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Robert Troy Blair fonds

http://archives.brandonu.ca/en/permalink/descriptions13300
Part Of
RG 1 Brandon College fonds
Description Level
Sub-series
GMD
multiple media
Date Range
September 1950 - June 1954
Accession Number
18-2013
Part Of
RG 1 Brandon College fonds
Description Level
Sub-series
Accession Number
18-2013
GMD
multiple media
Date Range
September 1950 - June 1954
Physical Description
2 scrapbooks (7.5 cm)
Physical Condition
Excellent
History / Biographical
Robert (Bob) Troy Blair was born on March 11, 1930 in Brandon, MB. His first six years were spent in Alexander, MB, where his father and uncle operated a grocery store. In 1936, his family moved to Souris, MB, where his father ran a grocery store. Blair received his primary and high school education, with the exception of Grade 12, in Souris. Blair remembers his school years in Souris as mainly happy years. He was involved with both piano and organ music lessons. he was never interested in physical sports with the exception of golf. World War II broke out in September of 1939. Souris became the site of #17 SFTS and home base for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Many of the service men came from England, Australia and New Zealand. Blair's mother always entertained at least two for dinner every Sunday. Rationing of sugar, tea and coffee, butter and meat became a way of life. Blair had the job every Saturday of pasting the ration coupons into booklets. It was also when he was in Grade 6, that Blair realized he was more attracted to boys than to girls. Perhaps it was because so many attractive airmen surrounded him! In November of 1947, the Blair family relocated to Alexander where Bob Blair finished his Grade 11. This was not a good year due to bullying. In September of 1948, Blair moved to Winnipeg to attend United College for his Grade 12. Upon completion of Grade 12, Blair remained in Winnipeg until June 1950. he worked at a number of businesses - Gestetner, Eaton's Mail Order shoe department, Maple Leaf Milling, and the drug store in the Medical Arts Building. In September 1950, he entered Brandon College. Blair was very active in extra-curricular affairs while at Brandon College; particularly drama. Following his B.A. he enrolled in the Education Faculty, having decided to become a teacher. Blair's teaching career spanned 34 years. All but one year was spent in the Brandon School Division. On his first day of teaching in the Division he met the man with whom he would spend the next 46 years. He was primarily a teacher of English and Music. A highlight of his career was exchange teaching in Sacramento, California in 1961. Orientation for exchange took place in August in Washington, D.C., where Blair had the opportunity to meet President J.F. Kennedy. He vividly recals the morning that JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963. In September 1965, Blair assumed the principalship of Park School and in September of 1969, the same position at George Fitton School where re remained until his retirement in 1989. He was a member of the Brandon Picnipals' Association, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and servedas President of the Brandon Teachers' Association. Among his major accomplishments during his time as principal were the introduction of a centralized school library in both Park and George Fitton Schools and the integration of special needs students into regular classroom situations wherever possible. He was made a Life Member of the Manitoba Teachers' Society (Brandon) in June 1990. Following his retirement Blair worked as a Library Automation Consultant (1989-1993). Blair also had numerous community involvements during his time in Brandon. he was active in the Brandon Little Theatre (Best Actor Award, Manitoba Drama Festival for One Act Plays in 1963), the Brandon Festival of the Arts, the Eckhardt-Gramatte National Music Competition, and Arm Industries to name a few. Following the death of his partner in 2001, Blair moved to Saskatoon to live with a younger gay couple. He has been active in volunteerism: as an Ambassador for the Saskatoon Airport Authority, assistant with the Saskatoon Health Region's Immunization Clinics, information clerk for the Festival of Trees, data entry clerk for the Saskatoon Music Festival, on the Board of the Saskatoon Jazz Society, and Hospitality Coordinator for the Saskatoon Jazz Festival. As of October 2013, Bob Blair continues to live in Saskatoon, SK.
Custodial History
Records were in Blair's possession until he donated them to the Mckee Archives on Homecoming weekend October 2013.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of two scrapbooks containing 145 photographs and ephemera (play and graduation programs, tickets, pins, newspaper clippings) documenting Bob Blair's days at Brandon College. Social events and extra-curricular activities are heavily featured in the two scrapbooks. Also included are graduation portraits for the Classes of 1951, 1952 and 1953. Of the 145 photographs all are black and white except for two photos of the Class of '53 reconvocation (May 1993), and one from the Class of '53 reunion (2003).
Notes
History/Bio provided by Bob Blair (October 2013).
Name Access
Brandon College
Angus Jackson
Pat Magnacca
Freshie Week
Senior Stick
Lady Stick
Harvest Cabaret
Sigma Mu
Glee Club
Bob Blair
Jack Yeomans
Walter Dinsdale
Don Cronk
Bob McPherson
Lorne Watson
Marg Sanderson
Hazel Turnbull
Claudia Dickey
Gordon Bradley
Terry Prysiazniuk
Diane Lissaman
Joan Garnett
Doris Penstock
Dianne Macdonald
Ivey Graham
Joyce Pickard
Cathy Crawford
Roberta Wilkie
Marie Kullberg
Isabel Lyon
Shirley Pryce
J.R.C. Evans
Marjorie Kyles
Jo Thordarson
Ross George
Edward Perry
Ernest Birkinshaw
Barney Thordarson
Fall Formal
Variety Night
Installation Night
Paul McKinnon
The Saga of Brandon
Bill White
Ron Bell
Jerry Jerret
Rosa Ziolkowski
Murray Smith
Class of 1951
Harold Moffat
Bill Sutherland
Murray Coulthard
Frank Adamski
John McLean
Jack Medd
Jack Muir
Bill Fraser
Ken Morrison
Clifford Kitson
Ray Brown
Mike Doig
Ernie Shaw
Jack Scott
Doreen Dennison
Lois Kennedy
Lorna Prokaska
Ferne Henderson
Doreen Fedoruk
Marg Leckie
Freshie Parade
Helen Batho
Fred Calverly
Jim Crawford
Verda Peden
Olga Evasko
Betty Finch
Fred Schwarok
Jim Struthers
Muriel Bedford
John Brown
Freshie Royalty
Booster Night
Mary Jane Sexton
Marilyn Rust
Mildred McMurray
Mary-Jane MacLachlan
George Leask
George Jakubowski
Jack Purvis
My Sister Eileen
Edith Laycock
Ivey Robbins
Ken Campbell
Mac Andrews
Marion Simmons
Arnold Minish
Madeline Irving
Ernie Criddle
Don Dillistone
Gordon Hunter
Cathy Nelson
Jim Kelleher
Anne Kelleher
Neil McKellar
Ron Doupe
Bruce Watson
Neil MacKay
Peter Prokaska
Roger Ramsden
Bill Bridgett
Graham Hunt
John Muirhead
David Brodie
Murray MacDonald
Dr. Kidd
Cam Finlay
Blair MacRae
Donna McPhail
Louise Hoey
Agnes Nicholson
Jean Allan
Joan Urie
Royce Richardson
Don Rousell
Bill Black
Ken McNeeley
Rosalie Prokopchuk
Jean Morrison
Jacice Forrest
Fuzz Fedoruk
Brian Davison
Joan MacLachlan
First International Relations Club Conference
Minot Teachers' College
International Peace Gardens
Bruce McIlroy
Jean Shingfield
Campaign Week
Sigma Mu Dance
Arnold Wawruch
Jack Meyers
Jack Hilton
Bev Francis
Bert Gogol
Dick McDonald
Frank McKinnon
Stuart Craig
John Blackwood
Norman Hedison
Bob Hilton
John Minions
Kay Oliver
Mary Jane MacLachlan
Ben Ward
Ken Gunning
Trevor McNeely
Hilton Stewart
Jerry Graham
Bette Mitchell
Joan Curlock
Faye Myers
Jean Hannah
Mary Babuick
Mr. College Spirit
John Augustus McGee
Don Dillstone
Flora Johnson
Del Gusdal
Color Night
Don Burrows
Jim Casey Trophy
Marj Kyles
Prince Edward Hotel
Class Day
Dahl Harvey
Shirley Mitchell
Al Burton
Irving Bateman
Joyce Marie Thordarson
Eileen McFadden
Patricia Pope
Louise Astle
Ariel Genik
Western Canada Student Teacher Conference
Brandon College Glee Club
Be Your Age
Ike Prokaska
Joan Hilton
Fred Lynch
Garth Kidd
Ivy Robbins
Joyce Dunham
Shirley Popple
Grand March
Westley Wong
Stewart Perdue
H.V. Kidd
J.E.M. Young
Adelene Bailey
Mrs. Evans
Dennis Anderson
Stanley Knowles
Edward Schreyer
Lou Visentin
Subject Access
Student government
initiations
student activities
dances
basketball
talent shows
drama productions
major productions
Hockey
graduations
programs
parades
dorm rooms
student housing
literary "B's"
college letters
class flags
banquets
Storage Location
2013 accessions
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Part Of
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Description Level
Sub-series
GMD
multiple media
Date Range
1928-1983; predominant 1960-1980
Part Of
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Description Level
Sub-series
Series Number
7.4
GMD
multiple media
Date Range
1928-1983; predominant 1960-1980
Physical Description
4.6 m
History / Biographical
When the Department of Music was founded in 1906, it offered only conservatory-type instruction under the direction of Abbie Helmer Vining (1906-07). W.L. Wright, after four years' study in Berlin with Leopold Godowsky, took over in 1907 and remained director until 1947. During the 1920s and 1930s, the department attracted students from across Canada to work with Wright, Esther Magdalene Moore, Kathleen Moffat Fairbairn (piano), and Ruth Morgan (voice) towards graduate and post-graduate diplomas. During the Depression and the Second World War, music education at Brandon College declined as a result of financial woes facing the College and the departure of students to the war. Under directors Peggy A. Sharpe (acting director 1947-48), and Lorne Watson (1948-1981), most instruction was given to elementary and high school students from Brandon. Through the encouragement and support of successive university presidents, the music faculty and university music credit courses were expanded to make possible a music minor within a B.A. or B.Sc. degree. By 1963, the college offered the first B.Mus. program (music education and applied) in Manitoba. In the same year, the Department of Music became the School of Music with two areas of activity: one continuing the conservatory tradition, the other leading to university degrees. Watson continued as director while Sharpe assumed the new position of supervisor of the conservatory. She was succeeded by Watson in 1981. When Brandon attained university status, the School of Music became a member of the Western Board of Music (WBM), now Conservatory Canada. Later a B.Mus. (general) was added and, in 1980, the M.Mus. (music education and applied). In 1981, Watson was succeeded as director by Gordon Macpherson (1981-87), during whose tenure the position was re-named dean. In 1987 Lawrence Jones became dean. Jones was followed by Patrick Carrabre and Glen Carruthers. Originally housed in Clark Hall, in 1963 the School of Music moved into a new building, officially opened by Sir Ernest MacMillan, on 28 October 1963. It housed a music library, electronic music studio, classrooms, rehearsal hall and studios. Increased enrolment in the 1970s necessitated the acquisition of three adjacent houses. On 5 October 1984, Queen Elizabeth II opened the present music building, which is named after her. The school's reputation as a centre of string pedagogy dates from Albert Pratz' appointment to the faculty in 1964 and the engagement of the Halifax Trio (Brandon University Trio) as artists-in-residence in 1966. The Wawanesa Insurance Co. in 1964 established a string scholarship program, which has since been carried on through the Carl and Lyle Sanders Grant and the R.D. Bell String Scholarships. A Suzuki string program was set up in 1977, directed by Alison Ryles (B.Mus. Brandon, 1978) who was followed in 1981 by Gerhard Ginader. Besides the Brandon University Trio, school ensembles have included the Brandon University Orchestra, Concert Band, Chorale, Jazz Bands and Guitar Ensemble. The Collegium Musicum, formed in 1973 by James Mendenhall, has a collection of replicas of early instruments. The school frequently produces an opera (or musical theatre work) directed by Sylvia Richardson. Student pursuing a major in music education have founded an active organization known as the Brandon University Student Music Educators' Association (BUSMEA), which is, in effect, a student branch of Manitoba Music Educators Association (MMEA). Annual summer schools enhance the program. In the 1960s, under the direction of Peggy A. Sharpe, recitals and workshops were given by visiting artists. In the 1980s, the emphasis was on graduate courses, including the offering of a Kodaly specialist diploma. In the conservatory, music for children classes, the Suzuki string program, and classes in the Alexander technique are offered. The conservatory offers courses for gifted students. It also sponsored annual workshops for teachers. Clinicians have included Lawrence Jones, Lorne Watson, Gordon Macpherson, Sydney Young McInnis, Shirley Yip, Elizabeth Grant and Irma Toews. The School of Music acts as a musical focus for southwestern Manitoba. Beginning in the 1960s, it co-sponsored (with the MMEA) an annual choral/orchestral workshop in January attracting up to 300 music educators and students from Manitoba and beyond. Rehearsals of the Brandon Community Chorus and Community Orchestra take place at the school, as do most events of the Brandon Festival of the Arts. It is also the home of the annual S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatte competition for the Performance of Canadian Music and the annual Brandon Jazz Festival. One reason for such constant activitiy is the excellence of the Queen Elizabeth II Music Building, which includes an advanced electronic studio, rehearsal halls for orchestras, bands and choirs and a 200-seat hall with recording facilities and ideal acoustics. On the occasion of Lorne Watson's 40th anniversary at Brandon that hall was named the Lorne Watson Recital Hall in his honour. The music school's first graduate (1966) was Jack Spalding. Honourary doctorates in music have been awarded to W.L. Wright (1969), S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatte (1970), Murray Adaskin (1972), Jon Vickers (1976), Kenneth Winters (1989), the Guess Who and Tom Cochrane.
Scope and Content
Series has been divided into three sub-series, including: (1) Dean of Music; (2) Music Faculty Council; and (3) School of Music publications.
Notes
The history/bio note was taken from the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada at http://www.collectionscanada.ca/emc/m17-119.01-e.php?uid=415&uidc=ID (January 2006). The entry was written by Lorne Watson. Peggy A. Sharpe died in 2005.
Name Access
Lorne Watson
Peggy A. Sharpe
Gordon Macpherson
Lawrence Jones
Patrick Carrabre
Glenn Carruthers
S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatte
Brandon University Trio
Halifax Trio
Subject Access
music
music education
degree program
deans
director
conservatory
kodaly
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds Series 7: Faculties and Schools
Related Material
A file of miscellaneous newspaper clippings etc. assembled by Eileen McFadden for the period 1979-1985, is located in the Institutional Files in the Reading Room.
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