Clarence Benjamin Graham? Spurr, was born in on February 13, 1891 in Bancroft, Ontario. Spurr began working for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1914 as a station agent at Rocanville, SK and spent many years as an agent in various communities in Saskatchewan and Manitoba before retiring in 1955. In 1923, he married Elizabeth Wallace Lindsay (1893-1979) and they raised three children, sons Ewart and Delbert and adopted niece Verna Spurr. Clarence and Elizabeth moved to Brandon, MB following his retirement. Spurr joined the Canadian military in 1915, and was initially sent to Camp Hughes. A signaler and runner, he spent 1916-1918 overseas. Clarence Spurr died on December 21, 1982 in Brandon, MB. He is buried at Brandon Municipal Cemetery.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, this collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item is an audiocassette tape containing an interview with Clarence B.G. Spurr about his experiences during World War I. Spurr discusses and reminisces about details of the Great War and some of the major turning points within it from Vimy Ridge, Lamont, Mons, Neuville-Saint-Vaast and the Armistice that ended the war on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in November from the perspective of a Canadian soldier. Interviewer is Delbert Spurr.
Notes
History/bio information from the records and Spurr's obituary. Transcript by Whitney Hodgins (2017). Description by Christy Henry.
Access Restriction
Content Warning: Some of the material discussed in the interview is sensitive in nature, dealing with the war and some of the gruesome acts that go with it. Listener discretion is advised.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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Eric Bamford Gowler was born on September 2, 1901 in Toronto, ON. His family moved to Grenfell, SK in 1904, and that is where he received his schooling. From 1920-1926, Eric worked as a bank clerk for Dominion Bank in Grenfell, Regina and Boissevain, moving to the latter in 1923. In 1926, Eric resigned from the bank and formed a partnership with George McDonald in an implement business. The partnership was dissolved in 1935. Subsequently, Eric took on an International Harvester dealership for tractors and machines. In 1946, his dealership was the first International Harvester dealer outside of the United States to be modernized. A significant portion of the business' success, was the publication of the adversising bulletin, "The Waggin' Tongue," which ran for twenty-two years. Eric retired in 1961, selling the business, but not the building, to John McDonald, Hugh Broadfoot and R. Nicholson. Eric married Mildred Welch (1900-1971) in 1927 and together they had two sons: Douglas and James. Eric Gowler died in 1990.
Hugh Gibson Broadfoot was born on July 2, 1935. When Gowler retired from the impliment business, Hugh bought into the company along with John McDonald and R. Nicholson. Hugh married Judith Elaine Smith (1939-2022) on May 26, 1962 and together they had four children: Devron, Jason, Susan and Shirley. Hugh Broadfoot died on April 4, 2015 in Boissevain, MB. He is buried at Boissevain and Morton Cemetery.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, this collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item is an audiocassette tape containing an interview with Eric Gowler and Hugh Broadfoot about their implement business in Boissevain, MB. Interviewer is Bernice Pettypiece.
Notes
History/bio information from the records, the Boissevain-Morton local history "Beckoning Hills Revisted," FamilySearch.org and obituaries for Hugh and Judy Broadfoot. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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