Hubert Clayton Weidenhamer was born near Dand, Manitoba in 1926. He was raised in Dand and attended school in the Dand Consolidated School District. Weidenhamer enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1943. He became a member of the Priness Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. Following training in Canada and England Weidenhamer was sent to Italy. He was badly wounded in battle in mid-September and died of his injuries in November 1944 at age 21. He was buried in the Ancona Military Cemetery, Ancona Italy.
Custodial History
These records were in the possession of Bea Chapin (née Weidenhamer) following their creation in the 1940s until they were donated to the S. J. McKee Archives in January 2011.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of correspondence from Hubert Clayton Weidenhamer to his sister Bea. The letters begin in the spring of 1943. Weidenhamer had enlisted in the Canadian Army in January 1943. His letters detail his induction into miltary life in Fort Garry, Winnipeg and his training experience in Canada, principally at Camp Ipperwash, Lambton County, Ontario. He relates his experience of travels on leave to Detriot. Weidenhamer left Canada from Halifax in late 1943 and arrived in Great Britain in December for additional military training. In England, maintaining his morale, waiting for deployment, and coming to terms with British currency were challenges. Transferred to the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Weidenhamer was deployed to Italy in March 1944. The letters dating from March 1944 to September relate in oblique fashion his's experience of military life on the Italian frontier as the Canadian Army fought its way north - "hard fighting" - and the impact of the war on Italian cities and the countryside. He was "proud" of his conduct in action. Weidenhamer's last letter is dated September 11, 1944.
Collection also includes correspondence on Weidenhamer's behalf from his military Chaplin; two press clippings dealing with his military career, and several facimiles of telegrams and correspondence from the Canadian government officials related to Weidenhamer's death and burial in Italy.
Good. A number of the items in the collection show evidence of tearing around the edges, missing covers etc. The photographs show bends and tears.
History / Biographical
Clarence Frank Hopkin was born September 11, 1913 in Brandon, MB. He worked for the family bakery (Hopkin's Bakery), which was located on the southside of Rosser Avenue downtown, for the railroad in the mail cars and the Brandon Post Office. At the same time Hopkin's worked for the Post Office he and his wife operated Hopkin's Home Bakery from their house after the downtown bakery had ceased operations.
Hopkin's was a member of the First Baptist Church and a Golden K Kiwanis Club member. He took an active interest in community theatre, attending and participating in a number of plays. In 1994, Hopkin received the Mayor's Volunteer Service Award for Education in recognition of his volunteer work at Betty Gibson School where he read to and with the students there.
Hopkin married Ivy Margaret Ward on June 2, 1945 in Brandon. Ward was born in 1913 and predeceased her husband in 1986. Together they had two children: Keith and Elaine.
Clarence Frank Hopkin died in Brandon on March 17, 2009.
Custodial History
Records were collected by Hopkin's and possibly other family members at the house on 7th Street where the family lived for approximately 100 years. After Hopkin's death in March 2009, his daughter Elaine and granddaughter Holly contacted the Archives regarding donation of some of the materials to the McKee Archives. Visits were made to the Hopkin's house by Archives staff the week of April 13-17, 2009, at the end of which the records in the accession were officially donated to the Archives.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of records collected by Clarence Hopkin over the course his life, which document his personal interests and certain community events.
Included in the collection are: scrapbooks (mostly newspaper clippings); play programs from productions staged by the Brandon Little Theatre; cookbooks; four play scripts; copies of the BCI New Era yearbook (1926, 1928 (may not be complete - missing cover), 1929); 1946 Brandon Business and Professional Classified Directory; Brandon College/University programs from recitals, plays and convocations; materials related to the radio show broadcast by First Baptist Church; Harrison High Literary Society play programs; miscellaneous programs to events held in the city; Brandon City District Drama Festival and The Mantioba Drama League Provincial Festival programs; The Brandon Canadian Concert Association programs; information on the Brandon Street Railway and the Criddle family; advertisement cards from Brandon businesses; a typescript copy of "How Englishmen Get That Way;" and a radio broadcast talk by Christopher Ellis.
It also contains copies of: Northern-Lights and Shadows by J.S. Clark; A Bundle of Burnt Cork Comedy by Harry L. Newton; Picturesque Brandon; Petit Pettitt: Biography of a Brandon Oldtimer by Joan T. Thompson; and Pioneer Patches by Mildred Donley.
Collection also includes four photographs and one negative. Negative: Brandon Collegiate Form 3A, 1928-1929. Photographs: City Hall looking southeast; Grain elevator on Pacific Avenue; Brandon Central Fire Station; interior parlour photograph.
Notes
History/Bio information provided by Hopkin's daughter Elaine in April 2009.
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 Brandon Ladies Auxiliary #112 of the United Commercial Travelers of America received its charter on October 30, 1937 at their first meeting, which took place in the Rose Room of the Prince Edward Hotel in Brandon, Manitoba. At this time the membership of the Ladies Auxiliary #112 consisted of 27 Sisters. Brother Ernie Tatton, Grand Counselor at the time, presented the Ladies Auxiliary with their Bible in May 1938. Winnipeg Auxiliary #48 gave the Brandon Auxiliary their Bible Book Mark and Saskatoon Auxiliary #23 gave them their gavel.
Initial meetings were held in the Rose Room of the Prince Edward Hotel on Saturday evenings, when the Brothers would meet after their weekly travels. Meetings were then moved to the Kelly Block on 8th Street. Here the Sisters would meet downstairs and the Brothers upstairs. Meetings were usually followed by dancing, singing, and lunch downstairs. Meetings were held in the Masonic Temple, the Knights of Columbus Hall, the Orange Hall, the Oddfellows Hall, and eventually in the UCT Hall. Throughout all the location changes, a social hour was still held with the Brothers.
The Brandon Auxiliary always performed the ritualistic and floor drill work. Originally, patrols only joined the Officers when Brandon Auxiliary was hosting a Grand Session. Patrols, with matching outfits, soon became a part of the floor work at every meeting. Officers were required to wear the proper attire. Capes were introduced in 1940 and white shoes, stockings, and dresses in 1941. Membership swelled over the years and 50 years after being inaugurated the Brandon Auxiliary could claim 136 Sisters.
The Brandon Ladies Auxiliary #112 was always very active within the larger community, especially with fundraising and charitable donation. Initially the Brandon Auxiliary supported the Red Cross by sewing and knitting. The Brandon Auxiliary also supported the Canadian Cancer Society at this time by making dressings. Rummage sales and teas were used to fundraise at the time. Teas were used in conjunction with the wives of the Steam Plant to purchase equipment for the first school in Brandon that taught developmentally delayed children. The Brandon Auxiliary also did fundraising teas, Walk-a-thons, bazaars, and raffles for the Camroc workshop, which was built for older handicapped students.
Bingo games were used to raise funds as well. Other projects of the Brandon Ladies Auxiliary include:
1. Builders of Women – provides help to needy girls and women and gives a scholarship out at the Festival of the Arts. In 1969 the Ladies Auxiliary refurnished the third floor of the YWCA.
2. Cancer – assistance with the annual canvas, ride and run events, putting on an event with a speaker and film, and a survey of sisters who had their annual pap test.
3. Handicapped Children – purchase of equipment for the handicapped classes at George Fitton School and the COR Enterprises (formerly Camroc) workshop. One sister was a volunteer for their swimming and bowling classes, among other things.
4. The Three Benevolent Funds
5. May E. Tisdale Educational Fund – donated to this fund every year, usually in memory of deceased sisters.
6. Brandon General Hospital Special Equipment Fund – every year a sum was included in the Ladies Auxiliary budget to purchase special equipment for the Brandon Hospital.
Civic Service donations included the Mental Health Centre Christmas gifts, three Christmas hampers for needy families, Canadian Diabetes Association, Manitoba Heart Fund, and Brandon Figure Skating Club.
In 1962, the Auxiliary's 25th birthday, their first Dessert Party and Bake Sale was held. This had the stated objectives of growing and working together as a group and raising money for the organization. This became an annual event. Sisters who had attended for 25 years were honoured at the Auxiliary's 36th birthday celebration. Every birthday after that, sisters who had attended for 25 years were guests at the dinner and presented with a corsage and a gift. Sick and bereaved were also remembered at these functions. In the 1980s the Ladies Auxiliary continued to support the UCT Brandon Council #448 in the Annual Travellers Day Parade, Grand Sessions, and other functions.
In the early 1990s the United Commercial Travelers voted to allow women to join the Councils. This marked the beginning of the end for the Auxiliaries. However, ladies who had no connection to a Council could join an Auxiliary now whereas before only a wife, sister, or granddaughter of a Council member could join.
The final Grand Auxiliary Sessions were held in Brandon in May 2003. By this point only three auxiliaries were still active across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta and all had difficulty recruiting new members. Most of the membership at this time was elderly and unable to take office or work at teas and other such events. Calgary and Regina's Auxiliaries were down to less than twelve members. Brandon still had more than 90 on the membership roll but only about 20 attended meetings regularly and it was becoming difficult to fill Officer positions.
The final Dessert and Bake Sale was held in October 2002 and was the 40th such event. With the demise of the Grand Auxiliary in 2003, it was decided that Brandon would continue to operate; however, after a year it was decided that Brandon would no longer operate as a formal auxiliary. Monthly luncheons would now be held with December being a Christmas Party supper. The last formal meeting was held in the Parkview Seniors complex on March 22, 2004.
The money in the Grand Auxiliary's account was distributed to the three remaining auxiliaries based on how much had been contributed over the preceding ten years. Brandon received $2,500 and had about $5,000 in their account. When formal meetings were discontinued it was decided to donate $5,000 to the “A Bed for You, A Bed for Me” campaign of the Brandon General Hospital. Approximately $1,100 was given to their Chairs from Mentally Challenged and Builders of Women to use as they pleased.
All members on the membership roll were contacted and asked if they wished to remain members. Several decided not to but 50 members remained. Each member under 80 paid a $5 membership fee in April or October. Beginning in 2004, $1 was collected from every member that attended a luncheon to pay for stamps and cards sent to those who were ill, lost a loved one, turned 80, etc. Fundraising is limited to selling Riverview Curling Club Lottery Calendars for which the Ladies Auxiliary #112 received $4. In 2005 $128 was collected and $25 donated to five different charities.
In 2006, sisters of the Auxiliary still worked at the Fairview Daffodil Tea for Cancer, put on the January birthday party at Hillcrest Place, worked the Big Craft Sale at the Keystone Centre in October, worked with the Salvation Army Kettles at Christmas, and sold carnatons for multiple sclerosis and daffodils for the Cancer Society. Luncheons held averaged about 20 members and 25 at Christmas.
Custodial History
Records were created and collected by the members of the Brandon United Commercial Travelers Ladies Auxiliary #112. The collection was donated to the S.J. McKee Archives in March 2007.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of records that document the origin, activities, and ultimately the disbandment of the Brandon Ladies Auxiliary #112 of the Order of the United Commercial Travelers of America. These records were created and accumulated during the nearly 70 year existence of the UCT Ladies Auxiliary #112.
The collection consists of the minutes of their meetings from November 1939 to November 1991, photographs of the members, and sign-in books from October 1937 to March 1991. It also contains the account ledger from April 1972 to March 1997. Several scrapbooks containing photographs and newspaper clippings related to the activities and members of the Ladies Auxiliary and the United Commercial Travelers, spanning the nearly 70 lifespan of the organization, are also included in the collection.
Both the United Commercial Travelers Council #448 and the United Commercial Travelers Ladies Auxiliary #112 were very active in raising funds for various charitable organizations. Money was raised for the Brandon General Hospital, as well as for George Fitton School to assist with their special education program. Organizations such as the Red Cross, the Canadian Cancer Society, special needs organizations, United Way, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and several other organizations all received the benefits of UCT fundraising. Scholarships were also given out. Teas, dessert and bake sales, sewing and knitting, rummage sales, Walk-a-thons, bazaars, and raffles were all used to raise money for charitable donations.
Collection also contains various artifacts including a gavel, the original charter of the Ladies Auxiliary #112, nomination balls, officer's badges, a Bible, and the cloth used for the draping of a deceased member's charter. Also included is a handbook detailing the rituals carried out by the United Commercial Travelers of America.
Notes
History/biographical information provided by Sister Bernice Nerbas of the UCT Ladies Auxiliary #112. Copies of their history are found in the collection. Description by Joseph Dauphinais (October 2013).
The Order of the United Commercial Travelers of America (UCT) fonds (5-2008), 4 photographs in the CKX fonds (11-2010.U5, 11-2010.U6a, 11-2010.U6b, 11-2010.U6c), Jack Stothard collection (4-2013)
Laura Anne Orchard was born on July 31, 1909 at Graysville, MB to Jeannie and Harold Orchard. She was the fourth of six children. In 1912, the family moved to Glenorchie Farm in the Morton district near Miami, MB.
Laura attended Morton School and Miami High School, completing Grade XI, then attended Manitou Normal School in 1928-1929. She taught in one-room schools: Bracken near Laurier (1929-1930); Rothesay near Isabella (19301-1931 or 1932); and Badger near Roland (1932-1933).
After Laura married Hugh Loyns in 1934, they farmed near Roseisle, MB and raised two children, Shirley, who became a high school teacher, and Alwyn, who became a university professor.
Laura continued to work with young people through 4-H Clubs. She also served on Eldviado school board, the one-room school where her children attended. In 1958, Laura returned to teaching at Roseisle Consolidated School District until 1961. When Laura and Hugh left the farm to live in Vanderhoof, B.C., she worked as a resource teacher in Vanderhoof Elementary School from 1965-1974. Though she never completed Grade XII, she did continue to keep abreast of teaching methods through correspondence courses, workshops, and summer sessions.
In the late 1970's, Laura and Hugh retired to Chilliwack, B.C. Laura Anne Orchard died at Chilliwack on July 28, 1983.
Custodial History
The records in the collection were in the possession of Shirley Hicks, Laura Anne Orchard's daughter, until donated to the S.J. McKee Archives in September 2013.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of records related to Orchard’s time at Manitou Normal School. The textual records include: An autograph book with signatures of all the students at Manitou Normal School; Department of Education Entrance examinations for drawing (1929), composition (1929,1930), science (1929), and physiology and hygiene (1930) ; a copy of the Manitou Normal School Closing Ceremonies programme (1929); a notebook on how to teach reading (c.1929); a lesson plan notebook containing notes on various subjects including Manitou Normal School executive, Students, Arithmetic, Primary Reading, Grammar, History, Poetry, Spelling, Geography, Geometry, Science, and class scores.
The collection also contains ten black and white reproduction photographs including: the 1928-1929 Manitou Normal School composite portrait; the Manitou Normal School building; Manitou Normal School Executive; Mr. Gordon, School Principal (1927-1930); various students; and an individual photo of Laura Orchard.
Notes
History/Bio information was provided by Shirley Hicks. Description by John Ball (2013).
Popularly known as the “voice of the prairies,” Fred McGuinness was known by many titles and honorifics: wordsmith, apiarist, author, beekeeper, brother, columnist, editor, father, historian, husband, journalist, memoirist, Morse operator, member of the Order of Canada, member of the Order of Manitoba, public speaker, publisher, radio broadcaster, son, telegrapher (CP), telegraphist (Navy), vice-president, and writer.
Frederick George McGuinness (b. 21 January 1921 – d. 22 March 2011) was born in Brandon, Manitoba. He attended Park and Earl Oxford public schools. Upon his father’s death in 1933, McGuinness worked as a paper carrier for the Brandon Sun, whose route covered the City’s downtown core. In 1937, he quit school and began working for the CP Telegraph Service initially as a telegram messenger and later as a Morse code operator.
In 1939, McGuinness enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy in Winnipeg and served as a wireless operator on the HMCS Alachassee. On 23 September 1940, McGuinness was seriously injured in a naval accident when his ship ran aground; McGuinness’ leg was broken when the ship’s tow cable snapped and he spent the next 11 months convalescing at Camp Hill Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia. While in hospital McGuinness contracted scarlet fever and diphtheria and developed osteomyelitis as a complication of his femur facture. McGuinness returned to Winnipeg to continue his convalescence at Deer Lodge Hospital and was ultimately discharged from the navy in 1941.
Fred McGuinness’ newspaper, public speaking, and broadcasting career began after he enrolled at St. Paul’s College in 1941. At St. Paul’s, which was affiliated with the University of Manitoba, McGuinness was able to complete his high school equivalency and university preparation courses. Additionally, in 1942, he served as a Sports Editor for St. Paul’s College Crusader student newspaper.
In 1943, McGuinness began his undergraduate university career at United College, which was also affiliated with the University of Manitoba. From 1943 to 1946, McGuinness served on the student union’s Public Relations Committee; in 1945, he became chairman of the Radio Subcommittee working as the Director of the University Radio Series where he was responsible (i.e., writing, casting, directing) for a half-hour Saturday afternoon radio programme. During this period McGuinness also uitilized his pervious military experience to work as an Assistant Veterans Counsellor in the univeristy, and, following a recommendation from the President of the University of Manitoba, as a speaker for the War Finance Committee in the Winnipeg Area.
In 1946, McGuinness moved to Port Arthur to work in public relations with the Wartime Prices and Trade Board. He married Christine Thompson (d. 14 August 2009) in Port Arthur, Ontario on 29 June 1946. Married for 61 years, the couple had four children together: Colleen, Fred Jr., Gallagher, and Timothy.
In 1947, the couple returned to Winnipeg when McGuinness took a job as a Public Relations Officer for the National Employment Service’s Unemployment Insurance Commission (UIC). During the 1950 Winnipeg Flood the UIC offices served as a communication base between the federal, provincial, and municipal governments and McGuinness received commendation from the military for his assistance during the disaster. While employed with the UIC, McGuinness also travelled the summer fair circuit with displays promoting the UIC and its benefits. During that time, Royal American Shows also hired McGuinness as its Director of Publicity and Exploitation while the show toured with the fairs on the Canadian prairies. As part of his responsibilities McGuinness had to submit weekly reports to Billboard Magazine on the Royal American fairs. McGuinness also sold his first manuscript to the CBC in 1947, recording a 14-minute broadcast titled the “Class A Circuit” about the Royal American tour, after his summer fair schedule concluded.
McGuinness continued his work with Royal American and the UIC until he accepted a position with the Saskatchewan government in 1952 to promote its upcoming 1955 golden jubilee. McGuinness worked closely with Tommy Douglas during the jubilee preparations, driving the premier to sites throughout the province. His experience with the Saskatchewan Jubilee preparations lead to McGuinness being appointed as a provincial representative to the Canadian Centennial Commission in 1963.
Fred McGuinness worked with The Medicine Hat News for 10 years, starting in 1955, when he was hired as an assistant to the paper’s publisher. In 1958, he was promoted to publisher of the newspaper. At the same time McGuinness was also appointed vice-president of Southam Company Limited. In addition to his administrative and editorial work, McGuinness also authored a column titled, “The Lighthouse” while employed by The Medicine Hat News. During his time in Medicine Hat, McGuinness was heavily involved with the Chamber of Commerce and community service organizations. His position within the community had him delivering talks to many local groups and working in tandem with the Chamber to actively solicite businesses to the City.
In November of 1965, McGuinness resigned as publisher of The Medicine Hat News and moved with his family to Winnipeg where he was appointed manager of the New Personnel and Information Division with James Richardson and Sons. At that time McGuinness began developing broadcast scripts for the CBC in earnest.
In November 1966, McGuinness was hired as associate editor and 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 that time McGuiness also had an extensive career as a freelance writer and journalist for the CBC, Reader's Digest, and prairie weekly newspapers, as well as authoring several books. By the 1970s, McGuinness was writing copy for CBC’s Radio Noon and Information Radio, as well as producing Ashgrove Farm, a CBC radio drama.
During his years with the Sun, McGuinness wrote a tri-weekly “Sunbeams” (sometimes spelled “Sun Beams”) column using the nom-de-plume F.A. Rosser. The F.A. stood for “Fifth and,” and referenced the fact that the Brandon Sun offices and publication plant occupies the city block between 6th Street and 5th Street along Rosser Avenue, and McGuinness’ office overlooked the intersection at 5th Street and Rosser Avenue. The Sunbeams column was similar in style and content 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.
In 1979, McGuinness started writing the syndicated weekly news column “Neighborly News.” He would write the column for 22 years until his age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diagnosed in 2001, became an impediment to his research, writing, and editing abilities. The column initially began with a dozen subscriptions from prairie weeklies and grew to publication in 55 weeklies.
The “Neighborly News” column evolved from the interest in and the impending cancellation of McGuinness’ CBC Radio broadcast “Neighborly News from the Prairies,” that he hosted from 1980 to 1983. The show was cancelled in 1983 but was picked up by Altona broadcaster CFAM later that year with McGuinness at the microphone. The radio show ended its run in the summer of 1987. McGuinness continued working with the CBC, however, and is popularly known for his work as the prairie essayist for CBC Radio’s Morningside with Peter Gzowski, a position he held for 17 years.
Many of McGuinness’ Morningside essays were autobiographical in nature. He often reported about life on Christmas Tree Farm, a section of land where the McGuinnesses built their dream home in the late 1970s. The couple planted a Christmas tree farm on the property and Christine maintained an extensive kitchen garden, while Fred tended honey bees. Life on the farm made its way into radiobroadcasts, Neighborly News columns, and the book Letters from Section 17: A Collection of Morningside Essays.
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.” 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.
During the 1980s and 1990s, McGuinness co-taught an undergraduate journalism class at Brandon University with English Professor John Blaikie. Around that time, he also partnered with Brandon University History Professor Ken Coates and published a number of popular books on Manitoba social history. McGuinness also delivered community workshops on memoir writing, a past time he continued until shortly before his death.
McGuinness took an active roll in the community and cultivated his interest in local history. Consequently he was invited to guest speak and chair sessions on local history, rural development, and the economy while providing his personal insights as a newspaper publisher. His previous experience with the Saskatchewan Jubilee and Canadian Centenial Commission made him a desirable committee and board member for many local organizaitons and planning committees. McGuinness’ lifelong commitment to prairie social history, earned him numerous awards and recognitions including an honorary doctorate from Brandon University, the Order of Manitoba, and the Order of Canada.
Fred McGuinness died on 22 March 2011 in Brandon, Manitoba.
Custodial History
Records in this collection were acquired by the S.J. McKee Archives in four accruals. Prior to their donation to the Archives the materials were in the possession of Fred McGuinness.
Accession 18-2002 contains records created and collected by Fred McGuinness until the publication of Only in Canada, a history of the Kinsmen Club Association in Canada co-authored with BU history professor Ken Coates. During the research and writing process for the book, originals and copies of Kinsmen Club of Canada records were amassed at the McKee Archives. Coates and McGuinness added their research materials to these records circa 1987. The Kinsmen records have since been deaccessioned by the McKee Archives and transferred to Kin Headquarters in Ontario.
Accession 6-2008 contains records created and collected during the writing of the Provincial Exhibition book, Pride of the Land. Fred McGuinness, who co-authored the book with Ken Coates, donated these records to the McKee Archives circa 1988. The materials in the accession relating to Souris, Manitoba, were given to McGuinness by Kay Sullivan in August 2007, and were subsequently deposited in the Archives. The material in the accession related to Kemnay, Manitoba, was given to Colleen McGuinness (Fred’s daughter) by Mona McKinnon (nee Corkish) in the fall of 2007. Colleen then passed the materials on to her father, who in turn donated them to the S.J. McKee Archives.
Accession 20-2009 contains records created and collected by Fred McGuinness over the course of his career as a newspaper journalist and during the research and writing period of the Brandon history book, The Wheat City. Records remained in his possession at his home until their transfer to the McKee Archives on July 28, 2009.
Accession 1-2015 contains records created and collected by Fred McGuinness over the course of his career as a newspaper journalist and freelance writer. The Estate of Fred McGuinness donated the materials to the S.J. McKee Archives in March 2011. The Archives accessioned the records in 2015.
Scope and Content
The records in this collection touch on every aspect of Fred McGuinness’ life. From his childhood, his education, his war experience, his newspaper and freelance career, his work in radio and public speaking, and his family the collection covers both his personal and professional life. In addition to the records created by McGuinness, there are also records created and collected by a variety of his relatives (on both sides of the family), as well as correspondence from his readers. The collection includes newspaper clippings, research materials, letters, certificates, scrapbooks, photographs, books, periodicals, pamphlets, sound recordings, artifacts, maps, newsletters, magazines, teaching materials, workshop materials, and financial records.
Because of McGuinness’ wide-ranging interests, the records include a significant number of subjects, both within his own writing and correspondence, but also within his library. They would be of particular interest to researchers who share McGuinness’ passions for local history and rural topics.
The scope and importance of McGuinness’ work in the prairies also resulted in a number of noteworthy honors, in particular the Order of Manitoba and the Order of Canada. The collection contains materials related to both.
The Fred McGuinness collection consists of nine (9) series further divided into subseries, including: (McG 1) Personal papers; (McG 2) Newspaper career; (McG 3) Freelance; (McG 4) McGuinness research materials; (McG 5) Monographs; (McG 6) Broadcasts, lectures, workshops; (McG 7) McGuinness artifacts and sound recordings; (McG 8) McGuinness library; and (McG 9) McGuinness photographs.
See the Arrangement Note for a more detailed breakdown of the collection’s arrangement.
Notes
The description of the Fred McGuinness collection was made possible by financial assistance from: The Manitoba Government Department of Tourism, Culture, Heritage Sport and Consumer Protection through the Manitoba Heritage Grants Program & The Fred McGuinness Endowment for Rural Archives, Brandon University
Information for the history/biography was compiled by the Archives and can be found in the Fred McGuinness timeline containing footnotes (see the S.J. McKee Archivist). Additional information was taken from his book, Letters from Section 17: A Collection of Morningside Essays, which is autobiographical in nature
Description by Suyoko Tsukamoto and Christy Henry (2015)
Finding Aid
A file level inventory is available for each subseries, see subseries descriptions
Provincial Exhibition Association of Manitoba fonds
Lawrence Stuckey collection
Jack Stothard collection
Trillium Business and Professional Women’s Club records
Oriole Vane-Veldhuis collection
William Wallace papers
Fred McGuinness local history collection (John E. Robbins Library)
CBC Radio Archives – Morningside
Trent University, Peter Gzowski fonds (99-015)
Kin Headquarters, Mississauga
Arrangement
The arrangement was artificially created by the Archives with the intention of grouping like materials. Records within files were placed in chronological order wherever possible. An inventory of the prearranged materials is available (consult the Archivist)
McG 1 Personal papers
McG 1.1 McGuinness family papers and letters
McG 1.2 Fred McGuinness correspondence
McG 1.3 Fred McGuinness Ltd. business documents
McG 1.4 Fred McGuinness certificates and scrapbook
McG 2 Newspaper career
McG 2.1 The Medicine Hat News
McG 2.2 The Brandon Sun
McG 2.3 Neighborly News
McG 3 Freelance
McG 3.1 Reader’s Digest
McG 3.2 Miscellaneous freelance
McG 4 McGuinness research
McG 4.1 Local history research materials
McG 4.2 Newspaper clippings
McG 5 Monographs
McG 5.1 Pride of the Land (1985)
McG 5.2 Only in Canada (1987)
McG 5.3 Old Pathways, New Horizons (1995)
McG 5.4 Manitoba: The Province & The People (1987)
McG 5.5 The Keystone Province: Manitoba Enterprise (1988)
McG 5.6 The Wheat City (1988)
McG 5.7 Chronicle of Canada (1990)
McG 6 McGuinness broadcasts, lectures, workshops
McG 6.1 Radio broadcast scripts
McG 6.2 BU Journalism course
McG 6.3 Talks and workshops
McG 7 McGuinness artifacts and sound recordings
McG 8 McGuinness library
McG 8.1 Books
McG 8.2 Booklets
McG 8.3 Maps, newsletters, and periodicals
McG 8.4 Pamphlets
McG 8.5 Magazines and newspapers (oversize)
McG 9 McGuinness photographs
6-2008 photographs
20-2009 photographs
1-2015 photographs
photographs are colour reproductions produced circa 2010
History / Biographical
EARLE PHILIP FORSHAW
Earle Forshaw was born in Brandon, Manitoba, on 26 September 1927. His mother, Maud Ethel Forshaw née Hicklings/Hickling (b. 07 April 1901 – d. 26 October 1927) died one month after Earle’s birth at the age of 26 years. His father, Arthur Hugh Forshaw, married Gertrude Ethel Fallis two years later and the family would move to Winnipeg in 1932/33.
In 1944, Earle Forshaw graduated from Gordon Bell High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He worked as a meatpacker with Swift Canada, a subsidiary of Swift Meatpacking Company, Chicago. Earle remained with the company until his retirement in 1984, by which time he was a branch manager of the Swift branch in Ottawa, Ontario. Earle moved back to Manitoba in 1985, first living in Winnipeg before settling in the resort community of Matlock, situated in the southernmost part of the Village of Dunnottar on the southwestern shore of Lake Winnipeg.
Earle Forshaw was married three times. He married Elizabeth “Betty” Anne Hamilton on 05 May 1951 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They had one son, Tom. The Winnipeg Free Press published the couple’s divorce decree on 21 December 1970. Earle married Margaret Clara Veale née Cousins (b. 19 August 1928, Winnipeg – d. 10 September 1998) that same year. They would remain married until Margaret’s cancer-related death in 1998. The following year, Earle married Joyce Wilson née Mutton in Ontario on 28 December 1999. They currently reside in Matlock, Manitoba.
Like his father and grandfather, Earle Philip Forshaw is a Free Mason. He received a 33rd degree membership in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Right (honorary degree), a position he has held for more than 50 years. Earle has received two medals from the Free Mason’s for his half century of service to the society. Earle is also a Shriner and a member of the Royal Order of Scotland.
ARTHUR HUGH FORSHAW
Arthur Hugh “Hughie” Forshaw (b. 09 July 1899, Lancashire, England – d. 02 June 1976, Winnipeg) enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force Overseas 181st Battalion on 21 March 1916 in Brandon, Manitoba. Although he claimed to be 18 years old at the time of enlistment,* his attestation papers stated he was not to head overseas until he was 19 years of age.
*It appears Pte. Forshaw may have lied about his age when he enlisted. According to the Lancashire Anglican Parish Registers (Preston, England), Arthur Hugh Forshaw was born 09 July 1899 in the Skelmersdale Parish in Lancashire, England, not on 02 June 1898 as stated on his attestation papers.
At the time of enlistment, Hugh lived with his family in Brandon, Manitoba, residing at 126 – 22nd Street. The 1916 Canadian Census lists his father, John, as a carpenter who had immigrated to Canada in 1905. Arthur and his mother, Sarah Forshaw née Edden, immigrated the following year and the Forshaw’s would have at least three more children, Rohda/Rhoda Elizabeth (b. 27 June 1908), Phylip/Philip Roy (b. 24 January 1911), and Irene Margaret (b. 1916).
After the war, Henderson’s Brandon City Directories list Arthur Hugh as a clerk at the Union Bank of Canada in Brandon. By 1925, Hugh was working as a clerk with Imperial Oil. According to his obituary, he would remain with the company for 37 years; he was a supervisor before retiring in 1960.
Hugh married Maud Ethel Hickling (b. 07 April 1901 – d. 26 October 1927) in Brandon, Manitoba on 22 November 1922. The couple had two sons, John “Jack” Hugh (b. 05 May 1923, Brandon – d. 17 May 1962, Winnipeg) and Earle Phillip, (b. 26 September 1927, Brandon). A month after Earle’s birth, Maud passed away at the age of 26 and was interred in the Brandon Municipal Cemetery.
Hugh remarried on 10 August 1929 to Gertrude Ethel Fallis (b. 14 July 1908, R.M. Glenwood – d. 04 July 1994, Winnipeg) in Glenwood, Manitoba. The family moved to Winnipeg in 1933, where Hugh and his wife settled.
Hugh, like his father John, was a member of the Free Mason’s society and became a 32nd degree mason. He was a member of the Capitol Lodge AF and AM GRM No.136 and the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Right of Free Masonry Khartum Shrine Temple. He was also one of the five original members of the Khartum Shrine Orchestra.
Arthur “Hughie” Hugh Forshaw passed away on 02 June 1976 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, at the age of 76 years. He is interred alongside his second wife Gertrude in the Thomson in the Park Cemetery, Winnipeg.
Custodial History
Records in this collection were in the possession of Earle and Joyce Forshaw before they were submitted to local historian Jack Stothard. Stothard, in turn, donated the materials to the SJ McKee Archives in 2012. The Archives accessioned the records in 2013.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of two books/folios and three photographs (copies). The two folios/books are pictorial works about early Brandon, Manitoba. One book, The Illustrated Souvenir of Brandon, is published by W.W. Warner (Brandon, Manitoba).
The second folio/book, Brandon Manitoba: The Wheat City, is published by Christies Bookstore, [circa 1907]. Photographs in this folio/book include: Rosser Avenue [facing east]; Brandon College and Lorne Avenue; Manitoba Winter Fair Building; the Armoury; Scene on 13th Street Residence Section; Young Men’s Christian Association; Canadian Northern Hotel and Station; Banks of Brandon (The Merchant’s Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, The Bank of British North America, Bank of Hamilton with Frank Gowen’s photography studio and Fleming’s Drugs); Assiniboine River; West End Park and Park School; Alexandra School, Collegiate Institute, The Convent [St. Michael’s Academy], Central School, Park School; Brandon Hospital and Nurses’ Home; Residential Brandon Looking West; Residence of W.G.A. Watson, Residence of Robert Kerr, Brandon Club, Residence of William Ferguson, Residence of E.L. Christie; Baptist Church, Methodist Church, St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, St. Mary’s Church, St. Augustine’s Church; John E. Smith Block, Canadian Bank of Commerce, Cecil Hotel, The Sun, Corner of 10th Street and Rosser Avenue; Rosser Avenue from the Post Office [facing east], Union Bank of Canada; City Hall; Experimental Farm, Brandon [facing north]; Experimental Farm Brandon [facing south]; Fourth Proceeding Threshing Wheat by Electric Power on Farm of G.A. Patterson, Near Brandon; Farm Scenes Near Brandon: First Proceeding in Farming in the Canadian North West – Plowing, Second Proceeding – Sowing Wheat, Third Proceeding – Reaping, Field of Wheat Near Brandon, Ready for Threshing, $5 Bushels to the Acre; and Court House
The three colour photocopies are reproductions of photographs of the City of Brandon’s 181st Battalion Band circa 1916 – 1917. Earle Forshaw’s father, Arthur Forshaw (#865277), was a bandsman who played both the violin and trumpet with the 181st Battalion and is pictured in each of the photographs.
The photograph (13-2013.1) is of an 11-member chamber group featuring a female cellist and female vocalist. A.H. Forshaw is on the left-hand side of the back row wearing a military uniform with Canadian general service collar badges and holding a violin under his arm.
The photograph (13-2013.2) is of the 23-member 181st Battalion band. All the members are in uniform and sporting the 181st Battalion Cap badge. A.H. Forshaw is standing second from the right in the second row and holding a trumpet.
The photograph (13-2013.3) is of the 181st Battalion band at the Brandon Exposition in 1916 at the Summer Fair Grounds and grandstand.
Notes
Information in the history/biography was taken from the finding aid course assignment completed by Chris van Mejil for the Brandon University History Department’s 54:437 Historical Methods and Historiography course (2013); Manitoba Vital Statistics Database; Canadian Expeditionary Force Attestation Papers for Arthur Forshaw (#865277); Canada 1916 Census; Henderson’s Brandon City Directories from 1911 to 1933; City of Brandon GIS: Cemetery Map; FindaGrave.com; Lancashire Anglican Parish Registers. Preston, England: Lancashire Archives (ancestry.ca); Winnipeg Free Press (09 May 1951 [Earle]; 18 May 1962, 19 May 1962 [John Hugh Forshaw]; 03 June 1976 [Arthur Hugh Forshaw]; 12 September 1998 [Earle widower]; 15 January 2000 [Earle marriage])
Phylip Forshaw’s birth is registered under “Philip Roy Fershaw” in the Manitoba Vital Statistics Database. Maud Ethel Hicklings [sic.] death is registered in Manitoba Vital Statistics Database but her tombstone in the Brandon Municipal Cemetery reads “Hickling.” Rohda [sic.] Elizabeth Forshaw’s birth is registered in the Manitoba Vital Statistics Database and her name is spelled as such in the 1916 Canadian Census, however, the Winnipeg Free Press obituary (03 June 1976) for Arthur Hugh Forshaw spells her name “Rhoda.”
The Brandon Manitoba: The Wheat City, published by Christies Bookstore is assigned a publication date of 1907 based on the construction of the Brandon Collegiate Institute
Description by Suyoko Tsukamoto
Accruals
closed
Finding Aid
none
Location Original
Original photographs were retained by Earle Forshaw
Storage Location
New oversize drawer 2 (photos)
Brandon, Manitoba: The Wheat City (Rare Books)
Illustrated Souvenir of Brandon (Reading Room Library shelves)
Mary Ellen Ross was born in July 1872. She married David Henry Schwalm in Woodstock, Ontario on January 2, 1889. David died ca. 1895, leaving Mary with two small children - Clara Amy and Annie Irene. At some point after 1901, Mary was transferred (the nature of the transfer is unknown although it may amount to a character reference) to the Methodist Church in Brandon, Manitoba from the Central Methodist Church in Toronto. It appears that Mary was back in Woodstock by 1907. By 1911, she and her daughters were living in Toronto.
Custodial History
The items in the collection remained in the possession of Mary Schwalm until her death, at which point they passed to her grandson (Annie Irene's son). Schwalm's great-granddaughter Linda Tripp donated them to the McKee Archives in July 2007.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of :
3 photographs (b/w) - includes one of Brandon College c. 1905 and two of unidentified faculty members. The faculty members appear to be from Toronto.
4 Brandon College artifacts - includes a small plate, cream pitcher, sugar bowl and bud vase. All the pieces were made in Germany and have the same drawing of the Brandon College Original Building on them. They are primarily green and yellow in color.
1 drawing - architectural drawing of the front view of Brandon College as it would appear when the Ladies' Building (Clark Hall) was completed in September 1906.
2 letters - both letters were written by J.A. Rankin, Pastor at Central Methodist Church, Toronto re the transfer of Mary Schwalm from the Central Methodis Church on Bloor Street East to Methodist Church, Brandon.
Notes
Biographical information was provided by Linda Tripp and obtained from the 1911 Canadian Census. Description by Christy Henry (2007).
Storage Location
The Brandon College photograph and drawing are located in the RG 5 Western Manitoba Manuscript collection - photograph storage drawer. The other two photographs and the letters are located with the 2007 accessions. The artifacts are on display in the Reading Room display case.
Oriole A. Vane Veldhuis is the great-granddaughter of Percy Criddle and Elise Harrer Vane. She grew up on a farm in southwest Manitoba and received an education at Stockton school, Brandon College and Central Normal School in Winnipeg. Veldhuis balanced teaching at schools in Manitoba, Newfoundland and Ontario, with studying at MacDonal Institute in Guelph, ON and at the Centre for Christian Studies in Toronoto for Diaconal ministry. Alongside her husband Art, Veldhuis served in United Church congregations in God's Lake Narrows, Holland and Winnipeg, MB, as well as Elmira, ON. Oriole and Art had four children together, whom they raised while she was working part-time and studying to recieve her Bachelor in Education, Post Baccalaureate in Education and Master of Divinity.
Once retired from her teaching and ministry duties, Veldhuis shifted her focus to maintaining a promise to her father that she would try to uncover the mystery of his grandmother. Veldhuis self-published her discoveries regarding the secret life of Elise Vane and Percy Criddle in her book, For Elise: Unveiling the Forgotten Woman on the Criddle Homestead.
Veldhuis was awarded the Margaret McWilliams Award by the Manitoba Historical Society for best local history book in 2012. In 2016, her book was a finalist for the Whistler Independent Bood Award in the non-fiction category. Three editions of the book have been published (2012, 2013 and 2014), as well as ebook and audio book versions.
Custodial History
Records were collected and created by Oriole Vane Veldhuis during the research, writing and promotion of her book, For Elise: Unveiling the Forgotten Woman on the Criddle Homestead. They were donated to the McKee Archives in two accessions between 2014-2015.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of the research materials that Veldhuis compiled between 2001-2012, in the writing of her book, as well as materials created and collected during the promotion of the book. The records deal with the relationships between different members of the Criddle/Vane family after they had immigrated to Canada and were living at their southwestern Manitoba homestead. The correspondence between Edwy Vane and his fiancee, Emily Steers, provides insight into the relationships between Percy and his illegitimate children. The records containing Elise Vane's homestead material shows Percy's loyalty to his agreement with Elise to provide for their children in his fight to ensure the government's approval of her homestead.
Collection consist of records - diaries, letters, homestead applications and files, and receipts, as well as addressed envelopes and postmarks - related to the Criddle and Vane families. Some of these documents are copies from materials held in the Archives of Manitoba, while others are copies of family records transcribed by Verna Vane Pannycook in 1976, and later given to Veldhuis. Other records were obtained from a private source and prepared by Oriole Vane Veldhuis.
The collection also includes two booklets containing Veldhuis's original and continued research. The first booklet outlines Veldhuis's motivation for beginning research on her great-grandmother's past, information on Elise that she received from relatives in Europe, and an account of Elise and Percy's years together before immigrating to Canada. The second booklet contains documentation of Veldhuis's travels in 2004 to Germany in search of further information on her German ancestors, as well as a general account of Heidelberg's history, and family trees for both the Veldhuis and Harrer families.
The collection also contains an article promoting For Elise in an issue of the Winnipeg Free Press (August 9, 2014), as well as two book reviews by Lois M. Wilson and Greg Pohl, an article regarding the Criddle Homestead by Neil Holiday, an interpretive trail brochure from the Criddle/Vane Homestead Heritage Committee, and a copy of For Elise (2nd edition).
Finally, the collection includes a DVD containing digital copies of Percy Criddle's diary from 1882-1918. The DVD contains 38 Word documents (one document for the London diary years [1876-1882] and one document per diary year for 1882-1918). It aolso contains the same diary entries broken down into three PDF documents: 1882-1890, 1891-1903 and 1904-1918. The original London diaries were transcribed by typewriter by Alma Criddle and converted into computer file by Myrna Paquette.
Notes
History/Bio information was taken from the records. The copies of Percy Criddle's diaries in the collection contain minor changes from Percy's original hand-written diaries housed in the Archives of Manitoba. The copies of Elise Vane's Homeseated files were obtained from the Archives of Manitoba and copied in the 1970s before they were converted to microfiche. Description by Caroline Stitt (October 2016)
Fleming School, located at 2320 Louise Avenue, Brandon, MB, was a part of the Brandon School Division from its creation in 1914 until its closure in 2005. The school was named to commemorate the life of pioneer Dr. Alexander Fleming. Fleming, who was a Scottish born immigrant, came to Brandon in 1881, where he worked as Brandon's first medical doctor and pharmacist. He also held the role of chairman for the Brandon School Board. Fleming died in Brandon on November 26, 1897.
Rapid population growth in the City of Brandon in the early part of the 20th century resulted in a need for additional school buildings; Fleming School was among the schools established during this period. Designed by W.H. Shillinglaw, the structure was constructed out of concrete, wood and brick, and included a basement. When the school first opened, it was composed of six classrooms; after two renovations in 1953 and 1962, the school expanded with more classrooms and a gymnasium. At the time of its closure, Fleming School could accommodate seven classes, covering grades kindergarten to grade six.
Around 2004, the Brandon School Division decided to close Fleming Elementary School. Prior to the closure a celebration was held on January 14, 2005, to honour the school's 90th Anniversary. Following the school's official closing, students were reallocated to Earl Oxford Elementary School (540 18th Street). Some of the former staff found work in other schools within the Division, while Craig Manson, the last principal of Fleming School, became principle of Green Acres Elementary School.
The building formerly used as Fleming Elementary School became a high school for the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation in late 2006. The Band bought the building in late 2010.
Custodial History
Records were collected and created by Fleming School staff and administration, many for the 90th anniversary and closing of the school. Craig Manson, the last principal of Fleming School, gave the records to David Wilson, who donated them to the S.J. McKee Archives in 2015.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of records that document the history of Fleming School. Many of the records were created and gathered specifically by Craig Manson and others for the school's 90th anniversary; on November 19, 2006 an ad written by Grant Hamilton was placed in the Brandon Sun with Jean Pickard asking for potential archives from Fleming School to be donated by contacting Keith Heide at the Brandon School Division. The archives were to be used in a display on education in Brandon to be located in the Town Centre in June 2007. Other records were collected and created by the school's staff and administration to document the activities and student of their school.
Textual records include newspaper clippings, staff and administration lists (1914-2005), programs, calendars, correspondence, anecdotes, as well as records related to the events surrounding the 90th anniversary and the closure of the school. The 90th anniversary celebration materials include Craig Manson's speech and agenda, the lyrics to the school song, and a list of people in attendance. The newspaper clippings, with capture the experiences of Fleming students, are evidence of the staff's interest in the lives of their current and former students.
Also included in the textual records is in depth genealogical research for the Fleming family. The research includes birth and death dates, photographs of grave sites and residences of Fleming family members, as well as some correspondence around the school's 90th anniversary. The photographs in the album include both originals and photocopies.
Photographs in the collection, like the newspaper clippings, document the activities and events of Fleming School, its students and staff. They include candid's from the classroom, various ceremonies (including the 90th anniversary), and the celebration of holidays (especially Halloween). There are also a number of class and staff portraits.
The collection also includes audio visual materials. The VHS recording entitled "Fleming School 90th Birthday Tea," runs approximately 75 minutes and was videoed by Ian Carkener. The DVD, which runs 42 minutes, was created by the staff and students for the 90th anniversary celebration. It has three components: "Through the Decades" shows students re-enacting school scenes from earlier decades; "Students at Work and Play," shows the 2004-2005 students in their classroom environment during holiday celebrations, school ceremonies and working on assignments; and "Reflections," which includes a slide show of photographs of Fleming School throughout the years set to music.
Finally, the collection includes four artifacts: one 90th anniversary celebration balloon with an image of the school building and the its years of operation printed on it; a school magnet with the school phone number and an image of the brick school building; and two pins. The first pin is circular with a black background and gold details including the school's name, three silhouettes and three maple leaves. The second pin appears to have a hornet or bee emblem with the number 72.
Notes
History/bio information was taken from the records, as well as the Manitoba Historical Society's website (Alexander Fleming, Fleming School - accessed on September 30, 2016), the Brandon School Division website (Fleming School - accessed on September 30, 2016) and Grant Hamilton's article "Gathering school archives while they can" (Brandon Sun, November 19, 2006). Description by Megan Treloar (September 2016) and Christy Henry.
The textual records and artefacts are in good condition. Many of the photographs are bent and the paper based photo albums have some tearing.
History / Biographical
Nadia Irene Lewis (nee Chernec) was born in Shoal Lake, MB on December 31, 1926. Shortly after her birth, Nadia was place in the care of a nurse in Brandon, BM while her parents were attempting to set up a home in the United States. Her mother was a teacher and her father was in training to become a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), but because they were unmarried and had a child out of wedlock, they both lost their jobs and felt they needed to start a new life in a different place. As they were driving up the Brandon Hill, they were tragically involved in a three car collision, which killed them both.
The nurse caring for the newborn baby girl and a social worker from the Children's Aid Society assigned to the case decided to palce Nadia in an orphange in Brandon. During her stay at the orphanage, the caretakers named her "Katy" after a popular song of the day and discovered that she really enjoyed music. Nicholas and Maria Chernec adopted "Katy" from the orphanage when she was 3 1/2 years old, and in her brief autobiography, Nadia wrote that she suspected that Nicholas Chernec was her biological uncle (her father's brother). In June 1929, baby "Katy" was christened "Nadia Irene Chernec."
According to Nadia's autobiography, Nicholas Chernec urged his wife Maria to adopt the baby for three years as she remained in the orphanage. Maria had suffered a fall from a ladder during their marriage and as a result, was unalbe to have children. Maria "was often quite ill" and id not want to raise another person's child, but eventually she agreed.
Both Nicholas and Maria were of Ukrainian descent, and therefore Nadia was raised with a knowledge of Ukrainian traditions and within the ukrainian community of Brandon, something that she embraced. Nadia grew up in Brandon's North End and graduated from the Normal School in 1945. She immediately began a teaching career that would last for 32 years, though she also worked in an office for three of those years. She married Alexander Mitchell Lewis on July 23, 1971 in Vancouver, BC. Alexander was a contractor and boat builder.
After Maria Chernec's death in September 1984, nadia began correspondence with Oseredok, the Ukranian Cultural and Educational Centre in Winnipeg, MB. She ultimately donated many traditional Ukrainian items to the Centre, including a painting much beloved by her father (who died in 1955) and garments handmade by her mother, thus preserving some of her family's cultural heritage.
As noted previously, Nadia loved music as a child and eventually learned to play the violin. She performed with several orchestras throughout her life, including the New Westminster Symphony and the Kitsilano Orchestra. in November 1998, she was diagnoed with trigeminal neuralgia, a neurological disorder that affects the nerves in the head. This disorder, which can cause unexpected and debilitating pain in the affected area, led to Nadia giving up driving, and ultimately, her violin playing. Through presecription drug experimentation under the supervision of her physican and neurologist, Nadia was eventually able to control the effects of the disease. Nadia Irene Lewis died on September 14, 2013 in Richemond, BC at the age of 86.
Custodial History
The collection was transferred to Ms. Lewis' lawyer after her death in 2013. The records were then given to Drew Mitchell, a distant cousing who had been named in her will. Mitchell donated the records to the McKee Archives in 2017.
Scope and Content
The collection was created by Nadia Chernec Lewis throughout the course of her adult life and chronicles her activities from her birth in Manitoba, and moves to British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, New Zealand and finally back to British Columbia where she died.
Collection consists of an autobiography, her parents' biographies (written by Nadia), vital records related to her family, correspondence with classmates from the Normal School and Oseredok and many photographs of Nadia, her friends and family. Some of the photograph depict Brandon and Brandon's North End. Also included in the collection is a set of wooden rosary beads and a doll dressed in traditional Ukrainian garments, handmade by Maria Chernec.
Notes
History/Bio information taken from the records. Description by Megan Demarest (December 2018).
Language Note
English and Ukrainian
Finding Aid
A file list for the collection is available, as well as a photo inventory.
Storage Location
2018 accessions
Arrangement
Photographs 3-2017.5 through 3-2017.88 were in a card box labeled "Lewis Pictures (1956-'58, 1960's, 1970's)," which has been discarded.
Photographs 3-2017.89 through 3-2017.104 were in a candy box labeled "Pictures and Background Material in relation to Nicholas and Maria Chernec of Brandon, Manitoba . . . the Ukrainian Community in the 1930's-1940's mostly . . .," which has been discarded. An envelope in the box labeled "Ukrainian Shirt, History of . . ." contained a handwritten description of the shirt and its history along with photographs 3-2017.89 through 3-2017.94. The note is in Folder #6, Oseredok-Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre. Photographs 3-2017.95 through 3-2017.104 are Polaroids taken to document items that Ms. Lewis donated to Oseredok in 2000.
Photographs 3-2017.105 through 3-2017.152 were remeoved from a green self-adhesive photo album, which has been discarded.
Photographs 3-2017.153 thorough 3-2017.198 were removed from a self-adhesive photo album with a waterside lanscrape image on the front, which has been discarded.
See collection level description of the Joseph H. Hughes collection for biographical information.
Custodial History
See collection level description of the Joseph H. Hughes collection for custodial history.
Scope and Content
Accession 1-2008 (32 cm textual records and 1 map; 1906-1916; predominant 1909-1915). As mayor, city Alderman and prominent city businessman, J.H. Hughes came into possession of many city government, civic, and business records during the first decade and a half of the twentieth century.
The accession consists of city records, information on contemporary city utility services and companies including tenders for the construction of the Brandon street railway, documents concerning grain elevators, lumber production, newspaper clippings, as well as personal and city correspondence - including a proposal from the Canadian Northern Railway to construct the Prince Edward Hotel.
Accession 6-2009 (2.26 m textual records; 1882-1920). Records in the accession deal with the business affairs of Hughes & Company. Accession also contains records related to the personal affairs of J.H. Hughes.
Records from 1882-1889; predominant 1882 include: business corresondence. Much of the correspondence is between Hughes and his business associates T.T. Atkinson and Mr. Kennedy at Rat Portage in Ontario. Mr. Bambridge, who ran the Souris Yard is also mentioned frequently. There is also corresopndence related to the Reid Farm, Hughes' first commercial faming venture. Various documents are concerned with J.H. Ashtown Hardware, the Manitoba Government Immigration and Intellegence Office, Butler Paper & Co., Canadian Pacific Rail, Boston and Maine Rail, Keewatin Mills, Charmichael Clothing, The Hudson's Bay Company and the City of Brandon
Records from 1889-1893 include: financial records including debts owed to or by J.H. Hughes & Company; correspondence between the company and partners and employees regarding the running of the lumber company in Brandon, Souris, Rat Portage and Rainy River (shipping of goods, camp supplies, maintenance of mills, ordering of goods, trade with other lumber companies); legal records pertaining to litigation regarding debts; correspondence with the Department of the Interior, the Department of Crown Lands, and the Department of Indian Affairs; correspondence regarding real estate in Brandon and land sales in the various regions of the lumber and grain company's operation; correspondence between J.H. Hughes and his borthers A.J. Hughes, Charles B. Hughes, his cousin J.R. Hughes and his father J.C. Hughes regarding both business and personal matters. Also includes telegraphs, postcards, magazine subscriptions, and Masonic brochures.
Records from 1893-1895 include: business correspondence between Hughes & Atkinson Co. and lumber supliers in Ontario and the midwestern United States. The records deal with the activities of the company, including payment of accounts, ordering and shipping of lumber and lumber related goods.
Records from 1897-1901 include: business letters, postcards, telegrams and memorandum of the Hughes and Long Lumber Company.
Records from 1907, 1913-1915; predominant 1914 include: business correspondence, product information and legal correspondence generated and/or recieved during business activities. There are also a series of miscellaneous files containing material related to Brandon municipal politics.
Records from 1915 include: business and personal correspondence to Hughes & Company pertaining to the J.H. Hughes Lumber Co. and farming ventures in Saskatchewan.
Records from 1911-1920; predominant 1919 include: business receipts and correspondence of Hughes & Company under the management of Willard C. Hughes, as well as family correspondence that is both personal and business-related. Business activities are largely related to the company's rental property in Brandon and farms in south eastern Saskatchewan, including Storybooks, ASK. It also includes some correspondence related to the Brandon Board of Trade and Civics (Willed Hughes was Chairman of the Power Committee). Records also include correspondence urging the province to construct an electrical transmission line to Brandon from Winnipeg, the possibility of a detachment of the Royal North West Mounted Police re-locating to Brandon, the operation of the Soldiers Re-Settlement Board, and the vacating of the Winter Fair building, which had been used to house interned World War I prisoners starting in the spring of 1915. References to the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and the Teamsters Strike in Brandon of 1919 also occur in the correspondence.
Notes
Accession 21-2008 was processed and described as part of a Historiography class assignment in September and October 2008. The fonds was broken down into smaller components (1-3 boxes of records) spanning a few years and each student was assigned all the records in a particular time frame. Description by Christy Henry, Tom Mitchell, Andrew Dagley, Jill Sutherland, Laurel Neustaedter, Kylie Staslia, Tim Banman, Christine Shumay, Aimee Brown and Erica Smith.
Maureen Johnson (nee Sills) was born in Brandon, MB in 1936 and grew up in western Manitoba. She spent three years in Ethiopia (1958-1961) and two years in Houston, Texas before taking up permanent residence in Winnipeg, MB. She attended Brandon College in 1953-1954, living in the Tower Room of Clark Hall.
From 1960-1979, Johnson raised her family, volunteered in the St. Vital community and was Secretary to the Manitoba Schools Science Symposium (1973-1977). She worked in the Office of the President at the University of Manitoba from 1980 to 1996.
Johnson is a visual artist and photographer, and is a member of the Winnipeg Sketch Club, Manitoba Society of Artists and Winnipeg South Photo Club. Her work is on permanent display at Medea Gallery (www.medeagallery.ca) where she has been a member since 1985. She also has work in the Rental Program at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
For biographical information on Sarah Persis Darrach see RG 1 Brandon College fonds, Series 9: Clark Hall women's residence.
Custodial History
The original photographs in accession 10-2009 are in the custody of Maureen Johnson in Winnipeg, MB. Copies were digitally scanned by Johnson and sent to the Archives in March 2009. The 1921 photographs of Brandon College students were given to Johnson by Eileen McKenzie, her aunt, who attended Brandon College at that time. The photos of Sarah Persis Darrach (Johnson's great-aunt and maternal grandmother's sister) are from her family albums.
All of the records in accession 14-2009, except for the 1920 Quill and the Clark Hall Rules 1912, were collected by Johnson during her time at Brandon College. The Quill issue belonged to Johnson's aunt Eileen McKenzie, a student at Brandon College in the early 1920s. The records were in Johnson's possession at her home until their donation to the McKee Archives in May 2009.
Scope and Content
Accession 10-2009 consists of seventeen digital photographs. Seven photographs are of Sarah Persis Darrach (nee Johnson), taken primarily during her time as a nursing sister during World War I. Two photographs are of Eileen McKenzie. The remaining photographs depict students and student activities at Brandon College in the early 1920s.
Accession 14-2009 consists of a copy of the sound recording and program for Mr. College Spirit, a musical comedy presented by the Brandon College Literary Board and written by James Struthers and Kenneth Gunning. Accession also includes fifteen photographs from 1953-1954, when Johnson attended Brandon College. Subjects include: Freshie King and Queen; Graduation Banquets (1955, 1956); senior and lady sticks; Jim Casey Trophy; Grand March 1954; Capettes basketball team 1954; Glee Club 1953; Variety Night - Men's Chorus; Caps Football Team; Caps Hockey Team 1954; Cheerleaders 1954; Caps Basketball 1954; and Touques.
Textual records include graduation banquet and commencement programs, news clippings, programs for Variety Night and Be Your Age, a list of football cheers and a copy of the Fall Number of the 1920 Quill. Textual records also include two color photocopies: Clark Hall Rules 1912 and Johnson's Arts and Science Departments, Brandon College Registration card.
Notes
History/Bio information and Custodial History provided by Maureen Johnson (April 2009). A review of the play, written by Kay Rowe, appeared in the March 6, 1953 issue of the Quill.
Jack Stothard was born on February 16, 1932 in Brandon, MB. He attended public schools in the city (Central School, Park School, and Earl Oxford) and graduated from Brandon Collegiate Institute (BCI). Stothard married Velma Pollock in 1957 and together they had two daughters: Debra and Kimberly. Stothard was employed in the plumbing and heating business until 1960, when he joined Manitoba Hydro. In the course of his employment with Manitoba Hydro, he became Station Superintendent of the Brandon Generating Station. Stothard retired in 1995. Stothard was a member of the Canadian Numismatic Association, the Canadian Association of Token Collectors and the Toronto Postcard Club. Jack Stothard died on November 3, 2021 in Brandon, MB.
Custodial History
Accession 1-2003 was in the possession of Stothard until donated to the McKee Archives in 2003. Accession 12-2006 was acquired by Lawrence Stuckey at some point after the photograph was taken. Stuckey later sold a copy of the photograph. This copy was later acquired by Jack Stothard in the course of his collecting of Brandon postcards. Stothard donated the image to the McKee Archives in 2004. Accession 8-2007 was prepared by Jack Stothard in the course of 2007. He provided a copy to the Archives upon its completion. Accession 8-2008 was in the possession of Fred McGuinness until he gave jit to Jack Stothard in February 2008. Stothard donated the records to the McKee Archives on February 12, 2008. Accession 18-2008 was donated to the McKee Archives by Stothard on August 18, 2008. Accession 11-2009 was donated to the McKee Archives by Stothard on February 20, 2009. Accession 4-2012 was donated to the McKee Archives by Stothard on August 24, 2011. Accession 4-2013 was donated to the McKee Archives by Stothard in March 2013. Accession 8-2016 was donated to the McKee Archives by Stothard on January 21, 2015.
Scope and Content
Accession 1-2003 contains brief research reports prepared by Stothard on various topics concerning historical Brandon. These include: a listing of hotels, inns and motels that have operated in Brandon since the 1880s; reports dealing with the Café Aagard, Central United Church, the 1913 Dominion Exhibition, Brandon, the Empire Hotel, Brandon’s Central Steam Heating System, the Post Office and the Clement Block. It also contains one booklet: Facts About Brandon: An Industrial Survey of the City of Brandon. Winnipeg: Department of Industry and Commerce [n.d.]
Accession 12-2006 consists of one photograph of the Great Northern Engine 208, built by Rogers Locomotive Company 1887. Cylinders 18 x 24, Drivers 63". G.N. line Church's Ferry, N.D. to Brandon, Manitoba. Opened 1906, Closed 1936.
Accession 8-2007 consists of a brief typed report entitled "The Day the Lights Went Out in Brandon - Strike of 1919" by Jack Stothard. Document provides an account of the sources and delivery of hydro electric power to Brandon beginning in the early 1900s and the brief power outage at the beginning of the Brandon General Strike May 25, 1919.
Accession 8-2008 consists of "The Brandon Sun Challenge Cup" ledger, which contains two b/w photographs, newspaper clippings and information on the history and first race (1908) of the cup; 3 additional b/w photographs of different races; and the Brandon Old Timers Association record book (c. 1900).
Accession 18-2008 consists of a copy of Stothard's Brandon Postcards index. The index is divided into various sub-headings and consists of colored reproductions of postcards in Stothard's collection. The index contains pages that were discarded by Stothard as he updated his inventory, therefore the index is only up to date as of August 18, 2008.
Accession 11-2009 consists of a typed research report entitled "Brandon Police Department Stations and Locations" by Jack Stothard. The report outlines the location of the Brandon Police Department from 1882 - 2008, and also includes a section on "What the Future Holds."
Accession 4-2012 consists of pages for Stothard's Brandon Postcards index (18-2008) and a photocopy of a Brandon Municipal Railway ticket.
Accession 4-2013 consits of eight binders of handwritten notes/facts about Brandon compiled by Jack Stothard. The notes are a collection of names, places, things, events and items related mostly to the first 100 years of Brandon (1882-1982), although the notes continue into the 2000's. Some notes centre on the late 1930's to early 1950's during the period of Stothard's youth. The information in the binders was taken from a variety of publications, while some notes are Stothard's own comments. A list of sources, as well as a cross reference index for all eight binders, can be found in Book No. 1.
The accession includes: Book No. 1 - Notes of Brandon (A to B); Book No. 2 - Notes of Brandon (C to F); Book No. 3 - Notes of Brandon (G to O); Book No. 4 - Notes of Brandon (P to Z); Book No. 5 - Notes of Brandon: Churches, Hostpitals, Hotels; Book No. 6 - Notes of Brandon: Police Department, Fire Department; Book No. 7 - Notes of Brandon: Brandon City Council, City of Brandon etc.; Book No. 8 - Notes of Brandon: Brandon College/University, Brandon Schools, ACC, Brandon School Board. Accession also includes pages from Stothard's Brandon Postcards index (18-2008).
Accession 6-2016 consists of local history books, pamphlets, bakery tokens, local magazines, one binder containing handwritten notes/facts about Brandon compiled from the Brandon Sun's "Looking Back" column, and an accordian file box containing newspaper clippings about Brandon.
The accession includes the following local history books: Betty Watson's "One Day in Brandon Manitoba 9/9/99" (Brandon, Manitoba: Bart Art Books, 1999); P.N. Breton's "Popular Illustrated Guide to Canadian Coins, Medals, &. &.," (Winnipeg: Canadian Numismatic Publishing Institute, 1963 [reprint]); "Facts About Brandon: An Industrial Survey of the City of Brandon," (Province of Manitoba: Department of Industry and Commerce, [1946]); The Polish Gymnastic Association Sokol's "75th Anniversary: From the Past to the Future!" ([Brandon, Manitoba: Polish Gymnastic Association Sokol, 1988]); and Brandon Kinsmen Club's "'Together...Once Again': A History of the Kinsmen Club of Brandon, Manitoba, 1925-1975 (Brandon, Manitoba: The Historical Committee of the Kinsmen Club of Brandon, 1975).
Pamplets and magazines include: Brandon Generating Station (1957) and (1969), The Brandon Quota Club presents...A Century in Revue (1982), Canadian Rail No. 168/July-August 1965 [featuring Brandon Municipal Railway], Prairie City Issue No. 3/1994, and Prairion May/June 1997.
The binder is titled Book No. 9 - "Year by year: miscellaneous items from 1969 to 2000"; an asterik (*) indicates notes have been made on each subject or item in the other Books. Each section is housed in
The files in the accordian file box have been rehoused and include the following topics: banks, Brandon 125 beer, Behlen Industries, breweries, Brandon Shoppers' Mall, calendars, Canadian Motors Ltd., Canexus/Nexen, Canada Games - Summer and Winter, Canadian Tire, CKX Radio & TV/CKLQ, Corral Centre, flour mills, hospitals, Keystone, Maple Leaf, Fred McGuinness, miscellaneous, A.E. McKenzie, people, railways, Simplot, Westman Recycling (new facility), weather-storms-floods, and extra copies of postcards.
Notes
Description by Christy Henry. Accession 4-2013: Book No. 1 contains a photocopied photograph of Aagaard's Cafe, photographs of the Dominion Bank and Barney's Drive Inn and a photo reproduction of the Bass Building. Book No. 2 contains a photograph of the Provincial Goal. Book No. 3 contains photographs of T. Eaton Company (4 construction photos) and a photo reproduction of tents on the Exhibition grounds (c. 1940). Book No. 4 contains photoraphs of the Oak Theatre and Western Motors. There are also photopied photographs of The Fun Shop.
The Westman Oral History collection was a project of the Westman Oral History Association and ran from 1980-84. The Westman Oral History Association was created on August 12, 1980, by a steering committee of the Assiniboine Historical Society. The Oral History Association undertook a project called "Voices of Yesteryear." The project was created in order to record and preserve the lives and experiences of early settlers to the Westman area. Work began in 1981, and included interviews conducted with approximately seventy senior citizens from over twenty communities in western Manitoba. The Association held a training session for committee members on April 11, 1981, where 125 participants learned how to conduct an effective interview and how to operate the recorders used in the interviews. The chairman of the Westman Oral History Association was Effie McPhail, the coordinator was Sally Cunningham, and the secretary was Bob Coates. Some of the interviews recorded were used in the early months of 1982 on a local radio station, CKLQ, as part of a program called "Centennial Memories." The project resulted in the creation of the Westman Oral History Collection.
Custodial History
This collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
The collection includes the audiotapes used to record the interviews, as well as corresponding files for each interview subject. The files contain facts about the interviewees, including date and place of birth, occupations, and marital status. The files also include a summary of the interview heard on each tape.
The interviews were done with men and women pioneers from the Westman area of Manitoba, and describe the daily lives of common people during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. The topics covered in the interviews include the following: Agriculture, Associations and Clubs, Churches and Church Life, Cultural Events, Early Politics, Education, Health Services, Immigration, Local Businesses, Native-White Relations, Pioneer Settlements, Pioneer Way of Life, Social Life, Sports, Transportation, and War Brides. This collection includes interviews with residents from the following communities: Brandon, Boissevain, Brookdale, Carberry, Deloraine, Douglas, Elkhorn, Erickson, Forrest, Glenboro, Hamiota, Hartney, Justice, Kenton, Killarney, Melita, Minnedosa, Neepawa, Ninette, Oak Lake, Rapid City, Reston, Rivers, Shoal Lake, Sioux Valley Reserve, Souris, Strathclair, Virden, and Wawanesa. The interviews also disclose the unique experiences of pioneer women in rural areas. Many of the interviewees provide brief family histories during their interviews.
Notes
Some of the files include photocopied pictures of the interviewees. Description written by Robyn Mitchell (2001).
Alfred Angus Murray McPherson was born February 15, 1923 in Brandon, MB. The middle son of Angus and Annie Ethel (Pentland) McPherson, Murray grew up on the family farm in the Brandon Hills District. Following high school he obtained a B.Sc. degree from Brandon College, before enrolling in the Faculty of Eduction at the University of Manitoba in 1947 where he received his B.Ed. and M.Ed. Murray completed his Ph.D. in Educational Curriculum in 1975 at Michigan State University.
Murray's teaching career began at Brandon College as a chemistry instructor. After the year of teacher training he taught in Daupin Collegiate, then Luxton Junior High School and St. Johns High School in Winnipeg. In 1962, Murray joined the University of Manitoba Faculty of Education where he taught methods in mathematics and served as Head of the Deparment of Curriculum: Mathematics and Natural Sciences for sixteen years, before assuming the position of Co-ordinator of Student Teaching. During his career Murray co-edited a series of textbooks for elementary grades and was a strong supporter of the Manitoba Association of Mathematics Teachers. Following his retirement in 1988, Murray volunteered with Creative Retirement, Mentors Club and Habitat for Humanity. He also remained active in the United Church.
Murray McPherson married Margaret Elinore Raven on July 14, 1951 in Winnipeg. Margaret Elinore (Raven) McPherson was born in Winnipeg, MB on March 11, 1927. Educated at the University of Manitoba, where she earned a B.Sc. (1947), a Dip. Education (1948) and a B.Ed. (1966), Margaret taught school in Dauphin (1948-1953) and the Winnipeg School Division (Spring 1954). Together they had two children: John Angus Murray McPherson (b. March 19, 1955), an orthopedic surgeon in Winnipeg, and Kathryn May McPherson (b. November 20, 1957), a professor of history at York University, Toronto. Alfred Angus Murray McPherson died on November 25, 2001 at the Charleswood Care Centre in Winnipeg, MB. Margaret continues to live in Winnipeg, MB.
The MacPherson family originally came from the County of Sutherlandshire in the north of Scotland. The need for wool during the Napoleonic Wars resulted in the "Highland Clearances" of the early 1800's, which forced the small farmers or "crofters" to leave their farms and to move to the villages, such as Kildonan, Helmsdale and Golspie along the east coast.
In 1814, Hugh MacPherson (1779-1843) with his wife Anne Sutherland (1783-1857) and their family, immigrated to Nova Scotia and acquired a farm at Watervale, a community on the West River at Pictou. Following the issue of the land title, the "Mac" spelling of MacPherson became "Mc."
Alexander McPherson, the son of Hugh and Anne, married Elizabeth Murray at West River on April 10, 1840. They lived on the family farm at Watervale where they had a family of eleven children, a number of whom died in infancy. Their oldest son Hugh (1845-1916) and their youngest, Johnston (1857-1944), later came to Brandon Hills, MB.
Angus Sellars McPherson, a son of Hugh and Margaret (Sellars) McPherson, was born in Brandon Hills, MB on March 1, 1884. A farmer in the area his whole life, Angus married Annie Ethel Pentland in 1913. Together they had three sons: Howard, Murray and Kenneth. Angus died at Brandon General Hospital on September 5, 1953.
Alfred Angus Murray McPherson's mother, Annie Ethel (Pentland) McPherson, was born into a family that originally came from the ancient Scottish Midlothian or the more modern County of Edinburgh, from the Pentland Hills County, and in and around the towns of Pentland and Carrington. Around the year 1700, at the time of the large movement of immigrants from Scotland and England into Northern Ireland, several families of the clan settled in counties Down and Arnaugh in Ireland.
Between 1790 and 1820, a number from both Scotland and Ireland immigrated to Canada settling mainly in Eastern Ontario in the Counties of Hastings, Lennox and Addington and on Amherst Island. Around 1860, some moved to Huron County in Western Ontario to carve homes out of the bush. In 1881, Thomas James Pentland came from Goderich to Manitoba and settled near Douglas. He had learned the trade of a blacksmith and found one was needed so badly he gave up the intention to homestead and built a shop northwest of Douglas, on the South East quarter of Section 17-11-17. He later added a store and house there.
On July 22, 1885, Thomas James Pentland and Annie Isobel McVety were married at the home of the bride's parents at High Bluff and lived northwest of Douglas until 1890, when he made a deal with Isaac and Fred Lewis. Thomas took their homesteads on Section 14-12-18 and they took over the store, which they moved to Oakenside. T.J. Pentland continued to farm there until his death in June of 1919. T.J. Pentland was elected to the Council of the RM of Elton for Ward 1 in the fall of 1884 and served three years as councilor and fourteen years as Reeve.
The McVety and Owens families both came from County Fernanagh, Northern Ireland to Ontario during the first half of the nineteenth century. Henry McVety and Elizabeth Owens were married March 11, 1856, at Belgrave and lived at Morris until the spring of 1882, when they moved to High Bluff, Manitoba and fifteen years later to Bagot. In 1882, their daughter Annie Isobel came to Douglas to teach at the first Elton School situated 2.5 miles north and 1 mile east of present Douglas.
The family of Thomas and Annie Pentland consisted of three sons and three daughters. Fred, who served overseas in the 78th Battalion in the First World War and was killed in September 1917; Harry, who farmed in Justice until 1922, then lived in Brandon until his death in 1948; Ethel (Mrs. Angus McPherson), now living in Brandon; Evelyn (Mrs. N.C. Thompson) now living in Brandon; Wesley, living at Justice on the home farm; and Grace who died in 1908.
Harry Pentland's son, H. Clare Pentland, was born October 17, 1914, on a farm near Justice, MB, where Harry had taken up farming. Clare graduated from Brandon College in 1940, with an Economics degree and attended the University of Oregon, where he completed a Master's degree in 1942. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1961. His dissertation was later published as "Labour and Capital in Canada 1650-1860." A noted economist and a founder of the history of labour in Canada, H. Clare Pentland died on October 13, 1978.
Custodial History
Prior to the death of Murray McPherson, Margaret McPherson's husband, he and his daughter Katherine McPherson, professor of history at York University, searched through various farm houses previously occupied by members of the McPherson family and gathered together family archival materials to safeguard them from destruction. These materials were tranferred to the McPherson residence in Winnipeg and upon the death of Murry McPherson, Margaret became the sole custodian of the records. The decision to place the records at the McKee Archives was arrived at for two reasons. First, the records relate to the Brandon Hills and the history of this region. Second, Murray McPherson attended Brandon College in the 1940s, and felt kinship with the institution. The records came to the McKee Archives courtesy of the good offices of Diane Hageland of the Association for Manitoba Archives. Margaret McPherson donated the records to the McKee Archives on May 4, 2006.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of personal and business records for various members of the McPherson and Pentland families. These were generated in the course of settlement in the Brandon Hills, travel, participation in the First World War and various forms of associational life, in particular the Orange Lodge. The fonds includes correspondence, financial records/ledgers, legal documents, postcards, photographs, scrapbooks, greeting cards, livestock records, Brandon College Sickles, school records, electoral records, diaries, membership records, certificates, income tax records, ration cards, notebooks, newsclippings, autograph albums, poetry, receipts and speeches.
Notes
Biographical information for the fonds was provided by Margaret McPherson. Processing done by Deidra Wallace and Christy Henry summer/fall 2006. Description by Christy Henry. Numerous spellings of the surname "McVety" appear in the fonds, including McVetie and McVitie. The oldest documented spelling in documents of a legal nature is McVety. This spelling therefore will appear throughout the finding aid.
Accruals
Further accruals expected.
Storage Location
2006 accessions
Storage Range
2006 accessions
Arrangement
Original file order has been maintained, while some boxes have been combined to provide a more suitable environment for the preservation of print materials. The boxes have been renumbered accordingly. Due to the original file order, however, the file numbers in the database have been prefaced by their original box numbers. For example, File 3.5 refers to the fifth file of the original third box.
ALEXANDER MACPHAIL (14 July 1900 - 29 July 1986)
Alex was born in Vista, MB on July 14, 1900, son of John and Catherine MacPhail. He married Florence Turner (d. 1977) at Winnipeg on December 22, 1948 and together they farmed the family farm at Vista. In 1965 they purchased a house in Shoal Lake but continued to farm in Vista until Alex's retirement in 1973, when he sold the farm.
Alex was involved in the 4-H Club at Vista and was a member of the Grain Growers Association. He was also very interested in Wildlife Conservation, an interest which led him to donate a 1/4 section of land to them. Alex also started a museum in Shoal Lake, which in time he turned over to the Village. He was a school trustee for Islay School Board at Vista from 1937-1939 and took the position of Chairman from 1939, until the school closed on 1968. During his years of farming he was a registed Seed Grower and in 1957 was awarded the Robertson Certificate. As a hobby he was a beekeeper. Alexander MacMillan MacPhail passed away at the Shoal Lake-Strathclair Health Centre on Tuesday, July 29, 1986 at the age of 86 years.
MARION (MACPHAIL) MCCORMACK (1903 - 10 February 1988)
Marion attended Islay School and Rosburn Collegiate. Upon graduation, she attended Manitoba Normal School, and became a teacher. She worked at Perth, Islay (1927-1934), Plumas, Strathclair and Minnedosa.
She met and married Coll McCormack (d. 1973) in 1952, and they lived in Minnedosa. She retired from teaching in 1967. Marion McCormack passed away on February 10, 1988.
IAIN MACPHAIL (1912-1937)
Iain MacPhail was born in Vista, MB in 1912. During the years that he was attending high school, he took a keen interest in farming. After he completed his Grande XII, some of the farm projects were expanded, including bee keeping. It was while attending a Bee-Keepers Course at the University of Manitoba that Iain took ill and passed away in 1937.
JOHN ARMSTRONG (6 May 1930 - 21 June 2005)
John Armstrong was born May 6, 1930, the second son of Kate (McKinnon) and William Armstrong. He attended Perth school for his elementary grades, then Vista and Rossburn where he finished high school. John farmed with his dad and brother Hugh, except for one year of permit teaching on the Daupin River Reserve, which was accessible by canoe.
John lived at home with his parents and cared for them until his dad's passing in 1972 and his mother's in 1982. At one time John was a leader of the 4-H Seed Club and was able to help members with his weed and plant identification skills. He did some secretarial work for 4-H and the Argyle Presbyterian Church. John William Armstrong of Rossburn passed away June 21, 2005 at the Shoal Lake-Strathclair Health Centre.
Custodial History
The records in this collection were accumulated in the residence of Alexander MacPhail from various family members. The materials were discovered in the attic of MacPhail's house on the MacPhail land in Vista, MB in 2005. Subsequently they were given to Gerald R. Brown by the family living in the MacPhail house. They resided in Brown's home until their donation to the McKee Archives in September 2006.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of teaching materials and textbooks used by members of the MacPhail family - Alex, Marion and Iain. It has been divided into two sub-series, including: (1) Textbooks; and (2) Teaching materials.
Notes
Biographical notes were written by Gerald R. Brown and were taken from his "Vista Tales . . . from Islay School District No. 733 in Vista, Manitoba." Description by Christy Henry.
Generally good. Some of the photographs have tape on them.
History / Biographical
Churches of the Prairies was a project undertaken by Doug Brolund and his brother. The project involved gathering information on the churches of the prairies (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta). They were interested in the time between 1800 to 1925. Their aim was to collect historical, architectural and photographic material, as well as information concerning the people involved in the building, the ministry and in the using of the churches. The information was to be collected, put into order and made available and retrievable to anyone wishing to use it.
The purpose of the bank of information was to be the publication of a book or books. The Brolunds' believed in the importance of preserving our heritage, of honouring those who were involved in the building of the churches and believed the material would prove to be invaluable in the future to other organizations. To gather information, they sent out letters asking for any information, photographs, news clippings and stories on the churches of the prairies. The project ended when Doug Brolund was left on his own to complete the work. He concluded that it was simply too much for one person to accomplish.
Custodial History
In the early 1980s Doug Brolund donated the text and photographs that had been assembled to the McKee Archives. He was convinced that the material was too valuable to simply discard.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of information (such as news clippings, church histories, correspondence and for Saskatchewan and Manitoba, inventory site forms) on and/or photographs of various churches across Canada. The files for Alberta; British Columbia; Ontario, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec are quite small and generally contain pages from old calendars and newsclippings, although there are a few photographs (some of them unidentified) and church histories. The Alberta file also contains a copy of the Provincial Register of Historic Sites ca. 1979.
The file for Saskatchewan contains information on and/or photographs of churches in the following towns/areas: Kennell, Castleton, McAulay, McLean, Neudorf, Eatonia, Eston, Carnduff, Wheatland and Carievale. There are also photographs of Welwyn Church, Trinity United, Florence School, Coshen? School and Wamphray Presbyterian (RM of Edenwold). The file also contains the finding aid for Saskatchewan developed by the project members.
The material on Manitoba churches is the most extensive. There is a copy of the finding aid for Manitoba developed by the project members. The files are arranged alphabetically, with separate files for Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg. There is information on and/or photographs of churches in the following towns/areas: Aspelund Free Church, Arden, Angusville, Alexander, Birtle, Brookdale, Boissevain, Belmont, Mount Hope School District, Beulah, Beausejour, Clanwilliam, Carberry, Petral, Chater, Carrol (Bunclody), Decker, Deloraine, Dauphin, Darlingford, Douglas, Hargrave, Elgin, Elton, Elkhorn, Erickson, Forrest, Hamiota, Hunterville, Hilton, Horod, Hilltop, High Bluff, Horton (Desford), Hartney, Ingelow Isabella, Kola, Killarney, Kenton (and area), Justice, Lockport, Lenore (Breadalbane), Lynn Lake, McConnell, Minnedosa, Melita, Miniota, McGregor, Newdale, Ninga, Neepawa, Ninette, Oakner, Onla, Oakburn, Oak Lake, Pipestone, Rosser, Rapid City (and area), Rivers, Riding Mountain, Rounthwaite, Rossburn, Russell, Polonia, Sandy Lake, Scandinavia, Solsgirth, Souris, Hellmouth, Seech (and area), The Pas, Saint Agathe, St. Pierre, St. Anne, Teulon, St. Andrews-on-the-Red, Swan River, Shilo, Sparling, Virden, Westnbourne, Vista, Wabowden, Wawanesa, Waskade, Brandon, Brandon Hills, Portage la Prairie, Portage la Prairie (Oakland) and Winnipeg.
File 24 contains negatives. There are also some negatives for New Brunswick churches in File 23.
Notes
The Brandon file also contains a minute book of the First Church United Circle. For information on the Brandon Synagogue, see the Brandon Synagogue file in the institutional biographies. For technical architectural descriptions of some Brandon Churches, see "A Guide to the City of Brandon, Municipal Heritage Building Inventory" in the institutional biography files. The Winnipeg file contains a copy of "Souris Valley Plains - a history" by Lawrence B. Clarke. A number of the Winnipeg churches are unidentified. Description by Christy Henry.
This record group was artifically created in January 2007 by Tom Mitchell and Christy Henry of the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
The record group consists of various fonds and collections concerned with the political, cultural, social, and educational life of western Manitoba. See the Subject Access field for a list of titles.