The history of Brandon is full of interesting people who have helped to shape the city as we know it today. Use the links below to explore the names from Brandon's past.
Gibson, Betty
Betty Gibson was a local teacher who was born in Brandon in 1911. She attended both Alexandra and Park Schools before being trained as a teacher at the Brandon Normal School. At the age of seventeen, Betty received her first teaching job at Bayview School in Turtle Mountain. In 1936, she travelled to South Africa where she taught at a school in Johannesburg for ten years. Upon returning to Brandon, Gibson took a job as principal of Fleming School.
Betty Gibson later taught at Brandon University and the University of Saskatoon after receiving her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. She also served as Assistant Superintendent of the Brandon School Division. She wrote a children’s book called The Story of Little Quack, and was involved in a CBC television series entitled Common Sense About Reading.
Gibson was the recipient of several awards, including the 1967 Centennial Medial and the first John Brown Award for excellence in teaching. After Alexandra and Park Schools were closed, the new Betty Gibson School was named in her honour. Gibson retired in 1975 and passed away in 2001.
Graham, Herbert Clement
Herbert Clement Graham was born in 1856 in Oxford County, Ontario. Graham farmed alongside his father until 1877, when he moved to Manitoba and established a farm outside of Winnipeg. Graham later purchased 800 acres of farmland in the Brandon Hills. Graham was married to Annie Cunningham in 1878. The couple had four children: John Wilbur, Allen Gordon, Cecilia, and Winnifred. On July 11, 1888 Graham was elected to the Manitoba Legislature, representing South Brandon as a member of the Liberal party. He served three terms, being re-elected in both 1892 and 1896. In 1897, Graham resigned and moved to Brandon where he worked as customs collector for western Manitoba. He also served as Brandon’s resident director for the Home Life Association of Canada, and owned and operated a coal and lumber business in Carroll, Manitoba. Graham died in Victoria, B.C. in 1934.