11:30 am, 15 July 2001
Delta Interpretive Center

Present: Barry Bills, Shirley Christianson, Gordon Goldsborough (recorder), Heidi den Haan, Bob Jones, Glen Suggett

Minutes of last meeting (12 June): Suggett corrected the spelling of Kay Jadeske’s name.

New member: Heidi den Haan joined the committee as a representative of the Delta Waterfowl Foundation.

Delta discoveries: Shirley Christianson related a story about her visit to Toronto in 1950 when she met Henry Ford, and he asked her about Delta Marsh. It sounded as if he was aware of the marsh and perhaps had visited it in the past.

Delta boundaries: Bills suggested that we clarify the boundaries of the area to be considered in this project. After some discussion, it was generally agreed that the limits would be as follows:

West: Lynch’s Point

East: St. Ambroise

North: Lake Manitoba

South: boundary of Delta Marsh (mostly north of Hwy 227)

There would be, however, some flexibility in these limits at the discretion of the group. In some instances, this area may overlap with the area being considered in the Oakland history project although it was felt that the focus of the two efforts would be somewhat different, with greater emphasis in the Oakland project being on local family history. It was agreed unanimously that we should invite Shirley Love to join this committee so we can make best use of available resources (for example, our computer equipment for copying photos) and take advantage of the opportunity for cooperation between these two complementary projects.

Fundraising: Suggett reported that his application for a $3,000 grant for this project had been considered by the provincial Treasury Board, and that he had attended a meeting to answer questions about it. He may know the outcome of the application within 4-6 weeks.

Forms: Suggett circulated copies of four forms that he had prepared for use in documentation of materials collected during the project. There was a loan form (blue paper), a donation form (yellow paper), a contact person form, and a release form for the use of loaned and donated materials.

Postscripts: Following the meeting adjournment at 12:30, the group had lunch. Thanks to Glen Suggett for arranging it, and the cooks at the Delta Marsh Field Station for preparing it.

The next meeting of the steering committee will at 9:00 am on Monday, 20 August 2001 at the home of Shirley Christianson (118 Wilkinson Crescent, Portage la Prairie).

Information meeting: An information meeting on the initiative began at 1:00 pm. It was attended by about 25 people. A short presentation by Goldsborough was followed by questions. There was a general enthusiasm by the people in attendance for the project, with several suggested sources of funding being made, and a few potential sources of information. Several items, including newspaper clippings and photographs, were brought by people in attendance.