Several men doing rebar and cement work on the PFRA Peterson Building.

Bio/Historical Note: In 1958 the federal government leased a three-acre site in what was then the north end of campus from the University for $1 a year. On that site was built the PFRA-Peterson Building, home of the northern Saskatchewan PFRA (Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act) regional group. Staff worked on planning for the Gardiner Dam, soil conservation, and provided a variety of technical services to its prairie clientele. Sold to the University of Saskatchewan in 1998 for $1, the building's name refers to Bob Peterson, PFRA's first soil mechanics and materials engineer who was involved in the design and construction of many of the PFRA dams in Western Canada.

Work progresses on the foundation of the National Research Council (NRC) building. Rutherford Rink, Livestock Pavilion and Engineering Building in background.

Bio/Historical Note: In 1916 the National Research Council legislation was enacted and the institution was formed with the mandate to advise the government on matters of science and industrial research. For the first 15 or 16 years of its existence the NRC consisted of offices and borrowed lab space. It launched Canada’s first research journal, “Canadian Journal of Research” and funded research for human and bovine tuberculosis – a significant domestic problem in the 1920s. In 1932, NRC’s first dedicated lab was built in Ottawa. The NRC established a laboratory on the east side of the University of Saskatchewan campus in 1948. The original purpose of the facility was to “use chemistry and biology to diversify Canadian agriculture.” Originally called the “Prairie Regional Lab” then the “Plant Biotechnology Institute,” the facility is now known as “NRC Saskatoon.”

Three-dimensional models of a portion of the campus, including the Arts Building and the Murray Memorial Library.

Three-dimensional models of a portion of the campus, including the Arts Building and the Murray Memorial Library.

Overhead view of a three-dimensional model of the University of Saskatchewan campus.

Architectural plan of the campus layout done by Brown and Vallance.

Architectural plan of the campus layout showing the master plan for the proposed campus road development. [Done by J.B. Parkin.]

Architectural plan of the campus layout showing the proposed campus development.

Early architectural plan of the campus layout of 1925.

Architectural plan of the campus layout of 1956.

E.M. (Ted) Culliton, University Chancellor, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Dr. Denys Wilkinson at Convocation ceremony held in Physical Education gymnasium.

Bio/Historical Note: Sir Denys Haigh Wilkinson (1922-2016) was a British nuclear physicist.

E.M. (Ted) Culliton, University Chancellor, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Robert Watson Sellar at Convocation held in Physical Education gymnasium. Norman K. Cram, university Registrar, stands at far left.

Bio/Historical Note: Robert Watson Sellar (1894-1965) was born in Huntingdon, Québec, into a prominent publishing family. Sellar saw action on the Somme during World War I. He completed his legal degree in 1919 and returned to Quebec, but was summoned to Ottawa in 1920 to serve as secretary to the Minister of Finance. Sellar served as Treasury Comptroller from 1932-1940. Appointed auditor general in 1940, Sellar retired in 1959. He was appointed a member of the Royal Commission on Government Organization. Sellar died in Ottawa in 1965.

Unidentified man standing in the Poultry Car of the Better Farming Train.

Bio/Historical Note: From 1914 to 1922 a Better Farming Train (BFT) toured the province providing lectures and demonstrations and presenting exhibits on matters pertaining to agriculture. Funded by the Agricultural Instruction Act, equipped jointly by the Department of Agriculture and the College of Agriculture, and staffed by the University of Saskatchewan, the BFTs were operated free of charge by the railways. Consisting of between 14 to 17 cars they toured the province for several weeks each summer. During part of one summer two trains operated. The train was divided into five sections: Livestock; Field Husbandry; Boys and Girls; Household Science; Poultry; and Farm Mechanics. A converted flat car acted as a platform for the display and demonstration of the "well-selected" horses, cattle, sheep, swine and poultry. Each section usually contained a lecture car accompanied by one or more demonstration cars.

E.M. (Ted) Culliton, University Chancellor, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Sir Hugh S. Taylor at Convocation held in Physical Education gymnasium. Norman K. Cram, university Registrar, prepares to hood recipient.

Bio/Historical Note: Sir Hugh Stott Taylor, KBE FRS (1890-1974) was an English chemist primarily interested in catalysis. In 1925 in a landmark contribution to catalytic theory, Taylor suggested that a catalyzed chemical reaction is not catalyzed over the entire solid surface of the catalyst but only at certain 'active sites' or centres. He also developed important methods for procuring heavy water during World War II and pioneered the use of stable isotopes in studying chemical reactions.