Fonds RNT - Robert N. Thompson fonds

Kilt with Kilt Pin The Government of the Province of Alberta Prosperity Certificate Decorative Pickaxe with Mineral Card Robert N. Thompson Happy Birthday Cartoon Royal Canadian Air Force Cap Khaki Green Military Shoulder Strap with Captain Stripes Military Arm Band Douglas Ruler "Royal Life Saving Society" Medal Dalton Dead Reckoning Computer with Leather Case
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Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Robert N. Thompson fonds

General material designation

  • Textual record
  • Graphic material
  • Object
  • Sound recording
  • Moving images

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  • Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.

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Fonds

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CA TWU RNT

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Physical description

ca. 29 m of textual records and other material
15 political posters
9 political cartoons
185 objects

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1914-1997)

Biographical history

Robert Thompson was born in Duluth, Minnesota, but raised in Innisfail, Alberta. He was educated at the Calgary Normal School, Garbutt Buisiness College in Calgary, Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa, Bob Jones University in South Carolina, and the University of British Columbia. He was a teacher in Alberta from 1934 to 1936. In 1939, he married Hazel Maxine Kurth; they had eight children: Grace, Alice, George, David, Lois, Paul, Robert (known as Mak), and Stephen. During World War II he served as an instructor in the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. In 1943 the family relocated to Ethiopia with the Sudan Interior Mission. He was seconded to the Ministry of Education until 1952, and acted occasionally as a diplomat for Ethiopia from 1953 to 1958, when the family returned to Canada. He was president of the Social Credit Party of Canada from 1960 to 1961, its national leader from 1961 to 1967, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Red Deer (Alberta) from 1962 to 1972. During the 1970s and 1980s he served as an administrator and instructor (Political Science) at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C. He was active in many organizations throughout his life, serving on the boards of Mission Aviation Fellowship, Samaritan's Purse, Gospel Recordings Inc., and World Vision. His numerous awards include the Star of Ethiopia and the Order of Canada.
Hazel passed away in 1992. In 1993 Thompson married Evelyn Brant, who had served for many years as a missionary in Ethiopia with her first husband. Evelyn passed away in 2012.

Custodial history

Approximately 3 metres of textual materials were donated to the Trinity Western University Archives in 1983; over the course of the next decade, additional materials - including textual records, sound recordings, books, and artifacts - were transferred to the care of the Archives. In 1995/1996, with financial support from the Canadian Council of Archives, archival staff processed, inventoried, and described the textual records.

Scope and content

The fonds consists of correspondence, speeches, articles, notes, minutes, photographs, scrapbooks and other records relating to Thompson's personal life, his involvement with various organizations, his military career and work in Ethiopia, his political career as a Member of Parliament (MP) and national leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada, and his work as an educator.
The fonds are arranged into the following sous-fonds:
-SF 1: Personal History/Biography
-SF 2: Organizations – General, A to Z
-SF 3: Military Years/Ethiopia
-SF 4: Political Years
-SF 5: Post-Secondary Institutions
-SF 6: Object and Artifacts Related to Robert N. Thompson
-SF 7: RNT Photograph Collection
Note that in addition to these records, the RNT Fonds is also comprised of the following:

  • Audio and video cassettes, filed in the database with Coll. 02, the A/V collection; also physically filed with other A/V materials
  • Scrapbooks containing news clippings and personal memorabilia sorted in chronological order (from 1960 to 1996)
  • Scrapbooks containing political cartoons clipped from newspapers, sorted in chronological order (1963-1996)
  • Unprocessed reel to reel (approximately 41) and audio tapes (approximately 55) mostly pertaining to Thompson’s political career
    • Thompson also donated published Social Credit materials, including 187 booklets/pamphlets, as well as a selection of books (84) from his personal library on the following broad topics: early education textbooks, teaching educational texts, air force, Ethiopia, Amharic language, local history, and a family bible that has no annotations.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Robert N. Thompson

Arrangement

  • Objects associated with the Robert N. Thompson fonds have been given identifier code "RNT-ob".
  • Oversized textual based certificates and awards are stored in Box 24 (Bay 35 Shelf 5)
  • Oversized photographs and related artworks stored in Map Cabinet Drawer 5

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Script of material

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Restrictions on access

May contain confidential information. Please contact Archivist for additional information.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Finding aids

  • File list available
  • File-level descriptions have not been entered individually into the archives database for this fonds; instead, file lists have been pasted into the appropriate series and sous-fonds level descriptions. It is therefore possible to search by keyword at the file level, but not to locate records describing each file in detail.

Associated materials

During Thompson's time in Ethiopia he acquired three Ethiopian codices (bound manuscripts), carrying cases and instruments to prepare parchment for the making of codices; for more information see the Coll. 12 Ethiopian Manuscripts Collection.

Accruals

No further accruals to this fonds are anticipated

General note

On September 18, 2008, the 114 Social Credit books were transferred to the custody of the Cataloguing Librarian, for integration with regular library collections.

Physical description

Actual physical extent of textual records inside boxes is 15.68 m

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November 23, 2002<br/>October 25, 2012<br/>Thursday, October 25, 2012 2:46:29 PM by SylviaS<br/>Thursday, October 25, 2012 11:07:26 AM by SylviaS<br/>Thursday, October 25, 2012 10:57:38 AM by SylviaS<br/>Friday, September 19, 2008 12:18:28 PM by SylviaS<br/>Saturday, December 08, 2007 11:32:10 AM by SylviaS<br/>Thursday, November 22, 2007 1:00:40 PM by Keharn.Yawnghwe<br/>Friday, September 28, 2007 4:17:23 PM by SylviaS<br/>Friday, January 06, 2006 3:53:06 PM by SylviaS<br/>Friday, July 15, 2005 12:38:18 PM by SylviaS<br/>Friday, February 27, 2004 11:08:46 AM by sylvias<br/>Tuesday, February 18, 2003 6:33:17 PM by sylvias<br/>Tuesday, February 18, 2003 2:59:46 PM by sylvias<br/>Saturday, November 23, 2002 10:23:46 AM by SylviaS; July 2020, tk March 2024 ss.

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Physical storage

  • Box: Bays 31 - 35