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Archives & Special Collections

Archives & Special Collections is a department of the Libraries and is located in Room 330 on the third floor of the Elizabeth Dafoe Library. Since its establishment in 1978, the Archives' mission has been to acquire, catalogue and preserve university records and special research collections which further the educational aims of the University of Manitoba, and to promote and provide wide access to them. The Archives' wide-ranging collection mandate includes the acquisition of the records of the University of Manitoba, Canadian Prairie Literary Manuscripts, the Archives of the Agricultural Experience and rare books in the areas of western Canadiana, early Arctic exploration, early Native language syllabics, spiritualism, church history and philosophy, and agriculture among others.

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: Charlie Thorson fonds; Charlie Thorson was a seminal figure in the development of animation in the United States and Canadian children's literature. Beginning with political cartoons for local Icelandic language newspapers, his drawing career encompassed work in several fields and disciplines He illustrated Eaton's catalogues at the noted Canadian art studio Brigden's, designed and developed characters at nearly every major Holywood animation studio of the pre-World War II era, worked extensively in commercial and industrial advertising, and made some of the first attempts to develop Canadian children's literature. Among his many accomplishments, Thorson has been credited for designing beloved animated characters Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Bugs Bunny.

: Denise Catherine Kolesar fonds; Denise Kolesar, a native of Neepawa, Manitoba, with family ties to the Polonia and Mountain Road areas, became interested in the life and works of Fr. Philip Ruh during research efforts for the 2004 Ukrainian Catholic Church Hundredth Anniversary Committee in Mountain Road, Manitoba. In October 2007, Kolesar conducted a research tour of churches in Saskatchewan and Alberta where she took digital photographs of churches. This digital collection consists of several digital photographs of the interiors and exteriors of Ukrainian Catholic churches in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

: George Swinton fonds; George Swinton was a reknowned authority on Inuit art and the author of numerous articles on the subject. His own art hangs in the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. He studied Economics and Political Science in Vienna from 1936 to 1938 before coming to Canada in 1939. He served five years with the Canadian Intelligence Corps in the Canadian Army, becoming a Canadian citizen in 1944. He completed a Bachelor of Arts at McGill in 1946 and took courses at the Montreal School of Art and Design from 1946 to 1947 and the Art Students' League of New York from 1949 to 1950. Swinton was the Curator of the Saskatoon Art Centre from 1947 to 1949. He was an instructor at Smith College from 1950 to 1953 and Artist-in-Residence at Queen's University from 1953 to 1954. That fall, he joined the faculty of the School of Art at the University of Manitoba, a position that he held for twenty years. From 1974 to 1981, he was a professor of Canadian Studies at Carleton University. His final academic position was an adjunct professorship in the Department of Art History at Carleton University from 1981 to 1985.

: George Swinton fonds (WAG); George Swinton was a reknowned authority on Inuit art and the author of numerous articles on the subject. His own art hangs in the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. He studied Economics and Political Science in Vienna from 1936 to 1938 before coming to Canada in 1939. He served five years with the Canadian Intelligence Corps in the Canadian Army, becoming a Canadian citizen in 1944. He completed a Bachelor of Arts at McGill in 1946 and took courses at the Montreal School of Art and Design from 1946 to 1947 and the Art Students' League of New York from 1949 to 1950. Swinton was the Curator of the Saskatoon Art Centre from 1947 to 1949. He was an instructor at Smith College from 1950 to 1953 and Artist-in-Residence at Queen's University from 1953 to 1954. That fall, he joined the faculty of the School of Art at the University of Manitoba, a position that he held for twenty years. From 1974 to 1981, he was a professor of Canadian Studies at Carleton University. His final academic position was an adjunct professorship in the Department of Art History at Carleton University from 1981 to 1985. This digital collection includes material from the Winnipeg Art Gallery Archives as part of the Prairie Prestige project.

: Gloria Romaniuk fonds; Gloria Romaniuk moved with her husband, Greg Stanwick, to Cook’s Creek, Manitoba in 1976, to operate Cook’s Creek General Store. Romaniuk grew interested in the life and works of Rev. Philip Ruh, OMI in 1982 and in 1983 she launched and coordinated the “Ruh Project”, an effort to document Ruh’s life and works. Together with Olly Charney, Romaniuk located materials which had been created by, or belonged to Ruh and produced more than seventy audio interviews with individuals who knew or worked with Ruh. She wrote a local history pamphlet for Cook’s Creek church, edited the translation into English of Ruh’s autobiography "Missionary and Architect (Autobiography)", and wrote several newspaper and magazine articles. She has served as the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg Archivist since 2003. The digitized material from the Gloria Romaniuk fonds consists of several digital photographs and printed photographs of the interiors and exteriors of several Ukrainian Catholic churches and church facilities throughout western Canada.

: Hilda Morrish fonds; Hilda Morrish grew up in Hove, England and joined the Women's Royal Naval Service in 1940. Morrish's parents were pacifists and disapproved of her joining the WRNS. Their disapproval led to her request for a transfer to civilian work assisting tha arriving United States Army in Gloucester, Cheltenham. Morrish was later in Paris on VE Day and toured France and Germany immediately following the war. The digitized material on this site includes images of black and white photographs taken by Hilda Morrish with a Voigtlander 35 mm camera. The photographs were developed and printed in a makeshift photo lab in a hotel bathroom. A bidet was used to wash the prints and an enlarger to magnify the images.

: Jaropolk Radkewycz fonds; In 1961, with the intention of entering the priesthood, Jaropolk Radkewycz began his studies at the Redemptorist Minor Seminary in Roblin, Manitoba. In 1967, he decided to begin studies for the diocesan priesthood, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba in 1971, followed by a Bachelor of Theology degree in 1974 and a Bachelor degree in Canon Law in 1975 at the University of St. Paul in Ottawa. He was ordained by Metropolitan Maxim Hermaniuk in Winnipeg in 1974. Radkewycz served in parishes in Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie and Brandon. In addition, he served as chaplain of St. Paul College at the University of Manitoba, as lecturer at the St. Boniface School of Nursing, as chairman of the Manitoba Medico-Moral Committee, and chaplain of the Catholic Physicians Guild in Manitoba. He served as assistant vicar general from May 1975, and as the Metropolitan’s secretary until the time of his accidental death on April 29, 1996. The digitized material from the Jaropolk Radkewycz fonds consists of nearly 80 photographs of the interiors and exteriors of several Ukrainian Catholic churches and church facilities throughout western Canada.

: Jill Oakes fonds; Jill Oakes received a Bachelor of Human Ecology (1975), an Education Certificate (1976), a Master's of Science (1985) and a Ph.D (1988) from the University of Manitoba. Oakes began lecturing at the University of Manitoba in 1987 and has also lectured as an adjunct professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Human Ecology at the University of Alberta. She has served as research associate for the Canadian Circumpolar Institute at the University of Alberta and from 1993-1994, was Chair of Northern Studies, Department of Native Studies at Trent University. Oakes' work with museum collections has taken her on collecting trips to Greenland, Northwest Territories, Alaska, and the far east of Russia. Oakes has researched, coordinated and curated many exhibitions. Featured here are records documenting Oakes' research and involvement with the Minnguq Sewing Group.

: Landmarks, Monuments & Built Heritage of the West; A major component of community life is the landmarks, monuments and built heritage within that community. Canadian historians have often claimed that the physical and geographical heritage of Canadians have played a key role in the development of our identity as a nation. Western Canadians, in particular, have been molded by their landscapes and architecture. From sod huts to towering skyscrapers, the built heritage of western Canadian communities has influenced the development of the region and the people. This website consists of nearly 7000 digitized items from the archival holdings of the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg Archives, the Archives of Manitoba, and the University of Calgary's Canadian Architectural Archives pertaining to this topic. The digitized textual documents, photographs, blueprints, and audio and video clips illustrate how western Canada has been shaped by its architecture.

: Ogilvie Flour Mills fonds; In 1811, Alexander Ogilvie joined his uncle John Watson in Montreal and added his millstones to his uncle's mill. In 1872, a mill was built at Seaforth, Ontario, and two years later another at Goderich. In 1895, the Ogilvie company acquired an oatmeal mill in Winnipeg. In May 1902, the executors of the Ogilvie estate sold the flour mills and seventy elevators to a Canadian-owned syndicate and formed the Ogilvie Flour Mills Co. Ltd. From 1912 to 1939, Ogilvie Flour Company were purveyors of flour to King George V, which indicated Ogilvie flour had been adopted by the royal household. In 1949, Gerber-Ogilvie Baby Foods Ltd. was formed and Ault Milk Products was purchased. In 1957, Ogilvie sold their fifty percent share of Gerber-Ogilvie Baby Foods Ltd. to Gerber, and in the same year Ogilvie-Five Roses Sales Ltd. was consolidated. Ogilvie bought control of Catelli stock in 1960. Between 1966 and 1996 Ogilvie Mills sold, purchased, and amalgamated with many companies including General Bakeries Ltd., Beatrice Foods Inc., Delmar Chemicals, Laura Secord Candy Shops Ltd., Catelli-Habitant Inc., and Gourmet Baker Inc. In 1968, Ogilvie became a subsidiary of John Labbatt Ltd.. In 1993-1994, Archer Daniels-Midland Co. purchased Ogilvie Mills from John Labbatt Ltd. At the time, the annual sales had reached $275 million. The digitized material from the Ogilvie Flour Mills fonds consists of over 300 photographs of Ogilvie mills throughout western Canada, as well as an outline of the early mill history of the organization.

: Philip Ruh fonds; Philip Roux was born August 6, 1883 in Alsace-Lorraine, France. In 1898, Philip entered studies with the Oblate Fathers in Valkenburg, Holland. In 1905 he began his studies at St. Boniface Monastery in Hünfeld, Germany, where he was ordained into the order in 1910. Assigned to serve the Ukrainian Catholics in Canada, he first studied in Ukraine, learning the language, the customs, and the Byzantine rite. He served pioneer communities in north-eastern Alberta from 1913 to 1923, where he began to build churches, despite no formal architectural training. In 1924 he was assigned to ministry in Manitoba. The parish of Cook’s Creek was his home base from 1930 until his death on October 24, 1962. In 1941 he was elevated to the status of Canon. His dedication to the the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France inspired the Lourdes Calvary-Grotto in Cook’s Creek, the last of more than forty construction projects, designed or built by Ruh. The Grotto was unfinished at the time of his death. Several Ruh structures have been designated as historic sites. The digitized material from the Philip Ruh fonds consists of 15 blueprints created by Father Philip Ruh featuring his designs for Ukrainian Catholic churches, as well as nearly 200 photographs of the interiors and exteriors of Ukrainian Catholic churches and church facilities, many of which were designed and constructed by Father Ruh.

: Prairie Prestige: How Western Canadian Artists Have Influenced Canadian Art; The Prairie Prestige digital collection will demonstrate how western Canadian artists influenced artists throughout Canada and around the world. It will demonstrate how western Canadian artists have been instrumental in shaping Canada's sterling reputation as a world leader and innovator in art and culture. Prairie Prestige: How Western Canadian Artists Have Influenced Canadian Art features digitized archival material from the fonds of several prominent western Canadian artists, namely Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald, George Swinton, Arnold O. Brigden, Elizabeth Maude MacVicar, Bertram Brooker, Leo Mol, and Angus Shortt. In addition, the religious work of several Ukrainian-Canadian artists is also showcased. Digitized photographs, correspondence, diaries, catalogues, sketches, drawings, and audio clips from the archival holdings of these individuals demonstrate the quality of their work and their relevance to the national art scene. Canadian art is a key component to the cultural mosaic in which we live and the archival records of the artists included in this digital collection vividly emphasize this point. The records have been digitized from the holdings of the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, the Winnipeg Art Gallery Archives, and the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg Archives.

: Rare books collection; Rare books and various other printed or manuscript materials covering a wide variety of areas are held in Archives & Special Collections. The collection numbers approximately 30,000 volumes and is constantly expanding. Included in the collection are the Dysart Memorial Collection of Rare Books & Manuscripts, the St. John's College Rare Book Collection, and the Slavic Rare Book Collection. Further subject strengths of the Rare Book Collection are in Canadiana, particularly in Canadian Prairie literature, social history, immigration, agricultural development of western Canada, and early Arctic exploration; early native language syllabics; church history and philosophy; bibles (including the 1611 King James Bible); and English literature.

: Sandra Barz fonds; Sandra Barz completed her education at Skidmore College graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1952. She began her career in publishing and later became interested in Inuit art after purchasing a few pieces while visiting Canada. Thereafter she began to research and compile information relating to Inuit prints from Arctic Quebec/Puvirnituq, Baker Lake, Cape Dorset, Clyde River, Holman Island, and Pangnirtung. Her first exploration in this field involved developing, editing, and publishing 28 issues of Arts and Culture of the North from 1976 to 1984. She followed this work with a series of three volumes titled Inuit Artists Print Workbook, Volumes I, II, and III. The volumes catalogue over 8,000 Inuit print images dating from 1957 to the present, produced in the aforementioned communities, as well as prints produced independently of the Arctic co-operative system. Barz's papers detail over forty years of dedication to documenting Inuit artist biographies, the evolution of printmaking, and encouraging growing interest for Inuit art worldwide.

: Sterling Demchinsky fonds; Sterling Demchinsky is an amateur photographer, a Canadian of Ukrainian descent, born in Flin Flon, Manitoba in 1957. He moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1975 for university, later departing for Ottawa to work as a technical writer for the Federal Government of Canada. Two decades later, he began to photograph Ukrainian churches, in particular churches of historic interest in forgotten corners of Ukrainian settlement on the Prairies and in British Columbia. With each successive year since the inception of the project, Demchinsky has continued his efforts, methodically recording historic and modern churches in select geographic locations. In addition, he has studied iconography, and has created a website to showcase in photo and in text, the results of his efforts.

: Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg fonds; The Archeparchy of Winnipeg is the Metropolitan See of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Canada. It is led by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Winnipeg, Lawrence D. Huculak, OSBM. The Canadian Metropolia of the Ukrainian Catholic Church is comprised of this Archeparchy and its suffragan eparchies: New Westminster (British Columbia and the territory north), Edmonton (Alberta and the territory north), Saskatoon (Saskatchewan and the territory north), and Toronto and Eastern Canada (Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada and the territory north). The archeparchy itself covers Manitoba and the territory north thereof. As of 2007, the archeparchy has 29,000 Catholics in 130 parishes, served by 29 eparchial priests, 11 monastic priests, 13 deacons, and 17 Women Religious. The digitized material from the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg fonds consists of an article written by Gloria Romaniuk, Archivst for the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg Archives, which tells the story of how a stone from Lourdes, France came to be installed in the Cook’s Creek Grotto, in Manitoba, and a 9:50 minute colour, silent DVD, entitled Building of St. Josaphat Cathedral, produced by the Basilian Fathers in Edmonton, Alberta, between 1939 to 1944.

: United Grain Growers Ltd. fonds; The precursor to the United Grain Growers was formed in 1901 in Indian Head, Saskatchewan, by a group of farmers who came together to discuss common problems related to grain farming. The "Grain Growers" concept spread quickly to Alberta and Manitoba and in 1917 the movement amalgamated its commercial interests in the three Prairie Provinces to form United Grain Growers Ltd. The infrastructure of the company included grain elevators, terminals, and a farm supply network. UGG bought or built an extensive series of country elevators across the West from 1912 to the 1960s. Grain terminal facilities were also constructed and included facilities at Thunder Bay, New Westminister and Vancouver. Through their elevator system the UGG sold supplies such as coal, twine, chemicals and fertilizer to their farm customers. On November 1, 2001, it merged with Agricore (formed by the consolidation of the Manitoba and Alberta Wheat Pools) to form a new company, Agricore United. In 2007, Agricore United merged with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool to form Viterra. The digitized material from the United Grain Growers fonds consists of nearly 1800 pages of histories pertaining to the United Grain Growers grain elevators in towns throughout Manitoba and Saskatchewan.