Delta Marsh History Initiative, Steering Committee Meeting

9:00 am, 31 May 2005
Home of Shirley Christianson, Portage la Prairie

Present: Barry Bills, Maurice Blanchard, Shirley Christianson, Denzil Gamble, Gordon Goldsborough (sec), Bob Jones, Cynthia Jordan, Glen Suggett, Melba Brecknell

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

2. Business

a) Elder’s meeting – We need to follow-up on one-on-one interviews with a few people. The same goes for farmers and fishermen.

b) Writing progress report – Suggett has written a draft of a story on the Prince of Wales’ 1919 tour of Delta using information from Bills. There has been no progress on the Carmichael photos.

c) Women’s meeting – den Haan will write a summary of this meeting.

d) Fish Fry – Bills will pick up the drink concentrate at McDonalds. Blanchard will arrange for ice cream. Jones will arrange road signs. We will setup the tent the night before (Thursday), and begin setup of the building at 9:00 AM on Friday. A notice about the fish fry was sent by the RM to Delta cottagers with their tax notices. The price for silent auction tickets was set at 3 for $2.

e) List of prospective book buyers – We should have a sign-up list at the fish fry.

f) Bally – Goldsborough received email from Kim Anthony Bally of Quebec (phone 819-568-5821, kimanthonybally@aol.com), whose grandmother was Grace Dunn (nee Palmer). Ms. Dunn wrote a book of memoirs containing a chapter of her childhood at Delta, when her father Henry Palmer owned the store. Kim found a reference to Ms. Dunn’s book in one of our early meeting minutes, and wanted to know how to contact a Palmer relative in New Zealand mentioned there. The inquiry should be referred to Shirley Love, who provided the original information.

g) Younghusband genealogy – Christianson had received a computer file from Wayne Younghusband of Ottawa, containing genealogical information on the family. Goldsborough had a look at it but it contains no more information on the Delta family branch than we had already.

h) Portage history book indexes – Bills has prepared indexes for two noted Portage history books: Reverend A. C. Garrioch’s First Furrows, and Robert Hill’s History of Manitoba. Copies of the indexes are being sold for $10 by the Portage Library as a fundraiser to purchase a microform reader for the library. Goldsborough will provide the information to the editor of the Manitoba Historical Society newsletter.

i) Oakland history book – Goldsborough reported that he and den Haan had met with Darlene Rice Doty to provide her with a brief history of the Delta Marsh Field Station for the Oakland book, and to look at photographs relating to Delta that had been turned in for the Oakland book. There were several that we have not previously seen, and Darlene is willing to permit us to scan them. Goldsborough will contact her later to arrange this.

j) Deaths – Goldsborough reported that Bill Bigelow (son of Brandon physician and Delta hunter Wilfred Bigelow) and Alice Solomon (early Delta cottager) had died in the last couple of months.

k) Proden photographs – Goldsborough obtained a collection of photographs from Vivian Proden, which she had obtained from an estate sale. They show the Delta school and Delta channel.

3. 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, 27 June 2005.

4. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 10:12 AM.