The Fabian Society was founded in Britain in 1884, as a progressive movement characterised by a commitment to social justice, and increased equality in society. Many notable left-wing thinkers wrote tracts published by the Society, on topics relating to child labour, women’s suffrage, old age pension (1897), and working conditions; as well as encouraging democratic socialism and change through local government and trade unionism. Fabian pamphlets first proposed a national health service (1911), minimum wage (1906), and the Society is credited with helping to establish the modern welfare state. Its members played a role in the formation of the British Labour Party in 1900; and were also involved in the creation of The New Statesman, and the London School of Economics, founded initially as a “research institute to provide proof positive of the collectivist ideal.”

Edward Alexander Maginnes was born in Ottawa, Ontario to Alexander and Jeannie Maginnes. He attended Lisgar Collegiate in Ottawa and then went on to attend MacDonald College in Montreal where he received his B.Sc. in 1956. After this, he worked at the Experimental Farm in Ottawa and helped establish the family tree nursery, A.D. Maginnes and Son. From 1957-1964, Ed attended Cornell University where he received his M.Sc. and PhD, following which he accepted the position of Professor of Horticulture Science at the University of Saskatchewan. He remained there teaching and conducting research for 36 years, retiring in 2000. Areas that were of particular interest to him included Waste Heat Greenhouse Management, turf grass growth and maintenance as well as hydroponics growing methods. Ed was an honorary member of the Saskatchewan Turf Grass Association and the North American Lily Society. He was married to Beverly Maginnes in 1964, and the couple had three children (Elizabeth, Susan, and Sean). In his retirement, Edward was instrumental in the development and construction of an Abbeyfield House in Saskatoon. Edward passed away in 2010.

Fred Finch, uncle of Robert Finch, owned the highly successful Hyemal Poultry Farm in Lanigan before moving to British Columbia. Fred Finch was born September 25, 1881 in Birlingham, Worcestershire, England, and married Mabel Harriet Shaw in 1904. While in Worcester, he worked as a corn warehouseman and carter. The Finches immigrated to Canada in 1913 and settled in the Lanigan area. Fred Finch retired to Vancouver in 1940, where he died in 1967.

Henry Unger was a Canadian Pacific Railway man who helped with the Fred Finch farm near Lanigan, Saskatchewan.

Gordon Snelgrove was a painter and teacher of Art and Art History at the University of Saskatchewan. He was born in 1867, and was appointed as a teacher of Art History at the University of Saskatchewan Regina Campus in 1936. A few years later he moved to the Saskatoon campus as the head of the Art Department, and he continued teaching there until his retirement in 1962. He passed away four years later in 1966. He is acknowledged as being perhaps the first Art Historian in Canada to receive a PhD in his discipline, and the Snelgrove Gallery on the U of S campus, which plays a role in providing learning and professional opportunities for students, still bears his name.

Johanna Tappert was born on October 4, 1892 in Meriden, Connecticut. She worked at the Lutheran College on 8th Street in Saskatoon from 1927 to 1933 as a high school teacher, Dean of the Girls Dormitory, and, eventually, Assistant Principal. She served as dorm mother for the girls and taught English to German immigrants on the weekends. At these classes, she met Ernest Lindner, who was subsequently given a room at the dorm in order to do his artwork. Johanna Tappert married Eugene Strack sometime around 1933. She died in Edmonton, Alberta on November 13, 1984.

Ernest (“Ernie”) Lindner was born in Vienna, Austria, on May 1, 1897. He immigrated to Canada in 1926, working initially as a farm labourer; but he soon earned recognition for his skill as an artist. He began teaching a night class for the Saskatoon Technical Collegiate in 1931. He eventually became a full-time instructor and Head of the Art Department at the Collegiate until 1962. From 1962 to 1988, he worked full-time as an artist. His work encompassed watercolour, pencil, and various forms of printmaking; and his subject matter was often drawn from life, particularly the natural world around his cabin at Fairy Island, Emma Lake, Saskatchewan. Lindner was a member and President of the Saskatoon Art Association and was one of the first members on the Saskatchewan Arts Board. Lindner received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1972. He was elected as a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1977) and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (1979). He died in Saskatoon on November 4, 1988.

Vipen Sawhney earned a B.Sc (1965) and M.Sc (1967) from the University of Panjab and PhD (1972) from the University of Western Ontario. He accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at Simon Fraser University in 1972 before coming to the University of Saskatchewan in 1975. Dr. Sawhney rose through the ranks serving as the Rawson Professor of Biology and Department Head from 2003-2007. In addition to his U of S appointment, he has been a visiting Professor and Fellow several times. Dr. Sawhney maintained a first rate research program throughout his career co-editing a book and authoring more than a hundred refereed papers. He is an internationally recognized plant geneticist focussing on understanding the processes and mechanisms controlling flower and pollen development in angiosperms using floral and male-sterile mutants in tomato, canola (Brassica napes) and Arabidopsis. By using microscopic, physiological (hormonal and environmental) and proteomic approaches, Dr. Sawhney has investigated the various factors, and their possible interactions, in plant developmental processes. His research on male sterility in tomato has been applied in the hybrid seed industry. He has received many awards and honours including the Master Teacher 2007, Earned Doctor of Science 2010 and the Award of Innovation from the University of Saskatchewan. He served as the President, Canadian Botanical Association, 2004-2006, President, International Association of Sexual Plant Reproduction and Research, 1998-2002 and Vice-President, Canadian Botanical Association, 1998-1999.

Norman Zepp was raised on a farm near Yorkton, Saskatchewan, and earned his BA from the University of Saskatchewan. While at university, Zepp met his partner Judith Varga; and he bought his first piece of Inuit art. Zepp switched his major from Education to Art History; and went on to earn an MA in Art History from Carleton University, under the supervision of George Swinton, who remained a lifelong friend of Zepp and Varga. After earning his graduate degree, Zepp was curator of exhibitions at the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina, and director of the Thunder Bay National Exhibition Centre and Centre for Indian Art. In 1988, he was appointed curator of Inuit art for the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), where he remained until 1994. During that time, Zepp was instrumental in building the AGO Inuit collection, including helping to facilitate several major donations, including the Williamson and the Sarick collections. Following the AGO, Zepp worked in Vancouver prior to returning to Saskatoon. He remains one of Canada’s foremost experts on Inuit art.

One of the five original campus buildings, the Livestock Pavilion (or Stock Pavilion as it was more commonly known) was designed by Brown and Vallance and constructed between 1910-1912 at a cost of $20,000. Built of red brick, the roof was a combination of slate and translucent glass panels, some of which could be opened for ventilation. The Pavilion included a large show arena, with seating for up to 500; the floor in this area remained earth, covered with straw or shavings, as it was felt concrete “might make the exercise of horses more dangerous than it should be.”

Early short courses offered by the University included butchering; the Pavilion had both a slaughter room and cold storage area. It also housed the first laboratory for the department of animal science. One design feature certainly dated it: the only washroom facilities were for men.

By 1986 there were concerns that the north wall of the Pavilion was unstable, and the building was slated for demolition in December of that year. It proved more durable than expected: the contractor had to search for a wrecking ball heavy enough to demolish the Pavilion’s roof. The demolition cost $43,000.

Designed by Brown and Vallance and built roughly in the shape of a capital “F,” with a dining hall and kitchen, was intended to “hold comfortably about one hundred and fifty.” In his first report, Murray noted that one wing of the building, with room for 30 people, “will be shut off from the main building and devoted to the use of the women students until their numbers force the building of a separate residence.” The dining room remained a common facility even following the construction of a second residence, Qu’Appelle Hall, and together with facilities in the Memorial Union Building, remained the main dining area for students until the construction of Marquis Hall in 1964.

John Logan came to the University of Saskatchewan (B.Sc., 1929; B.E., 1934) from Yorkton in 1927. During his seven years on campus he competed in basketball, football and hockey. A quarterback, he was a member of the Huskies football team for five years. Logan was on the hockey team for three years and the basketball team for two seasons. He was a captain on both the football and hockey teams. For his accomplishments, Logan received a Major Athletic Award. In addition to competing for the Huskies, he was president of the University Athletic Directorate in 1933-34.

Leslie J. Hutchison, a native of Leeds and Grenville United Counties in Ontario, moved to Spalding, Saskatchewan, at an early age and attended Regina College. He enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan (BSA 1927) in 1922. He competed on the intervarsity track & field team for four years in pole vault, long jump and high jump. Hutchison won the Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union pole vault championship from 1923 to 1925, setting a provincial record in 1923. He was also an accomplished baseball player and competed in tournaments throughout Saskatchewan. Hutchison died in [Ottawa in 1997 at age 96]. He was inducted into the U of S Athletic Wall of Fame in 1984.

Marilyn Ruth (Truscott) Walter, a graduate of Aden Bowman Collegiate in Saskatoon, enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan (BEd 1974; BSPE 1976) in 1971. She led the Huskiettes volleyball team to several firsts, including a Canada West championship and its first appearance at the CIAU championship where Saskatchewan won silver; four successive provincial senior championships and two bronze medal finishes at the Canadian Open. In 1973 Walter was the first Saskatchewan athlete invited to a national volleyball team tryout. She attended a camp to select Canada's team for the 1973 World Student Games in Moscow. Walter was awarded the Bob Stayner Trophy as female athlete of the year in a tournament sport at the U of S in 1975-76. Walter was a teacher with the Saskatoon Public School Division for 36 years. She taught physical education, humanities and social sciences, along with coaching a variety of sports including volleyball, basketball and badminton. Walter died on 10 November 2020 in Saskatoon.