McMaster houses an extraordinary collection of original records and rare books, ranging from Second World War trench maps and letters from Nazi concentration camps, to the personal papers of writers like Pierre Berton, Marion Engel, Margaret Laurence and Leslie McFarlane. a dramatic story behind it, but many do. And the archives itself is a remarkable story. The facility, located on the lower level of Mills Memorial Library, was first developed under the guidance of William Ready, the University librarian from 1966 to 1979. Ready came with excellent credentials: as a librarian at Marquette University in Milwaukee he helped acquire the archives of a (then) little known British fantasy writer by the name of J.R.R. Tolkein. He came to McMaster as the University was expanding and developing a
“The collections represent McMaster’s growing international reputation.”
strong research focus. Says Trzeciak, “Ready and Graham R. Hill, his successor, sought out collections that were international in scope. The collections represent McMaster’s growing international reputation as an institution of innovation and excellence.” The most important acquisition under Ready was the archives of British philosopher Bertrand Russell. Acquired at auction in 1967, the Russell papers immediately put McMaster on the map. Other acquisitions followed, including the J. Barry Brown collection of 8,000 antiquarian books, the archives of major Canadian publishers, popular writers such as Pierre Berton, Farley Mowat and Peter Newman, and Vera Brittain, author of the heartrending First World War memoir, Testament of Youth. Many of the collections were purchased through antiquarian booksellers and other sources, using a generous acquisitions budget. But as times got leaner, the archives came to
Left: The Library’s Marquee Magazine collection has materials spanning from 1975 to 2000.
rely more and more on donations. Says Spadoni, “My job has been to acquire the best materials out there by convincing the owners that McMaster is the best place to donate their materials. It’s all about building relationships and establishing trust.” Spadoni and his colleagues have been successful. In recent years a number of significant collections have arrived at the archives, primarily by way of donation. Today, the collection includes a diverse range of materials in Canadian literature and publishing, music, Canadian social history and politics, business and advertising, labour, student organizations, popular culture, the West Indies, peace and war, Judaica and the Holocaust. Last year the University acquired the archives of Terry Fallis ’83, whose book, The Best Laid Plans, recently won the Canada Reads contest. The archives of the late Hamiltonian Jackie Washington ’03 (honorary), a jazz and blues musician who worked with the likes of Duke Ellington, Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot, is now at McMaster too. The University also holds the papers of novelist Stephen Reid, whose story is stranger than fiction. A member of the Stopwatch Gang, which robbed some 140 banks during the 1970s, he started writing books while serving a 20-year sentence at Kingston Penitentiary. He sent his first manuscript to poet Susan Musgrave. They later married and lived together on Vancouver Island. In June 1999 he was again arrested for bank robbery, and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Musgrave’s papers are also at McMaster. Perhaps surprisingly, the University has strong collections relating to the West Indies, including the archives of award-winning Canadian author Austin Clarke, who was born in Barbados. Most recently, the archives of Loudailynews.mcmaster.ca
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TOUCHING HISTORY
Research collections director Carl Spadoni ’72 remembers the day that a man walked into the William Ready Division of Archives reading room and said he wanted to see his father’s archives. Before the man could say his father’s name, Spadoni said, “You’re Brian McFarlane, aren’t you?” The man was surprised, but perhaps he shouldn’t have been. After all, Spadoni had often heard his voice as a commentator on Hockey Night in Canada. He knew that Brian was the son of Leslie McFarlane, one of the original authors of the Hardy Boys series, and that the University had purchased some of the elder McFarlane’s papers in the 1970s. The successful series of children’s books was written by an army of ghost writers under the name Franklin W. Dixon. Leslie wrote the first 16 books and several others, and is credited for creating the style and characters that made the Hardy Boys so popular. That meeting led to others. Brian McFarlane, who himself wrote 75 books on hockey, donated a portion of his own archives. Then one day Spadoni got an urgent phone call. Brian’s street in Toronto had been flooded and his house was under water. “You better come,” he said to Spadoni. “It’s time to give you my father’s diaries.” Spadoni found the precious books on the steps of the house and more material was stored under a tarpaulin. Later, Brian’s sister, Nora McFarlane Perez, donated her father’s letters and photographs. When the story of the Leslie McFarlane archives was released by the University, it struck a chord. Spadoni and University librarian Jeff Trzeciak were deluged with calls. Spadoni completed more than 15 interviews in the first couple days. Not every collection in the archives has such