Carlyle Allison was a journalist, and close friend and advisor of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. Born in Staynor, Ontario in 1907, his family moved to Winnipeg when he was a child. He attended the University of Manitoba (B.A., 1926). His journalism career started immediately after graduation: starting as a reporter and editor with the Winnipeg Tribune, 1926-1928; and reporter, bureau chief and editor with the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, 1928-1935. After a brief stint with the Montreal Gazette, he returned to the Winnipeg Tribune, progressing through the ranks as managing editor (1944), editor (1946), and editor-in-chief (1951). In 1958, he was appointed by Prime Minister Diefenbaker as a full-time (and founding) member of the Board of Broadcast Governors, the precursor to the CRTC. He served as Vice-Chairman between December 1960 and 1965, but his term was not renewed by the new Liberal government. Subsequently he worked for CJAY-TV in Winnipeg, until his retirement in 1971. He died in February 1972.

Diana Duerkop (nee Davis) graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a B.Ed. in 1969. During her time at the U of S, Duerkop was a member of the synchronized swimming team. After graduation Duerkop also worked for College of Physical Education.

Harald Finkler formerly headed the Circumpolar Affairs Directorate of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. He was responsible for the international dimension of the Department’s northern mandate, and strengthening cooperation, bilaterally and multilaterally, with Canada’s circumpolar neighbors. Multilaterally, as Director, he oversaw the provision of policy and organizational support to the Arctic Council. Moreover, Harald also acted as Canadian chair of the Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group.
Bilaterally, he guided the Directorate’s initiatives on cooperation with the Russian Federation on the Arctic. In this regard, Harald played a pivotal role in the Directorate’s longstanding contribution to Canada-USSR/Russia arctic cooperation achieved through technical assistance initiatives in building the capacity of the Indigenous Peoples of the Russian North.
Since his retirement, he continues his polar engagement as consultant on northern and indigenous issues.

Joseph Hinde was born in 1862. He married Martha Wake in Derbyshire, England in 1889 where the family was a member of the Fritchley Meeting (of Quakers). The Hindes were originally situated in Birmingham where Joseph Hinde was a coal worker and furniture mover. They had eight children: Edith, Leonard, Joseph Edward "Bob", Alfred, Winifred, Henry "Harry”, Elizabeth "Elsie" Linell, and Lydia "Daisie" Margaret. The family immigrated to Canada between 1911 and 1912 and settled near Borden Saskatchewan, where they became members of the Halcyonia Meeting of the Society of Friends. Their elder children Edith and Leonard immigrated a year ahead of the rest of the family. Once settled, the family operated a successful livestock business named Valley Springs Ranch. Initially the farm was operated by Bob Hinde (who had previously worked at Cadbury chocolates in England), however after developing severe hay allergy, the operation was taken over by his siblings Harry and Elsie. Jim Olynik (who was raised on the farm) later purchased Harry’s portion and operated it for many years, before selling to the donor, David Horn (also raised for many years on the ranch).

The family emigrated from Reed City Michigan to Spring Valley Saskatchewan in 1922 and tried to make a go of it during the worst of the Depression years, ultimately having to sell the farm and relocate to the West Coast. Henry O. Horn had four children: Charles (Bill), who died as a young adult, Elizabeth (Bessie), Clyde (David’s father), and Eleanor.

The Interagency Council on Survivor Services (I.C.S.S.) was a coalition concerned with providing services to adult survivors of child sexual abuse. The council consisted of private practitioners, physicians, social workers, metal health workers from public and non-governmental agencies and people working in the survival self-help movement. The I.C.S.S. was initiated by the Executive Director of the Saskatoon Family Services Bureau in June on 1992 and ceased operation in early 2000.

Irene Anna Poelzer was born on 21 April 1926 in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. She took vows as a Catholic nun, entering the convent in 1950 and becoming Sister Mary Ruth. She earned her BA (1950), B.Ed (1964) and M.Ed (1968) from the University of Saskatchewan, an MA (1969) from Seattle University, and PhD (1972) from the University of Oregon. Irene taught at the Loretto Abbey Girls’ School in Toronto, in Fort Erie, and was principal of Sedley High School prior to joining the University of Saskatchewan as an assistant professor of Educational Foundations in 1970. Other than one year at Dalhousie (1975-1976), she remained at the University of Saskatchewan for the rest of her career. In 1985 she earned the rank of full professor.

She authored or co-authored three books, Saskatchewan Women Teachers, 1905-1920: Their Contributions (1990), Metis Women’s Perception of Social Reality in Seven Northern Saskatchewan Communities (1983) and In Our Own Words: Northern Saskatchewan Metis Women Speak Out (1986); published a book of poetry, Women of Exodus II, wrote several articles and chapters in books, and was regularly invited to speak at conferences. She was a founding member of the Women’s Studies Research Unit, and had helped to develop a course on women and education (in 1973) that ushered in feminist scholarship at the University (and was the first continuing undergraduate course of its kind in Canada). Upon her retirement from the University in 1993, Irene was named Professor Emerita. Irene died on 12 January 2018.

Stan Rowe was a professor of Plant Ecology at the University of Saskatchewan. A prominent Canadian ecologist, Rowe won the J.B. Harkin Conservation award in 1994 for his significant contribution to protecting Canada’s parks and wilderness areas. The Canadian Botanical Association established an award in his name, honouring his contribution as the first Chair of the Ecological Section of the Association. He retired in 1990 and passed away in 2004. (from Home Place: Essays on Ecology by Stan Rowe, 2002)

Born on a farm near Viceroy, Saskatchewan in 1928, Margaret (Kesslering) Weiers graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a BA (English) in 1949. As an early feminist, social reformer and fierce nationalist, she embarked on a 40-year career in journalism that began with the Regina Leader-Post and ended with the Toronto Star. In 1969, she won the Canadian Women’s Press Club Memorial Award for best news story. Weiers was the first journalist to receive a special award from the American Association on Mental Deficiency. She left the Leader Post in 1955 and joined the Canadian foreign service, serving as vice-consul for the Canadian Consulate General in New York City and a press officer for the Canadian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. In 1957, she married Robert Weiers (U of S BA’47, BEd’48, BComm’52). Marriage marked the end of her foreign service career, as the Department of External Affairs required women officers to resign after they married. In 1960, the Weiers went to Ghana on a 15-month foreign aid assignment. While her husband helped set up a school of business at the University of Accra, Margaret Weiers worked as a freelance writer for radio and television. They returned to Canada and in 1963 she joined the staff of the Toronto Star. For the next three decades Weiers worked as a reporter, a feature writer and most notably a member of the Star’s editorial board. Weiers retired from the Star in 1991. She went on to write a book about women in the Canadian foreign service. Published in 1995, Envoys Extraordinary: Women of the Canadian Foreign Service chronicles the experiences of 22 female career officers struggling to succeed in a predominantly male world. Among her many honours was an Honourary Doctor of Letters at 2010 University of Saskatchewan spring convocation.

John James McConnell was born in Trenta, Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland in 1925. Two months prior to his first birthday, his family immigrated to Canada, where they farmed in the Sanctuary and Dinsmore area of Saskatchewan. McConnell attended the University of Saskatchewan, earning a degree in Agricultural Economics (1951). He began a 21-year career with the Saskatchewan public service, working for the departments of Co-operation and Co-operative Development, and Agriculture. During this period he hosted a radio show, “Good Listening for Good Farming,” and a television show, “Rural Route Saskatchewan.” His interests in print and other media prompted him to get his MA in Communication Arts from Michigan State University (1968). McConnell also worked for the federal civil service, in Ottawa and Saskatoon, for Agriculture Canada. He retired in 1984. John McConnell died on 25 January 2016 in Saskatoon.

A civilian flying club aerodrome 7.4 km south of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, became a federal installation just after the outbreak of World War II and was called the RCAF Station Moose Jaw. A new aerodrome was completed in 1941 and the station was the site of the British Commonwealth Air Training Program (BCATP) which used Harvard and Oxford aircraft to train pilots from Commonwealth and other countries. RCAF Moose Jaw was de-commissioned in 1946 and returned to civilian use.

James Balfour Kirkpatrick (1909-1998), a graduate of Bedford Road Collegiate in Saskatoon, enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan (BA 1929; BEd 1930; MEd 1935) in 1926. Under the tutelage of Joe Griffiths, Kirkpatrick became one of Saskatchewan's premier track & field athletes as a thrower and jumper. He held provincial records in the 1930s in high jump and shot put. In the first ever Canadian championships in 1938 at Griffiths Stadium, Kirkpatrick finished second in high jump and third in three throwing events. Kirkpatrick, who was 6-3, developed his basketball skills in the "ham and egg league" that Griffiths introduced on campus in 1924 for raw recruits, progressed to interfaculty competition and eventually earned a starting position on the Huskies. He played on the Saskatoon Grads, who won the provincial senior men's title in 1939-1940. Kirkpatrick was also a member of the Huskies tennis team in 1934 and in 1937 captured the provincial men's singles title. He went on to serve as director of the Saskatchewan Recreation Movement and laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association. Kirkpatrick was named Saskatoon Kinsmen Sportsman of the Year in 1983 and was inducted as a builder into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1990.

eo Kristjanson was born on February 28, 1932, the youngest of eight children. As a child, he worked at his parents’ general store in Gimli, Manitoba in addition to working on the family farm. He attended the University of Winnipeg, earning a BA and MA in history. In 1957 he began studies in Agricultural Economics at the University of Wisconsin. Upon finishing his course work in 1959, he accepted a position with the Centre for Community Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. The Centre had been established to undertake a program of applied social research related to the development of Saskatchewan communities. In 1960 he began lecturing in the Department of Economics and Political Science, and completed his PhD in 1963. In 1965, Kristjanson joined the Department of Economics and Political Science. He was vice-president (Planning) of the University from 1975 to 1980, and in 1980 he became president. Illness prevented him from completing his second term, and he retired in 1989. The atrium in the Agriculture building at the University of Saskatchewan is named in honour of his contribution to the University.

As president, Kristjanson sought funding for agricultural research and a new College of Agriculture building. He formed a “Sodbuster’s Club” to raise planning funds and undertook a leadership role in raising over $12,000,000 from private sources for the construction of the building. He was also instrumental in improving the Soil Testing Laboratory, the Poultry Centre, the Kernan Crop Research Laboratory, the Horticulture Field Service Building, the Saskatchewan Institute of Pedology’s Field Facilities, and the Large Animal Research Facility. He was also instrumental in having an art gallery become part of the new College of Agriculture building, named in honour of the first resident artist at the university, August Kenderdine. Also during his term as president, the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, the Toxicology Research Centre and the Centre for Agricultural Medicine were established.

Kristjanson made major contributions to rural Saskatchewan as a consultant to Farm Organizations, Co-operatives, credit unions, and governments. He served on boards and participated in projects designed to improve living conditions for farmers and their communities. He was chairman of the Saskatchewan Natural Products Marketing Council from 1973 to 1979; a member of a committee to recommend restructuring of the Department of Co-operation; and chairman of the Board of Public Inquiry into the Poplar River Power Project, a provincial study of the environment. He also wrote extensively and has given many public speeches on co-operatives, population and rural development, marketing boards, and commissions. Leo Kristjanson was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1990. He died on August 21, 2005.

Clarence White Rife was born on May 17, 1888 in Hespler, Ontario. Following his graduation from the Galt Collegiate Institute in 1906, he moved to Saskatchewan to homestead near Foam Lake. In 1910, he leased his homestead and moved to Saskatoon, where he attended the Saskatoon Business College, worked part-time, and began his studies at the University of Saskatchewan. He graduated with a BA in history and political science (1914), and spent 1915-1917 as a teacher in Swift Current, Saskatchewan before pursuing his MA from the University of Toronto (1918). He spent 1918-1919 as a sessional lecturer at Queen’s University prior to enrolling at Yale, from which he earned his PhD in 1922. He then began his career as Professor of History at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. By 1927, he became chair of the department, a role he continued for nearly thirty years. He retired in 1956 and was named Professor Emeritus. Rife co-founded the Hamline University Institute of World Affairs, served as financial director for the Minnesota Student Project for Amity Among Nations (SPAN), was an active member of the Ramsey County Historical Society, and was active in the Hamline Methodist Church, serving as chair of its Historical Committee. He met Margaret Strang (BA 1913) while at the University of Saskatchewan; they married in 1919 and she earned her MA at Yale (1921). Rife died on November 21, 1970 in St. Paul, Minnesota.