The Brandon Art Club was founded in November 1907, and operated in an art studio on the top floor of the Brandon College Women's Residence. The club appears to have been the creation of Miss. H. Hancock, who became the Director of the Department of Art at Brandon College c. 1907. The club moved to larger facilities made available at the First Methodist Church; the organization remained there until sometime during the Great War when the club relocated to St. Paul's Presbyterian Church and then in 1921, to the Prince Edward Hotel. The club's first public art exhibitions were held at the Prince Edward Hotel. Art classes were held for the first time in 1928. In 1968, the Brandon Art Club merged with the Allied Arts Center, which had been formed in 1959. The Allied Arts Center was located at 1036 Louise Avenue. In April 1984, the Allied Arts Center was moved to new facilities at the Arts Center of Western Manitoba located at 638 Princess Avenue. In 1989, it was renamed the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, and began to function as a "professional, regional art gallery." The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba relocated to 2-710 Rosser Ave. c. 2001.
Custodial History
These records were created at different times between 1907 and 1993, and remained in the possession of the administration of the above mentioned organizations until May 2001, when they where donated to the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains administrative records, minutes, personal files, correspondence, newsletters, photographs, summaries of collections and exhibits, scrapbooks, programs, submitted papers, and other miscellaneous records. All are a record of the growth and evolution of the Art Club, its administration, and of the art community in Brandon.
The A.E. McKenzie Company fonds (RG 3 MG 1, 1.3) located in the McKee Archives contains some records, primarily correspondence and minutes, relating to the Brandon Allied Arts Council.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format.
History / Biographical
After the flooding of the Souris River in 2004 receded, Tomasin Playford and her crew of Andrea Richards, Sarah Graham and Shane Kolesar returned to the Atkinson site and commenced cleaning up the earlier excavation of Atkinson.
An area east of the Atkinson excavations was also opened for testing in 2004. This area was designated as Atkinson II. In some of the field notes it is referred to as Atkinson East. A test block was opened and fenced off from the cattle with snow fence. A 4m2 block was surveyed in (units 13 - 16) and two partial units that were truncated by the riverbank (units 11 &12) were also placed to the south of the 4m2 block.
Three of the students who had completed the recent field school were hired as crew. Jessica McKenzie, Evie Fevez and Emily Ansell joined the crew at the Atkinson II site.
Recoveries from XU 13 - 16:
Large bison bone was recovered from units 11 and 12 and a metal tobacco box seal was recovered from unit 12. More small pieces of metal found in levels 2 and three together with small bone fragments. A bone fragment with butchering marks from a metal tool was recovered from level 6 and pottery was found in level 9. A few lithic flakes were found in level 13 and in a trench at the bottom of unit 13 above a calcite cemented layer. Recoveries from these tests were sparse and diminished as the excavation series became more distant from the river. It is likely that the remains that were recovered represent the northern edge of these occupations.
The upper occupation at Atkinson II appears to be an early historic occupation with a sparse scatter of bone and a few pieces of metal. The lower layers, below level 7 are likely precontact. Units 9 and 10 were dug as test pits and produced very little in the way of cultural materials.
Scope and Content
Sub-sub-sub series contains: Summary information of field methology, number and co-ordinates of excavations, personnel and their staff position; Field journals are daily records of recoveries, features and activities at the site; Site records include excavation level and unit summaries, feature sheets, profiles; sample records and maps; Artifact catalogues are lists and identifications of all artifacts recovered; Photographs are of excavation units, features, the landscape and personnel.
The Atkinson site was named for the landowners Ken and Karen Atkinson who were very helpful to the archaeology and geoarchaeology crews that worked at the site. Their support made the project possible.
The Atkinson site story begins with the discovery of a charcoal lens eroding from the north bank of the Souris River in the summer of 2002. Study of Cultural Adaptations on the Prairie Ecozone (SCAPE) project geoarchaeologist Dr. Garry Running was exploring the stratigraphic layering in the bank when he noted the lens and reported it to Dr. Bev Nicholson. Upon closer examination, a tiny pressure flake was observed on the lens exposure and it was decided to collect a charcoal sample for radiocarbon dating.
The resulting date of 5250B.P cal. 4225 B.C. placed the site in the early Archaic period. A second date on bone collagen of 5580B.P. cal. 4500 B.C. confirmed the earlier date and gave an averaged date of circa 4400 B.C or 6,500 years ago.
The Atkinson site is one of the oldest excavated sites in Manitoba. Based on the date of the site and the kind of lithics (stone tools) present it is considered a Gowen occupation. The Atkinson site is evidence that bison hunters were active on the northern plains at a very early date. Similar sites have also been found on the High Plains in the U.S. and are referred to as the Mummy Cave Complex.
The Atkinson Site is of great importance as it is the first undisturbed site of this type to be excavated in Manitoba and extends the range of these sites south and east from the type-sites in central Saskatchewan. Based on the date and sample evidence further excavations were conducted by Dr. Nicholson's team. in 2003, 2004 and 2006.
Scope and Content
Sub series has been divided into three sub sub series including: (1) Atkinson 2003, (2) Atkinson 2004; (3) Atkinson 2006
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format.
History / Biographical
Based on the results of the testing in 2002 and the radiocarbon date of 6,500 years before present, further excavation was warranted at the Atkinson site. In 2003 Field Chief Holly Alston and crew Shayne Kolesar and Andrea Richards opened a 42m test excavation (units 1 - 4) that included the hearth area.
The site area was covered with a huge sand dune that was slowly sliding into the river as the supporting bank eroded away. As the dune was removed a late woodland camp was found at the dune interface and a large chunk of charcoal dated this occupation to 440+/-60 B.P. cal.1440A.D. This indicated that the dune was a relatively late incursion over the site. This occupation is likely connected to subsequent testing to the east in 2005 that came to be known as Atkinson II.
Methodology:
The crew began shovel shaving the upper strata with the intention of establishing an arbitrary datum when artifacts were encountered or when a level 25cm above the hearth was reached. At 25cm above the hearth an arbitrary surface datum was established and excavation in 5cm levels began. The overbank deposited matrix was a dense, compacted silt clay and it was necessary to soak the excavated materials in buckets and then water screen the material with a high pressure pump over ¼ inch hardware cloth.
Lithic flakes were found at 10cm below datum, above the hearth level. In the next level, large bone, a broken projectile point and additional flakes were found. Increasing amounts of bone and lithic flakes were found as the excavation continued through levels 3 to 5. The top of the hearth was identified at 28cm below datum, below a 2cm layer of well-sorted sand. This sand layer was confined to a small area directly overlying the hearth. It was considered to be a deliberate quenching of the hearth.
After the conclusion of excavating level 6 the hearth was profiled and photographed. The charcoal and ash layer of the hearth was shown to be directly below the sand layer. Levels 6 and 7 revealed a bison bone bed that was consistent with primary and secondary butchering including elements from the vertebral column and appendicular skeleton. Two additional Gowen (Mummy Cave Series) projectile points were also recovered adjacent to the hearth. Level 8 continued to produce larger amounts of bone and many lithic flakes. Level 9 produced a few bone fragments and a small number of lithic flakes. At the conclusion of the excavations, the crew shoveled sand down from the dune to protect the site over winter and through any subsequent spring flooding.
Scope and Content
Sub-sub-sub series contains: Summary information of field methology, number and co-ordinates of excavations, personnel and their staff position; Field journals are daily records of recoveries, features and activities at the site; Site records include excavation level and unit summaries, feature sheets, profiles; sample records and maps; Artifact catalogues are lists and identifications of all artifacts recovered; Photographs are of excavation units, features, the landscape and personnel.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format.
History / Biographical
In 2004 Tomasin Playford and her crew of Andrea Richards, Sarah Graham and Shane Kolesar cleared sand cover from over the 2003 excavations and extended sand clearing back from the north edge of the 2003 units to permit implementation of four additional units. During this sand clearing a hearth was identified together with small numbers of lithics and pottery body sherds. This occupation had been noted during sand clearing in 2003 and a charcoal sample was collected and radiocarbon dated to 1440 A.D. This hearth was assigned to Atkinson II, a later occupation.
Four units (5, 6, 7, & 8) were surveyed in adjacent to the 2003 units. Excavation proceeded by means of shovel shaving until the datum pegs from the previous year were located. The new units were then given datum pegs and string boundaries and the high pressure pump was set up for water screening of silt/clay matrix.
Continued to shovel shave levels 1 - 4 and recovered small burned and unburned bone fragments. Level 5 produced a projectile point, an end scraper and a large heat-treated Swan River Chert (SRC) flake. Other SRC flakes were also recovered. Levels 6 and 7 yielded large numbers of flake debitage. The matrix in levels 5-7 contained a scatter of small, bright red ochre particles. The river began to rise on the ninth of June and the site was sandbagged on June 11th, temporarily bringing an end to excavation for Atkinson 1. Tomasin and her crew were relocated to the Crepeele site, west of Lauder.
On July 20th, Tomasin and her crew returned to the Atkinson site and commenced cleaning up the earlier excavation following the flooding. Following the clean up, excavations were resumed on the units that had been opened. An additional Gowen point was recovered from level 8 as well as some poorly preserved bison bone. A lot flakes and small amounts of bone were recovered on west side of block and larger bone and flakes in bone bed along the east side in levels 8 - 10. Two bifaces were recovered in level 11 and a third in level 13. The excavations were terminated at level 18 when water started coming up through the unit floors.
Scope and Content
Sub-sub-sub series contains: Summary information of field methology, number and co-ordinates of excavations, personnel and their staff position; Field journals are daily records of recoveries, features and activities at the site; Site records include excavation level and unit summaries, feature sheets, profiles; sample records and maps; Artifact catalogues are lists and identifications of all artifacts recovered; Photographs are of excavation units, features, the landscape and personnel.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format.
History / Biographical
The Atkinson site had been flooded in 2005 and there was concern about the amount of damage that might have occurred. A small crew of Tomasin Playford, Michelle Drysdale and Jessica McKenzie returned to the Atkinson site with the goals of obtaining a detailed profile of the stratigraphy at the north end of the occupation and to determine if the site extended contiguously towards the east. Two test pits were planned as well as the investigation of a couple of hearths found eroding from the riverbank Work commenced July 4th and finished July 21st.
To the north of XU 8 (Gowen occupation) an excavation unit 18 was opened and shovel shaved to a depth of 200cm. At 195cm below surface a point bar deposit was identified indicating that any lower occupations would likely have been eroded by an earlier channel cutting event prior to formation of this point bar depositional event. Golf tees were inserted into the edge of the profile to indicate the 5cm levels superimposed on a digital photo of the section. Lithic flakes and bone fragments were scattered thoughout the stratigraphic column. A radiocarbon date of 440 B.P. was obtained from the unit, indicating a much later occupation than Gowen.
Unit 19 was excavated but only yielded a small Besant component containing a small hearth (H#3) In level 9, a point tip and a small biface as well as a few undecorated pot sherds were recovered. These two units defined the extent of the Atkinson I site. An unknowable area of the site has been eroded away by the encroaching Souris River.
The two small exposed hearths were excavated but only yielded a small amount of material. Hearth 4, at the western edge of the Atkinson block yielded only a small amount of charcoal , mixed with burnt bone and a few small lithic flakes. Hearth 5, located in the high cut bank west of the main site yielded a small amount of bone from a small ungulate, a muskrat and a bird as well as a percussion cap. This latter recovery indicated that this was an early historic period site.
Scope and Content
Sub-sub-sub series contains: Summary information of field methology, number and co-ordinates of excavations, personnel and their staff position; Field journals are daily records of recoveries, features and activities at the site; Site records include excavation level and unit summaries, feature sheets, profiles; sample records and maps; Artifact catalogues are lists and identifications of all artifacts recovered; Photographs are of excavation units, features, the landscape and personnel.
Born on February 10, 1924, in Elgin, Manitoba, Audrey Ellen Silvius (nee Honeyman) was raised in Fairfax, Manitoba on the Honeyman homestead. In 1964, she received her Indian name, Blue Star. Silvius completed her high school education in Fairfax before moving to Winnipeg in 1943, to earn her Nursing degree from Grace Hospital. She later completed her post-graduate degree in Psychiatric Nursing at the Brandon Mental Health Centre. Married to Merritt W. Silvius, Audrey Silvius raised four children, David, Kay, Lorna (Downie) and Gail (Campos) while working in her chosen field. In addition to her family and her career, she was also involved with the Brandon Council of Women and the United Church in Brandon. Silvius was the first executive director of the Brandon Indian-Metis Friendship Centre, a founding member of the local branches of the Marquis Project and Amnesty International and initiated a project called Tools for Peace. She was also involved in various other peace and human rights organizations. In 1987, she received the Order of the Buffalo Hunt from the Province of Manitoba in recognition of her work relating to women’s issues. In 1992, she was awarded a Confederation medal for community service.
Custodial History
The records found within the collection were collected by Audrey Silvius from a number of people, including Jean Halliday, Grace Godmaire and Norma Walmsley, involved in various projects with her throughout the years. Prior to their donation to the McKee Archives at Brandon University in October and November 2000, the records were stored at Mrs. Silvius’ home.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of meeting minutes, agendas, speeches, correspondence, newsletters, brochures, written publications and newspaper clippings. Four photographs and one pencil drawing are also included within the collection.
The records deal with the creation, activities, and history of the Brandon Indian-Metis Friendship Centre, as well as the activities of its Board of Directors. In addition, materials located within the collection can be divided into two areas: (1) those that relate to various organizations associated with the Friendship Centre itself, such as the Council of Christians and Jews and the Brandon Council of Women; (2) materials related to projects of important individuals involved with the Friendship Centre, such as the South Western Manitoba Recreation Council and the 4F Club of Minnedosa. Other records deal with general aboriginal issues in Canada during the time frame of the Audrey Silvius collection.
Notes
CAIN No. 202607. Description by Christy Henry (2000).
The collection is divided into ten (10) series:
1. The Brandon Indian-Metis Friendship Centre
2. The Scout – Friendship Centre newsletter
3. The Brandon Council of Women
4. Council of Christians and Jews
5. Aboriginal Glee Club/Dancers
6. The South Western Manitoba Recreation Council
7. 4F Club of Minnedosa
8. Miscellaneous Publications related to Aboriginal Issues
9. Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings related to Aboriginal Issues
10. Photographs and pencil drawing
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.
This plate was the property of Edna and Carl Bjarnason. It was in their possession for some fifty years prior to its donation to the University on October, 2005. The Development Office took possession of the plate at that time and transferred it to the Archives in March 2008.
Scope and Content
The plate measures 26 cm in diameter and is white with blue glazing. The centre of the plate depicts the Brandon College Original Building and the words "Brandon College, Brandon Manitoba." The outside of the plate is a flower motif. On the back of the plate, in the same blue as the front, are the words "Canadian View Series, Brandon Manitoba." There is also a trademark of a bird with a banner reading "Trademark England."
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.
4.2 m textual records; 5 cassette tapes; 2 cd roms, 110 photographs (colour and b/w) various sizes
History / Biographical
Errol Black was born on September 8, 1939 in Brandon, Manitoba. He was the son of Thomas Alexander Black, who immigrated to Canada from Limerick, Ireland in 1929, and Roberta Jean (nee Groat) Black, a native of Chatham, New Brunswick. Black attended King George Elementary, Earl Haig Junior High, Brandon Collegiate Institute for Grade 10, and completed high school through correspondence courses for Grandes 11 and 12. He left school in 1956 to work a variety of jobs in Brandon, Calgary and on the west coast. He spent a short time in the Royal Canadian Navy. Errol Black undertook post-secondary education at Brandon College (1963-1965, graduated with a B.A.), the University of Alberta (1965-1967, graduated 1973 with an M.A. in economics) and Warwick University (1975-1977). Black taught economics at Brandon University from 1970 until his retirement in 2002. Following retirement he was granted Professor Emeritus status in 2003.
Errol Black has published three books, as well as many articles and reports in leading academic journals. He has a longstanding interest in the history of organized labour and working-class politics in Brandon. These remain important themes in his research and writing. He served on the Executive of the Brandon University Faculty Association for many years, and was President of the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations for two years. Black is also a member of the Brandon District Labour Council, a founding member of the Manitoba branch of the Canadian centre for Policy Alternatives, and a board member of the Brandon Regional Health Authority (2000-2006). He was elected to Brandon City Council in 1998, and for a second term in 2001. In 1999 he was the federal NDP candidate for Brandon-Souris.
Black married Margaret Millard from Waskada, MB in 1961, with whom he had three sons: Sean, Dennis and Tom.
Custodial History
Accession 17-1997 was originally owned by Jim Davis, brother to Communist activist Stanley Forkin. Taimi Davis, Jim Davis' wife, mailed the collection from her residence in Ontario to Errol Black in 1994. Professor Black donated the collection to the McKee Archives. Accession 02-2003 was donated to the Archives in November 2002 by Errol Black. Accession 15-2003 was donated to the Archives on April 30, 2003 by Errol Black. Accession 17-2003 was donated to the Archives on July 15, 2003 by Errol Black.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of a number of accessions. Accession 17-1997, dating from 1935-1936, consists of twelve of the thirteen issues of the "Unemployed Worker," published in Brandon in the 1930s. The "Unemployed Worker" was the organ of the Brandon Unemployed Workers' Council. This Council, like its counterparts in other communities, was created by Canadian Communist Party militants. The "Unemployed Worker" covered the activities of the Unemployed Workers' Council, the plight of Brandon's unemployed, efforts by the city's unemployed to improve their lives, and City Council decisions, specifically those regarding relief policy.
Accession 02-2003, dating 1917, 1936-1939, 1970-2002 (predominant 1970-2002), contains extensive correspondence from former Brandon University Economic Professor Don Wheeler to Errol Black. In addition, the accession contains an important body of correspondence received by Professor Black from Taimi Davis written by Pat Forkin and his wife Pheobe Forkin to family members in Canada during the years 1936-1939, while Pat was a Moscow based corespondent for the Canadian Communist Party Clarion. The accession also contains personal correspondence of Errol Black dating from ca. 1970, drafts of papers, newspaper clippings, pamphlets related to labour and labour political matters. Two publications of note include: "Labour in Brandon" published by the Brandon and District Labour Council and a student guide to labour law written by George MacDowell. The accession also contains several documents related to Black's involvement in the provincial Industrial Adjustment Committee.
Accession 15-2003, dating 1930-2002 (predominant 1930-1939; 1971-2002), contains extensive clippings from the Canadian Communist Party publications "The Worker" and the "Daily Clarion" from the years 1930-1939; twenty-one personal and family photographs (b/w 3x5) of the Forkin family of Brandon, many of whom were active in the Canadian Communist Party; various historical photographs (b/w 8x10) related to the history of labour in Brandon, Manitoba; personal files containing correspondence, letters and opinion pieces to various newspapers, course outlines, research materials and draft publications, arbitration awards and documents related to Black's involvement with the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations (MOFA).
Accession 17-2003, dating 1970-2002, contains correspondence, a manuscript of an autobiography written by Black's father Tom Black, research files, letters to the editor and draft publications by Errol Black.
Accession 3-2011, dating 1909-2010, contains an extensive record of newspaper clippings often of Professor Black's correspondence with the Brandon Sun from the early 1970s through to 2011. Clippings relate to civic issues, labour relations, social justice, economic questions. Documents (membership cards, cards of thanks, stamps) of various kinds, and photographs of Professor Black, family members, and various labour related events including parades and rallies, appear throughout these clippings. Collection includes miscellaneous files relating to the 75th Anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike including the Brandon Sympathetic Strike of 1919, the Brandon Greys Baseball team, the Assiniboine College BMHC lobby campaign, Brandon and Area Environmental Council, the Brandon East NDP Contituency Association. Editions (1925-31) of the Sons of England - Official Organ of the Sons of England Benefit Society - published in Oshawa, Ontario, and copies of documents related to the Commission of Inquiry (1928) into labour issues at the Brandon Mental Hospital are included.Collection also contains extensive correspondence associated with Professor Black's activities as a department member, scholar, and activist in the Department of Economics at Brandon University. Collection contains as well research materials related to the Brandon labour movement, strikes at A.E. Mckenzie Seed Company 1940s, cd roms containg research materials - clippings and images - for Labour Council Anniversary book ( 2006), and civic politics in Brandon. Records also contain research materials on various members of the Forkin family - in particular the Pat Forkin, Tom Forkin, and Stephen Forkin (aka Jim Davis) - who were active members of the Canadian Communist Party during their adult lives. A collection of family photographs and six tape cassettes containing accounts of the experiences of single unemployed men during the Great Depression and the funeral of Stephen Forkin ( Jim Davis) and correspondence from Taimi Davis the widow of Stephen Forkin (Jim Davis) supplement the sources on the Forkin family.
Notes
Photographs of Joe Forkin, Pat Forkin, Stan Forkin, Jim Davis and other members of the Forkin family are contained in Box 3 (15-2003) and Box 10 (3-2011).
Some restrictions. Consult the University Archivist for access.
Repro Restriction
Researchers are responsible for observing Canadian copyright restrictions.
Storage Location
MG 3 Brandon University Teaching and Administration
1.1 Errol Black
Related Material
MG 3 1.12 contains additional records related to George MacDowell; RG 6, Series 15 (BUFA) contains additional records on the Brandon University Faculty Association; RG 6, Series 7, Sub sub series 7.1.5 (Department of Economics) contains additional records related to the Department of Economics at Brandon University; RG 6, Series 7, Sub-series 7.1 (Dean of Arts) contains files on Don Wheeler and George MacDowell.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format.
History / Biographical
During the mid 1990’s to the early 2000’s archaeological surveying and testing took place on Flintstone Hill. In 1997 testing at the site revealed a bison skull eroding from the cutbank. A field crew dug a series of overlapping trenches down the slope of the profile and produced a schematic drawing. A radiocarbon date from the lower edge of the profile gave a date of 10,400 RCY.
Test units along the cutbank recovered lithics, soil samples, fire-cracked rock, charcoal, bison remains including a very large bison skull measuring 430-440 cm and thought to be an ancient species.
Radiocarbon dates at Flintstone hill gave dates of: a hearth dating to 3250+/-70 R.C.Y. (BETA 109529); a butchered atlas bone 4090+/-70 R.C.Y. (BETA 109990); and bone fragments accompanied by Swan River Chert and Knife River Flint lithic flakes 5350+/-50 (BETA 109530). While no diagnostic tools were recovered, these dates suggest that this occupation, which is contemporary with the Atkinson site, may be a Gowen occupation.
Scope and Content
Sub-sub-sub series contains: Summary information of field methology, number and co-ordinates of excavations, personnel and their staff position; Field journals are daily records of recoveries, features and activities at the site; Site records include excavation level and unit summaries, feature sheets, profiles; sample records and maps; Artifact catalogues are lists and identifications of all artifacts recovered; Photographs are of excavation units, features, the landscape and personnel.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format.
History / Biographical
In 1998, 1999 and 2000 further testing took place on Flintstone Hill. Five test units were excavated and a series of small exploratory tests took place. Recoveries included: lithics, soil samples, fire-cracked rock, charcoal, and bison bones.
Unfortunately, despite the encouraging radiocarbon dates and scattered recoveries there was no area where extensive excavations were feasible. The unstable nature of the river bank with frequent spring flooding and erosion of the dunes has impacted potential sites.
Scope and Content
Sub-sub-sub series contains: Summary information of field methology, number and co-ordinates of excavations, personnel and their staff position; Field journals are daily records of recoveries, features and activities at the site; Site records include excavation level and unit summaries, feature sheets, profiles; sample records and maps; Artifact catalogues are lists and identifications of all artifacts recovered; Photographs are of excavation units, features, the landscape and personnel.
Flintstone Hill is located on the north bank of the Souris River. It is a deeply stratified lacustrine, fluvial and aeolian soil profile that has been exposed by the river through stream-bank erosion. This section is thought to be the most complete middle to late Holocene exposure on the northeastern plains. While the value of the site is primarily for paleo-environmental research and reconstruction, cultural deposits have been identified at the site. Local collectors have picked up lithic materials as they eroded out of the bank for the past several decades and it was they who had named the site. Mr. Bruce Timms from Lauder first drew the Flintstone Hill site to the attention of Dr. Nicholson of Brandon University.
During the mid 1990’s to the early 2000’s archaeological testing took place on Flintstone Hill. In 1998, an archaeological field crew dug a series of overlapping trenches down the slope of the profile and produced a schematic drawing. A peat layer at the bottom of this profile, dated from the top at 9,400 RCY and at the bottom to 10,400 RCY, has provided details of marsh plant and insect communities at this time.
Subsequent archaeological investigations at the site recovered several cultural deposits including: a hearth dating to 3250+/-70 R.C.Y. (BETA 109529); a butchered atlas bone 4090+/-70 R.C.Y. (BETA 109990); and bone fragments accompanied by Swan River Chert and Knife River Flint lithic flakes 5350+/-50 (BETA 109530). While no diagnostic tools were recovered, these dates suggest that this occupation, which is contemporary with the Atkinson site, may be a Gowen occupation.
Extensive paleo-environmental research has been conducted at the site. Dr. Running, a geomorphologist from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, participated in the Study of Cultural Adaptations in the Prairie Ecozone (SCAPE) Project and he and his students tested the site for several years. He was joined in this effort by Dr. Havholm, Dr. Boyd, Dr. Wiseman, Dr. Beaudoin, and other SCAPE researchers in the interpretation of the paleo-environment of the Glacial Lake Hind basin. The following article is recommended reading.
Running, Garry L., Karen G. Havholm, Matt Boyd and Dion J. Wiseman
2002 Holocene Stratigraphy and Geomorphology of Flintstone Hill, Lauder Sandhills, Glacial Lake Hind Basin, Southwestern Manitoba. Geographie Physique et Quaternaire
56(2-3):291-303.
Scope and Content
Sub series has been divided into two sub sub series including: (1) Flintstone Hill 1997 (2) Flintstone Hill 1998-2000
Frank Robb was Assistant Secretary Treasurer for School District of Brandon No. 129 and Curator of the B.J. Hales Natural History Museum exhibition for Brandon's 75th Anniversary (1957). Robb left Brandon ca. 1969 and relocated to Minaki, Ontario.
Custodial History
Frank Robb sent the slides to Fred McGuiness ca. 1986. McGuiness gave them to Eileen McFadden at the McKee Archives in April 1986.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of 155 slides taken by Frank Robb, an inventory for the slides prepared by Robb and a letter from Robb to Fred McGuiness regarding the slides and memories of Brandon ca. 1950s.
30 cm textual records; 44 audio tapes; approx. 30 photographs
History / Biographical
Gerald "Gerry" Allen McKinney was born in 1932, in Melita, Manitoba. In 1950, McKinney enlisted as a medical assistant with B Company, First Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment. A participant in the Korean War, McKinney was captured and held as a prisoner of war for one year. McKinney remained in the Canadian Armed Forces until 1958. Subsequently, McKinney lived in Winnipeg where he was an advocate for workplace health and safety causes and tenant rights. He was also active in raising opposition to large water diversion schemes, such as the Garrison Diversion Project in North Dakota, the Rafferty-Alemada Dams Project in Saskatchewan, and the Pelican Lake-Pembina River Diversion Project in Manitoba. McKinney was awarded the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt in 1984, for his work against the Garrison Project. McKinney was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from Brandon University in 1985.
Custodial History
This fonds was donated to the McKee Archives by Professor Joe Dolecki in 1984.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists mainly of McKinney's correspondence and clippings from the Edmonton Journal dating from 1985; a folder of campaign pamphlets of various New Democratic Party candidates in Alberta in 1985 and newspaper clippings about the Alberta NDP. Fonds also contains a folder of newspaper clippings about various environmental issues and several booklets of articles collected by the Garrison Focus Office of Manitoba Natural Resources from 1987. Fonds contains an extensive collection of newspaper clippings about the 1985 Jim Keegstra trial in Red Deer, Alberta, and a folder of clippings about Alberta labor and strikes, as well as rally pamphlets. The fonds also includes a collection of speeches that McKinney gave from 1980-1984, and c. 30 pictures taken by McKinney of various places in Edmonton, Regina, and Ireland. Correspondence between McKinney and Professor Joe Dolecki of Brandon University and 44 audio tapes of interviews done with McKinney by Professor Dolecki in the mid-1980's are also included.
Gabriel Richard Rowe was born in Coleman, P.E.I. in 1897. In 1918, he enlisted in the Canadian Army. After the Great War, he moved to Viscount, Saskatchewan were he was principal of a high school. In 1924, Rowe moved to Brandon where he served as principal for various schools until his retirement in 1964. G.R. Rowe attended the University of Manitoba graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1935, a Bachelor of Education 1952, and a Master of Education degree in 1957. Rowe also studied at the University of Minnesota, Harvard, and the University of British Columbia. Rowe served as President of the Manitoba Teachers' Scoiety from 1948 to 1949. He served as a member of the International School Master Association, the Brandon's Citizens' Committee of the Arts, and the Brandon General Hospital Board. He died in Brandon on January 6th, 1968.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned in 1997 by the McKee Archives. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds includes photographs, certificates and diplomas, career resumes, testimonials, draft obituaries, and correspondence, relating to G.R. Rowe's professional teaching career, and in small part to his personal life.
Hubert Clayton Weidenhamer was born near Dand, Manitoba in 1926. He was raised in Dand and attended school in the Dand Consolidated School District. Weidenhamer enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1943. He became a member of the Priness Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. Following training in Canada and England Weidenhamer was sent to Italy. He was badly wounded in battle in mid-September and died of his injuries in November 1944 at age 21. He was buried in the Ancona Military Cemetery, Ancona Italy.
Custodial History
These records were in the possession of Bea Chapin (née Weidenhamer) following their creation in the 1940s until they were donated to the S. J. McKee Archives in January 2011.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of correspondence from Hubert Clayton Weidenhamer to his sister Bea. The letters begin in the spring of 1943. Weidenhamer had enlisted in the Canadian Army in January 1943. His letters detail his induction into miltary life in Fort Garry, Winnipeg and his training experience in Canada, principally at Camp Ipperwash, Lambton County, Ontario. He relates his experience of travels on leave to Detriot. Weidenhamer left Canada from Halifax in late 1943 and arrived in Great Britain in December for additional military training. In England, maintaining his morale, waiting for deployment, and coming to terms with British currency were challenges. Transferred to the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Weidenhamer was deployed to Italy in March 1944. The letters dating from March 1944 to September relate in oblique fashion his's experience of military life on the Italian frontier as the Canadian Army fought its way north - "hard fighting" - and the impact of the war on Italian cities and the countryside. He was "proud" of his conduct in action. Weidenhamer's last letter is dated September 11, 1944.
Collection also includes correspondence on Weidenhamer's behalf from his military Chaplin; two press clippings dealing with his military career, and several facimiles of telegrams and correspondence from the Canadian government officials related to Weidenhamer's death and burial in Italy.
The Humesville Women's Missionary Society began in 1885, in Humesville, Manitoba. Originally named the Humesville Women's Foreign Missionary Society, it was formed in connection with the Brandon Presbyterial Society as an auxiliary group. The reference to "Foreign" was later dropped from the organization's name. The HWMS was a non-profit group that raised money and gathered goods for the needy in the local area, Canada and around the world. The Forrest Women's Missionary Society was involved in much of the same work as the Humesville group. The membership of the two organizations was drawn from women residents in the Forrest/Humesville area.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1997. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of financial records, newspaper clippings, and attendance lists for the Humesville and Forrest Women's Missionary Societies. Minutes for the Humesville Society cover the years 1885-1907; 1920-1940. The minutes of the Forrest Society cover the years 1928-1943. The attendance lists cover the years 1892 to 1904, 1906, 1907 and 1939 (Humesville) and 1928 to 1934, 1938 to 1941 (Forrest). Fonds also contains minutes of the Young Peoples' Society of Humesville 1910-1914, Forrest United Church Women's Association 1930-1946, and a pamphlet detailing the history of the Humesville/Forrest United Church.
Jack Stothard was born on February 16, 1932 in Brandon, MB. He attended public schools in the city (Central School, Park School, and Earl Oxford) and graduated from Brandon Collegiate Institute (BCI). Stothard married Velma Pollock in 1957 and together they had two daughters: Debra and Kimberly. Stothard was employed in the plumbing and heating business until 1960, when he joined Manitoba Hydro. In the course of his employment with Manitoba Hydro, he became Station Superintendent of the Brandon Generating Station. Stothard retired in 1995. Stothard was a member of the Canadian Numismatic Association, the Canadian Association of Token Collectors and the Toronto Postcard Club. Jack Stothard died on November 3, 2021 in Brandon, MB.
Custodial History
Accession 1-2003 was in the possession of Stothard until donated to the McKee Archives in 2003. Accession 12-2006 was acquired by Lawrence Stuckey at some point after the photograph was taken. Stuckey later sold a copy of the photograph. This copy was later acquired by Jack Stothard in the course of his collecting of Brandon postcards. Stothard donated the image to the McKee Archives in 2004. Accession 8-2007 was prepared by Jack Stothard in the course of 2007. He provided a copy to the Archives upon its completion. Accession 8-2008 was in the possession of Fred McGuinness until he gave jit to Jack Stothard in February 2008. Stothard donated the records to the McKee Archives on February 12, 2008. Accession 18-2008 was donated to the McKee Archives by Stothard on August 18, 2008. Accession 11-2009 was donated to the McKee Archives by Stothard on February 20, 2009. Accession 4-2012 was donated to the McKee Archives by Stothard on August 24, 2011. Accession 4-2013 was donated to the McKee Archives by Stothard in March 2013. Accession 8-2016 was donated to the McKee Archives by Stothard on January 21, 2015.
Scope and Content
Accession 1-2003 contains brief research reports prepared by Stothard on various topics concerning historical Brandon. These include: a listing of hotels, inns and motels that have operated in Brandon since the 1880s; reports dealing with the Café Aagard, Central United Church, the 1913 Dominion Exhibition, Brandon, the Empire Hotel, Brandon’s Central Steam Heating System, the Post Office and the Clement Block. It also contains one booklet: Facts About Brandon: An Industrial Survey of the City of Brandon. Winnipeg: Department of Industry and Commerce [n.d.]
Accession 12-2006 consists of one photograph of the Great Northern Engine 208, built by Rogers Locomotive Company 1887. Cylinders 18 x 24, Drivers 63". G.N. line Church's Ferry, N.D. to Brandon, Manitoba. Opened 1906, Closed 1936.
Accession 8-2007 consists of a brief typed report entitled "The Day the Lights Went Out in Brandon - Strike of 1919" by Jack Stothard. Document provides an account of the sources and delivery of hydro electric power to Brandon beginning in the early 1900s and the brief power outage at the beginning of the Brandon General Strike May 25, 1919.
Accession 8-2008 consists of "The Brandon Sun Challenge Cup" ledger, which contains two b/w photographs, newspaper clippings and information on the history and first race (1908) of the cup; 3 additional b/w photographs of different races; and the Brandon Old Timers Association record book (c. 1900).
Accession 18-2008 consists of a copy of Stothard's Brandon Postcards index. The index is divided into various sub-headings and consists of colored reproductions of postcards in Stothard's collection. The index contains pages that were discarded by Stothard as he updated his inventory, therefore the index is only up to date as of August 18, 2008.
Accession 11-2009 consists of a typed research report entitled "Brandon Police Department Stations and Locations" by Jack Stothard. The report outlines the location of the Brandon Police Department from 1882 - 2008, and also includes a section on "What the Future Holds."
Accession 4-2012 consists of pages for Stothard's Brandon Postcards index (18-2008) and a photocopy of a Brandon Municipal Railway ticket.
Accession 4-2013 consits of eight binders of handwritten notes/facts about Brandon compiled by Jack Stothard. The notes are a collection of names, places, things, events and items related mostly to the first 100 years of Brandon (1882-1982), although the notes continue into the 2000's. Some notes centre on the late 1930's to early 1950's during the period of Stothard's youth. The information in the binders was taken from a variety of publications, while some notes are Stothard's own comments. A list of sources, as well as a cross reference index for all eight binders, can be found in Book No. 1.
The accession includes: Book No. 1 - Notes of Brandon (A to B); Book No. 2 - Notes of Brandon (C to F); Book No. 3 - Notes of Brandon (G to O); Book No. 4 - Notes of Brandon (P to Z); Book No. 5 - Notes of Brandon: Churches, Hostpitals, Hotels; Book No. 6 - Notes of Brandon: Police Department, Fire Department; Book No. 7 - Notes of Brandon: Brandon City Council, City of Brandon etc.; Book No. 8 - Notes of Brandon: Brandon College/University, Brandon Schools, ACC, Brandon School Board. Accession also includes pages from Stothard's Brandon Postcards index (18-2008).
Accession 6-2016 consists of local history books, pamphlets, bakery tokens, local magazines, one binder containing handwritten notes/facts about Brandon compiled from the Brandon Sun's "Looking Back" column, and an accordian file box containing newspaper clippings about Brandon.
The accession includes the following local history books: Betty Watson's "One Day in Brandon Manitoba 9/9/99" (Brandon, Manitoba: Bart Art Books, 1999); P.N. Breton's "Popular Illustrated Guide to Canadian Coins, Medals, &. &.," (Winnipeg: Canadian Numismatic Publishing Institute, 1963 [reprint]); "Facts About Brandon: An Industrial Survey of the City of Brandon," (Province of Manitoba: Department of Industry and Commerce, [1946]); The Polish Gymnastic Association Sokol's "75th Anniversary: From the Past to the Future!" ([Brandon, Manitoba: Polish Gymnastic Association Sokol, 1988]); and Brandon Kinsmen Club's "'Together...Once Again': A History of the Kinsmen Club of Brandon, Manitoba, 1925-1975 (Brandon, Manitoba: The Historical Committee of the Kinsmen Club of Brandon, 1975).
Pamplets and magazines include: Brandon Generating Station (1957) and (1969), The Brandon Quota Club presents...A Century in Revue (1982), Canadian Rail No. 168/July-August 1965 [featuring Brandon Municipal Railway], Prairie City Issue No. 3/1994, and Prairion May/June 1997.
The binder is titled Book No. 9 - "Year by year: miscellaneous items from 1969 to 2000"; an asterik (*) indicates notes have been made on each subject or item in the other Books. Each section is housed in
The files in the accordian file box have been rehoused and include the following topics: banks, Brandon 125 beer, Behlen Industries, breweries, Brandon Shoppers' Mall, calendars, Canadian Motors Ltd., Canexus/Nexen, Canada Games - Summer and Winter, Canadian Tire, CKX Radio & TV/CKLQ, Corral Centre, flour mills, hospitals, Keystone, Maple Leaf, Fred McGuinness, miscellaneous, A.E. McKenzie, people, railways, Simplot, Westman Recycling (new facility), weather-storms-floods, and extra copies of postcards.
Notes
Description by Christy Henry. Accession 4-2013: Book No. 1 contains a photocopied photograph of Aagaard's Cafe, photographs of the Dominion Bank and Barney's Drive Inn and a photo reproduction of the Bass Building. Book No. 2 contains a photograph of the Provincial Goal. Book No. 3 contains photographs of T. Eaton Company (4 construction photos) and a photo reproduction of tents on the Exhibition grounds (c. 1940). Book No. 4 contains photoraphs of the Oak Theatre and Western Motors. There are also photopied photographs of The Fun Shop.