GRACE MACINNIS, 1905 - AN INVENTORY OF HER PAPER S I N THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBI A SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DIVISIO N VICTORIA KENDALL BLINKHOR N AUGUST 1987 GRACE MACINNIS PAPERS TABLE OF CONTENT S Introduction i Biographical Note Scope and Content Note v Series Descriptions 1 Series I : Memoirs 1 Series II : Diaries 3 Series III : Notebooks 5 Series IV : Correspondence 7 Series V : Personal Subject Files 8 Series VI : Office Subject Files 1 0 Series VII : Buestbp oke 1 3 Series VIII : Theses ~ 1 4 Series IX : Photographs 1 5 Series X : Audiovisual Material 16 Subgroup 1 : Angus MsoIuniez ^^^ 1 7 Series I : Diarie s Series II : Correspondence Series III : Speech notes GRACE MACINNIS PAPERS -- INTRODUCTIO N The Grace Mac:Innis Papers date from 1900 to 1986 . Include d are documents which reflect the richness of MacInnis' persona l and public life from her childhood to retirement years . He r vibrant involvement in poetry and fiction as a girl growing up i n Gibson's Landing, British Columbia, the intellectual discoverie s of her university years, her growing awareness of socialism, th e effect of her marriage to Angus Maclnnis in 1932, the fruition o f her political consciousness, her achivements as a politician an d a woman, and most essentially, her veracity and compassion as a friend, wife, and political counsellor are revealed in thes e papers . The first transfer of the Grace Maclnnis papers to Specia l Collections occurred in 1978 with an accession of tape d interviews between Anne Scotton of the NDP Federal Archives an d Maclnnis . The balance of the collection was donated in Marc h 1987 by Maclnnis and her nephew Bob Woodsworth . Special Collections holds the record of the Vancouver - Kingsway riding she represented for the NDP as well as referenc e by and about her in the Angus Maclnnis Memorial Collection, th e Angus Maclnnis Papers, and the Lillie d'Easum Collection . Access : Grace Maclnnis has granted open access to her papers . Copyright is retained by Maclnnis and her heirs . Permission to reproduce audio cassettes is required from the NDP Federa l Archives . Extent : 1 .6 m. Suggested citation : University of British Columbia, Special Collections, Grace Maclnnis Papers, file 1-3, Diary, 1939/36-42 . Subsequent citation : UBCSC, Grace Maclnnis, 1-3/36-42 . ii GRACE MACINNIS PAPERS - BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Born in 1905, the eldest daughter of J . S . Woodsworth , founder and leader of the Cooperative Cow+nweal.th Movement i n Canada, Grace Winona Maclnrr?:s received her B . A . from the University of Manitoba, studied French language at the Sorbonne in Paris, and qualified to be a teacher at the Ottawa Norma l Scho After a brief career in teaching, Maclnnis went to Ottawa t o serve as secretary to her father, currently sitting as Member o f Parliament for Winnipeg North-Centre, There she met socialis t Angus Maclnnis from Vancouver . The couple married in 1932 . With her background in socialism and her dedication to the newly-formed CCF party, Grace continued as secretary to her father as well as for the fledgling CCF caucus in Ottawa . After moving to Vancouver during the early 1940's, Maclnnis won a sea t in the B .C . Provincial Legislature as the member for Vancouver - Burrard . She retained the seat until 1945 . The failing health o f her husband prevented her from running for office for nearly a decade, however, despite Angus Maclnnis' death in 1964 and a severe case of crippling arthritis, Maclnnis continued as a member of the provincial executive of the party and served tw o iii termE as president . In 1965 when Arnold Webster retired from :federal politic s and vacated the rad nq Vancouver-hinqsway, Macinnai- fan an d won, assuminq the positron ot British Columbia's first acrid cin .l y woman member of Parliament . he retained her seat until he r retirement an 1974 . A bnckroom politician ot extraordinary tenacity an d intuition, Maclnnis was influential within provincial an d national party circles . She worked hardest for low-incom e housinq, consumer riqhts, women' equality, and family planninq . She also took great interest in international affairs, serving a s Canada's representative in a number of European conferences . For her contributions to politics and humanity, Maclnnis ha s received several awards, including the Governor General' s "Persons Award (1979) and the Canadian Labour Conference's "Awar d for Outstanding Service to Humanity" (1982) . In the 1970's, th e Paris-based journal Max_i .p_Clairle, deemed Maclnnis to be one of th e world's fifty most influential women . Her publications includ e S.,__,Wops(sygrt.b. :_ A ___ (1953) . GRACE MACINNIS PAPERS : SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE The Grace Maclnnis Papers span the years 1900 to 1986 wit h the bulk of the material falling into the period of Maclnnis ' active political years, 1940 to 1980 . The papers include childhood notebooks and journals, dail y diaries and travel diaries supplemented, after 1932, by Angu s Maclnnis' observations, audio tapes and typed transcripts o f Maclnnis' memoirs, family and political photographs , correspondence, subject files consisting of correspondence , minutes, printed material, published reports, photographs, pres s clippings, notes, speeches, and addresses, essays and these s relating to socialism, archival documents belonging to J . S . Woodsworth, guest books, and audiovisual material . A subgroup of material includes dairies, correspondence, and speech materia l generated by Angus Maclnnis . The arrangement of the Grace Maclnnis Papers is based on subgroup and series level description . In assessing the papers in their original containers, ten series and one subgroup becam e apparant : v GRACE MACINNIS PAPERS - SCOPE AND CONTENT NOT E Series I : Memoir s Series II : Diaries Series III : Notebook s Series IV : Correspondenc e Series V : Personal Subject File s Series VI : Office Subject File s Series VII : Guestbooks Series VIII : Theses Series IX : Photograph s Series X : Audiovisual materia l Subgroup 1 : Angus Maclnnis Paper s Series I : Diary Series II : Correspondenc e Series III : Speech materia l The order of the materials within the series is essentiall y original . The chronological order of certain items such a s correspondence and diaries and the alphabetical arrangement of file titles has been adjusted to consistentcy, but aside from this, the arrangment is that imposed by Maclnnis . Photographs have been placed in acid neutral/ lignin fre e envelopes . The panoramic prints in series IX have bee n interleafed with acid neutral tissue . Special media such as t o photographs, video cassette, and audio cassettes have been place d at the end of the collection in the case that conservatio n precautions demand quick removal . The research strengths of the collection lie principally i n vi GRACE MACINNIS PAPERS - SCOPE AND CONTENT NOT E the variety and scope of materials -- Maclnnis' private an d public papers, of numerous types, are so thematicaly , stylistically, and temperamentally similar that a complete sens e of their creator emerges . The generous time span of the paper s also allows for a consistent view of Maclnnis ' maturation as a stateswoman of true artistic and humanitaria n impulses . The seeds of her independence and acute powers o f artistic observation and judgement so evident in her childhood journal (3-4) for example, are articulated later in the journa l written while at the Ottawa Normal School (3-4) and again in he r mature travel diaries and parliamentaty papers . By virtue of being a prolific collector, the inclusion o f anniversary cards from her husband, letters from her mother, an d scraps of writing generated in innumerable contexts, Maclnnis ha s ensured researchers a balanced view of her political and persona l sensibilities . Another strength lies in the succinct yet complet e documentation of political interests and events . While only a few files are devoted to family planning and abortion, fo r example, the depth and candour of those files provid e justification for the international acclaim Maclnnis has receive d as a lobbyist for family rights . vii GRACE MACINNIS PAPERS - SCOPE AHD CONTENT NOT E Finally, the fact that the socialist cause has always been a part of her life infuses the papers with an energy that refelct s cohesiveness . Significant correspondents such as Luc y Woodsworth, Tommy Douglas, and other prominent socialists figur e repeatedly and in different situations in the papers, attestin g to the centrality of the CCF-NDP cause to Grace MacInnis ' identity throughout her life . viii SERIES I : MEMOIRS I . Memoirs 1979 13 cm . Arrangement : chronologica l This series consists of typed transcripts of oral histor y interviews with Grace Maclnnis conducted by Peter Stursberg fo r the oral history project of the Parliamentary Library and th e Public Archives of Canada between 17 November and 10 December , 1979 . The interviews begin with an exploration of Woodswort h family history and conclude with an exposition of Maclnnis ' political views . 1 SERIES I : MEMOIRS Box 1 1-1 Memoirs, 17-20 November, 1979 1-2 Memoirs, 21-26 November, 1979 1-3 Memoirs, 28 November - 3 December, 197 9 1-4 Memoirs, 5-7 December, 1979 1-5 Memoirs, 10 December, 1979 2 SERIES II : DIARIES II . Diaries 1922-1968 17 cm . Arrangement : chronologica l Grace Maclnnis' personal diaries document travels and dail y experiences as a single female scholar and teacher, as a youn g married woman, and as a mature politician . Rarely crypti c accounts of activities and sights, the dairies contain poems , lyrics, short fiction, and perceptions of feelings as well as o f tangible experiences . Of particular interest is the diary of th e "Overseas Education League" trip to Great Britain, France, an d Italy on which Maclnnis was elected to attend as a young teache r in 1928 .