This series contains materials accumulated by Ian McDonald related to the writing of his book “The Red Baron of IBEW Local 213” written about his father, Les McDonald. Materials include digital sound recordings of interviews, research articles, notebooks, consent forms, a draft royalty agreement, a draft chapter and a press marketing questionnaire.

The series contains materials collected by Ian McDonald for the purposes of writing his Master’s thesis on the history of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 213, from 1901 to 1961. Materials within the series include collective agreements, newspaper and journal articles, court case summaries, interview transcriptions, census tables, meeting minutes, correspondence and dissertations; most materials are photocopies rather than original documents, however.

Also included are materials that pertain to the Lenkurt strike of 1966, which McDonald omitted from his original thesis to limit its scope. He took up the events surrounding the Lenkurt strike in a later essay, “Spontaneity Went Out with Spartacus: IBEW Local 213, Les McDonald, and the Lenkurt Strike of 1966,” which McDonald regards as a continuation of his Master’s research; the essay is also part of the series.

The series contains materials belonging to Ian McDonald’s father, Leslie (Les) McDonald, and other figures involved in IBEW Local 213. Materials relate predominantly to the activities of IBEW Local 213, though some papers also relate to Les McDonald’s involvement in various sports and community organizations, his writings and his personal correspondence.

Materials within the series include notebooks, postcards, letters, newsletters, newspaper articles and issues, legal documents and photographs. Relative to the ‘Thesis Research’ series, many more materials are original or copies made at the time the originals were created.