Delta Marsh History Initiative, Steering Committee Meeting

9:00 am, 20 January 2003
Home of Shirley Christianson, Portage la Prairie

Present: Barry Bills, Maurice Blanchard, Shirley Christianson, Denzil Gamble, Gordon Goldsborough (sec), Heidi den Haan, Bob Jones, Glen Suggett

1. Minutes of the last meeting (25 November) were approved by consensus.

2. Delta discoveries:

a) Krieger – Goldsborough reported his correspondence with Janice Krieger in the USA, who found our web site and offered assistance from her mother, Alice Solomon, whose family (the Snyders) had a cottage at Delta. She is apparently related to Neva Pearson, whose nephew Jack Craig sent us a copy of her Delta recollections, as well as several scanned photos on CD. Goldsborough will send Ms. Krieger a set of questions that she will discuss with her mother.

b) MacDonald – Goldsborough reported a similar situation to the above with Heather MacDonald of southern Ontario whose grandfather Gordon MacDonald was a long-time Delta storekeeper. He will forward a list of questions, which Heather has promised to bring to her father, who spent his first few years at Delta. Mr. MacDonald had loaned some photographs of Delta to the Oakland History Group but had not received them back. He is willing to allow us to see them too.

c) Inkster – Goldsborough reported that Myrna Mackey has not yet succeeded in locating descendants of the Inkster family at Delta.

d) Campbell – Goldsborough reported that he has learned that the box of Delta history materials compiled by the late Rose Campbell is in possession of the Oakland History Group. He has emailed Shirley Love to see if we might have a look at its contents.

e) Hurst – Suggett provided two CDs of very clear photos that he obtained from Kenneth Hurst. The photos were taken circa 1927 at a “Mallard Lodge” located at Souix Pass in the east marsh. The CDs were passed on to Bills for cataloging.

f) Carmichael – Suggett reported that Bob Carmichael suggested that his sister or parents may have Delta historical photos. Den Haan will follow up on this possibility.

g) Weber – Christianson reported that Les Green has photos from Mrs. Tom Weber of the 1950s flood at Delta. He will provide us with copies of the photos on CD.

h) Dow – Den Haan reported that Doreen Dow has information pertaining to operation of the Delta fish shed, which she will pass along to Heidi.

i) Newman – Christianson will investigate whether the Newman family, long-time Delta cottagers, have any information.

3. Publicity:

a) Fish fry – A statement of the proceeds from the last fish fry is delayed pending any final ticket money from Shirley Love. Den Haan will draft a letter of thanks to donors of items for the silent auction. Discussion ensued as to whether we should hold another fish fry. There was general agreement to go ahead but to hold it later in the year, possibly on Canada Day, at Delta. Goldsborough will check with the Delta Waterfowl Foundation to see if they would allow us to use their building that day. On the question of whether we would hold a silent auction at this fish fry, Christianson and Den Haan agreed to discuss this and report at a future meeting. Suggett proposed having a desk or other place where people with photos could drop them off while attending the fish fry. Goldsborough will check with the Delta Beach Association to see if the fish fry could be held in conjunction with one of its events around this time, as a way of increasing attendance and awareness of our project.

b) Newsletter – Goldsborough will prepare the next newsletter and provide about 2,000 copies to Bills for distribution.

4. Other business:

a) Financial statement – This report is delayed pending receipt of information on additional fish fry ticket sales. A $20 donation was received from Gamble.

b) Heritage grant application – Applications are due on 31 January. Bills gave the form to Goldsborough at the last meeting. On consideration, it was decided not to apply at this time, as grants are typically awarded for final products, not research. It may be appropriate to apply at the next deadline in June. Further to the subject of funding, Goldsborough will check with the OnSite program to see if we would qualify to have a person work on this project. Suggett will look into options for funding that might exist through the provincial government.

c) MHS affiliation – After discussion, it was agreed that DMHI should become an Affiliate of the Manitoba Historical Society. This will allow us to include one of our newsletters with an MHS mailing, and give us a subscription to the MHS newsletter and journal Manitoba History. Goldsborough will make arrangements to pay the $40 annual fee. On a related note, Goldsborough talked about the Society’s Centennial Business program, and asked if anyone knew of Portage businesses that would qualify. Some names were suggested, although no one was certain if they had existed for at least 100 years. Goldsborough will write to the Portage Chamber of Commerce to introduce the program to them.

d) Standard question list – Goldsborough reported that he has been contacted by a couple of long-time Delta residents who are willing to answer questions about their recollections. He suggested that we should develop a standard question list that might be sent in response to such inquiries, now and in the future. Suggestions for this list were discussed. Goldsborough will prepare a list for circulation and discussion at the next meeting.

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, 24 February.

6. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 10:50 am.