Delta Marsh History Initiative, Steering Committee Meeting

9:00 am, 25 November 2002
Home of Shirley Christianson, Portage la Prairie

Present: Barry Bills, Maurice Blanchard, Shirley Christianson, Gordon Goldsborough (sec), Heidi den Haan, Bob Jones, Cynthia Jordan, Myrna Mackey, Glen Suggett

1. Minutes of the last meeting (21 October) were amended as follows: 2a&b) these photos were provided at the meeting of 21 October; 2f) Goldsborough did not send questions but will do so; 2g) the Carmichael cottage at Delta is actually owned by Bob’s sister Jody; 2h) the book has been returned to Love. With these changes, the minutes were approved by consensus.

2. Delta discoveries:

a) Goldsborough borrowed from Frank Delbridge of Poplar Point (who borrowed it from the Hextall family) a large lithograph of the Prince of Wales hunting at Delta in 1901. It has, in turn, been loaned to the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg for copying and possible use in their new exhibit on Delta to be opened in Fall 2003.

b) Mackey provided materials on loan from the Morris family, including photos of Johnston’s Beach near Lynch’s Point.

c) Bill Linden, a long-time Delta cottager, was proposed as a potential source of information.

d) Barb Carmichael loaned us photos cut from an old family album (two sides of one sheet).

e) Andy Rutherford attended the recent fish fry and loaned us, via Lois Domke, photos cut from an old album.

f) Shirley Christianson loaned a small photo album with a few beach photos.

g) Doreen Dow mentioned at the fish fry her memories of the fish shed at Delta. She will contact Heidi den Haan about them.

3. Publicity:

a) Fish fry – Goldsborough gave a preliminary financial breakdown for the last fish fry. It took in $2,985 in ticket sales while the silent auction took in $572 for a gross intake of $3,557. Shirley Love has an additional $90 in ticket money, and Heidi den Haan has $10, bringing the total to $3,657. From this, Goldsborough paid $1,791 to Maurice Blanchard, $21.76 to Shirley Christianson, and $48.10 to Barry Bills, all for expenses, and $150 to Herman Prior Center for use of the building. Therefore, the net income for the event was $1,646.14. Bills will put an advertisement of thanks in the Daily Graphic, and Goldsborough and den Haan will send letters of thanks to auction donors. Christianson will distribute leftover desserts to the local soup kitchen or women’s shelter. Leftover orange drink concentrate and cups will be retained for future use. If there are future fish fries, it was suggested to have more coffee and tea (more than 2 pounds of each). If there are future auctions, bags should be positioned higher and labeled more clearly, with larger tickets.

b) Newsletter – There have been staff changes at Fort La Reine which call into question the future of its newsletter, which we have used to distribute our newsletter. Can we include our newsletter with those of the Manitoba Historical Society or Manitoba Genealogical Society? Goldsborough will check on this. On Goldsborough’s request for items for the next newsletter, a profile of the Kissack family (long-time associates of the Lakewood Country Club) was proposed.

4. Other business:

a) Book – Goldsborough met recently with David Carr of the University of Manitoba Press about the possibility of having them publish our book. He is very interested and proposed a Fall 2003 date for completion, which Goldsborough thinks is too early in light of the large amount of work yet to be done. Staff of the Manitoba Museum also offered the use of their facility for the book launch, in concert with the opening of their Delta exhibit in Fall 2003.

b) Grant application – Bills looked into the process of applying for a Heritage Grant. There are two types of grants: 1) those for conservation and preservation of materials for ultimate delivery to the Provincial Archives of Manitoba; 2) publication of books. The application deadline is 31 January 2003.

c) Christmas party – It will occur on Thursday, 12 December at 6 pm. About 26 people are expected.

5. Next meeting: The next meeting will be held at the home of Shirley Christianson (118 Wilkinson Crescent, Portage la Prairie) at 9:00 am on Monday, 20 January.

6. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 am.