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The J. Clark Keith papers contain a record of activities pursued by one of Windsor’s most eminent engineers during his career with the Essex Border Utilities Commission (1920-1935) and the subsequent Windsor Utilities Commission (1935-1957), largely in the form of personal correspondence and scrapbooks. Also included are numerous reports, subject files, a small number of engineering specifications, blueprints, contracts, and excerpts from Keith’s book The Windsor Utilities Commission and Its Antecedent Commissions, covering nearly seventy years of urban history in the Border Cities. The fonds provides detailed insight into projects such as the Wyandotte Street extension and construction of a filtration plant at Ford City, as well as broader issues of city planning and legislation. Hospitals and parks are also dealt with, thanks to the EBUC’s broad mandate. Collectively, the records provide an excellent survey of the diverse responsibilities shouldered by the utilities commission in Windsor’s development, and the central role J. Clark Keith played at its helm.

The fonds is arranged into seven sub-series: Sub-series A contains subject files; Sub-series B contains annual reports; Sub-series C contains other reports; Sub-series D contains financial reports; Sub-series E contains contracts; Sub-series F contains a diary; and Sub-series G contains scrapbooks.

This fonds constitutes a rich record of Windsor Chamber of Commerce activities over more than a century, shedding light on the history and development of the business community in the Border Cities region, particularly Windsor. The bulk of the records relate to the Windsor Chamber of Commerce era (1935-1991). A small number of records document the original Windsor Board of Trade era (1876-1917, but with records only covering 1903-1912) and a somewhat larger body of records document the Border Cities Chamber of Commerce era (1917-1935).

The records consist primarily of correspondence, reports, and meeting minutes (1903-1991), with the addition of scrapbooks (1930s-1960s), photographs (1960s-1980s), and a copy of the 1876 charter which established the original Windsor Board of Trade. Due to the nature of the Chamber’s activities and advocacy, the fonds contains information about, or correspondence from, notable figures including O.E. Fleming, Art Reaume, George M. Duck, George Drew, Leslie Frost, Hiram Walker, Henry Ford, Jack Miner, Paul Martin Sr., Lester Pearson, John Diefenbaker, Pierre Trudeau, Mark MacGuigan, and Herb Gray. Major local issues touched on in the records include the development of the Windsor Airport, the local war effort during the Second World War, the purchase of Roseland Golf Club, the E.C. Row Expressway, Daylight Savings Time, downtown development, community planning, local government election procedures, regional government proposals, and transportation. Affiliated organizations including the Windsor Retail Merchants Association, the Manufacturers Association, and the Essex County Tourist Association are represented here as well.