Frederick Philip Grove arrived in Manitoba in September 1912. Although he kept his prior life very much a secret, he was born in 1879 as Felix Paul Greve in Radomno, a small Prussian town on the post-World War I German-Polish border. Greve grew up in Hamburg where he graduated from the famous humanistic Gymnasium Johanneum in 1898 and then studied classical philology at Bonn University. In late July 1909, he faked his suicide and immigrated to North America, taking second class passage on the White Star Liner "Megantic" from Liverpool to Montreal. The three years spent in the United States are described in ASA, 1927, except that Grove fails to mention the year he operated a small farm in Sparta, Kentucky, with Else Freytag-Loringhoven who had joined him in Pittsburgh in 1910. In Canada, he was a teacher/principal in a variety of rural schools, including Rapid City where he lived for seven years before moving to Ottawa in 1929. There, he joined Graphic Publishers until 1931, when he settled on an estate in Simcoe, Ontario. Grove wrote and his wife Catherine Wiens opened a Froebel Kindergarten. Grove suffered a crippling stroke in 1944 and although he continued to write, his health deteriorated. He died on August 19, 1948.

During his Manitoba years (1919-1929), Grove published twelve books, including Over Prairie Trails (1922), The Turn of the Year (1923), Settlers of the Marsh (1925), A Search for America (ASA, 1927, eEd. 2000), Our Daily Bread (1928) and It Needs to be Said (1929). He also wrote many short stories, reviews, essays and articles, and a very large number of poems (publ. 1993, eEd. 2007). In Ontario, several more books were published, starting with The Yoke of Life (1930). Fruits of the Earth (1933), Master of the Mill (1944), and his official autobiography In Search of Myself (ISM, 1946, eEd. 2007) followed. His "ant-book", the Swiftian satire Consider Her Ways (1947), was published as a fragment. Many more unfinished typescripts are among his papers. Grove was endebted to Stefan George's "Mache" or way of crafting for all his poetry, and to Flaubert's symbolic realism for his prose works. He is a key figure in Canadian literary history and is known for his vivid descriptions of life on the prairies which often tended to be dark and difficult.

Frederick Philip Grove is one of the most important and debatable novelists in Canadian literature. An intriguing aspect of this man is the mystery surrounding his origins. Grove kept secret his life prior to his arrival in Winnipeg, Manitoba in December 1912. Where he came from, who he was, what he did and why he left may never be absolutely known. However, a number of scholars have come to believe that Grove’s original name was Felix Paul Greve.1 Many aspects of this man’s life tie in with Grove’s, many do not. In accordance with increasing academic support in favor of Paul Greve and Frederick Philip Grove being the same individual, this thesis has been accepted in the present context.

In all likelihood, Frederick Philip Grove was born February 14, 1879 at Radomno, on the Polish-Prussian border. He studied at Bonn University in 1898 and sometime between 1909 and 1912 immigrated to North America. An important element of Grove’s life was his role as an educator. He spent many years teaching in various rural communities of Southern Manitoba. From January to June 1913 he taught in the town of Haskett and during the following summer was appointed principal of the Intermediate School in Winkler, where he remained until July 1915. Tena (Catherine) Wiens was a fellow teacher and became Grove’s close friend and confidante. On August 2, 1914 they were married, the bride aged 22, the groom giving his age as 41.

In the next seven years Grove taught in six different schools, as well as pursuing his own academic interests. In September 1915 he enrolled at the University of Manitoba as an extramural student, majoring in French and English. During this time, his daughter Phyllis May was born. Grove did not receive his Bachelor of Arts degree until 1922.
In the summer of 1922 Grove became principal of the high school in Rapid City, Manitoba, and although he suffered from several long-term illnesses, he taught there until 1924.
Two of Grove’s life-long associates were Arthur Leonard Phelps and Watson Kirkconnell, both of whom he first met in March 1923 at a teacher’s convention in Winnipeg. Kirkconnell was his “private library service”, while Phelps provided connections with many influential literary people such as W. A. Deacon, then literary editor of the Toronto Saturday Night, Graham Spry, later executive president of the Canadian Clubs, and Lorne Pierce, editor of Ryerson Press.

Between 1919 and 1929 Grove published twelve books including Over Prairie Trails (1922), The Turn of The Year (1923), Settlers of the Marsh (1925), A Search for America (1927), Our Daily Bread (1928) and It Needs to Be Said (1929). During this same period he also wrote several stories, reviews and articles, and a collection of poems dedicated to his daughter, Phyllis May, who died suddenly on July 20, 1927 at the age of twelve. These poems are highly emotional and portray the intense sorrow suffered by the Groves at this time.
In 1928 Grove conducted two lecture tours sponsored by the Canadian Clubs, one in Ontario (February to April) and the other in the Western provinces (September and November). Grove was a gifted lecturer, not only on literary subjects, but also on education, art, culture, farming, democracy and science. His wide-ranging interests and encyclopedic knowledge are especially evident in the collection of unpublished articles and addresses. Grove became quite popular and his works were well received by the Canadian public.
In September of 1929, just prior to the Depression, Grove left Rapid City, Manitoba and in December moved to Ottawa to join Graphic Publishers. However, due to personal disputes, he left the company in March of 1931 and used the money he had saved from this venture to buy a forty-acre farm in Simcoe, Ontario. Graphic Publishers declared bankruptcy on August 16, 1932. Before the Groves left Ottawa, their son, Arthur Leonard (named after Arthur Phelps), was born August 14, 1931.

While working hard at renovating their large, white frame farm house, the Groves opened the Froebel Kindergarten, whose pupils were members of the Simcoe English Club. Enrollment increased so that by 1935 it included the “first form” (for children age six or seven), plus extra courses in oral French, nature study, home geography, and art. Meanwhile, Grove farmed his land and the family was basically self-sufficient. Grove was realizing his dream of being a gentleman farmer and literary man. However in 1939, because of poor health, he was forced to give up farming. As the Depression persisted, fewer and fewer parents could afford the expense of private school. Accordingly, the school became less selective and began accepting children with serious learning problems. Mrs. Grove was particularly gifted in working with slow learners, and this ability provided her with an income for many years.

But Grove’s health was failing. In April 1944 he suffered a crippling stroke that totally paralyzed his right side. However, his mind remained clear and he continued his reading and writing by dictation. Early in 1944 Pelham Edgar established a fund for the “Canadian Writers Foundation Inc.” and in March Grove was made one of its first three beneficiaries. He received a grant of $100 per month which continued until his death.

The last few years of his life were painful and difficult for Grove; nonetheless he continued to write. In March 1944 he published The Master of the Mill, and in 1946 published his autobiography, In Search of Myself, destined to win the 1947 Governor-General’s award for non-fiction. He also managed to complete the final draft of Consider Her Ways before his final seizure in May 1946.

For most of Grove’s last two years, having lost his speech, his needs were served not only by his wife but by his teenage son, Leonard. After his death on August 19, 1948, Grove’s body was buried beside his daughter Phyllis May, in Rapid City, Manitoba.
Frederick Philip Grove is a key figure in the history of Canadian literature. His outstanding literary achievements and contributions as a writer, teacher, critic, and philosopher are becoming increasingly recognized and appreciated. Much has been written of this man and much more will be written in the years to come because of the power of his writings, their enduring popularity, and because of his own life and personality.

Betty Havens was born October 9, 1936. She obtained a B.A. from Milwaukee-Downer College in 1958 and an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin in 1965. From 1972 to 1982, she served in the position of Research Director with Manitoba Health. She initiated the Manitoba Longitudinal Study of Aging in 1971 that is still being used by researchers today. From 1982 until 1994, Havens acted as Provincial Gerontologist for Manitoba Health. From 1990 until 1994, she was Assistant Deputy Minister for Manitoba Health. In 1992, Havens was Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. From 1992 until her death in 2005, Havens was Research Associate for the Centre for Health Policy and Evaluation, University of Manitoba. Concurrently, she was Professional Associate, Centre on Aging. In 1994, Havens became Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba, a position she held until her death in 2005. Havens wrote numerous articles throughout her career and was the recipient of several awards and distinctions including the YWCA Professional Woman of the Year. In 1994, she received a D.Litt. from the University of Waterloo. In 1997, she was made a senior scholar at the University of Manitoba and in 2005 she was the recipient of the Order of Canada. Havens died March 1, 2005.

Simma Holt (née Milner) was born March 27, 1922 in Vegreville, Alberta. She attended the University of Manitoba from 1941-1944, graduating with majors in English and Psychology.
During her time at the University, she was the first female managing editor of the student newspaper The Manitoban and was also a university reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Upon graduation in 1944, she began working as a teletype operator and reporter for the Canadian Press in Calgary. In the autumn of 1944, at age twenty-two, she began her thirty-year journalism career with the Vancouver Sun.

She married Leon Holt, a freelance photographer and later high school teacher in 1949. They were married for thirty-seven years, until his death in 1985.

In 1974, Simma Holt left the Vancouver Sun to successfully run as the Liberal member of Parliament for Vancouver-Kingsway. Holt was the first Jewish woman in Canadian history to be elected to Parliament. She sat for one term losing her seat in 1979. During her time in Parliament, she was Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice and a member of its subcommittee on the Penitentiary System. She was also a member of several Standing Committees: Broadcasting, Films and Assistance to the Arts; Privileges and Elections; Labour, Manpower and Immigration; National Resources and Public Works; Procedure and Organization; Transport and Communications; Finance, Trade and Economic Affairs; and Health, Welfare and Social Affairs.

In 1976, while still an MP, she became an occasional columnist for the Toronto Sun. Holt became a columnist for Ottawa Sun and Vancouver Business. She also was a freelance writer for Reader's Digest, Maclean’s, Fairlady in South Africa, Chatelaine and other magazines. Holt wrote four books: Terror in the Name of God: The Story of the Sons of Freedom (1965), Sex and the Teen Age Revolution (1967), The Devil's Butler (1971), The Other Mrs. Diefenbaker (1983), and Memoirs of a Loose Cannon (2008).

From 1981 to 1985, Holt was a member of the National Parole Board. She also acted as a researcher and writer in the presidential campaign of George Bush from 1987 to 1988, although later quit as she did not agree with Republican politics.

Holt was the recipient of numerous awards. In 1964 she was named Women of the Year for Canada in Arts and Letters for her book Terror in the Name of God. She was awarded, in 1969, the Jubilee Award by the University of Manitoba Alumni Association in recognition of her “distinguished achievement” in the 25 years since her graduation. The following year she won the Bowater Award of Merit in the sociological division for her series of articles on changing morality and sociological upheaval of teenagers. In 1985, she was a nominee for the Vancouver YWCA Women of Distinction award. She was inducted into the Canadian Newspaper Hall of Fame in 1996 and that same year she also was appointed a member of the Order of Canada. Her Order of Canada citation included the recognition that “she has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to assisting those suffering from injustice, persecution and poverty. Her perceptive and impassioned writings have contributed to positive social change by raising public awareness of injustices in society.” In 2002, she received a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal for her contribution to public life.

Simma Holt passed away in Burnaby, BC on January 23, 2015.

Rick Riewe was born on June 8, 1942 and attended high school in Detroit, Michigan. He later completed B.A. and M.A. degrees from Wayne State University, Michigan with a major in biology. Thereafter, he was admitted into the Department of Zoology at Memorial University of Newfoundland where he studied under Dr. William O. Pruitt. He continued his studies under Pruitt at the University of Manitoba and completed a Ph.D. in February 1971. Under Pruitt's tutelage Riewe developed photography skills that he used to document the wildlife, plants, landmarks, and infrastructure around him that he later developed into slides and used as examples when teaching. As a Professor of Zoology at the University of Manitoba since 1973, Riewe teaches Wildlife Management, Ecology, Resource Management, and Biology and acts as advisor to numerous masters and doctoral students. His fields of interest include wildlife management, impacts of industrial development upon Aboriginal hunters and trappers, traditional ecological knowledge, native land use, native land claims, and the domestic economy of northern people. He also acted as a Research Associate at the Circumpolar Institute, University of Alberta in the mid-1980s alongside his wife, Jill Oakes.

Since the early 1970s he has taught over one hundred field courses throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe dealing with circumpolar peoples’ culture and anthropology, boreal ecology, and arctic survival. His travels also took him to regions in Northern Canada where he did research on wildlife, Inuit hunters, and the environmental impact of oil exploration among other topics throughout the years. Besides these efforts he has also presented numerous guest lectures and media interviews and has held the position of Co-Editor for the Aboriginal Issues Press since 1994.

That same year he and his wife acted as Chairs of Northern Studies at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario where they gave a series of speeches on Aboriginal people of the circumpolar region regarding culture, economy, and ecology and led a winter field trip. Together with his wife he also curated a traveling exhibit, Inuit Annuraangit: Our Clothes from 1987-1994 that toured the Canadian prairies, Ontario and parts of northern Canada. Along with other academics and on his own, he has published about 100 articles, co-written well-known books with his wife like Our Boots: An Inuit Women’s Art that received Honorable Mention in a 1996 Museum Publications Design Competition and Spirit of Siberia: Traditional Native Life, Clothing, and Footwear for which they were nominated by the Smithsonian Institute for best museum publication of the year in 2000.

Jake MacDonald was an award-winning Canadian author based in Manitoba. MacDonald was born in Winnipeg in 1949 and received his B.A. in English from the University of Manitoba in 1971. He supported himself as a carpenter and fishing guide for several years before embarking on a career as a writer that spanned almost four decades.

He is the author of ten critically acclaimed fiction and non-fiction books as well as numerous short stories. He published over two hundred articles and received over twenty-five awards for his work including the Greg Clark Award for best outdoor article in Canada in 1990. He was awarded the National Magazine Award six times. His 2002 book, Houseboat Chronicles, won three awards including the prestigious Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

His 1997 young adult novel Juliana and the Medicine Fish was made into a feature film in 2015. In 2019, his first play "The Cottage" was staged at Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre's John Hirsch Mainstage. Also in 2019, MacDonald won the Winnipeg Arts Council "Making a Mark Award."

Jake MacDonald died on January 30, 2020 after a fall in in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where he was building a house.

Eli Mandel was a Canadian poet, critic and academic. Mandel was born in 1922 in Estevan, Saskatchewan. Following military service in World War II, he resumed his studies at the University of Saskatchewan where he received an M.A. in English. Between 1953 and 1957, he taught at the College militaire royal de Saint-Jean. On completion of his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, he joined the Department of English at the University of Alberta. His first published work appeared in 1954, a collection of poems in Trio. Thereafter, Mandel published several volumes of poetry including Black and Secret Man (1964), Criticism: The Silent-Speaking Words (1966), Eight More Canadian Poets (1972), The Poems of Irving Layton (1977), Life Sentence (1981) and several others. In the process, he established himself as one of Canada's foremost literary critics.

Apart from his major academic appointments, Mandel has taught courses and given workshops and readings at most Canadian universities as well as in other settings, in Canada and abroad (Europe, India).

By his first marriage, to Miriam Minovitch, Mandel has a daughter (Evie) and a son (Charles); by his second, to Ann Hardy, a daughter (Sara). He died September 3, 1992 in Toronto, Ontario.

J. Nicholas Mandziuk was born in the village of Kryvche, Borshchiv county, Crownland of Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Ukraine) on December 13, 1902. In 1904, he immigrated with his parents to Canada, where they settled in the Ashville district of Manitoba. He graduated from the Teacher's College in 1921 and taught for several years in various schools in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In 1933, he graduated with honours from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Law degree. He practiced law in Oakburn, Manitoba and, in 1961, was honoured by being named Queen's Council. In Oakburn, he was active in community affairs, serving as Chairman of the Oakburn School District, President of the Oakburn Board of Trade, and Manager and founding member of Oakburn Credit Union. He was also active in the Ukrainian community, where he served on the following boards and associations: member and Chair of the Board of Oakburn National Home, founding member and executive member of St. George's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Oakburn, President of the Manitoba Ukrainian Self-Reliance Association, and General Secretary of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. His active role in the Ukrainian community resulted in his being awarded the Shevchenko Medal by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Canada Service of Excellence Award by the Ukrainian Self Reliance League (USRL).

In 1957, Mandziuk ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the Manitoba federal riding of Marquette. He successfully won the riding and was re-elected in four subsequent elections. As a Member of Parliament, he served on various committees and represented Canada at international conferences, including acting as Chairman of the Manitoba Caucus, Member of the External Affairs Department, and Chairman of the Private Bills Committee, and serving on Canadian delegations to the United Nations, to the NATO Parliamentary Conference, to the Inter-Parliamentary Conference and to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Nicholas Mandziuk died on September 7, 1969. He was survived by his wife Mary (nee Wlasiuk), their daughters, Sonja Bejzyk and Darcia Zemlianski, and two grandchildren.

Faye Settler was born on December 13, 1916 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Growing up, she lived in Southey, Saskatchewan, Plum Coulee and Teulon, Manitoba, but moved back to Winnipeg with her family in 1928. Settler completed her formal education at St. John’s Technical High School. She married Bert Settler in 1938. In 1948, Faye Settler and her mother Maggie Brownstone opened a small antique store named the Curiosity Shop in their neighbourhood. By the mid-1950s they moved the Curiosity Shop to 313 Smith Street in downtown Winnipeg. The Upstairs Gallery opened in 1966 as an extension of the Curiosity Shop and exhibited the work of the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. Shortly after its opening, the Upstairs Gallery introduced a regular schedule of exhibitions by both local and national contemporary artists. In 1967, the Curiosity Shop became a Charter Member of the Canadian Antique Dealers Association, and in 1971, Upstairs Gallery was invited to join the Professional Art Dealers Association of Canada (now the Art Dealers Association of Canada.) As a result of the success and growth of both the Upstairs Gallery and the Curiosity Shop, Settler relocated to a larger space at 266 Edmonton Street. Stemming from Faye Settler’s interest in Inuit art, the Upstairs Gallery became well-known for its Inuit sculpture and tapestry exhibitions and Settler’s unique and personal relationship with Baker Lake artists. In 2001, Faye Settler made a gift to the Winnipeg Art Gallery of the Faye and Bert Settler Inuit Collection. In 2003, Settler received the Manitoba Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award as well as the Art Dealers Association of Canada Award for Lifetime Achievement. Faye Settler passed away on January 21, 2004. The Upstairs Gallery closed on March 1, 2005.

Frederick Samuel Zaplitny was born at Oak Brae, Manitoba in 1913 and raised in Dauphin. He operated an insurance and real estate agency in Dauphin and served as President of the Dauphin Chamber of Commerce. He was elected to the House of Commons as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) party in 1945, 1953, and again in 1957. He was defeated in the federal elections of 1949, 1958 and 1962. Zaplitny served with the Canadian delegation to the United Nations in New York in 1957. He passed away on 19 March, 1964.

William T. Metzger is a pastor, spiritualist, and editor of "Spiritual Press" in Peterborough, Ontario. He worked in medical doctors' offices and in hospitals as a spiritual healer. William Metzger has collected material sent to him by William B. Payne (1915-1977), a writer, artist-cartoonist, and channeler, who under hypnosis through "automatic writing, drawing" communicated with spiritual world. This material was first published in the "Spiritual Press" (1975-76) and "Journal of Automatic Writing" (1974). William Payne died in 1977, and after his death, William T. Metzger published material in the book called "Winds of Doctrine: Pictures & News from Spirit" (1989) and dedicated this book to William B. Payne. The material was donated to the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections in 2007.

Ontario architect Bernard M. Rasch obtained a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Manitoba's School of Architecture in 1968. Following graduation, he relocated to the Toronto area and, since 1973, has been a partner in several firms. He most recently retired from Area Architects Rasch Eckler Associates Ltd. His career highlights include receiving the Canadian Architect Design Award in 1976, his first overseas work on a shopping centre in China in 1983, holding the position of the President of the Ontario Association of Architects in both 1983 and 2000, as well as publishing in many design journals, both Canadian and American. His firm, Area Architects Rasch Eckler Associates Ltd., received the City of Toronto Business Recognition Award in 1999. He has also been a long time donor to The Winnipeg Foundation. Throughout his life, Rasch collected books and other materials on UFO sightings, paranormal phenomena, and occult societies.

John Laurence Hamerton was born September 23, 1929 in Hove, England. He received his B.Sc. from the University of London in 1951. He worked on the Science Staff of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Radiobiology Research Unit from 1951-1956. He was the Senior Science Officer for the British Royal Museum from 1956-1959. He worked on the British Empire Cancer Campaign at the University of London from 1959-1960. He was lecturer and head of the Cytogenetics Section of Guy's Hospital Medical School from 1962-1969. While at Guy's he collaborated on studies that helped pave the way for the first bone marrow transplants. He completed his D.Sc. from the University of London in 1968.

Hamerton came to Winnipeg in 1969 to create the Winnipeg Children's Hospital's first human genetics department. He established an international reputation as a researcher, making major contributions in prenatal diagnosis, cytogenetics and ethical issues relating to the Human Genome Project. He was a founding member and former President of the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists. He was the former President of American Society of Human Geneticists and the Genetics Society of Canada. Upon his retirement from the University of Manitoba, he was named Distinguished Professor Emeritius in 1997. That same year he became a member of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2003 he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada. Dr. Hamerton died on February 9, 2006.

Kenneth McRobbie was born in England in 1929. He attended the University of Liverpool, receiving his B.A. (Honours) in 1953. His education continued at the University of Toronto where he received his M.A. in 1956. He went on with doctoral work but did not complete his thesis. In 1962 he entered the History Department at the University of Manitoba where he remained for 28 years, retiring at the end of the 1990 calendar year.

His interests lay in medieval and modern European cultural history. He introduced two undergraduate level history courses to the university, Futurology, and History of Utopias, concentrating on the question "where's society going?".

In 1967, he founded Mosaic , a quarterly scholarly publication at the University of Manitoba, and remained co-editor until 1974.

McRobbie's other interest was poetry, with a specific emphasis on Hungary, his wife's birthplace. He made regular trips to Hungary and maintained his contacts there, as can be seen in his collection through his correspondence and translation work.

Upon his retirement McRobbie and his wife moved to Vancouver. He taught part-time in the History Department at the University of British Columbia and his wife taught at Simon Fraser University. He continued his interests in poetry and literature.

Colleen Helgason Nelson was born on September 30, 1932 in Bismarck, North Dakota. She entered the University of Minnesota in 1950, graduating summa with a B.A. in Music (piano) in 1955. The previous year she married Carl Robert Nelson, an architect. The couple had seven children together. After spending a year in Rome, where her husband studied as a Fulbright Scholar, Nelson entered graduate school at the University of Illinois in 1957. She graduated in 1961 with an M.Sc. Her thesis was titled Six Sparrows of the Northern Great Plains: Descriptive Ecology. While a graduate student, she produced an exhibit for the James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History in Minneapolis. In 1962, she began research on downy waterfowl at the Delta Waterfowl Research Station at Delta, Manitoba. The following year, she continued her research at the Round Lake Waterfowl Station in Minnesota. The following year, she immigrated to Canada, where her husband took a position with the University of Manitoba. In 1967, she started doing museum and library exhibitions on downy waterfowl at the Museum of Man and Nature and at a studio-laboratory at home. In the next twenty years, she mounted over a dozen exhibitions and wrote several articles on waterfowl. In 1977, she was named a research associate at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature. In 1981, she was named a research associate of National Museum of National Sciences in Ottawa. In 1993, the results of her thirty years of research were published in Downy Waterfowl of North America (Delta Station Press).

Melinda McCracken was born on June 1st, 1940 in Winnipeg, Manitoba to William Frederick and Edith (nee Cochran). She has one brother, John. McCracken attended Riverview School from 1946-1955 and Churchill High School from which she graduated in 1957. McCracken then entered the University of Manitoba on a music scholarship and she received her B.A. in Honors English in 1961.

From 1961 to 1962, she worked on the women's pages of the Winnipeg Free Press. In 1962, McCracken went to Paris to study drawing and painting at the Bynam Shaw School. The following year, she took a silversmithing course at the Hornsey College of Art in London. During the two years that McCracken was in Paris and London she wrote a bi-weekly column for the Winnipeg Free Press. McCracken returned to Canada in 1964 and settled in Montreal. After trying her hand at making jewelry for a living, she relied on her writing skills to support herself. She began working at Weekend Magazine, a national supplement magazine, where she wrote captions and headlines, edited copy, and wrote an occasional feature story.

From 1967 to 1967, McCracken was a freelance writer. She wrote a weekly column for the Toronto Daily Star called "The Montreal Scene," wrote continuity for a CBC-TV public affairs program called The New Generation. She also wrote articles for The Montrealer, The Winnipeg Free Press, and The Star Weekly. In 1968, McCracken moved to Toronto and began working on the entertainment pages of The Globe and Mail. She was transferred to the copy desk of The Globe Magazine in 1969 where she wrote captions, headlines and edited stories. In 1971, McCracken was transferred back to the features department of The Globe and Mail, where she edited columns on the second front, the Parliament page, the Saturday international page, and did some work on the television page. In 1972, McCracken freelanced for Maclean's Magazine. She also wrote short stories for Chatelaine and Miss Chatelaine. As well, she wrote book reviews for The Globe and Mail book pages. One interview that garnered McCracken quite a bit of attention was her profile of Adrienne Clarkson in the September 1972 issue of Maclean's.

In 1973, McCracken gave birth to her daughter, Molly. McCracken was given an Ontario Arts Council grant to write a story about growing up in Winnipeg. The completed manuscript, Memories Are Made of This, was published by James Lorimer & Co. in 1975. Also in 1975, McCracken contributed to an anthology of Canadian women. She wrote chapters featuring painter Edith Warkov and McCracken's mother, Edith. The anthology, Her Own Woman, was published by Macmillan. McCracken also contributed a chapter on architect Etienne Gaboury in the anthology, Winnipeg 8: The Icecold Hothouse, published by Queenston House in 1983. McCracken spent the years from 1973 to 1984 as a freelance writer. She moved to Winnipeg in 1976. From 1981 to 1985, McCracken worked as a salesclerk at Classics Books in Winnipeg. In 1984, McCracken returned to school, and completed the Red River Community College Library Technician course. After graduation, from 1985 to 1989, she worked as a Information Writer at Manitoba Energy and Mines. From 1989 to 1991, McCracken was employed as a Library Technician for the St. Boniface School Division.

From 1991-2002, McCracken was a freelance writer/researcher. She was the Writer-in-Residence in Carman in 1996. McCracken was also involved in many literary organizations including: The Writers' Union of Canada- The Status of Women Writers Committee; Re:Visions Women's Film and Video Festival; St. Norbert Arts and Cultural Centre; Payment for Public Use/Book Committee; Manitoba Arts Council; Manitoba Writers' Guild; Manitoba Film Board; Women and Words; and The Canada Council. McCracken's articles appeared in many Canadian magazines. She also worked as the Manitoba contributing editor to the NeWest Review. She passed away on May 17, 2002.

(abbreviated from the "Introduction" to Paul Phillips' edition of Pentland's Labour and Capital in Canada 1650-1860 )

Clare Pentland was born October 17, 1914, on a farm near Justice, Manitoba, a town some ten miles north-east of Brandon. His father was a farmer, later a trucker, his mother a school teacher. The Pentland family, however, were not recent immigrants to Canada. Clare's great-great-grandfather, an Ulster-Scot hand-loom weaver, emigrated to Canada from County Down, Ireland in 1821, settling first at Amherst Island, near Kingston, Ontario, where he practiced the dual vocations of farmer and weaver. His son, John, continued the agrarian-artisan tradition, becoming a carpenter . . . In 1843, the family moved to homestead in the Huron Tract, eight miles north of Goderich.

John's son (Clare's grandfather), Thomas, continued the westward move to the frontier, homesteading near Justice in 1881 where he combined farming with blacksmithing. This was the limit of the westward movement. The Pentland family became well established in the Elton municipality around Justice, and a Pentland has been reeve of the area for a good part of its political history. It was there that Clare's father grain-farmed and began his trucking business. While Clare was still a child, his family moved to Brandon to develop the business, largely in shipping cattle to the packers.

Clare grew up in Brandon, graduating from the Collegiate in 1931 and the Brandon Normal School in 1933. This was followed by three years of teaching in small country school houses at Whirlpool, a soldier settlement area near Clear. Lake, and at Ericson . . . He returned to university in 1936 and four years later, in 1940, graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Brandon College. . . While he attended university, he worked as an attendant at the Brandon Mental Hospital . . . It was also at the hospital that he met a young nurse Harriet Brook, who was later to become his wife. The following summer found him working as a brakeman on the CPR running between Brandon and Broadview. . .

The outbreak of war did not immediately interrupt Pentland's renewed educational program. From 1940 to 1942, he attended the University of Oregon where he obtained his Master's . . .

Almost immediately after completing his thesis in the early summer of 1942, Pentland enlisted in the Army and while undergoing training in British Columbia married Harriet in the fall of 1942 in Vancouver. After officer training near Victoria and artillery training at Brandon and Brockville, he went overseas in February of 1944 where he was transferred to the infantry as an education officer. He returned to Canada and to university, this time in Toronto, in the spring of 1946, under the Veterans Assistance Program and by 1948 completed all the requirements but the thesis for his Ph.D.. . He lectured briefly at Toronto, from 1947-1949, before returning to his native province as Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Manitoba in 1949. He remained at Manitoba for the remainder of his career. . . Finally. . the thesis was presented and defended late in 1960 and the degree conferred in 1961 . . .

In 1962-63, Pentland spent a sabbatical in Cambridge, England. Again in 1969-1970, he spent a sabbatical in England, this time at the University of Sussex working on parish population studies. Unfortunately, failing health prevented him from completing this work and further refining and developing the ideas introduced in his 1965 paper to the Third International Conference on Economic History in Munich.

Despite his pursuit of historical demography in the 1960's Pentland was also able to research and write his second major and influential unpublished manuscript, "A Study of the Changing Social, Economic, and Political Background of the Canadian System of Industrial Relations", commissioned by the federally-appointed Task Force on Labour Relations . . .
The 1960's were intensely productive years for Pentland. In addition to his population research and Task Force report, he also pursued his interest in technological change, producing three major reports for both provincial and federal agencies on skills, training and technological change plus a number of lesser reviews on related issues.

Unfortunately, this level of intellectual activity could not be maintained. Heart problems plagued the last ten years of his life, robbing him of his stamina, a terrible frustration for a man so dedicated to his teaching and his work. Yet despite this he shouldered a heavy administrative load in university affairs, as a member of Senate from 1963 to 1966 and again from 1969 to 1976, and as a member of the Board of Governors representing the Senate from 1973 to 1976. He also served on numerous university and Faculty Association committees as well as continuing to teach, write and research. Two articles (published posthumously) and two reviews were the primary academic output of the 1970's before his premature death on October 13, 1978.

Chronology of Important Dates
1914 Harry Clare Pentland born October 17 to Mr. and Mrs. H.M. Pentland, near Justice, Manitoba
1931 Graduated from Brandon Collegiate Institute
1933 Graduated from Brandon Normal School 1933-36 Taught in rural Manitoba
1940 B.A., Brandon College, University of Manitoba
1942 M.A., University of Oregon; married Harriet Brook by whom he had three sons: David, Don, John
1942-46 Canadian Army
1946-49 Doctoral studies and teaching, University of Toronto
1949-78 Dept. of Economics, University of Manitoba
1961 Ph.D., University of Toronto
1961-62 "A Study of Labour Skills in Reference to Manitoba's Economic Future" for the Committee on Manitoba's Economic Future. Unpublished.
1962-63 Sabbatical leave, University of Cambridge
1963-65 President, Manitoba Historical Society
1965 "Population and Labour Supply in Britain in the Eighteen Century": paper presented to the third International Conference of Economic History, Munich
1965 "Implication of Automation for the Employment and Training of White Collar Workers in Manitoba", for the Manitoba Economic Consultative Board. Unpublished
1967-68 "A Study of the Changing Social, Economic and Political Background of the Canadian System of Industrial Relations", for the Task Force on Labour Relations. Unpublished
1968-69 "Human Adjustment to Technological Change: The Case of the Manitoba Rolling Mills.:`, for the Dept. of Manpower and Immigration. Unpublished
1969-70 Sabbatical leave, University of Sussex
1978 Died 13 October, at Winnipeg
1981 Labour and Capital in Canada 1650-1860: published version of doctoral thesis

Nancy Evelyn Shipley (nee Somerville) was born in Glasgow, Scotland on November 6, 1902. In the 1920s, she moved to Winnipeg and married George Shipley. Nan Shipley published fourteen books and numerous short stories and articles. Her first book Anna and the Indians (1955) had been reprinted many times. Among her better known publications are Frances and the Crees (1957); The Railway Builders (1965); The James Evan Story (1966); and Churchill: Canada’s Northern Gateway (1974). As a big supporter of Indigenous and Métis culture, she organized Manitoba’s first Indigenous handicrafts sales centre (1959) and focused her writing on Indigenous and Métis women. In 1965 Shipley was elected Woman of the Year by the Women’s Advertising and Sales Club of Winnipeg. She also hosted weekly television program (1974-75) at CKND Winnipeg. Nan Shipley passed away on January 23, 1990.

1904 - Born in Glasgow, Scotland, daughter of Robert Somerville and Mary (MacDonald) Somerville.
1925 - Married George Shipley.
1955 - First book published by Ryerson Press Book "Anna and the Indians"
1960-61 - Radio and television series on Western Canadian Indigenous peoples culture given.
1965 - Woman of the Year in Manitoba award.
1966 - Good Citizen and Golden Boy Awards received.
1966-67 - Instructor at University of Manitoba Evening Institute.
1970 - Received North Dakota State University award for Historical Writing.
1970 - Presented a brief to Status of Women Commission on Women of First Nations and Métis ancestry.
1972 - With Alex Grisdale, published "Wild Drums."
1974 - Published "Churchill: Canada's Northern Gateway:'(her 13th book) which received the Margaret McWilliams Medal.
1978 -  Reader's Digest published condensed form of "Return to the River."
1979 - Paper given at University of Manitoba Annual Archives Symposium.
1981 - Anonymous donor established two Nan Shipley Scholarships.
1982 - Published "The International Peace Garden. 50th Anniversary." Peguis Press.

Adolf Leonard Stadelmeir was born on November 14, 1911. After his marriage to Julia Stadelmeir (nee Rudawski), they had a daughter, Louise, circa 1938. In September of 1939, Adolf enlisted in the Canadian Army and was assigned to the 12th Field Coy (company) of the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE). He was posted to England in early 1940, was acting Company Quarter Master Sergeant (CQMS) by the fall of 1940, and later full CQMS with the No. 2 Tunneling Coy of the RCE. He served with this company at Gibraltar from March 1941 to December 1942. After returning to England, Adolf disappeared under disputed circumstances. His wife, Julia Stadelmeir, consistently attempted to locate Adolf until at least 1988. His whereabouts and fate are still unknown, although Julia Stadelmeir’s obituary indicated, perhaps speculatively, that he predeceased her.

Gail Nep was born and raised in Winnipeg, MB. After graduating from Grant Park High School, Nep attended the University of Manitoba graduating with a degree in Education in 1966, followed by a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971. After completing university, in 1972 Nep began teaching as an Art Teacher within the Seven Oaks School Division until retiring in 2000. In 1979, she began her own art consultation service, which she continues to operate today, working with corporate and government collections, as well as private collectors, analyzing the current value, condition and future of collections. Nep further immersed herself in the art community throughout the 1980s and 1990s, working as the Curator for the University of Manitoba Faculty Club and joining the Board of Directors for the Manitoba Craft Council from 1984-1989 and 1992-1994. From 1985 until 1992, Nep owned and operated Uptown Gallery, which focused heavily on curating and selling contemporary Canadian artists such as, Wanda Koop, Bruce Head, Jordan Van Sewell and William Pura.

Ian Ross was born in McCreary, Manitoba in 1968 and currently resides in Winnipeg. He is a Métis Canadian playwright. Ross attended the University of Manitoba where he studied film and theatre and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992. Ross's directing experience includes short films and plays for student productions as well as for the Winnipeg Fringe Festival and the Red Roots Theatre. His writing and performing have been described as provocative and enthralling offering a distinct and accurate perspective on the experiences of Indigenous people. In 1996 Ross received the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer and in 1997 Ross's play fareWel won the Governor General's Award for English Drama and was published by Scirocco Drama Publishing the same year. Ross's plays include fareWel, The Gap, Heart of a Distant Tribe, Baloney!, Bic Off!, Bereav'd of Light, and An Illustrated History of the Anishnabe. Ross's plays have been produced by the Manitoba Association of Playwrights-Short Shots, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Manitoba Theatre for Young People, the Black Hole Theatre, the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Ross has also conducted numerous workshops and classes with various Winnipeg schools on playwriting. Beginning in 1997, Ross wrote and performed "Joe from Winnipeg" on CBC Radio and Television. The popular "Joe from Winnipeg" episodes were subsequently published in two books, The Book of Joe and Joe from Winnipeg .

Mary George (pen name Elizabeth Thornton) was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and taught school there for several years. In 1969, she emigrated to Canada with her family. She taught elementary school in Winnipeg until 1977, when she resigned to take a position as a lay minister with the Presbyterian church. In 1980, she enrolled in evening classes at the University of Winnipeg and received a B.A. in Classics in 1985. Her first romance novel was published in 1987 and, in 1989, she became a full-time writer. She published 27 romances and 2 novellas and received a number of romance writing awards.

David McIntosh Turnbull was born in Winnipeg, Canada in 1906. He was the son of Janet (McIntosh) and William Turnbull, a graduate of the school of Medicine at the University of Manitoba in 1904.

David attended the University of Manitoba from 1924 to 1928 where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics. In his final year he was the senior stick for the Faculty of Arts and was awarded the Manitoba Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford. At Oxford he obtained a Bachelor and Masters of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating in 1931. During his time at Oxford University he was accepted as a member of the University Ice Hockey Team in 1928 and played for the team at the Spengler Cup in 1928 and 1929.

Turnbull returned to Winnipeg, but in 1931 relocated to Toronto where prospects were believed to be better. That year he joined Manufacturers Life, but two years later he was hired by the firm Woods, Gordon and Co. as a "time-study man". Employed within the firm’s work measurement services department, Turnbull was primarily concerned with time and motion, marketing, supervisory training and organizational studies. In 1952, he opened the firm’s Montreal office where he remained in charge for the next twelve years. Upon his mandatory retirement as a partner in 1964, he moved to the Toronto office to assist the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine in its expansion project. He fully retired in 1972 and pursued his own interests until his death on December 26th, 1995.

Born and educated in Winnipeg, D. Harold Turner taught speech, drama and children's literature in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba. He was active in the Manitoba Festival of Arts as a committee chairman and adjudicator and in the Manitoba Historical Society and Drama League. He received the Centennial Medal for his contribution to drama in the Manitoba community. It was for his contribution to children's literature that D. Harold Turner will be remembered. His first publication, To Hang A Rebel, was a Children's Book Centre choice in 1978. He later published Quips and Cranks of George Ashton (1978) and Atomic Archers: Target Terror (1983).

Douglas O. Spettigue, Professor of English at Queen's University, is well known for his literary research into the life and writings of Frederick Philip Grove. He is widely credited for the discovery of Grove's earlier German identity, Felix Paul Greve. Grove had already contributed notably to the literature of his own country with poetry, at least two novels, and voluminous translations and criticisms before he began a new life and writing career in Canada. Besides his work on Grove, Spettigue has written several short stories.

Eileen Sykes was a Manitoba writer. She also worked for Dr. T. Glendenning Hamilton and participated in his experiments on parapsychology. Sykes was raised on a farm in La Vallee, Ontario, but spent most of her adult life in Winnipeg. Her farm childhood is credited as the source of her fantasies of forest animals and the world of nature. Her imagination, when coupled with her literary abilities, led her to publish several short books of children's literature including The Gay Garland (1954) and Fanella and the Forest Folk (1978). She also wrote short stories and poetry and was a member of the Manitoba Writers Guild and the Canadian Authors Association.

In 2000, the Eileen McTavish Sykes award for Best First Book by a Manitoba Writer was established by the Manitoba Writers Guild. Eileen Sykes passed away in 2002.

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was a brilliant but eccentric Serbian-American inventor who discovered the basis of alternating current machinery and conducted experiments in wireless technology. In 1899-1900, at his laboratory in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Tesla discovered terrestrial stationary waves. In the 1970s, a group of scientists came together as the International Tesla Society which aimed to unlock any secrets contained in Tesla's account of Colorado Springs experiments and to compile all of Tesla's patents. Part of this effort was based in Winnipeg, as the "Manitoba Research Group," from which this collection had its origin. The International Tesla Society ceased operation in 2000.

Jaroslav Bohdan Rudnyc'kyj was born to Ukrainian parents on November 28, 1910 in Przemyśl (Peremyshl') Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Poland). Rudnyckyj graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Lviv in 1937, specializing in Slavic philology and the onomastics (geographical place names) of eastern Europe. To continue these and other studies abroad, he left his homeland in 1937, staying for short periods in Berlin, Munich, Rome, and Paris before lecturing in Slavic philology at the Ukrainian Free University, at Charles University in Prague, and at the University of Heidelberg. In 1949, shortly after his immigration to Canada, he was appointed Chairman of the new Department of Slavic Studies at the University of Manitoba, a position he held until 1976. He was also a co-founder of the Canadian branch of the Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences (UVAN) in Winnipeg, serving as its president (1955-1970).

From 1963 to 1971, Rudnyckyj was a member of the Canadian Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism where he promoted the idea of a multilingual Canada. Rudnyc'kyj not only published widely and extensively but was also instrumental in developing a major Slavic collection for the University of Manitoba Libraries. He was interested in the philologies and literatures of East European languages, in the Slavic experience in Canada, and in the origin of place names. Rudnyc'kyj's publications consist of hundreds of articles and reviews, etymological dictionaries, translations, travel diaries, and onomastic studies. Rudnyc'kyj died in Montreal, Quebec on October 19, 1995.

Joan B. Townsend was born in Dallas, Texas on July 9, 1933. She obtained an Associate in Arts degree (A.A.) from Christian College (now Columbia College) in 1952. In 1959, she received a Bachelor of Arts, followed by her Ph.D in 1965, both in Anthropology from University of California, Los Angeles.

Townsend taught briefly at East Los Angeles College from 1962 to 1963, followed by stints at Los Angeles State College in 1963 and southern Illinois University between 1963 to 1964. She began her career at the University of Manitoba in 1964. In 1981, she attained the rank of Professor. She is recognized as a founding member of the Department of Anthropology and as one of the initial creators of its graduate program.

Townsend was actively involved in field research beginning in 1958-1960 with the recording and excavation of various archaeological sites in Utah and southern California. From 1960-1982, she conducted numerous archaeological surveys and excavations in the Iliamna Lake region of Alaska, and studied Tanaina Athapaskans and Aglegmiut Yupik in the area.

Overall, Townsend's research encompassed three unique areas of anthropology: historic and prehistoric archaeology, ethnohistory, and religion, most notably traditional and neo-shamanism and new religious movements. She published numerous papers and articles in these areas and in 1970, produced the book Kijik: An Historic Settlement.

Townsend served on numerous department, faculty and university committees, including the University of Manitoba Board of Governors. For nineteen years, she also served as a member of Senate for the Faculty of Arts. In 1999, Townsend retired from the University of Manitoba and was named Professor Emeritus in recognition of her accomplishments in anthropological research and teaching. Upon retiring, Townsend continued to conduct research on Shamanism among traditional practitioners in Nepal, as well as ethno-medicine and non-allopathic healing.

Joan Townsend died in Winnipeg on 23 May, 2006.

Gordon Harland was born near Treherne, Manitoba on December 27, 1920. He received a B.A. from the University of Manitoba in 1942 and a Bachelor of Divinity from United College in 1945. He taught church history at United College from 1946 to 1955 before starting the Ph.D. program at Drew University in New Jersey in the fall of 1955. Harland taught at Drew University while doing course work to complete his doctorate. Harland successfully completed his doctorate in 1959. He left Drew University in 1968 to found the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Manitoba. He would remain at the University of Manitoba for three years before joining the faculty at Penn State University. He returned to the University of Manitoba in 1973 and was made a Professor Emeritius upon his retirement in 1992.

Harland received a Doctor of Divinity from the University of Winnipeg in 1976 and one from Queen's University in 1989. He was the first occupant of the Chair of Christian Thought at the University of Calgary in 1987. He is the author of three books: The Thought of Reinhold Niebuhr (1960), Christian Faith & Society (1988), and co-author of Religious Studies in Manitoba & Saskatchewan (1993), as well as numerous articles. Harland combined the roles of preaching and teaching. He preached at several churches and was a sought after speaker, lecturing all over North America. Harland died on December 08, 2003.

Leo Mol, an internationally acclaimed Winnipeg sculptor, was born in January 15, 1915, in Polonne, Volhynia gubernia, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) under the name of Leonid Molodozhanyn (Molodoshanin). His father was a commercial potter and Leo worked for him from his early childhood. Leo’s father wanted him to continue the family business but Leo’s plans were different. He studied at the Leningrad Academy of Arts (1936-41), at the Wilhelm Frass’ studio in Vienna (1941-42), and after being hired by Fritz Klimsch, a well-known Berlin sculptor, he was accepted into the Kunst Academy in Berlin (1942-45).

In 1943 Leo Mol married his wife Margareth and in 1945 the family moved to the Netherlands after the Soviets occupied East Germany. In the Netherlands they spent some time in a refugee camp Eindhoven. In the town of Schijndel Leo Mol discovered a small ceramic factory and produced molds for figurines. He advanced to the position of supervisor and continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.

The Berlin Blockade, launched by the Soviets in (1948) persuaded Leo to move to Canada where he adopted the pseudonym Leo Mol. Leo and Margareth sailed to Halifax and continued their journey by train to Saskatchewan. They were destined to work on a farm near Prince Albert. They arrived in the winter, and there was no work on the farm. Leo Mol left for Winnipeg in search of employment and found work in a church supply store owned by Ukrainian-Canadian cartoonist and church painter Jacob Maydanyk. Leo worked hard for low wages decorating churches in Winnipeg, Brandon, and St. Anne. He supplemented his income by creating fine ceramic figurines with Canadian themes. They are considered now some of the best ceramics in Canada.

Leo Mol was well known for his busts and sculptures of famous personalities such as President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Pope John-Paul II, Allan Eastman, Jacques Hnizdovsky, several Group of Seven painters, and many more. He received several commissions from the Canadian Government, the Provincial Governments of Manitoba and Alberta, the University of Manitoba and the Ukrainian Catholic University in Rome. Leo Mol also participated in many national and international competitions and produced monuments to John Diefenbaker, Max Bell and the Taras Shevchenko monuments in Washington, D.C., Buenos Aires (1971) and St. Petersburg (2001).

Leo Mol executed over 90 stained glass windows for churches in Manitoba. The most famous windows adorn the SS. Vladimir and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Winnipeg. In the 1970’s Leo Mol produced large life-sized figures of women. These nudes included “Hope”, “Dream”, “Europa”, “Balance”, “Negro Girl” and many more. During his artistic life he also created drawings of nudes. Leo Mol was primarily a sculptor but he was also a painter who created many beautiful paintings and drawings. His paintings depict Canadian and European landscapes.

In 1989 Leo Mol decided to donate his personal art collection to the city of Winnipeg. The Leo Mol Sculpture Garden was officially opened in 1992. This outdoor gallery is open to the public free of charge. People come to enjoy this unique and outstanding display of art and it attracts many visitors every year.

In 1995 the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden received the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association Award of Excellence for Innovation, and the Manitoba Parks and Recreation Department Award of Merit.

During his life Leo Mol received many awards and honors. He was a member and a past Vice President of the Manitoba Society of Artists and the Society of Artists and Sculptors of Canada. He also held memberships in many organizations such as the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, the Allied Artists of America, the Muenchener Kuenstlergenossenschaft, and the Society of Ukrainian Artists in Diaspora. Leo Mol received honorary degrees from the University of Winnipeg (1974), the University of Alberta (1985), the University of Manitoba (1988). He was inducted into the Order of Canada (1989), the Winnipeg Citizens Hall of Fame (1990), the Order of the Buffalo Hunt (1997), and the Order of Manitoba (2000).

Leo Mol’s work is recognized all over the world and his artwork can be found in galleries, museums and private collections in Canada, Europe and the United States. He passed away on July 4, 2009.