In July 1928, Verna Althea Whitfield married William Arthur Gamey (b. 1892) in Winnipeg. For the first year of their marriage they both taught at Lockport, before moving to Winnipeg in 1929. Their only child, William Roy, was born there. In 1933, the Gameys moved to the Gamey family farm located at N1/2 12-16-22, near Strathclair. Verna's nephew Robert Kerr, from Kelowna, B.C. joined the family in 1949. Art and Verna left the farm in the spring of 1956, and moved into the house formerly owned by an aunt, Miss Bella Gamey. Art Gamey was a staunch supporter of the Co-operative movement and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). He died in January 1968.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1997. Prior custoridal history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains documents relating to the Manitoba Farmer's Union, including copies of its publication "The Voice of the Farmer" (1961); the United Church of Canada, primarily Strathclair (1960-1989); the Manitoba Women's Institute and the National Institute for the Blind (1959-1976); the Manitoba Federation of Agriculture (1945-1961); the Birtle Presbyterian Church (1986-1989); the Social Credit League in Manitoba and B.C. (1947, 1953); the Manitoba Provincial Council of Women (1958-1959); the Manitoba Centennial Corporation (1966-1968); and the Shoal Lake Fair and Hamiota Exhibition (1949-1981).
Fonds also contains diaries (1923-1926); various political publications, newspaper clippings, and correspondance, primarily concerning the CCF and the New Democrats (1945-1971); the Cooperative Union of Canada (1949-1964); and the Manitoba Farm Forum (1942-1963). Included as well, are clippings from the Brandon Sun dealing with a wide variety of topics (1970-1991); publications on home/farm/highway safety (1949-1975); and the Manitoba Pool Elevators (1950-1955).
Fonds also contains correspondence to and from both Verna and Art Gamey.
Notes
History/Bio information taken from "Our Story to 1970" published by the R.M. of Strathclair and compiled by The Centennial History Committee (pp. 255-257).
RG 4 Manitoba Pool Elevators; Women's Institute collections: Manitoba (8-2002), Strathclair (7-2002), Rathwell (6-2002), Minnedosa (2-2002), Cordova (4-2002), Clanwilliam (3-2002), Crocus (5-2002), Douglas (20-2006), Binscarth (12-1997), Southwest A Region (26-1997); and the Greenway Fair (35-2006).
1.2 m of textual records;
c. 2700 photographs -- Primarily black and white;
c. 42,500 stamps
History / Biographical
Lawrence Adne Stuckey was born in Brandon, Manitoba in 1921 to Adne and Catherine Stuckey, and was the grandson of a Brandon pioneer family, the Gilmours. Stuckey attended both Fleming and Earl Oxford schools, as well as the Brandon Collegiate Institute. In May 1941, he began working for the CPR as a wiper/fireman. In October of the following year he joined the RCAF. During World War II, Stuckey served overseas as a Navigator/Bomb Aimer and was promoted to the rank of Flight Sergeant. He continued his work with the CPR after the war, and was promoted to fireman/engineer in 1950. Stuckey left the CPR in January of 1958 to purchase Clark-Smith Photo Studio in Brandon.
Stuckey and his wife Mavis, whom he married in 1946, ran the studio until their retirement in the mid 1980s. Throughout his life Stuckey pursued a number of interests, such as botany, history, photography and politics and was active in many local, provincial and national organizations. He was a member of the Brandon Stamp Club, the Allied Arts Council, Brandon Horticultural Society, Brandon Model Railroad Club, the Brandon Historical Society, and the Fort Whyte Centre. Stuckey was also the author of four books, as well as numerous articles on horticulture, railways, and Brandon area history. In 1987 he received the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt and in 1997 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree from Brandon University. Lawrence Stuckey passed away on June 13, 2001.
Custodial History
The entire collection was housed in Mr. Stuckey's residence at 658 11th St. Brandon, Manitoba, prior to its transfer to the McKee Archives. A portion of the stamp collection was donated to the Archives in August 2001. The balance of the materials were deposited in the Archives following Mr. Stuckey's death.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of a variety of materials, both textual and graphic.
The philately collection is the largest part of the Stuckey Collection and covers a wide geographical and temporal range. The majority of the stamps are from the United States, the British Commonwealth, France and the French Empire. There are also a number of stamps portraying animals, art and flowers.
The slide collection includes approximately 10,000 images of various topics, such as landscapes, flora and fauna of North America and Expo 1967.
The Stuckey photograph collection is perhaps the best collection of Brandon and Southwestern Manitoba photographs in one place. Images include grain elevators and historical buildings of the northern United States and western Canada, railways, the City of Brandon, as well as ships and boats, sporting activities, portraits, animals, flora and fauna, landscapes and farming/homestead photographs. This series also includes a large number of negatives, including glass plate negatives.
The textual materials within the collection include personal journals written by Stuckey covering the years 1935-2001. These journals are autobiographical and act as a key to the rest of the collection in that they provide general time frames and the motivations behind Stuckey's activities. In addition to the journals, the collection consists of copies of Stuckey's four books and a few papers he wrote for the committees and clubs he belonged to. Other textual materials included are a small amount of personal correspondence, and research materials on a number of topics such as the CPR and Brandon area history. There are also three scrapbooks created by Stuckey dealing with his various interests. The collection also contains certificates presented to Stuckey by a number of the organizations he belonged to, as well as his honorary degree from Brandon University and his Order of the Buffalo Hunt award. A number of books, newspapers and articles on various topics, such as stamp collecting and horticulture are included in the collection.
The McKee Archives is the copyright holder for the Stuckey materials.
Finding Aid
A copy of the photograph inventory is in the blue binder on the reference shelf in the reading room.
Related Material
Alf Fowler collection 6-1999 (Brandon photographs) and the BU Art Exhibitions Committee fonds 69-1997 (Georges Cesari).
Arrangement
A description for the photograph collection has been entered as a separate series of the Lawrence Stuckey collection. The collection remains in original order.
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.
9.46 m textual records; 1919 photographs & graphics
History / Biographical
Brandon, Manitoba was incorporated as a city in 1881. In 1882, led by Charles Whitehead and a small Board of Directors that included J.W. Vantassel, Charles Pilling, George Halse, J.E. Smith, William Johnson, R.T. Evans, and Thomas Lockhart, it was decided to hold an agricultural exhibition. These men were all involved in the farm business in one way or another, and they wanted an opportunity to help residents realize the agricultural potential of the region. In October of that year, the fledgling community held its first agricultural exhibition . The fair was held in downtown Brandon at what was known as “Market Square.” Market Square was two acres of land located on Princess Avenue between Eighth and Ninth Streets. Due to poor weather, and the fact that not many people were ready to show animals and grain, there was a relatively small turnout. The following year was much improved. There were 730 entries into the exhibition. By 1884, the Board of Directors of the Brandon Agricultural Society, which was in charge of the exhibition, realized that they were in poor financial shape, to the point of being personally out of pocket. It was realized that October was not the best time for farmers to be leaving their farms to go to an exhibition. In 1888, it was decided to move the exhibition to the summer time, when it was much easier for people to attend.
The first Brandon Summer Fair was held in July 1889, and it was a resounding success. The Board of Directors had added many items of interest to appeal to the entire public, not just agricultural people. In 1892, the Western Agricultural and Arts Association (WAAA) was formally established to take over duties from the Brandon Agricultural Society. However, it was not until 1897 that the WAAA held its first meeting. There is no explanation as to why there is a five year gap between the formation and the first meeting of this organization. 1897 was the turning point of the Brandon Exhibition. The fair was now firmly established in Brandon, and the Board of Directors was instrumental in ensuring that it remained so. This was done by petitioning to both the municipal and provincial governments for grant money. As well, the Board booked midway and grandstand acts that would bring the city dwellers to the agricultural exhibition.
There were also early attempts at holding an agricultural exhibition in the winter. The first such attempt was in 1884. There was also a Spring Stallion show held in 1891. By 1904, however, a petition by J.D. McGregor had gone out to formally establish a winter exhibition. This effort also failed, but by 1906, it was decided by businessmen, politicians, and farm representatives in Brandon, including McGregor, to organize a winter fair. Rather than seeing this new fair as competition, the Board of Directors of the summer fair felt that it would complement their exhibition. The new fair would remain primarily agricultural. The first winter fair was held in 1906. While the two fairs were not amalgamated, they did share the same secretary-manager. The secretary-manager was responsible for the day to day management of the fair, as well as keeping track of meetings and decisions reached by the various fair boards and committees. In 1907, the Brandon Winter Fair and Livestock Association (BWFLA) was formed to act primarily as a land-holding joint stock company. The following year the Provincial Winter Fair and Fat Stock Association (PWFFSA), an entirely separate organization from the BWFLA, was formed to manage the activities of the winter fair. The PWFFSA name was soon changed to the Manitoba Winter Fair and Fat Stock Association (MWFFSA).
By 1906, Brandon could boast two full size exhibitions, one in the summer and one in the late winter, both of which were considered to be premiere events. In 1908, the Brandon summer fair was renamed the Inter-Provincial Exhibition, and in 1912 it held it’s first Traveller’s Day, an event which would soon become an important addition to the fair and is still in existence today. It is thought that the name “Traveller’s Day” came from the fact that it was held on a Saturday, a day when many people could travel to Brandon for the exhibition.
In 1913, Brandon was bestowed with the honour of hosting the Dominion Exhibition. This was a national exhibition sponsored by the federal government. It was held in a different city every year. There were several cities vying for the 1913 Dominion Exhibition, but it was Brandon that impressed the sponsors the most. With the government funds received for this honour, the Board of Directors supervised the building of a new grandstand, display buildings, and racetrack, as well as the general expansion and improvements to the fairgrounds.
In the spring of 1912, it was decided by the Board of Directors of the winter fair that the facilities they were currently housed in were inadequate for their needs. The mayor and city clerk of Brandon went to the provincial legislature in order to request that there be an amendment added to the Brandon city charter. This amendment would allow the city to guarantee bonds issued by the winter fair board to help pay for the construction of a new facility. This request was granted, and a $70 000 addition was built next to the original winter fair building. The new building was opened in 1913.
Throughout the First World War, both the winter fair and Provincial Exhibition buildings were used for the war effort. There was one distinct difference however. The summer fair Board was able to negotiate a deal with the army that enabled it to reclaim the fair buildings during fair week. The winter fair, however, had to give up the idea of holding fairs in 1915 and 1916. It was not until 1917, that the winter fair was able to resume.
During this time, due to the financial problems that had beset the winter fair, the two exhibitions considered amalgamation. The Board of Directors of the winter fair felt that because they were the smaller of the two fairs, their interests would be swallowed up by the summer fair. The winter fair withdrew from the negotiations to amalgamate. With this rather sudden turn of events, the Board of Directors of the summer fair petitioned the government to be allowed to incorporate. This was granted, and in 1920, the WAAA was incorporated as the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. From 1920, the summer fair was officially known as the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. This was the first time that the summer fair was incorporated, and received the “status and financial assistance” that came with incorporation.
More problems beset the winter fair in the 1920s. In 1920, a fire burned down the winter fair pavilion, located at the south end of the winter fair buildings, and caused the Board to cancel the 1921 winter fair. It was not until 1922, that a new building was completed. By 1929, both fairs were well regarded throughout Canada. In 1929, a decade long Depression hit the west. While many fairs closed during this time, Brandon struggled to keep its open. The Directors of both fairs felt that the agricultural shows “encouraged excellence at a time when faith and enthusiasm were at a low ebb.” The summer fair proved to be quite successful during the Depression, likely as a result of the few moments one was able to forget one’s troubles while there. The winter fair was not quite as successful, although both fairs received government grants and work relief projects. There was little new entertainment in these exhibitions.
There were changes about to manifest themselves at the summer fair, however. While the winter fair had representatives from various associations on its Board of Directors, the summer fair Board of Directors was a small close-knit group of men. Citizens saw entry into this elite group as elusive and difficult. To ward off the possibility of the Board becoming a “self-sustaining clique,” that only chose Directors from within, it was decided by several citizens to try and elect some new blood into the fair Board. In 1933, there was a general election for the Board. Instead of the usual men shuffling positions, there were forty-four nominations for the twenty positions. When the voting was all over, seven new men sat on the Board. Despite some inner rumblings, especially on the summer fair Board over the next few years, both exhibitions survived the Depression.
During the Second World War the fairs once again were forced to operate under adversity. Once again, the buildings were requisitioned for the army, although they were released during fair week. The summer fair was forced to make several concessions, and the winter fair was relocated to the summer fair grounds for the duration.
The winter fair did not survive the Second World War intact. Due to financial reasons, in December of 1945, the Board of Directors turned the winter fair buildings over to the City of Brandon. By 1946, the BWFLA, which was the joint-stock land holding company, had ceased operations because the city now controlled the winter fair land and buildings.
The next fifteen years would be a time of rebuilding for both of Brandon’s exhibitions. Children especially were more active participants in the agricultural exhibitions. The summer fair continued to diversify and look for new ways of entertaining the public at large. The winter fair remained primarily agricultural. By the end of the 1950s the winter fair, which was used to struggling, was now both successful and stable; and the summer fair, a perennial success, was starting to fade.
By 1969, both the winter and summer fair Boards had realized that amalgamation was the best possible decision, both practically and financially, for the future of the two fairs. On 29 October, 1969, the two exhibitions amalgamated to become the Manitoba Exhibition Association. The reconstituted Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba was now responsible for both the winter and summer fairs. A new building was erected on the summer fair grounds to house both of the exhibitions. On 2 April 1973, the Keystone Centre was officially opened at the winter fair, although it had been in use since October of the preceding year.
In 1970, Manitoba’s Centennial, it was decided that an organization in Manitoba would receive the title of “Royal,” as a way to celebrate the centennial. Although many organizations applied for the honour, it was the Brandon winter fair that received the accolades. The winter fair was bestowed with the title “Royal”, and became known as the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair.
In 1975, a third exhibition was added, this time a purely agricultural fall show known as the Agricultural Exhibition, or AgEx. This fair was partly organized on behalf of the cattle growers, who found that the summer and winter fairs did not give them adequate time and space to properly show their cattle. The return to a fall show, which had not existed since 1888, would be the return to a purely agricultural exhibition. This show was to be primarily a show and sale event. On 3 November 1975, the first AgEx was opened to resounding success.
The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair and AgEx are all still in existence in Brandon. They are regarded as three of the most important events to take place annually in the city.
Custodial History
These files were housed with the Manitoba Exhibition Association until c1986 when they were transferred to the S.J. McKee Archives at Brandon University.
Scope and Content
The fonds consists of textual records and photographs comprised of the records from the three annual exhibitions that are held in Brandon, Manitoba: the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, and the Agricultural Exhibition (Ag-Ex). The textual records include prize lists, programs, minutes, financial, administrative files, original results, scrapbooks, tickets, news releases, contracts, by laws, documents as well as a miscellaneous section. There are approximately 1846 photographs that include scenes from these three exhibitions. These records provide a unique perspective on the development of agriculture and rural life in southwestern Manitoba. Fairs such as these have been and remain prime media of farm improvement, technological and scientific advancement in rural Canada, and the promoters of country living. These fairs also reflected the long tradition inherited from Britain and Europe of country fairs as centers of entertainment, social interchange and diversion. These records are a principal source of information about the most broadly based vocational, entertainment and social events held on an annual basis in southwestern Manitoba over the last century. The records are vital to academic research on agriculture or fairs, individual biography, or community history.
Notes
The RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association finding aid was created by Karyn (Riedel) Taylor with the exception of Series 9 and the accompanying database, which were created by Donica Belisle. This finding aid was created in August 1999.
Researchers are responsible for observing Canadian copyright restrictions.
Finding Aid
Available
Storage Location
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
Storage Range
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association fonds
Related Material
Additional records regarding the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, and AgEx are housed at the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association offices. To gain access to these records, it is necessary to contact the general manager of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Association.
Arrangement
The fonds is divided into sous-fonds by exhibition. There is a Provincial Exhibition sous-fonds, a Royal Manitoba Winter Fair sous-fonds, an Ag-Ex sous-fonds, and a Miscellaneous sous-fonds that holds information that could not be easily broken down into one exhibition. The arrangement is as follows:
RG 2 Provincial Exhibition Association of Manitoba fonds
RG2SF1 Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba
1.1 Documents
1.2 Minutes
1.3 Financial Records
1.4 Administrative Files
1.5 Prize Lists and Programs
1.6 News Releases
1.7 Original Results
1.8 Tickets
1.9 Photographs
1.10 Scrapbooks
1.11 Miscellaneous
RG2SF2 Royal Manitoba Winter Fair
2.1 Documents
2.2 Minutes
2.3 Financial Records
2.4 Administrative Files
2.5 Prize Lists and Programs
2.6 News Releases
2.7 Original Results
2.8 Tickets
2.9 Photographs
2.10 Scrapbooks
2.11 Miscellaneous
RG2SF3 AgEx
3.4 Administrative Files
3.5 Prize Lists and Programs
3.6 News Releases
3.7 Original Results
3.9 Photographs
RG2SF4 Miscellaneous
4.1 Documents
4.2 Minutes
4.3 Financial Records
4.4 Administrative Files
4.9 Photographs
4.10 Scrapbooks
4.11 Miscellaneous
Speeches and addresses given by executives of the Manitoba Wheat Pool and MPE as well as argricultural experts and supporters of the co-operative movement helped to spread and solidify support for the Pools. They also served to educate rural members on a variety of topics. See fonds level description of RG 4 for complete history/bio of MPE.
Scope and Content
Sub-series MPE B.8 consists of speeches made by various important members and executives of Manitoba Pool Elevators. Records include the following:
1a. Addresses 1930 -1946
1b. Addresses 1946 -1954
2. Addresses 1954 -1960
3. Addresses 1969 -1975
4a. Addresses 1972 -1979
4b. Addresses 1972 -1979
5a. F.W. Hamilton Speeches 1967 -1973
5b. F.W. Hamilton Speeches 1962 -1966
5c. F.W. Hamilton Speeches 1960 -1962
5d. F.W. Hamilton Speeches 1949 -1960
6a. W.J. Parker Speeches 1945
6b. W.J. Parker Speeches 1940 -1944
7a. W.J. Parker Speeches 1948 -1950
7b. W.J. Parker Speeches 1946 -1948
8a. W.J. Parker Speeches 1954 -1958
8b. W.J. Parker Speeches 1951 -1954
9a. W.J. Parker Speeches 1968 -1970
9b. W.J. Parker Speeches 1960 -1967
10. F.W. Ransom Addresses 1942 - 1948
11. Miscellaneous Addresses 1948 - 1955; no dates
12. Miscellaneous Addresses 1960; no dates
13. E.S. Russenholt Addresses
14. V. Martens " The Implications of Including Protein in Segregrating Canadian Wheat"
Reg Forbes was born September 16, 1924. He and his wife Clara have two children, Bob and Faye. Forbes served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Navigator during World War II. From 1945-1949, he attended the University of Manitoba where he received his B.Sc.A. While working as Village Councillor and as Secretary-Treasurer for the Pilot Mound Hospital, Forbes initiated the "Save the Soil Campaign," a soil conservation programme that became province-wide, between 1952-1962.
From 1956-1975, Forbes was the Principal of the Agricultrual Extension Centre in Brandon, where he reorganized the Adult Education Centre into the Agricultural Extension Centre. During this period, Forbes was a founding member of the West-Man Regional Development Corporation and a founder of the Manitoba Committee on Rural Leadership. He was also instrumental in the amalgamation of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair and the Provincial Exhibition and in the resulting construction of the Keystone Centre.
From 1975-1977 Forbes was a Commissioner for the Grain Handling and Transportation Commission (Hall Commission/GHTC). Following his work with the Commission, Forbes was employed as the General Manager of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba (1977-1979), the Director of the Grain Handling & Transportation Section of the Manitoba Department of Agriculture (1979-1983), the Industrial Commissioner for the Brandon Industrial Commission (1983-1986), and as the Westarc Group Inc. Project Director for delivery under contract of Canadian Rural Transition Programme in Manitoba.
Forbes also held a number of voluntary and elected positions, such as Long-term Director and President of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair and of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. In 1970-1971, he was the President of the Agricultural Institute of Canada, and from 1978-1981, Forbes was the first chairman of the Agricultural Advisory Committee of the Canadian Broadcasting Corportation. He was also a member of the Canada West Foundation Board, the Brandon University Board of Governers (1974-1976), and the Federal-Provincial Transportation and Industrial Development Advisory Committee (TIDAC). Forbes is also a Fellow of the Agricultural Institute of Canada. In 1977, he received the Jubilee Medal and in 1987, he was given the Distinguished Agrologist Award by the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists.
Custodial History
Reg Forbes donated his working collection of briefs, correspondence and other documents relating to his work as a commissioner of the Grain Handling and Transportation Committee (GHTC) to the McKee Archives c. 1985.
Scope and Content
The majority of the collection consists of records created and received by the Royal Commission on Grain Handling and Transportation (GHTC). Included are documents detailing numerious hearings from all four Western provinces. In addition to the GHTC hearings, there are also a number of documents given to the GHTC as reference material. These include information on the Snavely Commision, documents for the province of Alberta, various reports, the Prairie Regional Studies in Economic Geography (No. 1-27) and General Information. The collection also includes two maps given to the GHTC.
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.
The A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. originated with the McKenzie family Flour, Grain and Seed business, started by F. B. McKenzie in the early 1880's. When F. B. McKenzie passed away in 1896, his son, Albert Edward McKenzie, assumed control of the company, and renamed it The Brandon Seed House. With its main office and plant in Brandon, Manitoba, the company specialized in the production and sale of field seeds and service exclusively to seed buyers in the prairie provinces and British Columbia. In later years, a complete line of products including garden seeds, lawn grass, and other allied lines was developed for sale across Canada.
In 1906, the company underwent a change of name when A. E. delete determined that the growth of the country demanded a larger seed institute than could be managed by one man. As a result, the company was incorporated under provincial statutes and the federal Joint Stock Companies Act as A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd., and new personnel were hired.
Under the Joint Stock Companies Act, A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. was required to elect a Board of Directors of not less than three, and not more than nine individuals. Only shareholders of the company were eligible for election, and election was to take place yearly with each shareholder entitled to as many votes as shares owned in the company. The Act also dictated that the directors were, from time to time, to elect from among themselves, a president of the company. They were also able to appoint and remove all other officers of the company and to create company by-laws. The directors were not obliged to pay any dividend on shares if the company should became insolvent. Under the Act, the stock of the company was deemed a personal estate and was only transferable as such. In addition, the company could acquire, hold, and transfer real estate, and was required to submit annual statements.
A. E. McKenzie was elected President of the newly constituted company. For the memaninder of his natural life he remained in this position and supervised the operation of the company. S. A. Bradford, who was given responsibility for various company departments, filled the position of General Manager. H. L. Patmore became the Vice-President, overseeing the nursery business, while W. A. McCracken was put in charge of the warehouse stock, and shipping department. McCracken also supervised the mail order department.
The Company was intially comprised of three divisions: The Brandon Seed House, Brandon Nurseries, and Brandon Greenhouses. Each division was registered under Dominion Patents. Later, the company was divided into Retail Mail Order, Wholesale and Commission Packet Trade divisions. It also undertook some export business.
By registering the divisions of the company under under federal legislation affecting trademarks and industrial designs, McKenzie and the Board,were able to register both the company’s trademarks and to protect the company’s industrial techniques. Thet company could thus patent the methods and processes of its operations so that no other individual or business could duplicate them.
Located at 30 9th Street, the head office and plant of A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. housed all the facilities and staff of the company, with the exception of the regional sales offices and warehouses. The business of the A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. was conducted from a frame warehouse until the current McKenzie building was constructed on the same site after a fire destroyed the original premises. Designed by architect Thomas Sinclair, and built by the Brandon Construction Company, the new building opened in 1911. In time, The A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. came to be known as Western Canada's Greatest Seed House.
During the 1930's, before a new building was erected in 1945, the A. E. McKenzie Co. occupied space at five different locations in Brandon, including the Massey Harris Building, the International Harvester Building and the Security Building. The last of these premises was destroyed by fire in 1972. As a result of its proximity to the Security Building, the main McKenzie Building also suffered heavy fire and water damage. A. E.
McKenzie Co. Ltd. also utilized a warehouse on the north side of Pacific Avenue alongside the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks between 5th and 6th streets. This building and its contents were destroyed by fire (1946). In May of 1949, the company purchased and erected a Quonset structure on the west side of 15th Street between Rosser and Pacific Avenues.
In 1908, the first branch of the A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. was established at Calgary. In the following sixteen years, additional branches were established in Edmonton and Saskatoon (1923), Moose Jaw, Toronto (1934) and Winnipeg (1935). Both the Edmonton and Saskatoon branches were seasonal, operating for a four-month period, March to June inclusive. Business in the Maritime Provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick further extended the company's operations by the mid 1940's. In 1946, the company purchased property in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, 120 miles north of Brandon. This purchase enabled the company to handle larger quantities of Sweet Clover, a popular crop that was grown in the surrounding area. Additional offices were opened in Vancouver and Quebec City in rented premises by the early 1960's.
In the years 1944-1945, the McKenzie Foundation was created. Through the Foundation, arrangements were put in place to transfer shares of the company to the Manitoba Government for the benefit of higher education, specifically Brandon College. In return for this gift, which included 90% of all capital resources of the company together with all of the income earned each year, except for the amount retained annually to ensure sufficient operating capital, the A.E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. received exemption from paying Corporate Tax.
Prior to the establishment of the McKenzie Foundation, in 1945, the National Trust for the benefit of the College held the shares of McKenzie Seeds. On April 7, 1945 the Manitoba Legislature passed legislation whereby A. E. McKenzie retained effective management control of his company, but 1031 shares out of 1145 issued shares were gifted to the Provincial Government. In return, the government agreed that all financial benefits from the shares would go to Brandon College through the A. E. McKenzie Foundation. When Mr. McKenzie passed away in 1964, the primary responsibility of appointing the Board of Directors for McKenzie Seeds passed to the Provincial government.
The remaining 114 shares of the Company were turned over to the Crown on July 16, 1975 in accordance with an agreement between Brandon University, A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. and the Manitoba government. The same agreement also turned the McKenzie Foundation over to Brandon University. Therefore, since 1975 the crown has held all shares of the McKenzie Co. through the Province of Manitoba.
A.E. McKenzie died on September 25, 1964 at the age of 94 and was succeeded as President of the company by J. Lasby Lowes. When Mr. Lowes retired in 1968, A. R. Swanson was appointed by the government to fill the position and was responsible for all operations of the company under a Board of Directors comprised mainly of appointees of the government. It has proven impossible to establish a complete list of those individuals who held the positions of President/General Manager of McKenzie Seeds after 1964. A partial account is as follows: Anthony J. Maruca became President of A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. in 1972. In 1975, the Board of Directors appointed William Moore General Manager, creating a new position to relieve the President of the company from management of plant operations. At the same time, Pat Kelleher was named new interim President. Following the resignation of Kelleher, William Moore assumed the role of President as well. Moore left the company in the early 1980s. He was later convicted of criminal misconduct as President of the company. Keith Guelpa became President/General Manager in the mid 1980's; Raymond West was his successor.
Beginning in 1969, the A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. began phasing out the Field Seed division of their company, including business related to forage crops and cereals. Seed cleaning equipment located in Brandon and and the company’s Calgary and Toronto cleaning plants was sold. The Company concentration its resources on the production and sale of vegetable and flower seeds, and lawn and turf grasses. It acted as a wholesaler and conducted business through chain stores, grocery, hardware and general stores.
Late in 1971, A. E. McKenzie Co. Ltd. purchased its largest competition in packaged seeds - Steele Briggs Seed Co. from Maple Leaf Mills Inc. for two million dollars. At the time of the acquisition the company changed its name to A. E. McKenzie Co. - Steele Briggs Seeds, in order to benefit from the favorable reputation held by Steele Briggs Seeds across Canada. In the early 1970s, the acquisition of Brett-Young Seeds Ltd., a Winnipeg company that dealt exclusively in the production and sale of field seed, brought the A. E. McKenzie Co. back into the field seed market.
In 1994 the Manitoba Government sold the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. to Regal Greetings and Gifts, Canada's largest non-retail mail-order catalogue company, which is owned by MDC Corporation of Toronto.
In 2001, McKenzie Seeds is Canada's leading supplier of packaged seeds and related gardening products. It is divided into a Retail Consumer Products division which features well known seed brands including McKenzie Seeds, Pike Seeds and Thompson & Morgan Seeds from England. As well, this division also carries a complete range of lawn seeds and perishables. It also continues to ship the seed racks invented by A.E. McKenzie to numerous retail stores. The second division, Direct Mail, consists of the McFayden and McConnell catalogues which reach over 500,000 Canadian homes each year.
Custodial History
Following the sale of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. to Regal Greetings and Gifts, the records of McKenzie Seeds and its subsidiaries were retained in the McKenzie Plant on 9th Street. In April of 1997, the records were transferred to the McKee Archives at Brandon University. Because the company was a crown corporation, the records of McKenzie Seeds belonged to the Province of Manitoba and might have been placed in the Provincial Archives. However, Provincial Archivist Gordon Dodds permitted the retention of the records in Brandon at the S. J. McKee Archives. The minutes of the Board of Directors, previously transferred to the Provincial Archives, remain in Winnipeg. Until 1960 these minutes, by-laws of the Company, and the letters patent of incorporation (April 7, 1906) were in the possession of the Company's lawyers, Johnson, Garson, Forrester, Davidson, & Steen.
Scope and Content
The fonds consists of textual records, photographs and artifacts from A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. The textual records include minutes, documents, financial records, administrative records, by-laws, legal records, catalogues, sales literature, seed packets, newspaper clippings, appraisals, publications, scrapbooks and miscellaneous sections.
In addition, some of the records within the fonds relate to the operations of McKenzie subsidiaries -- Brett-Young Seeds, Steele-Briggs Seeds, Pike & Co. and McFayden Seeds -- and various properties owned by McKenzie Seeds.
Fonds contains approximately 500 photographs. These depict the operations and employees of McKenzie Seeds and the seed industry in general. Artifacts contained in the fonds include blueprints, newspaper clippings, copper printing plates, seed bags and plaques.
Fonds also includes an artificially created series of records dealing with Brandon College Inc., the A.E. McKenzie Foundation, the Brandon Allied Arts Council and the Brandon Board of Trade. These records stand outside the provenance of the McKenzie Seed Co.
Of particular interest within the textual records are the transcripts of various features of the company's history as dictated, researched and recalled by its second President/General Manager, J. Lasby Lowes. The fonds also contains a collection of company catalogue which is almost complete. Outside of the seed industry, the records dealing with both Brandon College Inc. and the McKenzie Foundation are significant records relating to the history of Brandon College/University and the City of Brandon.
Because the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. was a crown corporation, the records in the fonds are subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
Related Material
Additional records regarding A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. are housed at the Provincial Archives of Manitoba. In order to gain access to these records it is necessary to contact the Archives of Manitoba.
Arrangement
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. Fonds
McS 1 Board of Directors
1.1 Documents
1.2 Minutes/Meetings
1.3 Management Consultant Reports
1.4 Miscellaneous
1.5 Financial Records
McS 2 Office of the President/General Manager
2.1 A.E. McKenzie
2.2 J. Lasby Lowes
2.3 Comptroller
2.4 Properties
2.5 Marketing
2.6 Reference Library
2.7 Miscellaneous Publications/Correspondence
McS 3 Acquisitions
3.1 Brett-Young Seeds/Sabetha
3.2 Steele-Briggs Seed Co.
3.3 Pike & Co.
3.4 McFayden Seeds
McS 4 Seed Marketing Co.
McS 5 Photographs
5.1 McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. Executives
5.2 Construction at McKenzie Seed Co. Brandon (two files)
5.3 Exterior Photographs of the A. E. McKenzie Co. Building
5.4 McKenzie Seed Co. Plant Operations and Workers (2 files)
5.5 McKenzie Seed Co. Equipment and Plant - Head Office 1983
5.6 McKenzie Seed Co. Field Operations and Workers
5.7 McKenzie Seed Co. Strike 1944
5.8 Fires at McKenzie Seed Co. 1910, 1945, 1972
5.9 McKenzie Seed Co. Centennial Exhibition 1996
5.10 Miscellaneous McKenzie Seed Co. Photographs
5.11 People Connected to McKenzie Seed Co.
5.12 Princess Anne's Visit to McKenzie Seed Co. 1982
5.13 Onion Set Production Book
5.14 Irene Cullen Photographs - McKenzie Seeds Employee Photos
5.15 Josiph Airey Photographs - McKenzie Product Photos
5.16 Alan R. Mundie Seed Production Photographs
5.17 Steele Robertson/Steele Briggs Seeds Photographs
5.18 Seed Packet Display Units Photographs
5.19 Product Photographs
5.20 Parade Photographs
5.21 Oversized Photographs
5.21.1 Drawer #1: Executive Photographs
5.21.2 Drawer #2: Office and Equipment/Plant Photographs
5.21.3 Drawer #3: Miscellaneous Oversized Photographs
5.21.4 Drawer #4: Artifacts
McS 6 Miscellaneous
6.1 Centennial Exhibition
6.2 Miscellaneous Publications
6.3 Scrapbooks
MG 1 A.E. McKenzie Fonds
1.1 Brandon College Inc.
1.2 McKenzie Foundation
1.3 Brandon Allied Arts Council
1.4 Brandon Board of Trade
1.5 Miscellaneous
Laurie V. Smith served as the President of the Brandon Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion during the 1940s.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1997. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds includes correspondence, policy documents, and publications relating to the activities of the Royal Canadian Legion, primarily in Brandon under the Presidency of Laurie V. Smith, during and after the Second World War. Prominant themes include the aquiring of gifts for hospitalized veterans, primarily through the Canadian Legion Christmas Tree project, veteran rehabilitation, and promotion of the Canadian Victory Loans project.
Manitoba Pool Elevators was quick to realize the usefulness of the radio medium as a educational and promotional tool. It was also often used to defend the Pool and the co-operative movement in general on programs such as Farm Radio Forum. See fonds level description of RG 4 for complete history/bio of MPE.
Scope and Content
Sub-series MPE B.10 consists of textual radio broadcast transcriptions. The records include transcriptions from 1930 until 1971. Radio broadcasts are on a wide variety of topics, including argicultural science, the grain market and general economy of Canada and the world, government acts and legislation that affected the producer, co-operatives and the co-operative movement, rural life, young people, WWII, Manitoba, and the Manitoba Pool Elevators.
Hector Ross Hume was born on December 8, 1902, in the R.M. of Glenwood to John Hume and Jean Gordon. He grew up on the family farm, section 29-7-22, later known as Abergeldie Stock Farm, and attended Whitefield School and then Souris High School. Along with his father, Ross operated the 640-acre farm near Souris, Manitoba, where they sold purebred Angus cattle, shopshire sheep, Yorkshire swine, seed grain and had a government approved flock of hens. John Hume retired in 1947, and died in January 1953.
Ross married Mina Radcliffe on December 20, 1929. Together they had one daughter, Margaret (b. April 11, 1932). In the fall of 1953, Ross lost part of his right arm in a farming accident; he continued to operate the farm with the help of his wife for an additional year before the couple sold the farm to Henry Gordon and moved to Souris where Ross obtained a job as Business Manager of the Souris Hospital.
Mina Hume died on February 14, 1960, and shortly thereafter Ross enrolled in a correspondence course in accounting with the Central School of Chicago and in a two year course in Hospital Administration, with the University of Saskatchewan. Upon graduation in 1962, Ross became the Administrator of Souris and Hartney hospitals, a position he held until 1972. Following his retirement, Ross wrote two books - "The Hospital Tree Grows Tall" and "Tale Wagging By and Old Time" - which he published and sold locally.
During his time on the farm, Ross was a member of the Manitoba Cattle Breeders Association and a member of the local Agricultural Society. He was also secretary of the latter organization. From 1968-1981, Ross was on the Board of Directors for Victoria Park Lodge, and for a while in the 1970s, he was on the Board of Directors for the Souris Hosptial.
Ross Hume died on January 9, 1986 at Victoria Park Lodge in Souris, Manitoba.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1997. Prior custoridal history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds includes Ross Hume's tabulations and tables of statistics relating to prairie agriculture. The data includes market information (sources the Winnipeg Free Press) for the years 1890 to 1940, derived from correspondence with Cora Hind of the Winnipeg Free Press. The fonds also includes a variety of other statistical data. Some of this data was derived from the work of Hume's father, John Hume. (See The Country Guide (February 1943) article included in the fonds).
Notes
History/Bio information taken from The Hume Family entry in "The People of Souris and Glenwood: from the earliest beginnings to the present" published by Souris and District Heritage Club Inc. (2006). Description by Christy Henry.
Photograph shows a young man diving from the diving board at the Kiwanis Pool. The change rooms are visible on the pool side. A number of children are sitting on the pool deck. A young boy observes from behind the fence.
Notes
Writing on back of photograph reads: Kiwanis Pool 1926
The Brandon Council of Women (BCW) was active between 1895 and 1927, when it disbanded. Principally through the efforts of Mrs. Kaye Rowe of Brandon, the BCW was officially restablished in 1952. The Brandon Council of Women remained active until c. 1973. It brought together fifty-two women's organizations in Brandon, representing 2600 women.
Custodial History
The Brandon Council of Women fonds was transferred to the McKee Archives during the 1970s. It was accessioned in 1998.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of papers and photographs of the International Council of Women (ICW), the National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC), the Manitoba Council of Women (MCW), and the Brandon Council of Women (BCW). The ICW papers include meeting minutes. The NCWC papers include meeting minutes, resolution lists, pamphlets, newsletters, correspondence, financial records, yearbooks, and copies of Acts pertaining to women. The MCW papers contain copies of the MCW constitution, meeting minutes, resolution lists, correspondence, and committee reports. The BCW materials comprise the largest part of the fonds, and include meeting minutes, committee reports, financial records, correspondence, short course agendas, posters, pamphlets, memos, resolution lists, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, photographs, and scrapbooks.
Joseph Henry Hughes was born in London, Ontario on April 14, 1857, son of Joseph C. Hughes and Jane McAndless. His family farmed in Middlesex County until they retired to Brandon, MB. Huges received his education in Middlesex County then went on to attend the Toronto Normal School in 1874. He tuaght for only a short time in 1875 before going into business as a general merchant in Iderton, Ontario.
Hughes moved to Brandon, MB in 1882 and from 1882 to 1906 was engaged in the lumber business with yards in Rat Portage and Brandon and later with mils on Rainy River. His buisness partner was T.H. Patrick from 1882-1896. T.T. Atkinson was a partner in the business from 1882 until early 1888, running the company's lumber camp in the Rainy River Valley. Atkinson was replaced by a Mr. Kennedy in 1888. After disposing of the mills in 1901, Hughes & Company operated as a lumber dealer until 1908 when the lumber business was sold to Rat Portage Lumber Co., whose operations in Brandon were located on 10th Street between Rosser and Princess Avenues.
Thereafter, Hughes & Company focused on real estate, owning most of the property between 10th and 11th Streets, Rosser and Princess Avenues. The company built rental property and residences in Brandon, including the Strathcona Block on 10th Street and Hughes (Lorne) Terrace on Lorne Avenue. During this period Hughes & Company was also involved in insurance and farming, buying farmland in south eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba for lease and sale.
Hughes was a city alderman for four years, dedicating himself mostly towards improvements to the city pertaining to electrical generation, water supply and the development of the streetcar franchise. In 1911, he resigned from City Council to stand as a successful candidate for mayor. He held this position for only one year, 1913-1914. During this period Hughes, along with other prominent citizens, set up the Patriotic Fund to help look after the dependents of those going off to fight in World War I. Hughes served as chairman of the project until his death in late 1917.
In addition to his role as a prominent city businessman, Hughes was also deeply involved in the First Methodist Church, and a member of the Independent Order of OddFellows (I.O.O.F.) and the Masonic Lodge.
Joseph Henry Hughes was survived by his wife Anna Maria Hughes, whom he married in 1993, and their daughters: Alma and May (Mrs. Wilfred C. Hughes and Mrs. Charles Leemnnis) and Ruth, and their sons Percy and Harley.
Upon J.H. Hughes' death in 1917, management of the company was taken over by Willard C. Hughes, who died in 1964. Following his death the company was administered on behalf of Alma Hughes by Barry Hughes, a Winnipeg lawyer and distant relative. The company remained active in real estate and property managment, as well as farming and oil, until the early 1990s when following the death of Alma Hughes and her daughter Anna, the company was liquidated.
Custodial History
The records in the Joseph H. Hughes fonds were held in two locations prior to their donation to the McKee Archives. Family related records, including paintings by Anna Hughes, music scores, photographs and various parchments, were stored at the family residence, Lorne Terrace (133-137 Lorne Avenue Brandon, MB). The balance of the records, being the records of Hughes & Co. as the firm came to be known, were stored on the fourth floor of the Alexander Block, also known as the Hughes Block, on the west side of 10th Street just south of Princess Avenue. In the early 1990s a decision was taken by Barry Hughes, who had succeeded Willard Hughes as the President of the company, to sell Hughes & Co. Hughes directed Joe Perry, the Brandon manager of Hughes & Co. to donate the records of the Hughes family and Hughes & Co. to Brandon Univeristy. Perry supervised the transfer of the records from Lorne Terrace and the Alexander Block to Brandon University. Initially the records were located in the Physical Plant H-Hut, they were then transfered to the Brandon University Steam Plant. The family records were transfered to the Archives in 1997, while the company records remained in the Steam Plant until January 2007 when some of the records were transfered to the Archives. The remaineder of the records were moved to a storage facility on 20th Street.
Scope and Content
The Joseph H. Hughes collection is divided into three series, including: (1) Photographs; (2) Edwardian music sheets; and (3) Hughes & Co. business records.
Notes
CAIN No. 202617. The Brandon Sun, August 6th, 1917 contains a report on the death of J.H. Hughes.
