Mildred (Mollie) Norton Kellet was born April 5, 1914, in Birmingham, England to Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Travers. At the age of 18, she joined the Cadbury Brothers Co. as a contometer. In 1942, she married George Crawford Kellet Jr. Mollie and George Kellet had two children together: Patricia (b. 1944) and Ian (b. 1949). In February of 1944, Mollie and her husband relocated to Manchester where George Kellet worked as an accountant.
Following World War II, the Kellets emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada. Mollie remained a mother and homekeeper until 1954, when she was hired as a secretary for Mitchell, Green, and Menouk Lawyers. She was also employed by The Bay and in the securities department of Montreal Trust Co, where she was the manager until 1966. She retired at age 65, but was recalled by the company to work until 1984, when she was 70 years old. In 1990, Mollie moved to Brandon to be closer to her daughter, Pat Alvested. Due to complications from surgery and a weak heart, Mollie Kellet passed away on January 31, 1999.
George Crawford Kellet Jr. was born to George Crawford Kellet Sr. and Lizzie Auld Halliday Kellet on July 16, 1911, in Glasgow, Scotland. An only child, he attended private school, and in 1933, at the age of 21, he was the youngest Chartered Accountant graduate in Britain. At some point between 1933 and his marriage to Mildred (Mollie) Norton in 1942, George joined the British army; while with the army his job was to receive the orders concerning army accounting and process them for soldiers in the field.
George left the army after the war and sailed with his wife and daughter on the Mauretania for Canada. Upon settling in Winnipeg he worked for Family Fair. In 1956 and 1957, he continued to work while setting up his own accounting firm, Kellet & Co. He was also diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1956. In 1971, George's health forced him to retire. Mollie continued to work at this time. Five years later she was unable to care for him adequately and he moved to a nursing home. In 1985, at age 74, George Kellet passed away.
Custodial History
In January 2000, Pat Alvestad, the Kellets' daughter, donated this fonds to the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
The records contained within the Mollie Kellet fonds are contributions from both Mollie and her husband George. Included are: a collection of handwritten recollections by Mollie Kellet concerning her experiences during the Second World War (Mollie had been living in London and experienced life under German bombing); a document from WWI, presumably from her father, who was a veteran of this war; and records acquired by George Kellet during his service in the Second World War concerning the practical arrangements made to support troops following the 1944 D-day invasion of Nazi Europe. Marked "top secret," these records set out procedures for paying and provisioning the invading army.
The name Berbank was created by combining the names of two local districts: Riverbank and Bertha. Both were located south of Brandon in the Rural Municipality of Oakland. The Berbank Church was built in 1919. Its construction grew out of the work of the Berbank Red Cross founded in 1917. The Berbank Church was a "union" church, constructed in anticipation of the formation of the United Church of Canada. In 1966, the Berbank congregation joined with the Nesbitt congregation to operate out of the Nesbitt United Church. The final service at the Berbank United Church was held in 1966.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1997. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains a document titled "Berbank Church History." This document is partially in a printed format with a portion handwritten. Fonds also contains minute books and legal documents pertaining to the ownership of the land upon which the Church was constructed.
The Berbank Red Cross was founded in November 1917, as a local feature of the Great War. The name Berbank was created by combining the names of the two local districts, Riverbank and Bertha, located south of Brandon in the Rural Municipality of Oakland. The Berbank Red Cross sent supplies of various kinds to local soldiers serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Europe. The organization also organized social gatherings in the Berbank area. With the end of the war most rural Red Cross organizations were disbanded, but the Berbank group agreed to remain intact to assist with the construction of a church. (See accession 28-1997 Berbank Church fonds)
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned in 1997 by the McKee Archives. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds includes a minute book, which provides a complete record of every meeting held by the Berbank Red Cross, from its creation in 1917 to 1919, when it became the Berbank Ladies Aid. Fonds also includes a roll call, financial records, and meeting minutes.
Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski (nee Lepard) of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows a large group of men, women and children posing in a park. A man in a WWI Canadian uniform is standing in the back row, left-hand side.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: Methodist Mission Sunday School Picnic taken in the Assiboine [sic.] Park. 1st 1915. 1915. Mr. Hugh Connolly Minister, Mr. Fred Denstedt, Teacher. Miss Hornbrook, Bible Class teacher. Mr. John Davies, Choir Leader. Mrs. Foreman in the center in dark dress the oldest member & four babies. Mrs. E. Harden, 33-10th Street N., City.
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.
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).
According to Veterans' Affairs Canada, there are 25 Crosses of Sacrifice in North America. The crosses were designed by the Canadian War Graves Commission's (CWGC) architect Sir Reginald Bloomfield, who designed a stone cross affixed with a bronze symbolic sword. The CWGC granted the Brandon Municipal Cemetery permission to privately erect the Cross of Sacrifice in its cemetery in exchange for maintaining the war graves in its cemetery.
The Brandon Great War Veterans Association erected the Cross of Sacrifice in the Brandon Municipal Cemetery in 1924 after a 10-day public fundraising campaign. At the time the Brandon Daily Sun reported that the Veterans Association required $5,000 to pay for the cross and the campaign ultimately raised $7,500. The memorial was initially dedicated to the local citizens who died as a result of the First World War.
Custodial History
Donated to Fred McGuinness by G. Baldock in 1971
Scope and Content
Photograph is of a memorial service at the Cross of Sacrifice in the Brandon Municipal Cemetery. Members of the public are standing to the north of the cross, while soldiers and veterans stand to the south. A number of wreaths have been placed at the base of the monument.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: 5 prints. Dedication of the war memorial. around 1926-1927-28. I was scout master under Comissioner Harry Booth. P.E.H.
According to Veterans' Affairs Canada, there are 25 Crosses of Sacrifice in North America. The crosses were designed by the Canadian War Graves Commission's (CWGC) architect Sir Reginald Bloomfield, who designed a stone cross affixed with a bronze symbolic sword. The CWGC granted the Brandon Municipal Cemetery permission to privately erect the Cross of Sacrifice in its cemetery in exchange for maintaining the war graves in its cemetery.
The Brandon Great War Veterans Association erected the Cross of Sacrifice in the Brandon Municipal Cemetery in 1924 after a 10-day public fundraising campaign. At the time the Brandon Daily Sun reported that the Veterans Association required $5,000 to pay for the cross and the campaign ultimately raised $7,500. The memorial was initially dedicated to the local citizens who died as a result of the First World War.
Private Frank Barker (#33281) died on 27 June 1918. A member of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, Pte. Barker was on the Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship when it was torpedoed.
Custodial History
Donated to Fred McGuinness by G. Baldock in 1971
Scope and Content
Photograph is of a close-up of a number of wreaths laid at the base of the Cross of Sacrifice in the Brandon Municipal Cemetery during a memorial service.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: Winnifred Barker places wreath in memory of Frank Barker (my uncle) 1st Field Ambulance, many decorations including the "Mons Star," lost on the Hospital Ship Landovery Castle, 1918. - G. Baldock 1971 -
According to Veterans' Affairs Canada, there are 25 Crosses of Sacrifice in North America. The crosses were designed by the Canadian War Graves Commission's (CWGC) architect Sir Reginald Bloomfield, who designed a stone cross affixed with a bronze symbolic sword. The CWGC granted the Brandon Municipal Cemetery permission to privately erect the Cross of Sacrifice in its cemetery in exchange for maintaining the war graves in its cemetery.
The Brandon Great War Veterans Association erected the Cross of Sacrifice in the Brandon Municipal Cemetery in 1924 after a 10-day public fundraising campaign. At the time the Brandon Daily Sun reported that the Veterans Association required $5,000 to pay for the cross and the campaign ultimately raised $7,500. The memorial was initially dedicated to the local citizens who died as a result of the First World War.
Custodial History
Donated to Fred McGuinness by G. Baldock in 1971
Scope and Content
Photograph is of a group of people examining wreaths that have been laid at the base of the Cross of Sacrifice in the Brandon Municipal Cemetery during a memorial service.
Frederick Gallagher McGUINNESS (b. 1891 – d. 23 May 1968) was born in Ottawa, Ontario. While in Brandon, he was a student (1911) and secretary of Boys’ Work for the YMCA in 1913. He moved to Winnipeg where he graduated from the Manitoba Medical College in 1917. On 3 December 1917, Lieutenant F.G. McGuinness enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in Winnipeg. He served in France with the Royal Army Medical Corps and was a Medical Officer attached with the Ninth Royal Irish Fusiliers. Lt. McGuiness survived the war and returned to Winnipeg where he married Myrtle Eva White in Winnipeg on 12 September 1922. They would have a son Jim “Jimmy” and a daughter Elizabeth (Shannon). Dr. McGuinness practiced in Obstetrics and Gynecology and taught at the University of Manitoba’s Medical School from 1923 onwards. He was instrumental in helping his nephew, Frederick George McGuinness return to school after he was injured in the Second World War. Dr. McGuinness died in Winnipeg at the Deer Lodge Hospital following a lengthy illness.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows a WWI portrait of Frederick Gallagher McGuinness (Fred McGuinness' uncle) in a Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) officer's uniform.
Photograph shows a crowded and muddy Brandon street. A military parade consisting of a band and mounted cavalry fill the street. A banner extends across the street reading: Brandon Heartily Wecomes Her Returning Heros.
Postcard shows two men in WWI Canadian military uniform. One soldier is seated on a piano stool, the other stands behind him. The men have Canadian General Service cap and collar badges on their uniforms.
Notes
Photograph possibly of the Pope brothers, George Campbell and Roy Clendon Pope, uncles of Fred McGuinness.
Benjamin J. Hales was born in Peterborough, Ontario on November 24, 1868. Hales lived in Peterborough until attending the University of Toronto, where he graduated in 1894. In 1897, Hales travelled west to teach at Broadview, North West Territories. He moved to McGregor, Manitoba in 1899, where he was Principal of the school, and in 1902, he moved to Hartney, Manitoba. Between 1907 and 1911, Hales devoted his time to working for the provincial Normal School that offered courses for prospective teachers in Portage La Prairie, Manitou, and Brandon. In 1911, the normal courses were established in Brandon and Hales moved to Brandon, where he resided for the rest of his life. Hales acted as the Principal of the Brandon Normal School from 1912 until his retirement in 1938. B.J. Hales married Elizabeth Lewis of Peterborough, who died in 1942. The couple had one daughter Marion Hales Doig. B.J. Hales was a well-known naturalist and author of several texts dealing with prairie flora and fauna. Hales also built a museum of Manitoban flora and fauna in the Normal School. Hales was an alderman on Brandon City Council from 1920 to 1923, and served as the chairman of the city's Parks Board from 1937 until his death in 1945. Hales was twice the president of the Western Manitoba Teacher's Association, and once the head of the Manitoba Educational Association. B.J. Hales was also a member of the First United Church and served on its board. He died on December 23, 1945 at his home in Brandon.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. Previous custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds includes three books written by B.J. Hales, titled, "Selected Western Flora: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta"(1925); "Prairie Birds"(1927); and "Forests and Trees"(1925), all published in Toronto by The MacMillan Company of Canada. The fonds also includes two books of field notes concerning specimens held in the Brandon Normal School Museum, as well as a list of birds in the Atkinson Collection also located at the Brandon Normal School Museum.
James Buckley was born in Arnprior, Ontario in 1877. He moved to Manitoba in 1904. In 1906, he settled in Brandon, Manitoba where he was employed as a Canadian Pacific Railway conductor for thirty-six years. In the same year he arrived in Brandon, Buckley married Helenea Stavenaw. Togerher they had two daughters Ruth and Margaret. James Buckley was a member of the Brotherhood of Railway Conductors and the Knights of Columbus. He passed away in Brandon, Manitoba on December 8, 1957.
Custodial History
Fonds passed into the hands of Buckley's daughter Margaret following the death of Helenea (Stavenaw) Buckley in 1959. Following Margaret's death the fonds was retained by Lesley Liversidge who donated the fonds to the Daly House Museum in 2004. The Museum then donated the fonds to the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Fonds includes Conductors' Local Passenger tariff No. C 6 Brandon to Moose Jaw in effect June 23, 1918; Constitution of Railway Conductors of America revised and adopted May 4, 1925; CPR Rules for Heating, Ventilating, Lighting and for operation of water rising system on passenger equipment, revised January 1924; Souvenir, Canada's Great Inland Port Fort William and Port Arthur [n.d.] 127 illustrations; poster The Spirit of 1918: Sticking To It, supplement to The Graphic, The Railway Conductor, July, 1939 Royal Visit Edition; Wonderland of Canada, The Rocky Mountains Specially Selected Views of the Canadian Rockies on the Canadian Pacific Line, photographs by WM Notman & Son. Valentine & Sons, Publishing Company, Montreal and Toronto[n.d.]; Over the Kettle Valley Route British Columbia published for Canadian Pacific Railway News Service 20 pp. [n.d.]; postcard with steam engine traveling through a flooded rail-line and CNR key.
Negative shows a man dressed in coveralls working on a helicopter inside a hanger. The helicopter has a RCAF - Royal Canadian Air Force - logo on the exterior.
Notes
Negative was stored in a Medicine Hat News envelope with the following typed on the front: Cpl. Rick Cooke working on a helicopter
The first Manitoba Women's Institute was formed in 1910, in Morris, Manitoba. In 1919, existing institutes joined to form the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada at Winnipeg. In 1929, the Associated Country Women of the World was formed with it headquarters in London England; the Canadian Women's Institute affiliated with this organization. As of 2001, the Manitoba Women's Institute still exists, with its headquarters in Winnipeg.
Custodial History
This fonds was donated to the McKee archives by Wilma Bell of Harding, Manitoba in 1997. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains minutes, attendance records, financial records, and annual reports of the various women's institutes in the Southwest A region of Manitoba.
Related women's institute collections in the McKee Archives include:
Manitoba Women's Institute; Minnedosa Women's Institute; Cordova Women's Institute; Clanwilliam Women's Institute; Rathwell Women's Institute; Strathclair Women's Institute; Crocus Women's Institute; Southwest A Region - Manitoba Women's Institute; Douglas Women's Institute
2.4 m textual records; c. 5 photographs; 1 minute book (measuring 1"x 9"x 14")
History / Biographical
The Brandon Trades and Labour Council was established in 1906, as an affiliate of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada. The original Council contained thirteen locals, including those of railway workers, sheet metal workers, plumbers and steam fitters, bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, cigar makers, printers, and barbers. By 1912, the Council contained twenty four locals. The Council's principal function was to advance the corporate interests of labour within the framework of a largely unregulated capitalism. After 1955, the Council was affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress, which was created through a merger of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada and the Canadian Congress of Labour.
Custodial History
Fonds remained in possession of Brandon and District Labour Council prior to donation to the S.J. McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of financial and administrative records of the Brandon and District Labour Council. Records also include collective agreements, correspondence, publications of the Labour Council and affiliated unions, some union local minutes, newspaper clippings, petitions, and various miscellaneous files. Fonds also includes a minute book for the Council (1971-1985) and two union charters.
31 cm textual records;
1 b&w photograph - approx. 50 x 20cm (torn in half);
1 ribbon from the International Pool Conference of 1928
History / Biographical
Leslie Victor Robson was born in Deleau, Manitoba in 1893. Following graduation from the Manitoba Agricultural College in 1915, he began a career in farming near Deleau, Manitoba. Robson married Edna Chapman in 1917. He was active in farm organizations, the co-operative movement and the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation. Robson focused his farming activities on raising purebread polled herefords. His stock was exhibited across Canada and the United States and sold in Great Britain, Japan and Czechoslovakia. In 1977, he was made a member of the Canadian Hereford Honour Roll. Leslie Victor Robson died in 1977.
Custodial History
This fonds was donated to the McKee Archives in 1995 by Clarke M. Robson of Deleau, Manitoba.
Scope and Content
This fonds contains booklets and issues of newspapers from the Canadian prairie provinces concerning the CCF, the Independant Labor Party, the UFM, the Canadian farming co-op movement, Manitoba Pool Elevators, and the early NDP. Also included are publications of the CCF including "The Commonwealth," the Canadian Department of Agriculture, the League for Social Reconstruction, the NDP, the UFM, and Manitoba Pool Elevators. The single photograph is a group picture of mostly men taken at the International Wheat Conference of 1926 in St. Paul, Minnesota. It includes Colin H. Burnell, Fawcett W. Ransom, and Dick Mahoney.
