The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying-offices around the globe, and a mail-order catalog that was found in the homes of most Canadians. A changing economic and retail environment in the late twentieth century, along with mismanagement, culminated in the chain's bankruptcy in 1999.
Eaton's pioneered several retail innovations. In an era when haggling for goods was the norm, the chain proclaimed "We propose to sell our goods for CASH ONLY – In selling goods, to have only one price."In addition, it had the long-standing slogan "Goods Satisfactory or Money Refunded."

The Eaton's chain of mail-order and retail department stores was started in Canada in 1869 by Timothy Eaton. It went bankrupt in 1999. A mail order store had existed on Saskatoon's west side for a number of years when a new department store was built on the north east corner of Third Avenue and 21st Street in 1928. In 1970, Eaton's left the building. It was briefly used as an athlete's village during the 1971 Jeux Canada Games in Saskatoon before being purchased by Army and Navy. In ca. 2003, it became the offices of the Saskatoon Public School Board.

Jeff moved with his family to Gander, Nfld (1962-1965) and then to Winnipeg, Man (1965-1967) before moving to Regina where he remained until 1993 except for brief stints in Gibsons, BC (1985) and Vancouver (1987). In 1993, he moved to Vancouver to attend university there. He returned to Saskatchewan after graduation in 1995, where he remained except for a brief sojourn in Prince Albert, Sask., in the fall of 1996.

Jeff attended St. Matthew School (1967-1976) and Sheldon Williams Collegiate (1976-1980) in Regina. He attended Campion College at the University of Regina (1983-1987), earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, then returned to the U of R from 1991-1993 to earn an Honours Certificate in History. He attended the School of Library, Archives and Information Studies (SLAIS) at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver from 1993-1995, graduating with a Master's in Archival Studies (MAS).

After graduation in 1995, he worked as a contract archivist for the University of Saskatchewan (1995), the Saskatchewan Council for Archives (1997) and the Anglican Diocese of Prince Albert (1996). He was hired as City of Saskatoon Archivist on contract in 1997, becoming permanent on January 1, 1999. He also taught the Introduction to Archives class for two semesters in the Library Technician programme at Sask Polytechnic (then SIAST), in 2013 and 2015.

Beginning in 1985 but primarily from 2011, he was active as a freelance writer. In 2003, he became interested in photography. In 2010, he began learning to play the guitar, and he was associated with a local band, The Agents of Deterioration, as both musician, vocalist and songwriter from 2017 to the present (2022) He was also involved as a volunteer with the Saskatchewan fencing community at various times, as well as professional organizations relating to archives.

The Photogelatine Engraving Co. Ltd, Ottawa, was established in 1920 and published postcards, mostly of Canadian subjects. It moved to Toronto in 1947 and closed in 1952.