The Westman Recycling Council was started by a small group of avid recyclers with financial and volunteer help from the Kiwanis Club of Brandon, among others. Volunteers organized the first outdoor recycling depots in June and October 1989. The first event with recorded minutes was the first annual meeting, November 15, 1989.
The organization was incorporated in February 1990, and became a registered charity in 1995. The Mission Statement was: "to support and promote the reduction, re-use, and recycling of material resources for the benefit of Westman's environment and future generations."
The major partner in the work of the organization was the City of Brandon. In 2003, Westman Recycling, in partnership with the City, built a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at the Brandon Landfill; Westman Recycling owned the building on the City-owned land. It was a $4 million structure - financed by federal and provincial grants (about one-quarter of the total) and a mortgage (about three-quarters). Details are in the Board and other Committee minutes and agreements.
In late 2005, Westman Recycling faced a severe cash crunch - as a result of poor markets for recyclables, changes in support funding from the Manitoba Product Stewardship Corporation (MPSC), and a drop in public recycling levels. In February 2006, the City decided to sign a contract with another organization to operate the MRF; after that there appeared to be no role for Westman Recycling.
A general meeting on September 22, 2008 voted to dissolve the organization. At that meeting, the suggestion was made (agreed to by consensus) that the files of the organization be donated to Brandon University to be made available for researchers. A Board of Directors meeting on the same date voted to donate all remaining funds to a perpetual "Westman Recycling" fund with the Brandon Area Community Foundation.
A final wind-up meeting was held on March 26, 2009
Custodial History
The organization was overseen by volunteers / volunteer Board of Directors. The files were first held by volunteers / Board members in their homes. In May 1991, the organization hired David McConkey as Coordinator / General Manager, who was directed by the Board to manage the files on a daily basis from that date forward.
The files were kept in the organization's rented office space in the 1300 block of Pacific Avenue from May 1991 to September 1992, and then in the rented space in the Massey building at 6th Street and Pacific Avenue. The files were kept at the new facility at the landfill from April 2003 to February 2006. They were then stored in the basement of the Marquis Project, 912 Rosser Avenue, until August 2011 when they were donated to the S.J. McKee Archives, Brandon University.
Some files (e.g. minutes from 1995-96) were found to be missing entirely. Other files were disposed of by recycling and/or shredding as they were judged to be confidential (e.g. personnel), of an ordinary business nature only (e.g. invoices), or not useful for future research (e.g. extra copies, routine correspondence, building and equipment plans and other arrangements).
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records that document the origin, activities, demise, and legacy of the Westman Recycling Council. Records include minutes, financial summaries, scrapbooks, newsletters, brochures, media clippings, photographs and miscellaneous documents related to the construction in collaboration with the City of Brandon of Brandon's principal recycling facility.
Notes
Administrative history courtesy David McConkey. See additional notes on the organization in the curatorial file. Description by Tom Mitchell.
File consists of correspondence, mintues, speaking notes, and background information related to the formation of the Interim Liaison Committee on Multiculturalism, the final report by the Interim Liaison Committee and a copy of Bill 50 Manitoba Intercultural Council Act.
Storage Location
MG 3 Brandon University Teaching and Administration
MG 3 1.19 May Yoh
See sub sub series level (RG 6, 8.4.1) for history/bio information.
Custodial History
See sub sub series level (RG 6, 8.4.1) for custodial history.
Scope and Content
File consists of grant application materials including a project proposal, budget template, bios for participating authors, and minutes for the April 20, 2007 meeting of the Aboriginal Literary Festival Committee.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 8: Library Services
8.4 Library special events
8.4.1 Brandon Aboriginal Literary Festival
File consists of correspondence and recommendations of the Social Science Research Council of Canada on the proposed granting council for the social sciences and humanities.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 2: Board of Governors
2.4 Correspondence and subject files
Box 6
Item is a mini-chapbook entitled "Matter of Life and Death" by Norma West Linder. It is series 2, number 6 in the Dollarpoems series. The series was publiched by Pierian Press, Brandon University with the aid of a grant from The Manitoba Arts Council.
File consists of a submission to the government of Canada and the governments of the Provinces by the Association of Unviersities and Colleges of Canada, documents regarding a conference attended by D.R. MacKay, and minutes/correspondence/newletters from AUCC.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 4: Office of the Vice-President
4.2 Office of the Vice-President (Administration & Finance)
Box 2
The records are in excellent condidtion, but the extensive use of photocopying of available records occasionally leads to difficulty in clarity of content.
History / Biographical
The project originated in the summer of 1987 at Brandon University. It was undertaken by several Brandon University students under the guidance of Dr. William R. Morrison and Dr. Ken Coates, both professors in the Department of History. From the perspective of all involved, research and future publication were the original aims of the project. The intention was to produce a combination of documentary and oral history of the Brandon region during the Great Depression, including an extensive study of Brandon College. Initially, an outline and project summary was presented to Manitoba Heritage Grants Program for consideration and after being chosen as a recipient for the grant, regular reports on research progress were submitted. The project was discontinued at the end of the summer due to a lack of funding and availability of the researchers.
Custodial History
The records were held in the custory of Dr. Morrison until his departure from Brandon University in 1989. At this time, the records were given to Tom Mitchell, who donated the entire project to the McKee Archives, where they were accessioned in 1997.
Scope and Content
The sub sub sub series consists of textual records relating to Brandon and the surrounding area during the years of the Great Depression, predominantly 1929-1939. The material in the sub sub sub series falls generally into the following categories: city, provincial, and federal government documents and correspondence; newspaper articles and other publications, and statistical data. Of particular interest are four papers written by Brandon University students and six years of the Henderson Directory. Also included is a folder containg documents associated with the research project undertaken by Dr. Morrison et al. during the summer of 1987.
The sub sub sub series has been divided into four boxes:
Box 1 - Brandon City Council file index, City Council membership and minutes, relief regulations, proposals for burials and children's shelters, relief work projects reports, Brandon-Cornwallis Health Unit reports, correspondence between the City of Brandon and numerous levels of government, Brandon Public Health Nurse reports, farm reports, Brandon bank clearings, Provincial Election results, Employment Service of Canada documents, various published articles, Brandon University student papers.
Box 2 - Civic, provincial and federal documents related to various features of the Great depresion and its impact on Brandon including lists of relief recipients and personal letters to the City, Brandon General Hospital reports. Some of thes documents remain unsorted but clearly identified by title and archival institution of origin.
Box 3 - Censuses of Canada, Henderson Directory for Brandon, City of Brandon Property Address Listing, United Farmers of Manitoba documents, rural rehabilitation programs, Brandon by-law voting, Archives of manitoba documents, Westman Municipal News articles, Economic Survey Board provincial data, project documents.
Box 4 - Brandon Sun articles including a file index to articles of interest.
Notes
The description for this sub sub sub series was taken from the Brandon - Great Depression research project fonds written by Codee Lorrain (2005). Part of RG 6, 7.1.4 (Department of History).
Because of privacy issues, correspondence relating to the recipients of relief is restricted. They are still available in the sub sub sub series, however, and discretion on the part of the examiner is necessary.
Location Original
Provincial document originals are available at the Archives of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Federal document originals can be found at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. City of Brandon document originals can be obtained through City Hall. The original Brandon Sun papers are located at the Brandon Sun office in Brandon.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 7: Faculties and Schools
7.1 Faculty of Arts
7.1.4 Department of History
Related Material
Records relating to the Faculty of Arts at Brandon College during the Great Depression can be found in the Brandon College fonds. Other records specifically relating to the Great Dpression in Brandon can be found in the Errol Black fonds and the Manitoba Pool Elevators fonds. All fonds are available at the McKee Archives.
Arrangement
Each subject of information has been compiled into separate folders. The first three boxes are composed of various documents sorted by the archivist. The fourth box is entirely composed of Brandon Sun articles arranged by the researchers. If there is one subject that covers a number of years, each year will typically have a folder; however, in some cases, like the Brandon Sun articles, more than one folder was needed per year.
