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South Peace Regional Archives
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Phyllis Stewart fonds
Phyllis Stewart fonds. -- 1915-1999. -- 32 cm of textual records, 26 photographs.
Biographical Sketch
Phyllis Evelyn Mattoon was born in Consort, Alberta to Fred L. and Mabel Mattoon. Mrs. Mattoon was the first woman editor of a newspaper (the Consort Enterprise) in Alberta in 1913. Her daughter Phyllis completed teacher training during the war and came to the Bezanson area in May 1946 to teach at the Bezanson School.
The Stewart family had arrived in the Bezanson area in 1912, coming in over the Edson Trail. George Alexander Stewart and his wife Sophia came from Sombre, Ontario with daughters May and Florence and sons Earl and Roy, and were later joined by son Charles H. and his wife Charlotte Thomas, also from Ontario. In 1923, the senior Stewarts moved to Detroit, Michigan along with Earl and Roy, leaving Charles H. on the farm in Bezanson. There were four children born to Lottie and Charles: Clara, George (Bud), Doris and Charles Bevan.
In 1947 Phyllis married Charles Bevan Stewart. The young couple lived on his father's farm until they built their own residence on S.E. 35-71-3-W6 in 1949. They had four children: Cherry Lynn, Marvin Lee, Shannon Kelly, Creston Zane. Phyllis spent many years teaching in the East Smoky, High Prairie and County of Grande Prairie School Divisions, then completed a Bachelor of Education in 1976.
The family also raised Montodale Sheep, which for a time was the only flock of this breed in Alberta. They traveled with their sheep to many fairs and exhibitions.
Phyllis remained in the Bezanson area, in the family farm home, for well over 50 years. She was active in the community and in the Conservative party, and in 1983 she became a Councillor for the County of Grande Prairie, a position she held until 1992.
Custodial History
Records were collected from the home of George and Sophie Stewart, and the home of Charles & Phyllis Stewart and donated to the Grande Prairie Regional Archives in 2001.
Scope and Content
The fonds consists of the records of farm and personal records of the Stewart family, musical scores belonging to the Mattoon family, Phyllis' career as a teacher, farmer, county councillor and member of the Conservative Party; and materials preserved and collected from Bezanson School District 3302. The photographs are mostly of school classes and events.
Table of Contents
| Series 059.01 | Family records |
| Series 059.02 | Teaching Career |
| Series 059.03 | Farming Career |
| Series 059.04 | Bezanson School District 3302 |
| Series 059.05 | County Councillor |
| Series 059.06 | Conservative Party |
| Series 059.07 | Photographs |
| Series 059.01 | Family records. -- 1915-1940. -- 1.5 cm of textual records.The Mattoon family The Stewart family had arrived in the Bezanson area in 1912, coming in over the Edson Trail. Geoge Alexandra Stewart and his wife Sophia came from Sombre, Ontario with daughters May and Florence and sons Earl and Roy, and were later joined by son Charles H. and his wife Charlotte Thomas, also from Ontario. In 1923, the senior Stewarts moved to Detroit, Michigan along with Earl and Roy, leaving Charles H. on the farm in Bezanson. There were four children born to Lottie and Charles: Clara, George (Bud), Doris and Charles Bevan.The series consists of musical scores used by Mrs. Mattoon and her daughters Phyllis and Freda; land records from the Stewart beginning with a 1918 Patent on Charles H. homestead; two elementary reports of 1915 and 1921 belonging to the May and Roy Stewart; and a 1940 Land Sale Poster from the M.D. of Grande Prairie No. 739. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| SubSeries 059.01.01 | Stewart family records. -- 1915-1940. -- .5 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of a 1918 Patent from the Department of the Interior (file no. 2938290) for the S.E. quarter of Section 35 Township 71 Range 3 W6th; a 1929 tax receipt from the M.D. of Grande Prairie No. 739 and a $5.00 tax credit note for road-work done; two elementary reports of 1915 and 1921 belonging to the May and Roy Stewart; and a 1940 Land Sale Poster from the M.D. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| SubSeries 059.01.02 | Mattoon family Musical Scores. -- n.d.. -- 1 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of musical scores for piano and choral from the first half of the 20th century: classical, waltzes, marches, ballads and love songs. Many of them were used by Phyllis while teaching music in small country schools. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Series 059.02 | Teaching Career. -- 1946-1983. -- 14.5 cm of textual records.After high school at New Norway in 1946, Phyllis Mattoon went on to the University of Alberta where she completed the War Emergency Training Program, a special program to fast-track teachers into vacant positions caused by World War II. Her first teaching position was in a one-room school in Bezanson where she taught Grades 1 to 9. Until 1956, she taught mostly in one-room schools in Clarkson Valley, Five Mile Creek, Mountain Springs, Smoky Valley and North Goodwin. By then, most of the schools had consolidated somewhat, but she still taught combined grades. The subjects Phyllis most enjoyed teaching were music, in which she had extensive experience and considerable training, and reading.The series consists of records showing the courses Phyllis took to obtain her B.Ed from 1946 to 1976 and the teaching certificates she earned along the way; reports and correspondence from inspectors, superintendants and principals from 1946-1983 regarding her career; memorabilia gathered from several schools; teaching materials for reading and music; and reports from a court case which Phyllis brought against the East Smoky School Division for wrongful dismissal in 1981. There is also a published memoirs, written under a pseudonym, of Phyllis' experience during that court case. Photographs of chidren, schools and projects are included in the Photograph series. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| SubSeries 059.02.01 | Teachers' Training. -- 1946-1976. -- 4 cm of textual records.In 1946 Phyllis Mattoon attended the University of Alberta War Emergency Training Program (WEPT), a special program to fast-track teachers into vacant positions caused by World War II. She spent 8 months and emerged with a Letter of Authority from the Department of Education so that she could teach. In the WETP, every student was expected to undertake three extra-curricular activities besides their regular class work load. Phyllis chose the University of Alberta Mixed Chorus. Most of the theory Phyllis learned was from music classes in elementary school, but music was much a part of her life: part-singing as a child in the Nazarene Church. Later she took one year of piano lessons. Combining the two, practising on pump organs, and participating. She also learned to play guitar.The series consists of exam results from high school; a 1946 yearbook from the University of Alberta; transcripts and correspondence regarding courses she took from 1962 to 1974; certificates attained at different levels of her training such as the first "Letter of Authority" and a "Permanent June E Certificate"; and a 1976 convocation booklet showing Phyllis' graduation with a Bachelor of Education Degree from the U of A. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| SubSeries 059.02.02 | Teaching Record. -- 1947-1983. -- 1 cm of textual records.The series consists of an employment record list, reports from School Inspectors and Superintendants, and correspondence with school boards regarding employment until her resignation in 1983. Also included is a "Daily Register" containing copies of student lists from each school year she taught for the County of Grande Prairie from 1948 to 1983. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| SubSeries 059.02.03 | Teaching Memorabilia. -- 1948-1975. -- .5 cm of textual records.The series consists of a hand-written yearbook from Five-Mile Creek School for 1948-1949, with photographs and biographies of each student in the school; and letters, poems and stories written by her school children. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| SubSeries 059.02.04 | Teaching Materials. -- n.d.. -- 3 cm of textual records.The series consists of some materials used for teaching music and reading workbooks for the elementary grades. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| SubSeries 059.02.05 | Court Case. -- 1978-1996. -- 7.5 cm of textual records.In 1979, Mrs. Stewart was dismissed by the East Smoky School Division No. 54. She brought in a wrongful dismissal case against the division and after two years Court of Queen's Bench dismissed the case because many of the witnesses had since left the district.The series consists of documents used in the lawsuit for wrongful dismissal filed by Phyllis Stewart against East Smoky School District No. 54: letters of support and observation from the parents regarding her last teaching year for the Division in 1978-1979; documents produced by a private investigator in 1980-1981; the Examination for Discovery of Phyllis Stewart report; the Examination for Discovery of Mervin Kurtz of the East Smoky School Division; and Phyllis memoirs "The Learning Curve" published in 1996 under the pseudonym Evelyn Traw. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Series 059.03 | Farming Career. -- 1948-1970. -- .5 cm of textual records.The series consists of a Farmers Account Book from 1948 with some handwritten notes by Charles Stewart and newsclippings from 1964 to 1970 regarding the Stewart family's Montodale Sheep herd. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Series 059.04 | Bezanson School District 3302. -- 1925-1990. -- 13.5 cm of textual records.The series consists of some financial records and correspondence from Bezanson School District 3302 in 1930-1931 when Charles Stewart was the secretary-treasurer of the district, including a voter's list of the district for Grande Prairie M.D. 739; and material collected for a reunion of the district in 1990: class and teacher lists from 1929-1951, copies of Bezanson School District correspondence from the 1930s to the 60s; and some 1990 correspondence regarding the reunion. There are also some elementary workbooks used from 1925-1955, some high school workbooks from 1928, and school supply catalogues from 1933-1944. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Series 059.05 | County Councillor. -- 1983-1992. -- 1 cm of textual records.The series consists of Phyllis' County of Grande Prairie I.D. card for Councillors; a hand-out explaining "the County System;" a history of all the communities and districts in the County written by Phyllis Stewart for an Agricultural Tour of the County ca. 1990; and memorabilia from projects studied or approved by the County during her tenure: the Bezanson Park and Historic Site in 1986, the Official Opening brochure for Bezanson Seniors' Cottages in 1989, a proposed landfill near Bezanson in 1990, and the Kleskun Hill Park in 1992. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Series 059.06 | Conservative Party. -- 1990-1999. -- 1 cm of textual records.The series consists of Christmas cards and certificates of appreciation sent to Phyllis Stewart from the leaders of the Conservative Party of Canada. There are also two magazine articles about the Mulroney years and Jean Charest's plans for the Party. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Series 059.07 | Photographs. -- 1946-1983., 26 photographs.The series consists of 20 photographs of buildings, children and activities at various schools where Phyllis taught; a Tarant's South Peace Surplus parade float in 1965; and the County of Grande Board of Education in 1983. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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