (2010)
Original order in this sub-series was rearranged by Eileen McFadden. The order established by her has been left intact.
This commission was appointed in late 1944 and made it's reports and recommendations in late 1945. The commission's tasks were the following: (1) give a legal opinion on existing taxation legislation affecting co-operatives, (2) reccomend taxation legislation in respect to co-operatives, with due regard to current tax burdens on privately owned busniess, (3) provide a picture of the actual structure of co-operative enterprise in Canada, its growth, and the effects of taxation upon it.
The commission's findings were, briefly: (1) Section 4, paragraph (p) of the Income War Tax Act is so ambiguous as to justify its repeal, (2) commission reccomended legislation permitting both co-operative and joint stock companies to deduct patronage dividends in computing taxes, whether paid out or available on demand, (3) appendicies of research staff findings that provide statistical and historical information on the origin, growth and distribution of co-operatives in Canada.
See also fonds level description of RG 4 for history/bio of MPE
Scope and Content
.This sub-series contains volumes 1 - 31 of the Royal Commission on Co-operatives, the brief and report on the Commission, an outline of argument on behalf of certain co-operative organizations.
As the Manitoba Pool Elevators grew as a co-operative organizations and later a corporation, it aquired subsidiary companies and became involved with other co-operative organizations. These various companies were usually acquired or formed to either reach out to other types of producers in Manitoba or to assist Pool members. MPE was also involved with larger umbrella or subsidiary co-operative organizations.
See also fonds level description of RG 4 for history/bio of MPE
Scope and Content
This series has been divided into nine sub-series, including: (1) Border Fertilizer Ltd., (2) Co-enerco, (3) CSP Foods, (4) Co-op Farm Implements, (5) Co-operative Life Insurance Co. & Pool Insurance Ltd., (6) Livestock Co-operative Division, (7) Poultry and Dairy Pools, (8) The Wasagaming Foundation, (9) North Cypress-Langford Weed Control Districts
The Pool livestock advisory boards and livestock markets were organized under the MPE when MPE merger with the Manitoba Co-operative Livestock Producers Ltd in 1948. The livestock pools operated in much the same way the grain pools did. The MPE Livestock Division was overseen by the Canadian Livestock Co-operative (Western) Limited (known as the C.L.C.). Local shipping associations shipped livestock to a central selling agency in St. Boniface, although this changed with the development of the rural highway system in Manitoba and the founding of Pool Packers.
See also fonds level description of RG 4 for history/bio of MPE
Scope and Content
This sub-series consists of Livestock Division records, Virden Auction Market records, Brandon Livestock Advisory Committee records, Elkhorn Co-operative Livestock records, and Swan River Livestock Association Ltd.
It has been impossible to establish an administrative history for Pike & Co. other than that it was a small distributor of packet seeds located in Edmonton, Alberta. The acquisition was made in 1982 on the recommendation of McKenzie President William Moore. In 2001, Pike & Co. continued to be a part of the mail order division of McKenzie Seeds.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
This sub-series consists of one file containing a proposal to acquire shares of Pike & Co., and a document entitled organizational shares.
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
McS 3 Acquisitions
Related Material
Financial records for Pike & Co. for 1983 are located in Series 1 (Board of
Directors), sub-series 5 (Financial) of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds in the file entitled 'Complete Financial Record 1983, McKenzie Seeds'.
Catalogues and seed packets for Pike & Co. are located in Series 2 (Office of the President/GM), sub-series 4 (Marketing) of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds.
The book "By Gossip and Myth" by Prof. George MacDowell in Series 6 (Miscellaneous), sub-series 2 (Miscellaneous Publications) of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds, also contains a small amount of information regarding the purchase of Pike & Co.
Co-enerco was a co-operative energy company that resulted from the Co-operative Resources Project.
See also fonds level description of RG 4 for history/bio of MPE
Scope and Content
This sub-series consists of records pertaining to the formation of Co-enerco.
On November 11, 1971, A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. acquired Steele Briggs Seed Co. Ltd., Rennie Seeds, and the Canada Seed Co. from Maple Leaf Mills Limited of Toronto, Ontario. The purchase included the packet seed business and most of the brand names and trademarks of the above companies as well as the Steele Briggs properties in Winnipeg and Regina, and all of the equipment in their Toronto location. This same location was leased by A. E. McKenzie Co. for a number of years. As a result of the acquisition of Steele Briggs, the name of A. E. McKenzie Co. was modified to A.E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. - Steele Briggs Ltd; each company continued to operate under its respective trade names in the marketing of Garden Seeds, Lawn Grass and other product lines across Canada.
The Steele Briggs Seed Co. was founded in 1873 in Toronto, although at the time of its inception, the company, which was a small retail seed store, was known as Steele Brothers and Company. Two of the company's founders, Mr. R. C. Steele and Mr. S. E. Briggs, were already involved in a grocery and produce business in Oshawa, Ontario together.
From the first store at 23 East Market Street, Toronto, Steele Briggs moved into a new warehouse at the Southeast corner of Front and Jarvis Streets in 1887. However, by 1888, new premises were required due to the rapid growth of the company, and a warehouse was leased at 107 Front Street East. Five years later, a separate store was opened to manage the local retail and mail order sections of the business at 132 King Street East. The annual increase in trade, however, made the construction of a new five-story building necessary in 1911-1912.
By 1902, the volume of business the company was receiving from Western Canada led to the establishment of a branch house in Winnipeg. Further expansion occurred in 1922, when Steele Briggs purchased a large warehouse and Seed Cleaning elevator at Regina in order to more adequately deal with the demands of the Western Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1933, a branch house was opened in Edmonton, and in 1956 one was established in Vancouver.
In its formative years, prior to the 1930's, the management group was comprised of a number of well-known businessmen. These included: Mr. J.S. Steele, Mr. E. F. Crossland, second Vice-President and General Manager, Mr. W. D. Steele, first Vice-President and Manager of the List Seeds Department, Mr. C. J. Turnbull, General Manager of the Western houses and Seed Grain supplies, Mr. R. S. Ferguson, Assistant Manager of the Catalogue and Wholesale trade located in Winnipeg, and L. B. Robinson, Assistant Manager and Accountant at Regina.
Sometime between 1944-1948, Mr. W. D. Dack was appointed President of Steele Briggs, and, in 1951, he announced new executive appointments to the company. Mr. George F. Boyd was appointed Manager of Steele Briggs' Regina branch and later supervisor of all Western branches as Vice-President in charge of Western Canada Operations. Mr. C. S. Beattie was appointed Secretary Treasurer of the company. In June of 1964, D. H. MacKay, E. R. Seede of Regina and Tom Gray of Edmonton, were named to the Company's Board of Directors.
For many years Steele Briggs published and distributed a retail catalogue, the first was published in 1875.
Rennie Seeds Ltd. was founded by William Rennie in 1870 and incorporated in 1905. It was located in a small store at Adelaide and Jarvis Streets in Toronto. Following the death of Mr. Rennie, the business carried on under the leadership of his son Thomas Rennie, and subsequently under Thomas Rennie's son-in-law K. J. Harrison. Steele Briggs acquired Rennie Seeds in 1961.
The Ferry Seed Company, which operated primarily in Eastern Canada, was bought by the Steele Briggs Seed Co. in 1926, effectively ceasing all operations under the Ferry name.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
Sub-series consists of financial records, miscellaneous documents, including some correspondence and files relating to the merger of Steele Briggs Seeds and McKenzie Seeds. Information regarding the Canada Seed Company can also be found in the sub-series.
The sub-series also contains a scrapbook (500 pages; 24 x 28 x 6 cm) dealing with Steele Briggs Seeds and the seed industry. Items in the scrapbook include newspaper/magazine clippings dealing with executives of the company (including the death of prominent members), commentaries on the seed industry and seed varieties and a number of general interest columns. A copy of the painting "A Gateway to Canada's Granary, Winnipeg 1872" by J.D. Kelly is also included. Photographs, magazine advertisements, correspondence and writings on seed varieties are also located in the sub-series. A page level inventory of the types of seeds included is available for the scrapbook.
A copy of the 1893 Steele Briggs catalogue is also contained within the sub-series. Special attention should be paid to the color covers included near the beginning of the book.
The sub-series is divided into five sub sub series, including: (1) Merger; (2) Financial; (3) Miscellaneous; (4) Canada Seeds; and (5) Scrapbook.
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
McS 3 Acquisitions
Related Material
Historical information relating to Steele Briggs Seeds is located in the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds, Series 2 (Office of the President/GM), sub-series 2 (J. Lasby Lowes), Historical Topics, file 10 (tape 23) and file 11 (tape 24).
Sales literature and seed packets for Steele Briggs Seeds are located in the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds Series 2 (Office of the President/GM), sub-series 4 (Marketing).
One photograph of Steele Briggs Seeds can be found in Series 5 (Photographs) in the sub-series 5.17, Steele Robertson/Steele Briggs of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds. There is also a Steele Briggs poster located in oversized drawer # 4.
In Series 6 (Miscellaneous) of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds, under the Centennial Exhibition, there is a folder for Steele Briggs containing various records/documents for the company that were used in the display.
The Seed Marketing Company Ltd. was located at P. O. Drawer 1885, Winnipeg, Manitoba, and, later, at 382 Maryland Street, Winnipeg. Created by the A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd., this company was incorporated under Dominion Charter by Federal Letters Patent, dated March 18, 1930. As well, the company was registered only in Manitoba under the provisions of the Manitoba Companies Act.
A. E. McKenzie made the application for the charter under the name A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. and, from 1933, the Board of Directors was made up of employees of A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. Although the authorized capital stock of the company was 500 no par value shares, only 50 of these were issued and allotted at a price of $10 per share.
According to a letter written by A. E. McKenzie to the Acting Director, Department of the Secretary of State, Companies Division, Ottawa, Ontario, the company was created with a specific purpose in mind. During the years 1930-1933, A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. accumulated a large quantity of oats for seeding purposes, at a time when crops were generally poor due to extended drought. These seeds, as well as wheat, barley and flax were supplied to farmers on a signed order in the name of Seed Marketing Co. Ltd. Parties, either individuals or municipalities, took a "Seed Grain Mortgage" from the Seed Marketing Co. as a method of payment. This enabled the farmers, who had little or no money, to plant crops. Presumably following harvest the mortgage was paid off.
On the whole the idea of supplying distressed farmers with seed through a Seed Grain Mortgage was fairly successful. In addition to selling the seed directly to the farmers, seed was also sold to rural municipalities, from whom payments were assured. The municipalities, in turn, assumed responsibility for payment from the farmers to whom they had supplied the seed purchased from the Seed Marketing Company.
The original Board of Directors was as follows: A. B. Downing, J. L. Lowes, F. B. Roberts, F. C. Thompson, and J.A. Young. Each received 1 share each in the company. H. J. Morden, a former member of the Corporation, held the other 45 shares from Winnipeg.
From 1933-1936, J. A. Young was President of the company. Following his death in 1936, the position was given to A. B. Downing, who acted as President of the Seed Marketing Company until illness forced him to step down in 1959. In 1960, J. L. Lowes became President, and the following members of A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. became Directors: R. R. West, Miss E. A. Yeo and J. R. McPhail.
The Seed Marketing Company had been kept alive under its original charter in case A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. might have cause to use it for some other purpose. Eventually, the company was considered in default by the federal government for neglecting to fill Annual Returns for the year 1962. At that time, the company was informed that it was no longer considered a subsisting corporation, and, as such, was no longer entitled to the sole use of its corporate name. That same year, A.E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. relinquished interest in the Seed Marketing Company Ltd., and the remaining Directors resigned their positions.
The name "Seed Marketing Co. Ltd." was also used by A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. on two other occasions. Around 1948, the name was used in Ontario under authority of an Extra Provincial License from the Province of Ontario, especially in labeling cartons of a Lawn Grass mixture to meet price competition in Quebec, the Maritimes and Towers Discount Department Stores.
Prior to 1948 the name was used to in the purchase of Forage Crop Seeds in northern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
This series includes minutes from meetings of the Board of Directors and shareholders of the company. It also includes correspondence between McKenzie, Lowes, Wm. Johnson, the Department of the Secretary of State, W.E. Chiswell - Comptroller for McKenzie Seeds, Robert Steen and various other individuals dealing with the incorporation of the company, its charter and letters of patent. Some of the records deal with the failure of the company to file annual returns for the years 1963 and 1964. The series also contains financial records including annual summaries/reports, corporation income tax returns, and return of information and particulars under the Manitoba Companies Act.
Also included within the series is a book (27.5 x 38 x 3 cm) containing the letters of patent incorporating the Seed Marketing Co., the general by-laws of the company, and minutes from meetings of its Board of Directors.
Information regarding the Seed Marketing Co. is located in Series 2 (Office of the President/GM), sub-series 2 (J. Lasby Lowes), Historical Topics file 23 of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds.
The A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. originated with the McKenzie family Flour, Grain and Seed business, started by F. B. McKenzie in the early 1880's. When F. B. McKenzie passed away in 1896, his son, Albert Edward McKenzie, assumed control of the company, and renamed it The Brandon Seed House. With its main office and plant in Brandon, Manitoba, the company specialized in the production and sale of field seeds and service exclusively to seed buyers in the prairie provinces and British Columbia. In later years, a complete line of products including garden seeds, lawn grass, and other allied lines was developed for sale across Canada.
In 1906, the company underwent a change of name when A. E. delete determined that the growth of the country demanded a larger seed institute than could be managed by one man. As a result, the company was incorporated under provincial statutes and the federal Joint Stock Companies Act as A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd., and new personnel were hired.
Under the Joint Stock Companies Act, A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. was required to elect a Board of Directors of not less than three, and not more than nine individuals. Only shareholders of the company were eligible for election, and election was to take place yearly with each shareholder entitled to as many votes as shares owned in the company. The Act also dictated that the directors were, from time to time, to elect from among themselves, a president of the company. They were also able to appoint and remove all other officers of the company and to create company by-laws. The directors were not obliged to pay any dividend on shares if the company should became insolvent. Under the Act, the stock of the company was deemed a personal estate and was only transferable as such. In addition, the company could acquire, hold, and transfer real estate, and was required to submit annual statements.
A. E. McKenzie was elected President of the newly constituted company. For the memaninder of his natural life he remained in this position and supervised the operation of the company. S. A. Bradford, who was given responsibility for various company departments, filled the position of General Manager. H. L. Patmore became the Vice-President, overseeing the nursery business, while W. A. McCracken was put in charge of the warehouse stock, and shipping department. McCracken also supervised the mail order department.
The Company was intially comprised of three divisions: The Brandon Seed House, Brandon Nurseries, and Brandon Greenhouses. Each division was registered under Dominion Patents. Later, the company was divided into Retail Mail Order, Wholesale and Commission Packet Trade divisions. It also undertook some export business.
By registering the divisions of the company under under federal legislation affecting trademarks and industrial designs, McKenzie and the Board,were able to register both the company’s trademarks and to protect the company’s industrial techniques. Thet company could thus patent the methods and processes of its operations so that no other individual or business could duplicate them.
Located at 30 9th Street, the head office and plant of A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. housed all the facilities and staff of the company, with the exception of the regional sales offices and warehouses. The business of the A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. was conducted from a frame warehouse until the current McKenzie building was constructed on the same site after a fire destroyed the original premises. Designed by architect Thomas Sinclair, and built by the Brandon Construction Company, the new building opened in 1911. In time, The A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. came to be known as Western Canada's Greatest Seed House.
During the 1930's, before a new building was erected in 1945, the A. E. McKenzie Co. occupied space at five different locations in Brandon, including the Massey Harris Building, the International Harvester Building and the Security Building. The last of these premises was destroyed by fire in 1972. As a result of its proximity to the Security Building, the main McKenzie Building also suffered heavy fire and water damage. A. E.
McKenzie Co. Ltd. also utilized a warehouse on the north side of Pacific Avenue alongside the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks between 5th and 6th streets. This building and its contents were destroyed by fire (1946). In May of 1949, the company purchased and erected a Quonset structure on the west side of 15th Street between Rosser and Pacific Avenues.
In 1908, the first branch of the A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. was established at Calgary. In the following sixteen years, additional branches were established in Edmonton and Saskatoon (1923), Moose Jaw, Toronto (1934) and Winnipeg (1935). Both the Edmonton and Saskatoon branches were seasonal, operating for a four-month period, March to June inclusive. Business in the Maritime Provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick further extended the company's operations by the mid 1940's. In 1946, the company purchased property in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, 120 miles north of Brandon. This purchase enabled the company to handle larger quantities of Sweet Clover, a popular crop that was grown in the surrounding area. Additional offices were opened in Vancouver and Quebec City in rented premises by the early 1960's.
In the years 1944-1945, the McKenzie Foundation was created. Through the Foundation, arrangements were put in place to transfer shares of the company to the Manitoba Government for the benefit of higher education, specifically Brandon College. In return for this gift, which included 90% of all capital resources of the company together with all of the income earned each year, except for the amount retained annually to ensure sufficient operating capital, the A.E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. received exemption from paying Corporate Tax.
Prior to the establishment of the McKenzie Foundation, in 1945, the National Trust for the benefit of the College held the shares of McKenzie Seeds. On April 7, 1945 the Manitoba Legislature passed legislation whereby A. E. McKenzie retained effective management control of his company, but 1031 shares out of 1145 issued shares were gifted to the Provincial Government. In return, the government agreed that all financial benefits from the shares would go to Brandon College through the A. E. McKenzie Foundation. When Mr. McKenzie passed away in 1964, the primary responsibility of appointing the Board of Directors for McKenzie Seeds passed to the Provincial government.
The remaining 114 shares of the Company were turned over to the Crown on July 16, 1975 in accordance with an agreement between Brandon University, A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. and the Manitoba government. The same agreement also turned the McKenzie Foundation over to Brandon University. Therefore, since 1975 the crown has held all shares of the McKenzie Co. through the Province of Manitoba.
A.E. McKenzie died on September 25, 1964 at the age of 94 and was succeeded as President of the company by J. Lasby Lowes. When Mr. Lowes retired in 1968, A. R. Swanson was appointed by the government to fill the position and was responsible for all operations of the company under a Board of Directors comprised mainly of appointees of the government. It has proven impossible to establish a complete list of those individuals who held the positions of President/General Manager of McKenzie Seeds after 1964. A partial account is as follows: Anthony J. Maruca became President of A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. in 1972. In 1975, the Board of Directors appointed William Moore General Manager, creating a new position to relieve the President of the company from management of plant operations. At the same time, Pat Kelleher was named new interim President. Following the resignation of Kelleher, William Moore assumed the role of President as well. Moore left the company in the early 1980s. He was later convicted of criminal misconduct as President of the company. Keith Guelpa became President/General Manager in the mid 1980's; Raymond West was his successor.
Beginning in 1969, the A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. began phasing out the Field Seed division of their company, including business related to forage crops and cereals. Seed cleaning equipment located in Brandon and and the company’s Calgary and Toronto cleaning plants was sold. The Company concentration its resources on the production and sale of vegetable and flower seeds, and lawn and turf grasses. It acted as a wholesaler and conducted business through chain stores, grocery, hardware and general stores.
Late in 1971, A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. purchased its largest competition in packaged seeds - Steele Briggs Seed Co. from Maple Leaf Mills Inc. for two million dollars. At the time of the acquisition the company changed its name to A. E. McKenzie Co. - Steele Briggs Seeds, in order to benefit from the favorable reputation held by Steele Briggs Seeds across Canada. In the early 1970s, the acquisition of Brett-Young Seeds Ltd., a Winnipeg company that dealt exclusively in the production and sale of field seed, brought the A. E. McKenzie Co. back into the field seed market.
In 1994 the Manitoba Government sold the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. to Regal Greetings and Gifts, Canada's largest non-retail mail-order catalogue company, which is owned by MDC Corporation of Toronto.
In 2001, McKenzie Seeds is Canada's leading supplier of packaged seeds and related gardening products. It is divided into a Retail Consumer Products division which features well known seed brands including McKenzie Seeds, Pike Seeds and Thompson & Morgan Seeds from England. As well, this division also carries a complete range of lawn seeds and perishables. It also continues to ship the seed racks invented by A.E. McKenzie to numerous retail stores. The second division, Direct Mail, consists of the McFayden and McConnell catalogues which reach over 500,000 Canadian homes each year.
Custodial History
Following the sale of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. to Regal Greetings and Gifts, the records of McKenzie Seeds and its subsidiaries were retained in the McKenzie Plant on 9th Street. In April of 1997, the records were transferred to the McKee Archives at Brandon University. Because the company was a crown corporation, the records of McKenzie Seeds belonged to the Province of Manitoba and might have been placed in the Provincial Archives. However, Provincial Archivist Gordon Dodds permitted the retention of the records in Brandon at the S. J. McKee Archives. The minutes of the Board of Directors, previously transferred to the Provincial Archives, remain in Winnipeg. Until 1960 these minutes, by-laws of the Company, and the letters patent of incorporation (April 7, 1906) were in the possession of the Company's lawyers, Johnson, Garson, Forrester, Davidson, & Steen.
Scope and Content
The fonds consists of textual records, photographs and artifacts from A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. The textual records include minutes, documents, financial records, administrative records, by-laws, legal records, catalogues, sales literature, seed packets, newspaper clippings, appraisals, publications, scrapbooks and miscellaneous sections.
In addition, some of the records within the fonds relate to the operations of McKenzie subsidiaries -- Brett-Young Seeds, Steele-Briggs Seeds, Pike & Co. and McFayden Seeds -- and various properties owned by McKenzie Seeds.
Fonds contains approximately 500 photographs. These depict the operations and employees of McKenzie Seeds and the seed industry in general. Artifacts contained in the fonds include blueprints, newspaper clippings, copper printing plates, seed bags and plaques.
Fonds also includes an artificially created series of records dealing with Brandon College Inc., the A.E. McKenzie Foundation, the Brandon Allied Arts Council and the Brandon Board of Trade. These records stand outside the provenance of the McKenzie Seed Co.
Of particular interest within the textual records are the transcripts of various features of the company's history as dictated, researched and recalled by its second President/General Manager, J. Lasby Lowes. The fonds also contains a collection of company catalogue which is almost complete. Outside of the seed industry, the records dealing with both Brandon College Inc. and the McKenzie Foundation are significant records relating to the history of Brandon College/University and the City of Brandon.
Because the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. was a crown corporation, the records in the fonds are subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
Related Material
Additional records regarding A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. are housed at the Provincial Archives of Manitoba. In order to gain access to these records it is necessary to contact the Archives of Manitoba.
Arrangement
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. Fonds
McS 1 Board of Directors
1.1 Documents
1.2 Minutes/Meetings
1.3 Management Consultant Reports
1.4 Miscellaneous
1.5 Financial Records
McS 2 Office of the President/General Manager
2.1 A.E. McKenzie
2.2 J. Lasby Lowes
2.3 Comptroller
2.4 Properties
2.5 Marketing
2.6 Reference Library
2.7 Miscellaneous Publications/Correspondence
McS 3 Acquisitions
3.1 Brett-Young Seeds/Sabetha
3.2 Steele-Briggs Seed Co.
3.3 Pike & Co.
3.4 McFayden Seeds
McS 4 Seed Marketing Co.
McS 5 Photographs
5.1 McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. Executives
5.2 Construction at McKenzie Seed Co. Brandon (two files)
5.3 Exterior Photographs of the A. E. McKenzie Co. Building
5.4 McKenzie Seed Co. Plant Operations and Workers (2 files)
5.5 McKenzie Seed Co. Equipment and Plant - Head Office 1983
5.6 McKenzie Seed Co. Field Operations and Workers
5.7 McKenzie Seed Co. Strike 1944
5.8 Fires at McKenzie Seed Co. 1910, 1945, 1972
5.9 McKenzie Seed Co. Centennial Exhibition 1996
5.10 Miscellaneous McKenzie Seed Co. Photographs
5.11 People Connected to McKenzie Seed Co.
5.12 Princess Anne's Visit to McKenzie Seed Co. 1982
5.13 Onion Set Production Book
5.14 Irene Cullen Photographs - McKenzie Seeds Employee Photos
5.15 Josiph Airey Photographs - McKenzie Product Photos
5.16 Alan R. Mundie Seed Production Photographs
5.17 Steele Robertson/Steele Briggs Seeds Photographs
5.18 Seed Packet Display Units Photographs
5.19 Product Photographs
5.20 Parade Photographs
5.21 Oversized Photographs
5.21.1 Drawer #1: Executive Photographs
5.21.2 Drawer #2: Office and Equipment/Plant Photographs
5.21.3 Drawer #3: Miscellaneous Oversized Photographs
5.21.4 Drawer #4: Artifacts
McS 6 Miscellaneous
6.1 Centennial Exhibition
6.2 Miscellaneous Publications
6.3 Scrapbooks
MG 1 A.E. McKenzie Fonds
1.1 Brandon College Inc.
1.2 McKenzie Foundation
1.3 Brandon Allied Arts Council
1.4 Brandon Board of Trade
1.5 Miscellaneous
The scrapbooks in this sub-series are fragile, particularly the product book. They must be handled with great care.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
This sub-series consists of three scrapbooks. Two of the three contain copies of advertisements for a number of businesses, including McKenzie Seeds, Steele Briggs, Patmore's, Rennie's, and McFayden Seeds. Clippings dealing with a variety of other companies in the seed industry are also included. The third scrapbook contains pictures of various flowers, vegetable, herbs and other seed products in alphabetical order. An inventory is available for the third scrapbook.
Notes
Date(s) of creation, including distribution, publication, etc.:
a) [No title] ad book - 1906-1911
b) "Scrap Book" ad book - 1917-1926
c) [No title] product book - c.1903 - c.1940
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
McS 6 Miscellaneous
Co-op Farm Implements was a subsidiary company designed to serve Pool members in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
See also fonds level description of RG 4 for history/bio of MPE
Scope and Content
This sub-series consists of general documents and photographs.
This sub-series consists of publications that did not fit into any of the preceding series or sub-series.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
This sub-series includes one copy each of Manitoba Business Top 100 (June 1985), Trade and Commerce Supplement, Brandon (c. 1963) and Manitoba Business (November 1985).
It also includes a Christmas Song book, the book "By Gossip and Myth" by Prof. George MacDowell and a document entitled "Background Information re A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd."
The following newspaper clippings have been located in the map case drawer #4 located in the archives reading room:
1. $175,000 Gift Set for College from City Man
2. McKenzie Will Leaves House to Arts Centre
3. The Old Alma Mater is Down on Her Knees
4. How to Help the Alma Mater
5. Good Things are "growing" on at McKenzie Seeds (ad)
6. Fire fails to halt work at McKenzie Seeds
7. McKenzie Seeds: new facilities are first in North America
8. A full-page advertisment for McKenzie Seeds from "The Brandon Sun" (September 24, 1971)
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
McS 6 Miscellaneous
Customers and employees of A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. donated some of the records in this series. Others were taken for insurance purposes, while some of the records involve McKenzie subsidiaries. Some of the records may have been taken as advertisements or for promotional reasons. Most of the records were generated by the company itself and deal exclusively with McKenzie Seeds and its business operations or the seed industry.
Custodial History
Photographs in sub-series 5.14, 5.15, 5.16 were donated to McKenzie Seeds by Irene Cullen, Josiph Airey, and Alan R. Mundie respectively.
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
Series consists primarily of black and white photographs pertaining to A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd and the seed industry. Included are photographs of the McKenzie Building, plant and field workers and equipment, executives, particular events at McKenzie Seeds and product photographs. A complete list of categories can be found below.
The series is arranged as follows:
5.1 McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. Executives
5.2 Construction at McKenzie Seed Co. Brandon (two files)
5.3 Exterior Photographs of the A. E. McKenzie Co. Building
5.4 McKenzie Seed Co. Plant Operations and Workers (two files)
5.5 McKenzie Seed Co. Equipment and Plant - Head Office 1983
5.6 McKenzie Seed Co. Field Operations and Workers
5.7 McKenzie Seed Co. Strike 1944
5.8 Fires at McKenzie Seed Co. 1910, 1945, 1972
5.9 McKenzie Seed Co. Centennial Exhibition 1996
5.10 Miscellaneous McKenzie Seed Co. Photographs
5.11 People Connected to McKenzie Seed Co.
5.12 Princess Anne's Visit to McKenzie Seed Co. 1982
5.13 Onion Set Production Book
5.14 Irene Cullen Photographs - McKenzie Seeds Employee Photos
5.15 Josiph Airey Photographs - McKenzie Product Photos
5.16 Alan R. Mundie Seed Production Photographs
5.17 Steele Robertson/Steele Briggs Seeds Photographs
5.18 Seed Packet Display Units Photographs
5.19 Product Photographs
5.20 Parade Photographs
*5.21 Oversized Photographs
5.21.1 Drawer #1: Executive Photographs
5.21.2 Drawer #2: Office and Equipment/Plant Photographs
5.21.3 Drawer #3: Miscellaneous Oversized Photographs
5.21.4 Drawer #4: Artifacts
Notes
* The term "drawer" in the Scope and Content Filed for sub-series 5.21, referes to the oversized map drawers in the McKee Archives reading room.
Errol Black's article on the strike at McKenzie Seeds (sub-series 5.7) titled “25c an hour; 48 hours a week; more toilets; less cats: the labour struggles of the "girls" at the A.E. McKenzie Company in Brandon,” was published in Prairie Forum, spring 1992 vol 17 no 1 pp. 33-59.
Finding Aid
An inventory is available for the artifacts, as well as each of the photograph sub-series.
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
McS 5 Photographs
Related Material
MG 1 (A.E. McKenzie Fonds), sub-series 1 (Brandon College Inc.) of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds contains photographs relating to the History of Brandon College Inc. booklet.
Series 1 (Board of Directors), sub-series 5 (Financial), of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds contains some photographs in the file entitled Steele Briggs Spring Campaign for Edmonton. The pictures are part of a sales booklet.
Steele Briggs related photographs are located in the scrapbook in Series 3 (Acquisitions), sub-series 2 (Steele Briggs) of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds.
See fonds level description of RG 4 for history/bio of MPE
Scope and Content
This sub-series consists of summaries of elevator operations. The records include the following:
Box 1:
Summary of Operations 1925-1968 Alexander-Gretna
Summary of Operations 1925-1968 Hamiota-Morris
Summary of Operations 1925-1968 Napinka-Woodnorth
Box 2:
Association Financial and Debt Repayment Summary 1925-1963
Association Financial and Debt Repayment Summary 1925-1963
Box 3:
Summary of Operations 1964-1968
Summary of Operations 1964-1968
Summary of Operations 1964-1968
Box 4:
Summary of Operations A-K 1925-1996
Summary of Operations L-Z 1925-1996
Elevator Points Closed A-L 1926-1987
Elevator Points Closed M-Z 1926-1987
The forerunner of Manitoba Pool Elevators (MPE), the Manitoba Wheat Pool was created in 1924 as a mechanism to allow for the co-operative marketing of wheat by Manitoba producers by the United Farmers of Manitoba. The Manitoba Wheat Pool was initially intended to be a provisional organization until the establishment of an interprovincial Pool, but when Alberta and Saskatchewan established their own permanent Pools the United Farmers decided to do the same. The Manitoba Pool was different from the SK and AB Pools in that the municipality was the primary unit of organization; members belonged to their municipal Pool associations first, rather than having direct membership with the central Manitoba Wheat Pool. Manitoba Pool Elevators was established in 1925 as a subsidiary of the Pool in response to local members complaints about the unfair business practices of privately owned elevators. The private elevators also slowed up the shipment of grain to the Central Selling Agency employed by the Wheat Pool, acting as a barrier between the local Pools and the Manitoba Wheat Pool. Once established MPE quickly began to build new elevators and aquire privately owned elevators.
MPE's approach to marketing grain promised to stabilize the market price of grain and ensure a fair market price to producers. Initially the Manitoba Wheat Pool was very successful. However, in 1930, the Manitoba Wheat Pool found itself burdened with an unsold surplus from the preceding year that had been bought from the farmers at a price that was significantly higher than any possible return during the Depression. As a result, in 1931 the Manitoba Wheat Pool's Central Selling Agency defaulted on its bank loans. Despite attempts to save the organization, it was forced to declare bankruptcy in November 1932. The financial difficulties of the Wheat Pool had little to no effect on the Pool Elevators, and so this former subsidiary organization became the main Manitoba Pool organization. This change meant MPE had to reorganize, which they were able to do with funds from the provincial government. The company was successful enough in subsequent years that it was able to finish repaying the Manitoba government a full year early in 1949.
MPE did not limit itself to grain handling; they wished to enrich the lives of rural families through education and to provide economic stability through diversification.
MPE established a lending reference library for members and a traveling library for rural families in 1926. With the passing of the Public Libraries Act in 1948, the province took over responsibility for providing rural families with books. MPE decided that since their traveling library would no longer be needed when rural libraries were established, the best course of action was to donate their library to the Provincial government. They also established and supported programs that educated young people about agriculture and ag business.
Subsidiary companies that dealt with course grains, livestock, packing and fertilizer were established by MPE to streamline and stabilize business for its members.
1961 marked the high water mark for the number of local associations within Manitoba Pool Elevators with 225 local associations. After this date the associations began to amalgamate and consolidate. Improvements in rural roads and rail systems and increases in the size of farms and mechanization of farm labour meant that fewer elevators were needed to service all members and regions. These changes led to an organizational restructuring of Manitoba Pool Elevators in 1968. Membership became direct, and the main unit of organization became the central office. The central office administrated the Pool through districts, which were further subdivided into sub-districts. The locals which were formally the main organizational unit came under the immediate direction of the sub-district they were located in. Local association could opt out of this system if they wished, but by 1975 all but 29 associations had become part of the new structure.
In 1998 Manitoba Pool Elevators merged with the Alberta Wheat Pool to form Agricore Co-operative, Ltd. In 2001 this organization merged with the United Grain Growers to become Agricore United, and in 2007 AU was taken over by the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool; the new company is currently known as Viterra.
Custodial History
The bulk of this fonds was accessioned in 1975, when the forerunner to the McKee Archives at Brandon University, the Rural Resource Center, was founded. The original mandate of the Rural Resource Center was to house the records of the Manitoba Pool Elevators. Previous to this, most of the fonds was stored at MPE's head office in Winnipeg. Many accruals to this collection have since taken place, with some of the larger ones being received in 1997, 2001, and 2002.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains records dealing with every aspect of the Manitoba Pool Elevators organization, from the events leading to its formation in the 1920's, to its amalgamation as part of Agricore beginning in the late 1990's.
Fonds includes records of the local co-operative elevator associations established in the period 1925 - 1968 under the Co-operative Associations Act including: organizational papers; minutes of executive boards; minutes of shareholders annual meetings; financial statements; correspondence; membership lists; and miscellaneous documents.
Also to be found are: documents related to the Royal Commission re the Manitoba Pool Elevators Limited ca. 1931; miscellaneous reports and submissions documents (1925 -1952); central office papers consisting of annual reports, circulars to local co-operative elevator associations and documents related to various other activities of the Manitoba Pool Elevators organization. Fonds also contains documents pertaining to the Manitoba Co-operative Poultry Marketing Association Limited and its successor, the Manitoba Dairy and Poultry Co-operative Limited, and related agencies.
Other items in the fonds (dating from the 1890's to 2001) include: books acquired for the Manitoba Pool Elevator Library, including a complete run of both the Scoop Shovel (MPE's first newspaper)and the Manitoba Cooperator; photographs; slides; audiotapes; and reel-to-reel videos.
Finally, the fonds contains a small number of miscellaneous items such as banners, and company issued briefcases.
This fonds is organized into four series, (A) Local Association records, (B) Central Office Records, (C) Subsidiary Companies and Co-operatives, (D) Commissions, Committees and Inquiries
Notes
Description by Mike White (2002), revised and enlarged by Jillian Sutherland (2009-2010).
History/Bio taken from F.W. Hamilton, "Service at Cost: A History of the Manitoba Pool Elevators 1925-1975" (Saskatoon: Modern Press) and from records within the fonds.
Preparation of this description made possible in part by a generous grant from the Brandon University Student's Union Work Study Program 2009.
Researchers are responsible for observing Canadian copyright restrictions.
Finding Aid
File level inventory available for some boxes. The Pool Elevator library and publications are available online through the Brandon University Library catalogue.
