J. Milton Bell was born on a farm at Islay, Alberta, 16 January 1922. He obtained his senior matriculation in 1939 at Scott, Saskatchewan and went on to graduate with a diploma from the two-year course in general agriculture at Vermilion, Alberta. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Alberta in 1943, a Master of Science in 1945 from McGill University, a Ph.D. in 1948 from Cornell University and a D.Sc. in 1986 from McGill University. Dr. Bell joined the Department of Animal Husbandry, University of Saskatchewan in 1948. He was head of the Department from 1954 to 1975 when he assumed the position of Associate Dean (Research) in the College of Agriculture for five years. He retired in 1989, continuing his research as Professor Emeritus. Dr. Bell has contributed much to the animal industry through his nutrition research at the University of Saskatchewan and has published over 160 papers in scientific journals including book chapters. He has served on numerous agricultural committees across Canada, including the first chairmanship of the Research Committee of the Rapeseed Association of Canada, later the Canola Council of Canada. He was President of the Groupe Consultafatif International de Recherche sur le Colza (GCIRC), headquartered in Paris 1990-1993, and chaired the Eighth International Rapeseed Congress held in Saskatoon in July 1991. Dr. Bell has received numerous awards and honours, including the Order of Canada in 1973 and membership in the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1989.

John Milton Bell (1922-1998) was born in islay, Alberta. He joined the faculty of the Department of Animal Husbandry at the University of Saskatchewan in 1948. He served as Department Head from 1954-1975, then as Associate Dean from 1975-1980, and finally as the Burford Hooke Research Chair until his retirement in 1990. He earned a BSc in Agriculture at the University of Alberta in 1943, an MSc from McGill University in 1945, and a PhD at Cornell University in 1948, specializing in nutrition. Bell was an active member of a small team of plant breeders, nutritionists and chemists that developed canola as a major crop for Canadian farmers. His work with rapeseed, begun in the early 1950s, involved basic nutritional research but also branched into toxicology and the mechanism of action of goitroigens and glucosinolates in swine and mice. Bell worked co-operatively with plant breeders and other animal nutritionists in defining the detrimental characteristics in rapeseed, which eventually gave rise to the development of canola and the effective utilization of canola meal in livestock rations.
Bell served as president of the Canadian Society of Animal Science in 1952, also serving on the editorial board of the Journal of Nutrition, the Canadian Journal of Animal Science, and the Journal of the European Association of Animal Production. In recognition of his many contributions, he received more than twenty major awards including Fellow of the Agriculture Institute of Canada (FAIC), Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC), Doctor of Science (McGill University), and Officer in the Order of Canada. He was invested into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame. Bell’s dedication to the field of animal nutrition was demonstrated by his response to receiving the James McAnsh Award from the Canola Council of Canada. Bell, the first recipient of this award, chose not to accept the cash award, and directed that the money be used to establish the J.M. Bell Post Graduate Scholarship in Animal Nutrition at the U of S. Bell died in Saskatoon in 1998.

Vera Bennett was born in Chicago in approximately 1904 to William H and Janet Bennett. William H Bennett was born in Ontario in approximately 1864. Janet Bennett was born in England in approximately 1865.

Due to health issues of Edith Bennett caused by pollution, the family moved to Canada in 1908. The 1920 Henderson’s Directory lists Vera Bennett as living with her older sister Edith, younger sister Cecilia, and father William H Bennett at 905 Alder Avenue in Moose Jaw. Edith was born in Chicago in approximately 1898, and Cecelia in Manitoba in 1907. Vera also had an older brother named Grover who was also born in the United States of America in approximately 1893. William H Bennett worked as an inspector for the Ocean Accident Insurance Company.

Vera Bennett received her grade eight diploma from the Moose Jaw Collegiate Institute on August 25, 1919. She also acquired a certificate of proficiency in typewriting from Davidson Business College on April 18, 1922, and began working as a stenographer that year.

Steve May was a friend of Cecilia’s who worked at Clifton Bakery in Moose Jaw.

It is not known when Vera Bennett died.

Emil George Berg was born September 26, 1890, in Østre Toten (East Toten), Norway. He emigrated in 1907 at age 16 and lived for a few years in the United States before moving to Alberta in 1910. In 1911, George arrived in Cabri, Saskatchewan, where he homesteaded in the Butte Valley school district. He enlisted with the 209th Battalion in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, on April 12, 1916, but ultimately served with the 10th Battalion. He was wounded twice – once in Arleux, France, in April 1917, during which time he earned a medal for bravery after aiding an officer while wounded, and again at Amiens in August 1918. George returned to Norway in 1924 until 1926 but came back to Canada and married Ida Karoline Andresen on November 11, 1927, in Regina, Saskatchewan. Their son, Ingval George Berg, was born March 4, 1934. George was a director of the local Agriculture Improvement Association, a member of the Cabri Co-op Association and the United Farmers of Canada, and a staunch supporter of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation party. He was a Saskatchewan Wheat Pool delegate from 1933 until his death. He was also involved with the Cabri Brass Band. George died unexpectedly on May 14, 1939, of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 48. He was buried with full military honours in the soldiers’ plot of Hillcrest Cemetery in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.