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Jean A. Hembroff MacDonald fonds

https://archives.whyte.org/en/permalink/descriptions54681

Part Of: Jean A. Hembroff MacDonald fonds

Scope & Content: Fonds consists of three sous-fonds: M573 / V797 / S60. M573 consists of three series, 26 cm of textual records, 1924-2005. Series I: Personal Papers, 19 cm, ca.1930-2005 (including notebooks and drafts of various talks that Jean delivered and records related to her participation in the Trail Rider…

Date Range: ca.1908-ca.2011

Reference Code: M573 / V797 / S60

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

GMD: Photograph; Photograph print; Private record; Published record; Newspaper clipping; Transparency; Textual record; Sound recording; Lantern slide

Part Of: Jean A. Hembroff MacDonald fonds

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

Fonds Number: M573 / V797 / S60

Sous-Fonds: M573; V797; S60

Accession Number: 2019.111

Reference Code: M573 / V797 / S60

GMD: Photograph; Photograph print; Private record; Published record; Newspaper clipping; Transparency; Textual record; Sound recording; Lantern slide

Date Range: ca.1908-ca.2011

Physical Description: 26 cm of textual records.-- 109 photographs (42 prints, 67 lantern slides). -- 2 sound recordings.

History / Biographical: Jean Alexandra Hembroff was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on April 5, 1908 to Walter B. Hembroff (d. 1945) and Sarah Jane Hembroff (d.1952). Jean was accepted to the MacPhail School of Music and Dramatic Art at the University of Minnesota, from which she graduated in 1927. She returned to Winnipeg to begin teaching courses in speech arts and drama. To establish herself, she first volunteered as the "story lady" at the Williams Avenue Public Library and quickly became known as an excellent speaker sought by many different organizations. She taught at St. Mary's Academy and the Evening Institute at the University of Manitoba, as well as offered private sessions. Many of her students used the skills they learned from Jean as they entered radio, television, politics, and business. Jean was also very active in organizing and adjucating Speech Arts festivals in Manitoba, often going to inaccessible places to give workshops. Her teaching, broadcasting, adjucating, coaching, and speaking career spanned more than 50 years. Jean was hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway's promotions manager to give presentations and broadcast interviews across Canada and the United States. In 1937, Jean joined the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and participated in their summer trail ride in the same year. For that year's issue of the Trail Rider's Bulletin Jean wrote an article - and became the first woman to ever do so. In 1938, during her lecture titled "Trail Riding in the Rockies" on January 18, 1938 at the Royal Alexandra Hotel, Jean met John David (Jack) MacDonald. Jack and Jean were married on June 18, 1938, and the couple had one son, Bruce Walter James MacDonald (August 28, 1946-August 25, 2016). Jean participated in several trail rides with the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and the Sky Line Trail, and produced articles reflecting her experiences. Jean loved to travel and visited places all around Canada and the United States, Borneo, Tangier, Montevideo, Stockholm, New Delhi, and Tonga. At the age of 102, Jean passed away on February 2, 2011 and is buried in Winnipeg.

Scope & Content: Fonds consists of three sous-fonds: M573 / V797 / S60.; M573 consists of three series, 26 cm of textual records, 1924-2005. Series I: Personal Papers, 19 cm, ca.1930-2005 (including notebooks and drafts of various talks that Jean delivered and records related to her participation in the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and the Sky Line Hikers of the Canadian Rockies, particularly 1937-1939). Series II: Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings, 4 cm, 1924-2000 (including correspondence with John Murray Gibbon, former students, and attendees at various talks, as well as newspaper articles that Jean wrote about various subjects and articles of her achievements). Series III: Collected Materials and Ephemera, 3 cm, ca.1930-1950 (including a variety of collected poems and ephemera, as well as a copy of The Beaver Magazine from 1940, for which Jean wrote an article titled "On the Trail of Sir George").; V797 consists of two series, 24.5 cm of visual records, ca.1928-1939. Series I: Photograph Prints, 3 cm, ca.1928-1939 (includes personal photographs of Jean and her family and friends as well as photographs of Jean and Jack's visit to Lake Louise in 1939). Series II: Lantern Slides, 21.5 cm, ca.1937-1939 (Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies official ride of 1937 to Mt. Assiniboine; Sky Line Hikers of the Canadian Rockies official ride of 1939 to Ptarmigan Valley and Skoki; collection of trail ride songs).; S60 consists of two sound recordings, 1 cm, 2004 and 2007 (Winnipeg at Christmas, narrated by Jean, broadcasted on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).

Notes: Lantern slides include wooden case.

Name Access: Hembroff MacDonald, Jean

Subject Access: Banff; Banff National Park; Camps; Canadian Pacific Railway; Discovery and travel; Discovery and exploration; Empress Hotel; European travel; Family and personal life; Guides; Hiking; Horse packing; Horses; Horseback riding; Kananaskis Ranch; Lake Louise; Lantern slide; Mount Assiniboine; Mountain; Organizations; Personal and Professional Life; Photography; Poetry; Scenery; Skyline Hikers of the Canadian Rockies; Skyline Trail Hikers of the Canadian Rockies; Sports and recreation; Sunshine area; Trails; Trail guides; Tourism; Travel; Travel and Exploration; Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies; Women

Geographic Access: Assiniboine; Alberta; Banff; Banff National Park; British Columbia; Canada; Canadian Rocky Mountains; Ireland; Kananaskis Country; Lake Louise; Lake O'Hara; Manitoba; Mount Assiniboine; Rocky Mountains; Victoria; West Indies; Winnipeg

Reproduction Restrictions: Some restriction/s on access; Copyright, privacy, commercial use and other restrictions may apply

Language: English

Creator: Hembroff MacDonald, Jean

Category: Arts; Education; Exploration, discovery and travel; Sports, recreation and leisure

Biographical Source Notes: Contents of the fonds; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122854759/jean-alexandra-macdonald; https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-174851/MACDONALD_JEAN; https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/winnipeg-mb/bruce-macdonald-7064958