Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Macdonald, R. H., 1915-1997
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Macdonald, Rusty, 1915-1997
- Macdonald, Rusty H., 1915-1997
- Macdonald, Rusty Holmes, 1915-1997
- Macdonald, Russell, 1915-1997
- Macdonald, Russell H., 1915-1997
- Macdonald, Russell Holmes, 1915-1997
- R. H. Macdonald, 1915-1997
- Rusty Macdonald, 1915-1997
- Rusty H. Macdonald, 1915-1997
- Rusty Holmes Macdonald, 1915-1997
- Russell Macdonald, 1915-1997
- Russell H. Macdonald, 1915-1997
- Russell Holmes Macdonald, 1915-1997
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1915-1997
History
Russell Holmes (Rusty) Macdonald was born September 23, 1915. He moved from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan to Saskatoon so he could attend the University of Saskatchewan, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938. After spending a year as a freelance writer in Toronto, he returned to Saskatchewan and took a position as a newspaper reporter for the Leader-Post (Regina), where he took up photography. During World War Two, Macdonald served in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1940 to 1945 as a pilot and flying instructor. After the War, he resumed his work with the Leader-Post as a feature writer until 1949. Macdonald was then employed with the Western Producer (a Saskatoon-based periodical) from 1949 to 1977, becoming its first magazine editor in 1951 and then executive editor in 1953 until his retirement in 1977. During his time with the Western Producer, he became active in encouraging prairie writers, which ultimately led to the founding of the publisher Prairie Books as an outgrowth of the Producer's editorial department and later a separate division. An active supporter of improved libraries services in Saskatchewan, Macdonald was also appointed to the Saskatoon Public Library Board in 1960 and served until 1973. In 1966, he was made a member of the Saskatchewan Library Inquiry Committee that was attempting to identify the best library system to serve the province as a whole. In addition, in 1967 he was appointed to the provincial Library Advisory Committee (subsequently known as the Library Development Board) and served as until 1974. In recognition of involvement with libraries and interest in prairie writing, in 1975 he was awarded honorary life membership in the Saskatchewan Library Trustees' Association.
In 1986 Macdonald moved to Victoria, British Columbia, and he died on December 24, 1997.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
Mandates/sources of authority
Internal structures/genealogy
General context
Relationships area
Access points area
Subject access points
Place access points
Occupations
Control area
Authority record identifier
Maintained by
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Revised
Level of detail
Minimal
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
2020-10-15 (Revision)
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
- Latin
Sources
Find a Grave, database and images. Memorial page for Russell Holmes “Rusty” Macdonald (29 Sep 1915–24 Dec 1997), Find a Grave Memorial no. 65019572. Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65019572/russell-holmes-macdonald.
Shein, Elaine. "Farewell, Rusty." Western Producer, published 1998-01-01. Retrieved from https://www.producer.com/opinion/farewell-rusty/.
Saskatchewan Library Trustees' Association. "Saskatchewan Library Trustees' Association : Honorary Life Membership in Recognition of R. H. MacDonald." Retrieved from http://slta.ca/about/life-members/rh-macdonald.
Maintenance notes
Some sources indicate that he became executive editor at the Western Producer in 1952 and other sources identify 1953.