Ella Alma Nicholson (nee Kerr) was born in 1896 in the Franklin district. Her father George Kerr operated a logging mill at Kerr Lake and her mother Margaret (nee Reilly) named the area "Franklin." Ella attended Coldstream and Franklin school, before completing a two-year diploma at Agricultural College in Winnipeg. She then trained as a nurse at Winnipeg General Hospital, graduating in 1919. Following gradution she worked in Winnipeg before going to Vancouver. On February 7, 1922, she married Charles Nicholson (1890-1979), a teacher from the Franklin district. The couple returned to Manitoba, where they lived on the Nicholson family farm until they retired to Neepawa in 1950. Both of their sons, William and Patrick, were born in the Franklin district. Ella was active with The Inner Wheel, the Iriquois Women's Institute, her bowling league, and the nurses association. With Charlie, she traveled worldwide to various Rotary conventions. Ella Nicholson died on July 23, 1993 in Neepawa, MB. She is buried at Riverside Cemetery.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, 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
Item is an audiocassette tape containing an interview with Ella Nicholson about homesteading in the Franklin district of Manitoba. Interviewer is Winnie Cheetham.
Notes
History/bio information from the records, the Neepawa local history "Heritage" and Nicholson's obituary. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
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Phyllis Field Cooper was born on July 22, 1894 in Chicago, Illinois. She attended the Chicago Art Institute. Phyllis emigrated to Canada in March 1918, where she worked briefly for Mr. and Mrs. Archie Cooper near Treesbank, MB, before she moved to Winnipeg to teach a juvenile art class connected with the Winnipeg School of Art. In fall 1920, Phyllis went to work in the office of a Winnipeg insurance company. That same year her parents and brother moved to the Treesbank area. Phyllis moved home to work at the Treesbank store, before the entire family moved back to Chicago in 1923.
Phyllis married Archibald Cooper (1868-1953) on August 26, 1933, and the couple moved to Winnipeg. They did not have children. During their time in Winnipeg, Phyllis worked as an interior designer, a vocalist and a writer, writing articles for the Winnipeg Free Press and the Winnipeg Tribune. She was a member of the Philharmonic choir in Winnipeg and an Honorary Life Member of the Winnipeg Sketch Club. She moved to Glenboro in 1955, following the death of her husband. In Glenboro she gave piano and art lessons for several years. Phyllis Field Cooper died in August 1987. She is buried at Millford Cemetery in Treesbank, MB.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, 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
Item is an audiocassette tape containing an interview with Phyllis Field Cooper about her life. Interviewer is Irene Brown.
Notes
History/bio information from the records and the Glenboro local history "Beneath the long grass." Description by Christy Henry.
Audio Tracks
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