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…
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).
File consists of 3 cm of textual records, 22 x 28.5 cm or smaller. File pertains to various ephemera and collected materials that Jean collected over the years. File includes ephemera from concerts and recitals performed by Jean's students (1933), a copy of The Beaver magazine from September 1940 (…
File consists of 3 cm of textual records, 22 x 28.5 cm or smaller. File pertains to various ephemera and collected materials that Jean collected over the years. File includes ephemera from concerts and recitals performed by Jean's students (1933), a copy of The Beaver magazine from September 1940 (one of Jean's articles, "On the Trail of Sir George," was published in this issue), and various collected handwritten and typed poems (including "Fairies of Canada" by Rose Fyleman).
Notes
Jean's article in The Beaver was about Sir George Simpson.
Includes some related newspaper clippings.
The Beaver magazine was founded in 1920 by the Hudson's Bay Company. The pages of this issue are not in order and some are missing. You can see the full issue on Canada's History Archive: https://canadashistory.partica.online/canadas-history/the-beaver-september-1940/flipbook/1/
File consists of 2 cm of textual records, 21.5 x 28 cm or smaller. File pertains to miscellaneous records related to Jean and her life and work. File includes various notes and works created by Jean (including a talk Jean gave to the Citizenship Court at Parliament on May 18, 1966; a paper about he…
File consists of 2 cm of textual records, 21.5 x 28 cm or smaller. File pertains to miscellaneous records related to Jean and her life and work. File includes various notes and works created by Jean (including a talk Jean gave to the Citizenship Court at Parliament on May 18, 1966; a paper about her first ride on a streetcar in Winnipeg in 1914; and a personal essay on survival); a handwritten account of meeting and courting Jean written by her husband Jack in 1938, entitled "Vagabond Honeymoon;" miscellaneous notes and travel talks, including an itinerary for the 1938-1939 season; a copy of Jean's payment/invoice from the Canadian Pacific Railway for her January 18, 1938 talk in Winnipeg; Jean's Canadian Pacific Railway itinerary for 1940 (to Banff, where she participated in a trail ride with Skyline Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies, and British Columbia from Winnipeg); copies of work by others (including Nellie McClung); a copy of Jean's resume; and various other miscellaneous records (including a piece about Jean and her life written in 2005 by Roger Currie).
File consists of 1 cm of textual records, 21.5 x 35 or smaller. File pertains to Jean's participation in and accounts of trail rides with the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and Skyline Hikers of the Canadian Rockies. File includes a magazine or newspaper clipping accounting Jean's talk that s…
File consists of 1 cm of textual records, 21.5 x 35 or smaller. File pertains to Jean's participation in and accounts of trail rides with the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and Skyline Hikers of the Canadian Rockies. File includes a magazine or newspaper clipping accounting Jean's talk that she gave at the Royal Alexandra Hotel on January 18, 1938 and two copies of the invitation sent to attendees for the talk (one of them has a handwritten message on the back written by Jean); two copies of the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies Bulletin No. 48 (1937), which Jean is featured in and wrote an article for (the first woman to do so); related correspondence between John Murray Gibbon and Jean (1937-1939) regarding writing the article and participating in the trail rides; related correspondence with the Canadian Pacific Association responding to the talk Jean gave; typed notes of Jean's trail rides talk (two drafts, similar with slight changes); a typed poem entitled "The 1937 Trail Ride" written by Jean; and an essay entitled "Boots and Saddles" by Jean.
Notes
John Murray Gibbon was the Secretary-Treasurer for the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies during this time.
Jean also wrote an article for the Sky Line Trail - see related material.