Albert Edward McKenzie was born in Wilcox Lake, York County, Ontario in 1870 to Francis Bethel McKenzie and Maria (Carley) McKenzie. In 1882 he moved to Brandon, Manitoba with his family, where his father established a Flour, Seed and Grain business. At the age of twenty-six, following his father’s death, A. E. took over the family business and transformed it into a seed institute. As the President of The Brandon Seed House, and, later, A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd., Mr. McKenzie played a central role in the daily operations of his company up until three weeks prior to his death on September 25, 1964.
In 1901, Mr. McKenzie married Laura Bell of Carmen, Manitoba, with whom he had two daughters, Marjorie and Kathleen. Kathleen married Walter C. Roberts and became a member of the Board of Directors of her father's company. Marjorie graduated from Brandon College, and received additional degrees from the Columbia College of Expression, and from Northwestern University. From 1927-1930 she taught at Brandon College, then resigned to do post-graduate work. She returned to Brandon College in 1935 as Instructor of Public Speaking and Dean of Women in Clark Hall. Marjorie resigned as Dean of Women after one year, and eventually relocated to British Columbia. Both Kathleen and Marjorie survived their father. Laura had passed away in 1943. At the time of his death. A.E. McKenzie was also survived by had one grandson: David McKenzie Roberts.
In addition to building his company into one of Canada's foremost seed institutes, McKenzie was also involved with many community projects. He was affiliated with the YMCA, YWCA, Salvation Army, and Community Chest. He was a charter member of the Kiwanis Club, and a long-term officer of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce. However, McKenzie's major interest was Brandon College, for which he served as a governor and as chairman of the board of governors for the College.
A central figure in the fight to save Brandon College, McKenzie was instrumental in the formation of Brandon College Inc., and, in 1945, he established the A. E. McKenzie Foundation, for which the Government of Manitoba was the sole trustee. His gift to the
Foundation was securities valued at $1 million, which ensured the survival and re-establishment of Brandon College and later Brandon University.
In 1941, McKenzie received the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa from the University of Manitoba. In 1962, he was honored with a certificate of merit for exemplary citizenship in commerce and in every aspect of community life from the City of Brandon.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
This sub-series consists of correspondence created and received by A.E. McKenzie during his years as President/General Manager dealing with the operation of his company. This includes construction estimates, and correspondence with the company's lawyer, Wm. Johnson. A letter from Gairdner & Company Limited regarding McKenzie's attempt to reacquire ownership of A. E. McKenzie Ltd. from the Province of Manitoba.
The sub-series also contains material relating to legal matters: one file concerns a successful legal action against the A.E. McKenzie Seed Company by the Canadian Alfalfa Association. The action arose following the sale of seed to a seed company located in Berlin, Germany in 1938. A second file deals with the prosecution of the company in Bismarck, North Dakota for mail fraud. The company lost both cases. Patents secured by the company are also included within the sub-series.
Also contained within the legal sub-series are records dealing with A.E. McKenzie's passing. These include correspondence with the National Trust Company and Miss Jean MacKay, and a summary of A.E. McKenzie's will. There are also some documents dealing with McKenzie's stocks and shares in the Company.
Documentation relating to the 1918 By-Law Campaign, in which McKenzie tried to secure tax relief for his company in relation to the construction of its new plant, is also included within the sub-series.
The sub-series is divided into six sub sub series, including: (1) Secretary; (2) Legal Matters; (3) Correspondence; (4) Patents; (5) By-Law Campaign 1918; and (6) Miscellaneous.
Notes
* "Tapes" in the Related Material field refers to hard copy written summaries originally provided on tape for typing. Organization by tape number was found to be more efficient than listing these items by title.
Language Note
Within McS 2 1.3, the correspondence sub sub series, there are some documents written in Gregg shorthand. No translation is available.
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
McS 2 Office of the President/General Manager
Related Material
Regarding sub sub series McS 2 2.2 (Legal Matters): The court pocket for the alfalfa case involving McKenzie Seeds at the Court of Queen's Bench in Regina, Saskatchewan may be available through the Saskatchewan Archives Board. John Diefenbaker acted for the Alfalfa Association in this case.
Historical Topics under A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds, Series 2 (Office of the President/GM), sub-series 2 (J. Lasby Lowes) contains some information regarding McKenzie's patents (file 16, Tapes 29 and 30), and a legal case in Bismarck, North Dakota in 1957 regarding the violation of mail fraud statutes involving the sale of seed wheat (file 11, Tape 26)*. Information regarding the sale of Alfalfa seed to a German seed company is available in file 2. There are also a number of files containing information about A. E. McKenzie.
See biographical sketch of A.E. McKenzie under RG 3 Series 2 (Office of the President/General Manager), sub-series 1 (A.E. McKenzie).
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
The manuscript group contains records pertaining to A.E. McKenzie's personal life, such as personal correspondence and family documents. Records dealing with McKenzie's involvement with Brandon College, the Brandon Allied Arts Council and the Brandon Board of Trade are also included.
It has been divided into five sub-series, including: (1) Brandon College Inc.; (2) A.E. McKenzie Foundation; (3) Brandon Allied Arts Council; (4) Brandon Board of Trade; and (5) Miscellaneous.
RG 1 Brandon College fonds in the McKee Archives contains additional
information on A.E. McKenzie, particularly his involvement with Brandon College.
A photograph of A.E. McKenzie is located in oversized drawer #5 of the Brandon College photograph series.
This sub-series is artificially created and contains records that did not fit into any of the preceding series or sub-series.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
The records in this sub-series concern A.E. McKenzie's personal life. It contains a number of documents created by his father, F. B. McKenzie, including land deeds, financial records, and a grant of probate. The sub-series also includes documents concerning the Ontario Mutual Life Assurance Co., the dissolution of partnership between A.E. McKenzie and George. E. McKenzie, the release of F.B. McKenzie's estate to his son and a copy of A.E. McKenzie's mother's last will and testament.
Also included within the sub-series is a file or correspondence between McKenzie and R.B. Dessert, a former employee of McKenzie Seeds who established his own seed company in California after leaving Brandon. The correspondence is almost entirely personal in nature.
Thank you letters regarding Brandon College and scholarships, as well as minutes from meetings of the Education Advisory Board can also be found within the sub-series.
In 1945 the A. E. McKenzie Trust of 1939, which led to the formation of Brandon College Incorporated, was cancelled. As a result A.E., who was still trying to solve the College's financial problems, set about attaining a special act of legislature that would enable him to transfer 90% of his company's stockholdings to the control of the Province of Manitoba to benefit the College.
See fonds level administrative history description.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
This sub-series includes correspondence regarding the McKenzie Foundation between Brandon College Inc., McKenzie Seeds, William Johnson and the Government of Manitoba. It also contains records dealing with Educational Advisory Board. A substantial amount of this correspondence is in regards to the payment of Brandon College Inc. from the McKenzie Foundation. In addition, there is also correspondence generated by the Comptroller-General and Wm. Johnson regarding Foundation Account, as well as some other financial information.
Various documents are also present within the sub-series, including Bill 87, amendments, an authorization provision for variation in agreement and an agreement between McKenzie, Brandon College Inc. and the National Trust. A collection of prepared statements or briefs, many written by A.E. McKenzie regarding the purpose and future of the Foundation are also included.
Information regarding the A.E. McKenzie Foundation can be found in Series 2 (Office of the President/GM), sub-series 2 (J. Lasby Lowes), Historical Topics file 1 (Tape 9).
Series 5 (Photographs), oversized drawer #4 contains newspaper clippings dealing with the establishment of the McKenzie Foundation.
This sub-series consists of publications that did not fit into any of the preceding series or sub-series.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
This sub-series includes one copy each of Manitoba Business Top 100 (June 1985), Trade and Commerce Supplement, Brandon (c. 1963) and Manitoba Business (November 1985).
It also includes a Christmas Song book, the book "By Gossip and Myth" by Prof. George MacDowell and a document entitled "Background Information re A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd."
The following newspaper clippings have been located in the map case drawer #4 located in the archives reading room:
1. $175,000 Gift Set for College from City Man
2. McKenzie Will Leaves House to Arts Centre
3. The Old Alma Mater is Down on Her Knees
4. How to Help the Alma Mater
5. Good Things are "growing" on at McKenzie Seeds (ad)
6. Fire fails to halt work at McKenzie Seeds
7. McKenzie Seeds: new facilities are first in North America
8. A full-page advertisment for McKenzie Seeds from "The Brandon Sun" (September 24, 1971)
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
McS 6 Miscellaneous
The scrapbooks in this sub-series are fragile, particularly the product book. They must be handled with great care.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
This sub-series consists of three scrapbooks. Two of the three contain copies of advertisements for a number of businesses, including McKenzie Seeds, Steele Briggs, Patmore's, Rennie's, and McFayden Seeds. Clippings dealing with a variety of other companies in the seed industry are also included. The third scrapbook contains pictures of various flowers, vegetable, herbs and other seed products in alphabetical order. An inventory is available for the third scrapbook.
Notes
Date(s) of creation, including distribution, publication, etc.:
a) [No title] ad book - 1906-1911
b) "Scrap Book" ad book - 1917-1926
c) [No title] product book - c.1903 - c.1940
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
McS 6 Miscellaneous
ALEXANDER MACPHAIL (14 July 1900 - 29 July 1986)
Alex was born in Vista, MB on July 14, 1900, son of John and Catherine MacPhail. He married Florence Turner (d. 1977) at Winnipeg on December 22, 1948 and together they farmed the family farm at Vista. In 1965 they purchased a house in Shoal Lake but continued to farm in Vista until Alex's retirement in 1973, when he sold the farm.
Alex was involved in the 4-H Club at Vista and was a member of the Grain Growers Association. He was also very interested in Wildlife Conservation, an interest which led him to donate a 1/4 section of land to them. Alex also started a museum in Shoal Lake, which in time he turned over to the Village. He was a school trustee for Islay School Board at Vista from 1937-1939 and took the position of Chairman from 1939, until the school closed on 1968. During his years of farming he was a registed Seed Grower and in 1957 was awarded the Robertson Certificate. As a hobby he was a beekeeper. Alexander MacMillan MacPhail passed away at the Shoal Lake-Strathclair Health Centre on Tuesday, July 29, 1986 at the age of 86 years.
MARION (MACPHAIL) MCCORMACK (1903 - 10 February 1988)
Marion attended Islay School and Rosburn Collegiate. Upon graduation, she attended Manitoba Normal School, and became a teacher. She worked at Perth, Islay (1927-1934), Plumas, Strathclair and Minnedosa.
She met and married Coll McCormack (d. 1973) in 1952, and they lived in Minnedosa. She retired from teaching in 1967. Marion McCormack passed away on February 10, 1988.
IAIN MACPHAIL (1912-1937)
Iain MacPhail was born in Vista, MB in 1912. During the years that he was attending high school, he took a keen interest in farming. After he completed his Grande XII, some of the farm projects were expanded, including bee keeping. It was while attending a Bee-Keepers Course at the University of Manitoba that Iain took ill and passed away in 1937.
JOHN ARMSTRONG (6 May 1930 - 21 June 2005)
John Armstrong was born May 6, 1930, the second son of Kate (McKinnon) and William Armstrong. He attended Perth school for his elementary grades, then Vista and Rossburn where he finished high school. John farmed with his dad and brother Hugh, except for one year of permit teaching on the Daupin River Reserve, which was accessible by canoe.
John lived at home with his parents and cared for them until his dad's passing in 1972 and his mother's in 1982. At one time John was a leader of the 4-H Seed Club and was able to help members with his weed and plant identification skills. He did some secretarial work for 4-H and the Argyle Presbyterian Church. John William Armstrong of Rossburn passed away June 21, 2005 at the Shoal Lake-Strathclair Health Centre.
Custodial History
The records in this collection were accumulated in the residence of Alexander MacPhail from various family members. The materials were discovered in the attic of MacPhail's house on the MacPhail land in Vista, MB in 2005. Subsequently they were given to Gerald R. Brown by the family living in the MacPhail house. They resided in Brown's home until their donation to the McKee Archives in September 2006.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of teaching materials and textbooks used by members of the MacPhail family - Alex, Marion and Iain. It has been divided into two sub-series, including: (1) Textbooks; and (2) Teaching materials.
Notes
Biographical notes were written by Gerald R. Brown and were taken from his "Vista Tales . . . from Islay School District No. 733 in Vista, Manitoba." Description by Christy Henry.
Some of the titles are fragile and/or stained/torn.
Scope and Content
Sub-series consists of the following titles:
"Tales and Trails of Western Canada" by Nell Macvicar and Irene Craig
"Manitoba Public School Arithmetic: Book II" by J.A. Smith and R.H. Roberts (1922)
"Handbook of Nature-Study for Teachers and Parents" by Anna Botsford Comstock (1911)
"Forests and Trees" by B.J. Hales (1925)
"Fodder and Pasture Plants" George H. Clark and M. Oscar Malte with water colour illustrations by Norman Criddle (1913)
"Wild Flowers of Western Canada" by William Copeland McCalla (1920)
"The Dragon and the Raven" by G.A. Henty
"Manitoba High School Civics" by A.L. Burt (1945)
"The Manitoba Arithmetic for Elementary Grades: Grade IV" by the Department of Education, Province of Manitoba
"The Treasury Sight-Reader: Book II - Junior" by Maurice Jacobson
"The Treasury Sight-Reader: Book III - Intermediate" by Maurice Jacobson
"The Manitoba Readers - Third Reader"
"Young Blood" by E.W. Hornung (1901)
"The Moonstone: A Romance" by Wilkie Collins
"Mental Arithmetic: Part I" by Charles G. Fraser
"The Canada Book of Prose and Verse: Book One" by Lorne Pierce (1948)
"How to be Healthy" by J. Halpenny and Lilian B. Ireland (1911)
"The A B C of Musical Theory" by Ralph Dunstan
"Canadian Civics" by R.S. Jenkins (1909) - Manitoba edition
"Canada: A History for High Schools" by G.J. Reeve (1926)
"History of England for Public Schools" authorized by the Departments of Education for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia (1922).
Contains the following files:
17.1 Trail B.C. advertisement 1911
17.2 Angus McPherson beaver license 1900's
17.3 "The Angels of Mons" by Lieutenant Dougald MacEchern
17.4 Brandon General Hospital school graduation invitations 1925 and 1927
17.5 Machinery catalogues [1909-1928]
17.6 Watkins Stock Raisers manual [1920's]
17.7 List and map of Indian Reserves and Metis communties 1959
17.8 Wes Pentland Orange Lodge documents and materials 1862-1940
17.9 Brandon Collegiate reunion ribbon October 9, 1908
17.10 Victory Loan documents 1943-1945
17.11 Boys and Girls Service Clubs exhibit ribbons 1927
17.12 Prize lists for Justice Boys and Girls Clubs 1923-1926
17.13 Voluntary War Aid bulletin #12 [World War One]
17.14 "Canada's War Record" July 1942
17.15 Douglas war memorial unveiling ceremony programme November 17, 1922
17.16 Travel: Waghorns Guide 1898; Manitoba Driver's Guide 1935; southland Chicago-Florida train route and schedule 1916-1917; Manitoba road map 1941-1942; CPR western lines timetables 1918
17.17 Movie programme for "Gone with the Wind" [1939]
17.18 Magazine insert of funeral of Edward VII from Illustrated London News May 24, 1910
17.19 Manitoba Telephone Systems directory with provincial exchanges March 1930
17.20 Brandon Sun articles re: Brandon Hills picnic 1963
17.21 "The Academy Critic" December 1909
17.22 Weldon's Famous Dress catalogue [1920's]
17.23 Alex M. Brown, Pharmacist calendar 1935
17.24 Empire contest from the Winnipeg Free Press (undated)
17.25 Annnie I. Pentland speech re: Barbara Heck
17.26 Electoral division of Landsdowne Municipality map 1949
17.27 Speech on wheat sales (author unknown)
17.28 Site and situation project on Brandon history (author unknown) [1970's]
17.29 Annual report from Protestant Orphans' Home 1937
17.30 Orange Lodge memorabilia (gavel, pin) 1881-1933
Notes
Part of the Alfred Angus Murray McPherson collection.
Storage Location
Margaret McPherson family fonds
Box 14 (Files 17.1-17.29)
Box 15 (File 17.30 and Orange Lodge ribbons and certificates)
