Photographs have been glued to a backing board that has warped over time
Scope and Content
Photograph shows street view of north side of Rosser Avenue, primarily the 700 block, along which sewer pipe is being laid. Visible buildings and businesses include: The Fleming Block with Lowes Brothers Clothing and Manitoba Farmers Hedge and Wire Fence Company, the Beaubier Block and its Empire Hotel, A.M. Percival (a grocer), the Brandon Hardware Company (600 block), and the Arlington Hotel (500 block) are visible along the north side of the avenue. The Bank of Hamilton Building is on the southeast corner of 8th Street and Rosser Avenue.
Notes
Writing on the front of the photograph matting reads: 290. Page appears to be from a photo album.
Photograph has pen markings and publishing mark-up notes on front and back of matting
Scope and Content
Photograph shows the north side of the 900-block of Rosser Avenue, facing west from 9th Street. All the shops appear to be woodframed buildings; the sidewalk has yet to be installed and wooden planks have been laid down in front of the shops. Visible storefronts include: (left to right): Leask & Rose, general merchants (at the 11th Street intersect); Fortier & Bucke - Manufacturers' Agents and CPR Express Co.; The New Era - real estate office; Imperial Bank of Canada; Durand & Macdonald Law Office, T.D. McLean - jeweller; Deacon & Hooper - grocers; and J. Barker Vosburgh - Surgeon & Dentist. The building in the foreground has Rosser Avenue and 9th Street street signs affixed above the entrance to the building. A chuckwagon is parked in front of Fortier & Bucke.
Notes
Writing on the front of the photograph reads: Brandon.
Photograph was removed from a photo album. Photograph is ripped.
History / Biographical
According the 1911 Henderson's Brandon City Directory, the Brandon Fire Department - headquartered at Seventh Street and Princess Avenue - had 16 permanent firemen. For equipment the department had one steamer, two chemicals, two hose wagons, one hose reel, one aerial aldder, one hook and ladder wagon, and 10 horses. The city had 34 electric fire alarm boxes and 114 fire hydrants. The pumping station had a capacity of 3.5 million gallons in 24 hours. By 1914, the Brandon Fire Department had 19 permanent employees on its roster and added 2 more horses as well as an 80 horsepower combination motor truck.
Custodial History
Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard) of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows two horse-drawn fire wagons in front of the Brandon Fire Station No. 2. One wagon has a hose, the other wagon has an extension ladder.
Notes
Writing on the back of photograph reads: Ed Harden, Driver on the left, 1914, 11th McTavish. This picture is the same as the negative in the Lawrence Stuckey collection. Stuckey obtained a copy of the photo from George Lepard, father of Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard).
Photograph was removed from a photo album. Photograph is creased and has tape residue.
Custodial History
Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard) of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows the interior of Brandon Fire Hall No. 2. The wagon engines are in the foreground. The firemen stand in the background, holding the bridles of the horses that are standing at the entrances of their stalls. The interior of the hall shows a brick floor and tin ceiling. Stairs lead to a wooden door that is likely the entrance to the living quarters and offices on the second floor.
Notes
Writing on the back of photograph reads: Ed Harden, Driver on the left, 1914, 11th McTavish. This picture is the same as the negative in the Lawrence Stuckey collection. Stuckey obtained a copy of the photo from George Lepard, father of Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard).
Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard) of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows the wooden exterior of Brandon Fire Hall No. 2 before it was covered with a brick veneer. The firemen are standing outside the bay doors which are open and blocked with rope. The hose wagon and ladder wagon are parked inside the building. The harnesses for the horses are suspended from the ceiling.
Notes
Writing on the back of photograph reads: Mrs. Ed Harden. No. 2 Firehall, 600 Block 11th Street, Brandon, Man. This picture is the same as the negative in the Lawrence Stuckey collection. Stuckey obtained a copy of the photo from George Lepard, father of Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard).
Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard) of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Notes
Photograph shows two horse-drawn fire wagons in front of the Brandon Fire Station No. 2. One wagon has a hose, the other wagon has an extension ladder. Fireman Ed Harden is on the reins of the ladder truck (right). Writing on the back of photograph reads: Contributed by Mrs. Ed Harden. 6th Street North, 11th & McTavish Ave, Fire Hall - now School Bd office.
This picture is the same as the negative in the Lawrence Stuckey collection. Stuckey obtained a copy of the photo from George Lepard, father of Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard).
Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard) of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows the remains of the Syndicate Block after the fire in January 1916. The building is situated on the southwest corner of Seventh Street and Rosser Avenue. Ice from the firefighting process covers the building. The tailor shop J.S. Laughton & Son (701 Rosser Avenue) can be seen on the north side of Rosser Avenue.
The Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede Parade Day was held on Thursday, July 19, 1962, at 9:30 a.m. The local newspaper reported that approximately 24,000 people were in attendance to see parade marshall Rod Ashburner leading 175 entries consisting of 90 floats, 75 horses, and 10 bands. There were 19 parade categories eligible for $12,000 in prize money and included: junior and senior cowboys and cowgirls; fancy and Shetland ponies; sulky class open; comic, commercial, industrial and organizational floats; decorated cars; special ranch class; 4-H Clubs; and a non-competitive class.
The parade route started at Second St. and Allowance Ave., from Second St. to Ash Ave., north on Ash to First St. SE., from First St. S.E. to Fourth Ave., south to Second St. to South Railway St., south on South Railway St. to Third St., with a finish at McLeod Trail. A route map was published in the Medicine Hat News the day before the parade.
Aerial photographs of the parade were taken by Medicine Hat News photographer Howard Heid (1930-2005) from the private helicopter of John Bourn. Bourn was a pilot from Woodville, Wisconsin, who chartered his four-seater helicopter for sight-seers at exhibitions and stampedes across the county.
(Sources: Pat Currie, "Let 'Er Go!," Medicine Hat News, 19 July 1962,1; Harald Gunderson, "'Eye in the Sky' Best Parade View," Medicine Hat News, 19 July 1962,1; "Parade Starts at 9:30 Sharp," 18 July 1962)
Scope and Content
Photograph shows an aerial view of the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede Parade route, with a focus on Second Street SE. Visible store signs include: China Wonderland, Grey Cup Cafe, Lane Bros. & Gibson Ltd., Joy's, Marshall's, Monarch, Gardener's Used Cars, Provincial Treasury Branch, Furvey's Furniture and Appliances, J.J. Moore & Son, Club Cafe, Black Hardware Ltd., Regency Billards, and Sair's Shoe Hospital.
Fred McGuinness 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 he and his wife, Christine, 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" (Winnipeg: Great Plains Publishing, 1999).
Scope and Content
Set consists of 8 negatives showing a delivery of saplings to the McGuinness property, Christmas Tree Farm, Section 17
Photograph shows the recently constructed Strathcona Block. H. Lamontagne & Co. Ltd., Wholesale, occupies the ground floor. Scaffolding is suspended from the north side of the building. Buildings have yet to be erected to the north and south sides of the Strathcona Block.
Notes
Back of photograph is stamped: Hughes & Co. Ltd., 1009 Princess Ave., Brandon, Man.
The Curtis Block was built in 1900, possibly by Fred Stevens.
Custodial History
See collection level description for the James Douglas Wall collection.
Scope and Content
Image of the Curtis Block in Baldur, MB. The Victoria Hall, for public performances, was located on the upper floor. A group of men, one holding a hockey stick, and a dog are standing in front of the street entrance to the building.
The Fowler Block in Baldur, MB was built in 1899 by Alex Fowler.
Custodial History
See collection level description for the James Douglas Wall collection.
Scope and Content
Image of the Fowler Block in Baldur, MB. On the left is a shoe and harness shop owned and operated by the Fowlers from 1899-1978. On the right is J. Smith & Co. Merchants, a grocery and dry goods store. As of 2000, a grocery store still occupied the premises. Men are standing in front of the entrance to the two stores.
Clarence Benjamin Graham? Spurr, was born in on February 13, 1891 in Bancroft, Ontario. Spurr began working for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1914 as a station agent at Rocanville, SK and spent many years as an agent in various communities in Saskatchewan and Manitoba before retiring in 1955. In 1923, he married Elizabeth Wallace Lindsay (1893-1979) and they raised three children, sons Ewart and Delbert and adopted niece Verna Spurr. Clarence and Elizabeth moved to Brandon, MB following his retirement. Spurr joined the Canadian military in 1915, and was initially sent to Camp Hughes. A signaler and runner, he spent 1916-1918 overseas. Clarence Spurr died on December 21, 1982 in Brandon, MB. He is buried at Brandon Municipal 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 Clarence B.G. Spurr about his experiences during World War I. Spurr discusses and reminisces about details of the Great War and some of the major turning points within it from Vimy Ridge, Lamont, Mons, Neuville-Saint-Vaast and the Armistice that ended the war on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in November from the perspective of a Canadian soldier. Interviewer is Delbert Spurr.
Notes
History/bio information from the records and Spurr's obituary. Transcript by Whitney Hodgins (2017). Description by Christy Henry.
Access Restriction
Content Warning: Some of the material discussed in the interview is sensitive in nature, dealing with the war and some of the gruesome acts that go with it. Listener discretion is advised.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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Eric Bamford Gowler was born on September 2, 1901 in Toronto, ON. His family moved to Grenfell, SK in 1904, and that is where he received his schooling. From 1920-1926, Eric worked as a bank clerk for Dominion Bank in Grenfell, Regina and Boissevain, moving to the latter in 1923. In 1926, Eric resigned from the bank and formed a partnership with George McDonald in an implement business. The partnership was dissolved in 1935. Subsequently, Eric took on an International Harvester dealership for tractors and machines. In 1946, his dealership was the first International Harvester dealer outside of the United States to be modernized. A significant portion of the business' success, was the publication of the adversising bulletin, "The Waggin' Tongue," which ran for twenty-two years. Eric retired in 1961, selling the business, but not the building, to John McDonald, Hugh Broadfoot and R. Nicholson. Eric married Mildred Welch (1900-1971) in 1927 and together they had two sons: Douglas and James. Eric Gowler died in 1990.
Hugh Gibson Broadfoot was born on July 2, 1935. When Gowler retired from the impliment business, Hugh bought into the company along with John McDonald and R. Nicholson. Hugh married Judith Elaine Smith (1939-2022) on May 26, 1962 and together they had four children: Devron, Jason, Susan and Shirley. Hugh Broadfoot died on April 4, 2015 in Boissevain, MB. He is buried at Boissevain and Morton 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 Eric Gowler and Hugh Broadfoot about their implement business in Boissevain, MB. Interviewer is Bernice Pettypiece.
Notes
History/bio information from the records, the Boissevain-Morton local history "Beckoning Hills Revisted," FamilySearch.org and obituaries for Hugh and Judy Broadfoot. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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