Fonds MSS SC 158 (A.95-46, A.96-66) - Helen Promislow fonds

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Helen Promislow fonds

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CA UMASC MSS SC 158 (A.95-46, A.96-66)

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0.01 m of textual material.

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(1923-1993)

Biographical history

Born in 1923, daughter of Nathan Mitchell and Fanny Edel, she worked as a typist and bookkeeper and married Hank Promislow (1924-1998) in 1946. The couple had two children, and she worked as a homemaker while her husband Hank pursued a career in education. As their two children grew up, she enrolled part-time at the University of Manitoba, earning a BA and MA degrees in English Literature, and won the Sidney Warhaft Memorial Prize for best Masters English thesis.

Active within the feminist movement, CCF/NDP politics, and a volunteer mental health worker, she ran for office in the Kildonan Park Ward, and served as a City Councillor (1980-1989), opting not to run a fourth time on account of poor health brought on by a heart attack on 24 July 1988. A noted contract bridge player, she won numerous tournaments, including the Marcus Cup in 1964 and was a Life Master of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). She served in the ACBL’s executive and was President of the Winnipeg Contract Bridge Club, as well as President of the Omna Chapter and a member of the Regional Council of Pioneer Women and its National Board. She was recognized by Heritage Winnipeg with a special award for her contributions to raising awareness about local heritage buildings.

She died at Winnipeg on 16 September 1993 and was buried in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery. She is commemorated with the Helen Promislow Memorial Park, and along with her husband, by the Helen and Hank Promislow Memorial Fund at the St. Boniface Research Foundation.

Custodial history

The fonds was donated to University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections by Shirley Christianson in 1995 and by Hank Promislow, Helen Promislow's husband, in 19

Scope and content

The fonds consists primarily of letters between Helen Promislow and her first cousin, author Leon Edel. Edel is best known for his biography of novelist Henry James. Most letters focus on personal matters or Promislow's political career. Some letters were addressed to Promislow's husband, Hank Promislow, after her death.

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