DIGITIZED EDITIONS OF ‘THE QUILL’ AVAILABLE THROUGH S.J. MCKEE ARCHIVES AT BRANDON UNIVERSITY
Brandon University’s S.J. McKee Archives has completed a landmark project to digitize more than a century of The Quill, the student newspaper at Brandon College and Brandon University. Alumni, researchers, and the campus community can now browse issues dating back to December 1910 online through the Archives’ website.
The project makes 1,733 editions of The Quill freely available to the public. This includes not only The Quill itself but also related publications such as The Feather, The Daily Quill, The unQuill, and The Swill. In total, the collection represents approximately 19,000 pages of student writing, photographs, and artwork.
“The Quill is a remarkable achievement,” said Christy Henry, University Archivist. “For more than 110 years the students of Brandon College and Brandon University have successfully produced a student publication regardless of external events or internal upheaval. As such, The Quill is the single greatest record of the student experience at Brandon College and Brandon University.”
Founded in 1910, The Quill is (by a whisker) the second-oldest student newspaper in Western Canada. As a publication from both the Brandon College and Brandon University eras, it is invaluable when it comes to understanding the history and development of the institution. Historical issues also provide a rare perspective on co-educational student life during a formative period for higher education — a time when women were just being admitted into most men’s universities in English Canada.
The digitization project took more than four years and nearly 1,000 hours of archival work to complete. Each issue was microfilmed, scanned, described, and assessed for long-term preservation.
The McKee Archives is unveiling the project during BU’s Homecoming, a fitting occasion for alumni who contributed to The Quill over the decades. The Archives hopes the online release will spark memories and encourage Quillies and other former students to help fill gaps in the collection.
“Leafing through old editions of The Quill always brings back fond memories for me. More than memory, it’s no exaggeration to say that The Quill changed the trajectory of my life,” said Grant Hamilton, currently BU’s Director of Marketing and Communications, but off-and-on Editor of The Quill in the late 90s and early 2000s. “My grades suffered, but I learned a tremendous amount. When we talk about the lifelong connections that students make on BU’s compact, cozy campus, we’re talking about student groups like The Quill — freewheeling, open, and energetic in memorable ways.”
While BU’s S.J. McKee Archives holds the most complete run of The Quillknown to exist, some issues remain missing or survive only in fragile condition. Alumni and community members who have old copies are encouraged to contact the Archives.
Issues can be accessed by visiting Archives.BrandonU.ca, checking the “Special Collections” box, and searching for The Quill. Individual PDF files can be searched by keyword.
This latest milestone follows other major digitization projects completed by the McKee Archives, including the first 50 years of The Alumni News(1930–1971) and the Westman Oral History collection, which features more than 300 interviews with Brandon College faculty, alumni, and local residents.
The Archives’ next large-scale project will focus on the first 45 years of The Manitoba Co-operator, a critical collection for understanding rural Manitoba’s development in the 20th century.
As a busy archive with substantial collections and ambitious goals but only a single staff person, the McKee Archives rely heavily on grants, donations, and community contributions to undertake large-scale preservation projects. Financial donations can be made through BU’s Office of Advancement & Alumni Affairs, while offers of records or Quillcopies or other records that might be worth preserving can be directed to the Archives at McKeeArchives@BrandonU.ca or 204-727-9634.
“Archives are sites of memory,” Henry said. “They preserve the voices and experiences of past generations, and make them available to enrich our present and future. This project ensures that The Quill and the student voices it carried will always be accessible.”
ABOUT THE MCKEE ARCHIVES
The S.J. McKee Archives is committed to acquiring, preserving and making accessible records of long-term value that are related to the history of Brandon College/Brandon University, as well as records related to the city of Brandon and the southwest region of Manitoba, and Manitoba Pool Elevators. These historical traces speak to the world about life on the eastern prairies since 1880.
The McKee Archives are located in the McKee Archives on the mezzanine floor of the John E. Robbins Library and their collections can be searched online at Archives.BrandonU.ca.
‘THE QUILL’ THROUGH THE YEARS
Read any edition of The Quill since 1910 online at the S.J. McKee Archives — simply search “The Quill” in the Archives’ special collections.