An Inventory of Marie Barton's Papers at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
Table of Contents
Scope and Contents of the Papers
Detailed Description of the Collection
Correspondence - Family 1951-1997
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Marie Barton (nee Rossander) was born in Huntofte, Denmark on 21 April 1905, the daughter of Karl Peder and Karen Marie Rossander. In 1911, the family immigrated to Canada where they raised their eight children on a homestead near Kerrobert, Saskatchewan. At the age of 18, Marie started her teaching career and met Leonard Barton at a school dance. They were married in 1928 at the school’s Christmas concert. Overcoming the barriers that existed for married women, she taught for four more years to help buy a farm in Davidson, Saskatchewan. The prairie drought of the 1930's drove them from their Davidson farm to another farm at Togo, Saskatchewan and then to Camperville, Manitoba. In the late 1930's Leonard contracted cancer and passed away in 1943 leaving Marie to return to teaching to support their four children, Arthur, Joy and the twins Lois and Ray. She continued to upgrade her teaching skills through correspondence and summer schools and in 1955 finally graduated from the University of Manitoba with her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees. Marie taught for 23 years in Manitoba, first in country schools in the Dauphin area and then in Winnipeg where she managed the pilot program for Junior High School visually impaired students until her retirement in 1970. After her retirement Marie devoted much of her time to her own writing and published many articles in newspapers and magazines. She also organized a Senior Citizen’s Writing Group and endorsed the on-going Marie Barton Award for Excellence in Short Fiction presented by the Canadian Author’s Association (Manitoba Branch). In 1996, she completed her autobiography, In Search of Baked Pigeons , which chronicles her varied life experiences from driving oxen at age six to learning to use a computer at age 80. Marie Barton passed away on 13 October 1999 at theage of 94.
Scope and Contents of the Papers
The fonds consists of biographical information about Barton’s family members; correspondence from the family between 1951-1997; handwritten notes and excerpts from the manuscripts; reviews and correspondence regarding M. Barton’s book “A Slice of Life”; her poetry, fiction, articles and photographs about various people and interests in herlife.
This collection is organized into nine series
- Biographical
- Correspondence
- Reviews
- Manuscripts
- Articles about prominent people, places, events
- Miscellaneous
- A.99-55
- A.04-35
- PC 181 (A.04-35)
There are no restrictions on the material.
There are no restrictions on the material
The fonds (A.99-55, A.04-35) was donated by Marie Barton's children to the Archives and Special Collections, University of Manitobain in 1999 and 2004; (A.02-12) by Betty L. Dyck on behalf of Marie Barton in 2002.
Detailed Description of the Collection
- “Mina Rosner, a witness to the Holocaust”
- “Mina Rosner”(includes 5 photographs)
- “Assiniboine Slopes Ecological Reserve”
- “Saskatchewan’s First Ecological Reserve”
- “Manitoba’s prairie preserves and restored” (11 photographs included)
- “Face to Face” (Communication) (related material and correspondence only)
“Francis, Non-Conformist” (Alberta’s Famous Canadian Pig)
- “June Menzies, Manitoba woman, receives 1929 Persons Award”
- “Beginning of pet therapy at Selkirk Mental Health Care”
- “A People and Pets Party”,one photograph
- “Celia and her donkey”
- “Snakes honored in Interlake”
- “An immigrant’s story”
- “The bluebird of happiness”
- “A light in the window”
- “A home with a difference”
- “Women’s War Effort”
- “Bald Bald Head Hills: a rear view window of the past”
- “Manitoba “Desert”
- “Manitoba’s Miniature “Desert” the Bald Head Hills”
- “The Living Prairie Museum”
- “My Pilgrimage”(autobiography)
- “Senior citizen works for the future of planet”
- “Earth” (Martin Rossander Profile)
- “Post Polio Reto: Pied Piper”
- “Faith, Hope, and Charity”
- “Wild boars once hunted, now farmed by rural entrepreneurs”
- “Hobby honey couple busier that bees”
- “A patient should learn to bark up the right tree”
- “A fine lady of Labrador”
- “Millicent Blake Loder, retired IGA Labrador nurse - a fine lady”
- “Emma and Russell, city farmers, and their rural background”
- “Ellie, my retarded pupil”
- “Mutual responsibility in human relationships”
- “Something to think about”
- “Motivation”
- “Betty Banister”
- “Cathy Smorang, nee Milljour uses a White Cane”
- “Immigrants”, ch.1
- “On the Road”
- “A Remarkable Foster Parent Team”
- “ Images of sport in Early Canada”
- Articles by Joy and Cam
- Articles about Joy Finlay
- Autographed copy of his book: “A Sound of Wings”
- Correspondence between Marie Barton and Dr. M. Myer
The fonds consists of: correspondence; newspaper clippings; personal journals; education material; teaching material including visually impaired material; drafts of articles and manuscripts; published articles; photographs and ephemera; unpublished material both fiction and non-fiction including plays, book reviews, poetry; material regarding the Senior Citizen’s Writing Group, Terry King, Foster Parent’s Plan, the Assiniboine Slopes Ecological Reserve, and patient rights; and several copiesof her books and other anthologies in which she was published.
[Restricted]
Notes provided by Joy Finlay - Marie Barton's daughter
The accession contains the correspondence during Marie Barton's stay at River East and her writing/research material and (PC 181)photographs.
incl. photos of family members