Progress shot of construction of the most westerly gate of the Memorial Gates. Thorvaldson (Chemistry) Building in background.

Bio/Historical Note: The Memorial Gates are a military memorial that is part of the University campus. Sixty-seven University students and faculty lost their lives while on service during World War I. The impact of the war on the University was immense: 330 students and faculty served during the War, a number equivalent to nearly all of the students who had registered the year prior to the beginning of the conflict. The desire to honor the staff and students who had fallen during the Great War was strong within the University community. As early as August 1918, 3 months prior to the formal Armistice, University President Walter C. Murray began making enquiries into the cost of a suitable memorial. What was settled upon were gates made of solid bronze, imported from England; the remainder, made of local greystone. Architect David R. Brown estimated the cost of what would come to be known as the Memorial Gates to be $30,000, with an additional $10,000 required for the memorial. The cement work was done by Richard J. Arrand in 1927-1928. A concerted fundraising effort among students and alumni helped cover the costs. The Memorial Gates were unveiled by President Murray and dedicated by the Bishop of Saskatchewan on 3 May 1928. A stone tablet, positioned between the bronze gates, bears the inscription: "These are they who went forth from this University to the Great War and gave their lives that we might live in freedom." For many years after, the site was used for the university’s Remembrance Day services at which wreaths are still laid every November 11th. These Gates were originally the entrance gates to campus and flanked University Drive. In the 1980s, due to increased traffic to the southwest portion of the campus, primarily Royal University Hospital, a new road entrance was built to the west. The gates remain, with the remnant of University Drive passing through them renamed Memorial Crescent. The gates are now primarily used by pedestrians, though the roadway is open to vehicles.

Group photo taken in in the bowl, in front of Saskatchewan Hall on the University campus.

A "Bennett Buggy" travelling on Wiggins Avenue in Saskatoon. College Building) in background at left, Qu'Appelle Hall at right.

Bio/Historical Note: This image is one of the most requested photos in the University Archives. It was taken by an unknown photographer in about 1935. A 'Bennett Buggy' was a term used in Canada during the Great Depression to describe a car which had its engine and windows taken out and was pulled by a horse. In the United States, such vehicles were known as Hoover carts, named after then-President Herbert Hoover. The Canadian term was named after Richard Bennett, the Prime Minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935, who was blamed for the nation's poverty. Cars being pulled by horses became a common sight during the Depression. During the boom years of the 1920s, many Canadians had bought cheap vehicles for the first time, but during the Depression, many found they did not have enough money to operate them. This was especially true in the hard-hit prairie provinces. The increased poverty played an important role, as farmers could not buy gasoline. The price of gas also increased. Gas taxes were also one of the best sources of revenue for the provincial governments. When these provinces went into a deficit, they increased these taxes, making gas even harder to buy. In Saskatchewan, badly hit by the depression, similar vehicles with an additional seat over the front axle were dubbed "Anderson carts" after Premier James T.M. Anderson.

Exterior view of the Linear Accelerator Building.

Bio/Historical Note: The building of the Linear Accelerator (Linac) was not a random event but rather the result of a series of developments on campus. The Department of Physics had over the previous decades built a reputation for experimentation and innovation. The post-war period saw the University of Saskatchewan in the forefront of nuclear physics in Canada. In 1948, Canada’s first betatron (and the world’s first used in the treatment of cancer) was installed on campus. It was used for research programs in nuclear physics, radiation chemistry, cancer therapy and radiation biology. Next the world’s first non-commercial cobalt-60 therapy unit for the treatment of cancer was officially opened in 1951. With this unit research was undertaken in the areas of radiological physics, radiation chemistry and the effects of high energy radiation on plants and animals. When the construction of the Linear Accelerator was announced in the fall of 1961, it was portrayed as the next logical step on the University’s research path. Varian Associates, Palo Alto, California, designed and built the accelerator with Poole Construction of Saskatoon employed as the general contractor. The 80 foot electron accelerator tube was to create energy six times that of the betatron. The cost of the $1,750,000 facility was split between the National Research Council and the University of Saskatchewan with the NRC meeting the cost of the equipment and the University assuming the costs of the building. The official opening in early November of 1964 was more than just a few speeches and the cutting of a ribbon. It was a physics-fest, with 75 visiting scientist from around the world in attendance presenting papers and giving lectures over the period of several days. Three eminent physicists were granted honorary degrees at the fall convocation and hundreds of people showed up for the public open house. For three decades the Linac has served the campus research community and will continue to do so as it has become incorporated into the Canadian Light Source synchrotron.

Individual photographs of team members grouped. Inter-Collegiate champion track team members, Names: A. Moses (javelin); J. Mitchell .(relay), B. Wylie (pole vault, high jump); J. Cram (1 mile, 3 mile); K. McLeod (high jump), T. Rackham (hurdles), D. Cameron (100, 220 yards, low hurdles, relay), Bob Rowed (quarter, half, mile); David Kirkbride (100, 220 yards, hurdles, pole vault, relay); Paul Lanz (javelin); G. Thrall (broad jump); J. Charnetski .(shot put, hammer, discus); William (Bill) Denton (relay); B. Hanson (half mile, 3 mile), J. Klinck (discus, shot put, hammer); Joe Griffiths coach); Gil Watson (mgr).

Looking northeast at the Physics Building.

Bio/Historical Note: The Physics Building was constructed by Smith Bros. & Wilson General Contractors from 1919 to 1921 for $437,000, and was designed by D. R. Brown and H. Vallance. It was officially opened in 1922. The building originally housed the Departments of Physics, Botany and Zoology, the Plant-pathology section of the Dominion Department of Agriculture, as well as the soils branch of the Canadian Department of the Interior. The Physics Building possessed non-vibratory walls, laboratories for Electricity and Magnetism, Light, Electron Physics, wireless work, a number of smaller research rooms, a dark room and a large lecture theatre, which was quickly put to use by many different colleges. The attic of the building was used as a temporary museum, with meteorological recording equipment situated on the roof. The basement was fitted with offices and classrooms, as well as with two fireproofed rooms containing the Shortt Library of Canadiana. During the 1946-1947 academic term a Physics Annex was "constructed" on campus at a cost of $46,000. Built initially to accommodate the Betatron, the Annex was a World War II air force hut that was reassembled on campus. After the completion of the Betatron Building in 1951 the annex was used to provide “temporary” classroom space for the department. Though scheduled to be demolished after the completion of the Physics Addition in 1967, the annex would remain on campus until it was destroyed in fire on 28 April 1979. A proper addition to the Physics Building was finally completed in 1967 by W.C. Wells Construction for $2,029,876.

Early view showing experimental plots in foreground and the campus barns and buildings in background, including the Field Husbandry (Crop Science) Professor's residence to the left.

J.C. McConnell, instructor in Geography and Librarian for the Land Use Mapping Project, checks the accuracy of maps made from air photo interpretations.

Looking north at Observatory.

Bio/Historical Note: The Observatory was designed by Gentil J.K. Verbeke and constructed in two phases using local limestone from 1928-1930 for about $23,000. The R. J. Arrand Contracting Co. was contracted to build the Observatory Tower in 1928 for a cost of $6625. The firm completed the tower $353 under budget on 14 April 1929, for $6,272. On 20 June 1929 R. J. Arrand was again awarded a contract by the University, this time to build the small classroom wing of the Observatory for $15,640. Work on the classroom wing was completed on 23 January 1930 for $15,034.50. University funding for the construction of the building was supplemented by private donations. Along with the Field Husbandry Building, the Observatory would be among the last free-standing buildings constructed on campus until after World War II. A plaque with the names of many donors still hangs inside the dome of the observatory. Saskatoon residents will find many of the names highly recognizable even today. A sundial was added to the exterior of the Observatory during the 1940s. It reads:
I am a Shadow
So art thou
The observatory facilities are available for use by both university students and visitors to the campus. The telescopes and other scientific equipment are used by students during the laboratory component of their courses. University personnel regularly offer tours of the observatory to elementary and high school classes, youth groups and other community associations. The Observatory is staffed year-round on Saturday nights so that any visitor may view celestial objects through the telescope.

View looking northwest of the Livestock Pavilion; blurry piece of machinery visible in foreground.

Bio/Historical Note: The Livestock Pavilion, one of the five original campus buildings, was designed by Brown and Vallance and constructed between 1910-1912. Built of red brick, slate and translucent glass panels (some of which could be opened for ventilation), it included a large show arena with seating. The Pavilion had a slaughter room and cold storage for the butchery courses. It was demolished in 1986.

Geometric designs on a tall stand, situated outside at the Education Building.

View of students standing outside of the Native Law Centre at 420 Cumberland Avenue South.

Bio/Historical Note: The Native Law Centre at the University of Saskatchewan was founded in 1975 by Dr. Roger C. Carter whose commitment to social justice issues convinced the University of the need for a Centre to facilitate access to legal education for Indigenous peoples. This was to promote the development of the law and the legal system in Canada in ways that better accommodate the advancement of Indigenous peoples and communities, and to disseminate information concerning Indigenous peoples and the law. Structured initially as an independent special project within the University of Saskatchewan, the Centre became a department of the College of Law in 1984. From the beginning, the Centre has nurtured innovation in its program areas of teaching, research, and publication. The Indigenous Law Centre continues to build upon that history and remains attentive to the contributions made as well as the challenges confronted by Indigenous peoples in Canada and internationally. Directors of the Centre have included: Roger C. Carter (1975-1981); D.J. Purich (1981-1994); J.Y. Henderson (1994- ) and Larry Chartrand (2017-). In May 2018, the Cree words “Wiyasiwewin Mikiwahp” were added to the Native Law Centre's name, so it will now be called Wiyasiwewin Mikiwahp Native Law Centre.

Marilyn Truscott of Glidden, Saskatchewan, a PhD candidate in geological sciences at the University of Saskatchewan, makes use of an electron probe x-ray microanalyzer. Mrs. Truscott uses the machine to analyze samples of volcanic rock from the Sweetgrass Hills in Montana. She is obtaining information that will help provide a more complete picture of the geological history of the Western Plains.

Student working in the Soil Science Lab at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

Looking northeast at St. Thomas More College building; taken from across College Drive.

Bio/Historical Note: Saint Thomas More College (STM) has the distinction of being the first and only federated college at the University of Saskatchewan. It was established as a Catholic college in 1936 following negotiations between Fr. Henry Carr of the Basilian Fathers of Toronto and President Walter Murray of the University of Saskatchewan, and was named for Thomas More, who had been canonized in 1935. Yet the pre-history of the college and its buildings goes back more than a decade earlier. For several years, Saskatoon Catholics had been asking for a Catholic college at the newly established University of Saskatchewan. The first step was taken in 1926, when a group of Catholic laymen established the Newman Society, with the long term goal of establishing a Catholic college at the university. By September of that year, "arrangements were in place for Fr. Dr. Basil Markle from the Archdiocese of Toronto to teach Scholastic Philosophy at the University of Saskatchewan and to serve as chaplain for the Catholic students." The first facility for the Catholic chaplain, with chapel and clubrooms for the use of the Catholic students, was Newman Hall (usually called "the white house"), built in 1927 on land on the south side of the campus at the corner of College Drive and Bottomley Avenue. This building later became St. Thomas More College in 1936 and in 1943 it was enlarged in anticipation of an expected large influx of students when the war would end. The first section of the present greystone building was constructed in 1954-1956 at a cost of $600,000; it was designed by architects Webster and Gilbert and built by Shannon Brothers of Saskatoon, for whom the college's Shannon Library is named. The new building was officially opened on 7 February 1957. Subsequent additions to the college building were completed in two phases, one in 1963 and another in 1969. This three-stage period of construction on the building translated into well over a decade of constant construction between 1954 and 1969, and included a chapel, library, cafeteria, auditorium, faculty offices, classrooms, and an art gallery. Living quarters on the third and fourth floors, used by the Basilian Fathers for many years, have been converted to offices and classroom space in recent years. Renovations since 2000 have involved changes to the auditorium, cafeteria, student and faculty lounges, library, art gallery and the rededication of some areas to use as classrooms.