Hey, all!

The archive I am planning to use primarily in my major research paper is the Hamilton and District Labour Council’s archives, which are held in the Mills Library. For anyone who is interested in looking at what this archive entails, the Finding Aid is attached here: https://library.mcmaster.ca/finding-aid/hamlabour

Contents and Challenges

This archive contains mostly meeting minutes, bank statements, miscellaneous correspondence, and financial records. Among these seemingly mundane records, there ought to be something that I can use to prove my arguments in my Major Research Paper. I am planning to scan these statements for anything that can relate United Steelworkers 1005 to the Co-Commonwealth Foundation and/or the New Party (later the New Democratic Party). The main problem of this is that I want to confirm the informal relationship between the CCF and USW 1005, and I have no idea how difficult it will be. I could be looking for a needle in a haystack, which might not even be there, or I may be spoiled for choice, and I will have no idea which until I look.

Trauma

Potential trauma in my archive is probably non-existent, given how mundane the nature of these archives are. The only thing I may be given secondary trauma on is how much the country has changed since the days of the New Left, and that is more likely to make me angry than traumatized. I will have to control that anger if it comes up, but it most likely will not.

The Archivist

Luckily, I have met on occasion the archivist of Mills Library, Myron, who is quite amicable and will surely let me look at the archives if I ask him nicely. I attended a workshop he led about visiting archives, and if I use the proper decorum and make sure to follow all regulations and treat the material with the proper sensitivity.

To conclude, I have a very good idea of what I’m supposed to so, but the trick is actually doing it. It feels good to write this out so I have a proper game plan. That’s all for this week, see you next time!

-Riley C.