A Brief History of the CAP Archives as
recollected by Dr. Harry Letts
(CAP Newsletter Vol.44, No.1, Winter 2001)
Dr. Don Hill, then Secretary of the Association first
suggested the idea of an Archives Committee for the CAP in 1975. At an
Executive meeting in January 1976, an Ad Hoc Committee was formed composed
of Fred Wiglesworth and Don Penner and chaired by Don Hill. Mention was
again made of this fact in the Minutes of June 1976 Council meeting. In
subsequent CAP Newsletters, members were asked for old CAP documents
(memorabilia) and past Newsletters. There was not an overwhelming
response! However, Dr. Hill continued to amalgamate archival material and
regularly reported to the Council about the Committee’s activities.
In 1978, the Archives Committee was made a standing
committee and several boxes of CAP documents (not well inventoried) were
deposited “for safe keeping” at the National Archives in Ottawa
(finding aid numbers MG28 and 1226).
In 1979, Don Penner was appointed Chair of the Committee
and its terms of reference were formalized:
“To collect, inventory and preserve CAP Archival
Documents that illustrate and display the History of the Association; to
develop a policy for retention or disposal of documents; to record
instances of the deaths of members; and to consult with officers on past
events.”
At this time, Larry Jewell and Malcom Silver joined the
Committee and Dr. Penner began to collect detailed biographies (CV’s) of
past officers which were subsequently also dispatched to the National
Archives (and are still available).
In 1980 and again in 1983, all CAP documents previously
stored in subsequent Secretaries’ basements were also forwarded to the
Archives building in Ottawa. Penner continued to provide regular “Reports
to Council” and work on the collection of biographies of past officials.
In June 1983, Dr. Arthur Gryfe from Toronto was
appointed Chair. He visited the National Archives at least once in 1985 to
“study” the material and regularly reported to Council. In 1989, Gryfe
resigned from the Committee.
In early 1989, the Royal College of Physicians and
Surgeons asked the CAP to participate in a treatise on “Medical
Specialty Societies of Canada.” Harry Letts of Edmonton was named to
prepare a History of the CAP for this purpose and in June of that year,
was appointed Chair of the Archives Committee. With considerable
assistance from Drs. Ken Pritzker, Alec Ritchie, Verne Waldorf, Peter
Davey and many others, a “first Edition of the CAP History” was
published in June 1991. In addition Letts updated the “Role of the
Archives Committee,” developed detailed policies for record management,
and inventoried the documents at the National Archives in Ottawa. He also
inventoried documents in his possession and the rapidly expanding “gifts”
from past Secretaries and others (particularly Events Management in
Kingston and Mamie Bailey of Saskatchewan). This inventory has been
updated in the year 2000.
In 1992, the Committee prepared a poster on “The
Professors of Pathology in Canada” and, in 1993, a Second Edition of the
history of the CAP (now with the collaboration of John Jacques also of
Edmonton).
In 1995, the Executive decided to disband the Archives
Committee and named Harry Letts as the Archivist. Letts continued to serve
the CAP in a variety of ways. He collected and inventoried documents,
wrote short histories of Sections or Committees and consulted the
Secretariat on a variety of subjects (including suggesting honorary
members and potential Award winners – which was also one of the roles of
the Committee in the early days). In addition, he continued to provide the
Secretariat with “obits” whenever he hears (or reads) of them.
In June 2002, Dr. Lett stepped down as Archivist, and
Guillermo Quinonez of Winnipeg was appointed Chair of the Archives’
Committee.
Dr. Quinonez elaborated the By-Laws that were approved
by the Executive in September of 2002.
According to item
70 of the Canadian Association of Pathologists By-Laws, the Executive
appoints a Special Committee to be responsible for the archives of the
Association.
1.
Structure of the Archives Committee
1.1
The Committee shall be chaired by one Ordinary or Emeritus member
who will be the Archivist
of the Association.
1.2
The Chair will be appointed by the Executive for a term of 3 years,
renewable.
1.3
The Chair will report to the Executive.
1.4
Members of the Association may be appointed to the Committee by the
Chair for 3 year terms, renewable. Resignations/retirements will be
staggered to maintain memory within the Committee.
2.
Mission of the Committee
2.1 To preserve
the memory of the Canadian Association of Pathologists and its
organizational predecessors.
2.2 To promote
interest in the history of pathology in Canada.
3. Roles and
responsibilities of the Committee
3.1 Establish
policy and general procedures concerning records.
3.2 Cooperate in
the development and implementation of a records policy.
3.3 Cooperate with
other individuals and organizations in issues concerning archives and the
history of pathology.
3.4 Participate in
the promotion of the history of pathology.
3.5 Communicate
periodically with the general membership through the CAP Newsletter.
4.
Responsibilities of the Chair
4.1 Register,
classify, describe, update and care for material according to accepted
standards.
4.2
Assist the Executive and Secretariat in determining the final
disposition of all records and coordinate the identification of archival
material.
4.3
Act as a consultant with the Officers, Secretariat and members on
past events, decisions and policies.
4.4
Coordinate the promotion of the history of pathology in Canada.
4.5
Report annually and when
required to Council and the Executive on the state of the records and
their management.
Officers of the Archivist Committee
Dr. Guillermo Quinonez (Winnipeg, Manitoba) (Chair,
2002-2005)
Dr. Laurette Geldenhuys (Halifax, NS) (Member, 2003-2006) |
