Frank M. Quance was born in Elimville, Ontario in 1883. He attended Normal School in Regina before going on to the University of Alberta, where he earned both a BA (1914) and MA (1915). Quance first taught in rural and secondary schools in Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan between 1901 and 1916, and became an Inspector of schools in 1916-17. In 1917, he joined the staff of the Normal School in Regina as an assistant. He received his PhD from Columbia University in 1926. By 1927, he had been appointed Principal of the Regina Normal School. Quance came to the University of Saskatchewan in 1927 to organize the School of Education, and the following year was appointed the first Dean of the newly created College. Under his leadership, the College of Education developed from a one-year postgraduate certificate course to an undergraduate degree program. Quance retired in 1947 and was named Dean Emeritus. That same year, he established the annual Quance Lecture Series. During his career, Quance gained a reputation as a leading Canadian educator and was particularly well known for developing the first spellers in Canada based on research. (A speller is a book that teaches spelling). The University of Saskatchewan awarded Quance an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1959. Quance died in Saskatoon on September 10, 1968.

Walter Charles Murray was born 12 May 1866 in Studholm parish, King's county, New Brunswick. He started his academic career at the University of New Brunswick, receiving a B.A. in 1886. After earning a grammar school license at the provincial Normal School, Murray went to University of Edinburgh as the Canadian Gilchrist scholar, and received an M.A. in philosophy in 1891. After a brief period of study in Berlin, Murray returned to the University of New Brunswick as a Professor of Philosophy and Economics. From 1892 to 1908, he was Munro Professor of Philosophy and lecturer in Education at Dalhousie University. During this time Murray married Christine Cameron, who he had known since grade school; they subsequently had three daughters. In 1908 he was appointed the University of Saskatchewan's first President, a position he held until his retirement in 1937. In conjunction with his duties at the University of Saskatchewan, Murray served on a number of commissions, boards and councils. Upon his retirement he was named President Emeritus and remained active in the local community until his death in March 1945.

Edward Alexander McCourt was born in Mullingar, Ireland on October 10, 1907. He came to Canada as a child and was raised at Kitscoty, Alberta. He received a BA from the University of Alberta in 1932 and attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, receiving both a BA (1934) and an MA (1937). He taught at various institutions, including Ridley College, Upper Canada College, Queen's University, and the University of New Brunswick prior to joining the University of Saskatchewan as Professor of English in 1944. McCourt was the author of several books, including "Remembering Butler", "Music at the Close", "The Flaming Hour", and "The Canadian West in Fiction" and won the Ryerson Fiction Award in 1947. He also contributed extensively to various journals and had several plays produced by CBC radio. He has been described as one of Canada's most distinguished writers. Professor McCourt died in Saskatoon on January 6, 1972 at the age of 64.

David Colwyn Williams was born in Swansea, South Wales, in 1916. He received a BA (1938) from the University of Wales and both another BA and an LL.B. (1940) from Cambridge. During World War Two, Williams served with the South Wales Borderers in India, the Middle East, and Leros, where he was taken prisoner by German forces in 1943. At the end of the war, he returned to Cambridge for one year as a law supervisor, then accepted the post of Lecturer in Law at Queen's University, Belfast. While on leave in 1958, Williams earned an LL.M from the University of California, Berkeley. He accepted a position as Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan in 1961, was promoted to Professor in 1964, and in 1969 was named Assistant Dean of the College of Law. Williams was the author of a number of publications, notably in the fields of Public and Private International Law and Legal History. He also served with various organizations, including the United Nations Association, Canadian Institute of International Affairs, and the Advisory Group to the Minister of External Affairs. Colwyn Williams died suddenly at his Saskatoon home on December 26, 1971.

Richard Rempel is the son of Dr. Jacob G. Rempel. Richard Rempel attended the University of Saskatchewan, earning an honours BA in History and Economics in 1959; he was also awarded a Rhodes Scholarship that year, and earned a BA (1961), MA (1962) and D.Phil (1967) from Oxford. From 1961-1962, he taught as an instructor in History at the University of Saskatchewan; and between 1964-1975, was on faculty with the University of South Carolina. He returned to Canada to join the department of History at McMaster in 1975, and upon his retirement from that institution in 2000, was awarded emeritus status.

Gwenna Mary Moss was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on June 11, 1937. She earned her BSc (Home Economics) from the University of Saskatchewan in 1959; and from 1959 to 1966, was employed as an extension specialist assisting specifically with 4-H and home economics programs. She left to pursue graduate education and received both her M.Sc. (1968) and PhD (1970) from the University of Wisconsin, majoring in extension education. From 1969-1971, Moss was first an Instructor, then Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Extension Education at the University of Wisconsin. In July 1971, Moss returned to the University of Saskatchewan as Associate Professor in Extension. She took a leave in 1975 to work on a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded project in Ghana. Moss was named Dean of the College of Home Economics in 1982 and, in 1986, she became Associate Vice-president (Academic) and served as Acting Vice-president (Academic) from 1990-1991. In August 2000, the Centre for Teaching Effectiveness was renamed The Gwenna Moss Teaching & Learning Centre.

Eileen (nee Eileen Mary Kennedy) was a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan (BA, 1935). She died on November 7, 2008.

The primary author of these diaries is unknown; although evidence within the documents suggests the author was a married farmer and his wife's name was Annie. They likely lived in southeastern Saskatchewan. Although trips to town were relatively frequent, the town was never named; however, Sunday, 24 July 1927 included at trip to White Bear Lake; and the entry from 15 July 1929 states "Annie went to Virden" - presumably, Virden Manitoba. On Friday, 2 March 1934 [they] "went to Wawota to put on play" and in 1941, "went to Carlyle" (Monday, 10 November) - all of which strongly suggests a location in the SE part of the province. Also, his Saskatchewan Wheat Pool contract number (written on one of the diaries) was 63-237; other contract holders with numbers of the form 63-xxx had mailing addresses in Carlyle. Neighbours included the Georges, the Ingrams, the Badgeleys; but a quick search of the Saskatchewan Homestead Index did not produce any land descriptions. Information in the diaries also suggests the man had served in the armed forces, originally in World War One. In late 1941 they rented their farm and the man joined the Veterans Guard of Canada.

William “Bill” Allen was born in Bristol, England on May 9, 1892. He immigrated to Canada with his family in 1911, setting up a homestead near Smiley, Saskatchewan. He joined the Army in 1916 and was wounded at the Somme, which resulted in the amputation of most of his left arm. After he was discharged from the armed forces in 1917, he enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan in the College of Agriculture. In 1922, he received his BSA from the University of Saskatchewan and went on to do graduate work at Harvard and Cornell, where he earned a PhD in Agricultural Economics in 1925. He married Gwendolen Woodward in 1926. He returned to the University of Saskatchewan and established the Department of Farm Management, of which he was Head until his resignation in 1938. During his time at the University, Allen directed a provincial soil survey in 1935 and was in charge of the first major debt survey of rural Saskatchewan in 1936. Allen was a member of the Provincial Milk Control Board, the Saskatchewan Land Utilization Board, the International Council of Agricultural Economists, and the Canadian Society of Technical Agriculturists. In 1938, he was appointed the first Agricultural Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom. During World War Two, Allen’s duties included keeping Britain supplied with Canadian food and to negotiate trade agreements covering the sale of Canada’s agricultural products to Britain. Allen was a passenger on the S.S. Nerissa when it was sunk by a torpedo off the west coast of Scotland on April 30, 1941. Allen was listed as missing and presumed dead. Allen is memorialized with a plaque in Convocation Hall on the University of Saskatchewan campus and an annual award in the College of Agriculture.

Leon Katz was born in Poland on August 9, 1909. His father immigrated to Canada in 1914 but, with the outbreak of World War I and the Russian Revolution, the family remained apart for six years before they were reunited in Toronto. While at Toronto's Central Technical School, Katz was recognized as a promising pupil and was encouraged to seek a university education. He enrolled in Electrical Engineering at Queen's University and earned both a B.Sc. (1934) and M.Sc. (1937). He received his PhD (1942) from the California Institute of Technology. From 1942 to 1946, Katz worked for Westinghouse (Pittsburgh), developing radar equipment for aircraft. In 1946, he accepted the position of Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Saskatchewan, was promoted to Professor in 1952, made founding director of the Accelerator Laboratory in 1964, and named Head of the Physics Department in 1965. In 1975, he left the U of S to become the Director of the Saskatchewan Science Council; he retired in 1976. Katz was an internationally recognized physicist, best known for his work in establishing the University's Linear Accelerator Laboratory. Among his many honours are the Order of Canada in 1973 and a D.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan in 1990. In 2000, a boardroom at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron was named in his honour. Katz died in March 2004.

Victor Edward Graham was born at Arundel, Quebec in July 1900. He came to Saskatchewan with his parents in 1914 and settled on a farm in the Swift Current area. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan in 1927 and a Master's (1930) and Ph.D. (1939) from the University of Wisconsin. Graham was first appointed an Instructor at the University of Saskatchewan in 1927. He became an Assistant Professor in 1930 and was promoted to Head of the Department of Dairy Science in 1939. In 1948, he was appointed Dean of the College of Agriculture and held the position until 1963. Graham was instrumental in the construction of the John Mitchell Building, which originally housed the dairy and food science department. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Graham was well-known for his work in dairy bacteriology. In addition to his academic work, Graham was also involved in a number of other organizations including the Saskatoon Exhibition (President, 1958-1959), Western Canadian Exhibition Association (President, 1959), Saskatoon Branch of the Agricultural Institute of Canada, Saskatoon Rotary Club, Saskatchewan 4-H Foundation, Canadian Society of Microbiologists, Saskatchewan Research Council, and the Saskatchewan Agricultural Research Foundation. He was made a Fellow of the Agricultural Institute of Canada in 1951. Graham died in Saskatoon on September 3, 1978.

James Bishop Harrington, born in Chicago in 1894, came to Canada in 1911 and settled on a homestead near Maple Creek. Four years later he started what was to become a distinguished academic career when he enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan. Though his studies were interrupted by war service, he received his B.Sc. in Agriculture in 1920. Harrington continued with graduate studies at the University of Minnesota. By 1924 he had a MSc, a Ph.D. and an appointment as Assistant Professor in Field Husbandry at the University of Saskatchewan. From 1950 to 1956 served as head of his department. During his years at the U of S, Harrington built an international reputation as a plant breeder; among the better known crop varieties he developed are Apex wheat, Fortune oats, Husky barley, Royal flax and Antelope rye. In 1949 Dr. Harrington's attention turned to the agricultural problems of the third world. In 1949-1950 he worked in Egypt as consultant to the Ministry of Agriculture, and in 1952 went to India to work on rice breeding for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. After resigning from the U of S in 1956, Harrington continued as a consultant with the FAO in the Middle East. Harrington was a founding member of the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrology and served as president of the Agriculture Institute of Canada. The Order of Canada, Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and a LLD from the U of S are but a few of the many honours given to Dr. Harrington during his life. He died in Ontario at the age of 85.

Carlyle Albert King was born on November 25, 1907 at Cooksville, Ontario. His family moved to Saskatchewan around 1912. By 1926, King had earned a BA at the University of Saskatchewan; a year later he received an MA from the University of Toronto. King spent the 1927-28 academic year studying at the University of London before returning to Toronto, where he was granted a PhD in 1931. In 1929, he joined the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan as an Instructor in English. He was named full Professor in 1949. In 1950, he became Head of the English Department, a position he held until 1964. In addition, King held several concurrent academic assignments: chair of the Evening Class Committee (1947-1963); chair of the Scholarships Committee (1952-1959); Director of Summer School (appointment 1959); and Dean of Summer Sessions and Correspondence Courses (1964). He was appointed Dean of Academic Services in 1967, Vice-Principal of the Saskatoon Campus in 1971, and Vice-President (Acting) in 1974. During his academic career, King pioneered the teaching of American and Canadian literature, studied the works of George Bernard Shaw and Joseph Conrad, and wrote on the history of the University of Saskatchewan. King retired in June 1975. King also held several executive positions with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and was actively involved in a number of community organizations. King was a member of the Saskatchewan Arts Board, a member and Chairman of the Saskatoon Art Centre, and a director of the Saskatoon Music Festival Association. King was appointed to the Saskatoon Public Library Board in 1955 and was Chairman of the Board from 1958 to 1972. In addition to the Saskatoon Public Library Board, King was president of the Saskatchewan Library Association, Chairman of the Saskatchewan Library Advisory Council, and a member of the Canadian Library Trustees’ Association. King died in Regina on March 19, 1988.

Chalmers Jack Mackenzie, the first Dean of the University of Saskatchewan College of Engineering, rose to national and international prominence as the man who guided Canada's atomic research during World War II. Mackenzie, who came to be known as the dean of Canadian scientists and was once described as "contributing more to the advancement of science and learning, and to the welfare of Canada through science, than any other living Canadian," was born July 10, 1888 in St. Stephen, New Brunswick. He graduated in engineering from Dalhousie University in 1909, and first joined the University of Saskatchewan in 1912 as a sessional lecturer in civil engineering. He earned his MSc. in Engineering from Harvard in 1915. During World War I, he served with the 54th Battalion CEF. Mackenzie returned to the University of Saskatchewan as a Professor; in 1921, when the School of Engineering became a College, he was appointed Dean. Mackenzie left the University of Saskatchewan in 1939 to join the National Research Council (NRC). He stepped down as president of the NRC in 1952, accepting the post of president of the newly formed Atomic Energy of Canada, where he stayed for one year. In 1963, he was appointed Special Advisor to the Government of Canada on the organization of government scientific activities. Mackenzie was awarded 20 honorary degrees from Canada, the United States, Europe, and Africa. In 1975, the College of Engineering established the C.J. Mackenzie Chair in his honour. Dr. Mackenzie died on February 26, 1984 at the age of 95.

Gordon Aylmer McMurray was born in Lennoxville, Quebec, on October 19, 1913. He received both his BA (1933) and MA (1935) from Bishop's University and taught high school at various locations in Quebec. During World War II, Dr. McMurray served with the RCAF. Following the war, he continued his postgraduate studies at McGill, earning a PhD. in 1949. He joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan in 1949 as Assistant Professor, and became Head of the Department in 1950, a position which he held until 1970. He was promoted to Full Professor in 1956. He also served on the grants committees for both the NRC and the Canada Council, was named President of the Canadian Psychological Association in 1963 and was elected a Fellow of the CPA in 1968. Dr. McMurray died on August 16, 2003 in Quebec.