Unidentified man standing in the Poultry Car of the Better Farming Train.

Bio/Historical Note: From 1914 to 1922 a Better Farming Train (BFT) toured the province providing lectures and demonstrations and presenting exhibits on matters pertaining to agriculture. Funded by the Agricultural Instruction Act, equipped jointly by the Department of Agriculture and the College of Agriculture, and staffed by the University of Saskatchewan, the BFTs were operated free of charge by the railways. Consisting of between 14 to 17 cars they toured the province for several weeks each summer. During part of one summer two trains operated. The train was divided into five sections: Livestock; Field Husbandry; Boys and Girls; Household Science; Poultry; and Farm Mechanics. A converted flat car acted as a platform for the display and demonstration of the "well-selected" horses, cattle, sheep, swine and poultry. Each section usually contained a lecture car accompanied by one or more demonstration cars.

E.M. (Ted) Culliton, University Chancellor, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Sir Hugh S. Taylor at Convocation held in Physical Education gymnasium. Norman K. Cram, university Registrar, prepares to hood recipient.

Bio/Historical Note: Sir Hugh Stott Taylor, KBE FRS (1890-1974) was an English chemist primarily interested in catalysis. In 1925 in a landmark contribution to catalytic theory, Taylor suggested that a catalyzed chemical reaction is not catalyzed over the entire solid surface of the catalyst but only at certain 'active sites' or centres. He also developed important methods for procuring heavy water during World War II and pioneered the use of stable isotopes in studying chemical reactions.

J.W.T. Spinks, University President, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to the Right Honourable Louis St. Laurent at 52nd annual Convocation held in Physical Education gymnasium. N.K. Cram, University Registrar, waits to hood the recipient.

Bio/Historical Note: Louis St. Laurent (1882-1973) was born in Compton, Quebec, and studied at St. Charles College (Sherbrooke) and at Laval University (Quebec). St. Laurent was called to the bar in 1905 and became one of Canada’s leading lawyers, serving two terms as president of the Canadian Bar Association. In 1914 he was appointed professor of law at Laval University. In 1941 he was asked by Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King to enter public life. As a member of the Liberal Party, St. Laurent was elected to the Canadian House of Commons from Quebec East in 1942 and was re-elected in all subsequent elections until his retirement. King appointed him minister of justice and attorney general and later secretary of state for external affairs (acting in 1945, regular 1946). St. Laurent was deputy chairman of the Canadian delegation to the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco in 1945 and served as leader of the delegations at the UN General Assembly sessions in London and New York City in 1946-1947. St. Laurentaccept the leadership of the Liberal Party in 1948 and succeeded King as prime minister. Under Saint Laurent’s leadership Newfoundland became a part of the dominion; his government supported UN intervention in Korea (1950–1953) and in Suez (1956); and Canada helped to keep India and Pakistan as members of the Commonwealth. St. Laurent endeavoured to unify and develop the country by equalizing provincial revenues, by expanding social security and university education, and by establishing a council for promoting arts and letters. St. Laurent led his party to great victories in the general elections of 1949 and 1953, but the Liberals were narrowly defeated in 1957. After a short period as Leader of the Opposition and now more than 75 years old, St. Laurent's motivation to be involved in politics was gone. He announced his intention to retire from politics. What had been a "temporary" political career had lasted 17 years. He was succeeded as Liberal Party leader by his former Secretary of State for External Affairs and representative at the United Nations, Lester B. Pearson, at the party's leadership convention in 1958. After his political retirement, he returned to practising law. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada, a newly created award, in 1967. Saint Laurent died in Quebec City, Quebec, in 1973.

J.W.T. Spinks, University President, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Alfred Blalock at the 52nd annual convocation held in Physical Education gymnasium.

Bio/Historical Note: Alfred Blalock (1899-1964) was an American surgeon most noted for his work on the medical condition of shock as well as Tetralogy of Fallot— commonly known as Blue baby syndrome. He created, with assistance from his research and laboratory assistant Vivien Thomas and pediatric cardiologist Helen Taussig, the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig Shunt, a surgical procedure to relieve the cyanosis from Tetralogy of Fallot. This operation ushered in the modern era of cardiac surgery.

F. Hedley Auld, University Chancellor, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to T.C. Douglas at Convocation held in Physical Education gymnasium. Norman K. Cram, University Register, prepares to hood recipient.

Bio/Historical Note: Thomas Clement Douglas PC CC SOM (1904-1986) was a Scottish Canadian politician who served as Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944-1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961-1971. A Baptist minister, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1935 as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). He left federal politics to become Leader of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and then the seventh Premier of Saskatchewan. His cabinet was the first democratic socialist government in North America and it introduced the continent's first single-payer, universal health care program. After setting up Saskatchewan's universal healthcare program, Douglas stepped down and ran to lead the newly formed federal New Democratic Party (NDP), the successor party of the national CCF. He was elected as its first federal leader in 1961. Although Douglas never led the party to government, through much of his tenure the party held the balance of power in the House of Commons. He was noted as being the main opposition to the imposition of the War Measures Act during the 1970 October Crisis. He resigned as leader the next year, but remained as a Member of Parliament until 1979. Douglas was awarded many honorary degrees, and a foundation was named for him and his political mentor M. J. Coldwell in 1971. In 1981, he was invested into the Order of Canada, and he became a member of Canada's Privy Council in 1984, two years before his death. In 2004, a CBC Television program named Tommy Douglas "The Greatest Canadian", based on a Canada-wide, viewer-supported survey.

F. Hedley Auld, University Chancellor, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Sir John Cockcroft, Nobel prize-winning scientist at Convocation held in Physical Education gymnasium. Norman K. Cram, University Registar, stands by.

Bio/Historical Note: Sir John Douglas Cockcroft, OM, KCB, CBE, FRS (1897-1967) was a British physicist who shared with Ernest Walton the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1951 for splitting the atomic nucleus, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power.

Glen Makahonuk, senior Library Assistant, makes a presentation to Neil Richards, Library Assistant, who is holding a certificate.

F.H. Auld, University Chancellor, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Vivian Morton during Convocation held in Physical Education gymnasium.

Bio/Historical Note: Vivian Williams Brown was born 10 September 1896 in Amherstburg, Essex County, Ontario, to Ida and Charles Brown, a Methodist minister. By 1906, the family had moved west to Regina. Although little is known of her childhood, the “Tribute” to her in the Journal of 1990 records that she was educated in schools in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. She graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in the spring of 1917 having earned a B.A. Earlier that same year, she had become a founding member of the Historical Association of the University of Saskatchewan along with six other students of Professor Arthur Silver Morton, whom she would later marry. She served as President of the University of Saskatchewan’s Alumni Association, President of the University Women’s Club of Saskatoon, and was a Charter Member of the Saskatoon Branch of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. During the 1940s and 50s she also served in various positions with the National CFUW Board. The Saskatchewan Arts and Crafts Society created a joint scholarship in their names at the University of Saskatchewan. The Vivian Williams Morton and Arthur Silver Morton Memorial Travel Scholarship, designated for travel relating to research, is still presented annually to a fourth-year undergraduate or graduate student studying History, Anthropology, Political Studies, or Native Studies. A year after her term as CFUW President, in 1962, the University of Saskatchewan presented Morton with an honourary Doctor of Laws for her contribution to arts and culture. Vivian Morton died in 1990 in Ontario at the age of 94.

F. Hedley Auld, University Chancellor, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Frank H. Underhill, professor of History from 1914-1927, during Convocation held in Physical Education gymnasium. Norman K. Cram, University Registrar, waits to hood recipient.

Bio/Historical Note: Frank Hawkins Underhill was born in 1889 in Stouffville, Ontario, He was educated at the University of Toronto and the University of Oxford where he was a member of the Fabian Society. He was influenced by social and political critics such as Bernard Shaw and Goldwin Smith. He taught history at the University of Saskatchewan from 1914 until 1927 with a long interruption during World War I during which he served as an officer in the Hertfordshire Regiment of the British Army on the Western Front. He also taught from 1927 until 1955 at the U of T. He left there due to a dispute with the administration and later joined the faculty at Carleton University. During the Great Depression, Underhill joined several other left wing academics in forming the League for Social Reconstruction. He was also a founder of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and helped write its Regina Manifesto in 1933. Underhill joined the editorial staff of the leftist Canadian Forum in 1927 where he wrote a column of political commentary called "O Canada" from 1929 on and served for a time as chair of that journal's editorial board. Despite these progressive leanings, Underhill had a conservative view of the historical profession and impeded the careers of several women historians. During World War II, Underhill moved away from socialism and became a left-wing liberal continentalist. He remained a committed anti-imperialist and was almost dismissed from the U of T in 1941 for suggesting that Canada would drift away from the British Empire and draw closer to the United States. His struggle with the university became a landmark in the history of academic freedom in Canada. Underhill's most important writings are collected in the 1960 book of essays, In Search of Canadian Liberalism. In the essays Underhill covered many Canadian concerns such as politics before and after the Canadian Confederation, relations with the United States and Britain and assessments of the actions of Canadian public figures. Underhill's other notable works include Canadian Political Parties, 1957; The Image of Confederation, 1964; and Upper Canadian Politics in the 1850s, 1967. Underhill was a strong supporter of the United States during the Cold War. He also became a supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada, particularly once his long-time friend, Lester Pearson joined the government. In his later years, Underhill served as a lecturer and Chair of the Department of History at Carleton University in Ottawa. He received an honourary Doctor of Laws degree in 1962 from the U of S. In 1967 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Underhill died in 1971.

F. Hedley Auld, University Chancellor, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to J. Alphonse Ouimet, president of the CBC. Norman K. Cram, University Registrar, hoods recipient.

Bio/Historical Note: Joseph-Alphonse Ouimet, CC (1908-1988) was a Canadian television pioneer and president of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) from 1958 to 1967.

Display of chicken cages in the Poultry Car of the Better Farming Train.

Bio/Historical Note: From 1914 to 1922 a Better Farming Train (BFT) toured the province providing lectures and demonstrations and presenting exhibits on matters pertaining to agriculture. Funded by the Agricultural Instruction Act, equipped jointly by the Department of Agriculture and the College of Agriculture, and staffed by the University of Saskatchewan, the BFTs were operated free of charge by the railways. Consisting of between 14 to 17 cars they toured the province for several weeks each summer. During part of one summer two trains operated. The train was divided into five sections: Livestock; Field Husbandry; Boys and Girls; Household Science; Poultry; and Farm Mechanics. A converted flat car acted as a platform for the display and demonstration of the "well-selected" horses, cattle, sheep, swine and poultry. Each section usually contained a lecture car accompanied by one or more demonstration cars.

F.H. Auld, University Chancellor, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Sir John Cockcroft, Nobel prize-winning British scientist, during 51st annual Convocation at Physical Education gymnasium. N.K. Cram, University Registrar, hoods recipient.

Bio/Historical Note: Sir John Douglas Cockcroft, OM, KCB, CBE, FRS (1897-1967) was a British physicist who shared with Ernest Walton the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1951 for splitting the atomic nucleus, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power.

F. Hedley Auld, University Chancellor, making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Dr. David L. Thomson at convocation at Physical Education gymnasium. Norman K. Cram, University Registrar, hoods the recipient.

Bio/Historical Note: David Landsborough Thomson, FRSC (1901-1964) was born in Scotland. Thomson earned BSc and MA degrees from the University of Aberdeen, then a PhD in biochemistry from Cambridge University under the eye of Nobel laureate Frederick Gowland Hopkins. After further studies in Europe, he moved to Montreal, joining the McGill faculty in 1928. At McGill, he was Gilman Cheney Professor of Biochemistry from 1937-1960, dean of the faculty of graduate studies and research from 1942-1963, and the vice-principal from 1955-1963. He served on the National Research Council of Canada, the Defence Research Board and the Scientific Research Bureau of Quebec. He received an honorary LLD in 1961 from the University of Saskatchewan. Thomson published several highly cited papers in major journals.

A display of chicken information in the Poultry Car of the Better Farming Train.

Bio/Historical Note: From 1914 to 1922 a Better Farming Train (BFT) toured the province providing lectures and demonstrations and presenting exhibits on matters pertaining to agriculture. Funded by the Agricultural Instruction Act, equipped jointly by the Department of Agriculture and the College of Agriculture, and staffed by the University of Saskatchewan, the BFTs were operated free of charge by the railways. Consisting of between 14 to 17 cars they toured the province for several weeks each summer. During part of one summer two trains operated. The train was divided into five sections: Livestock; Field Husbandry; Boys and Girls; Household Science; Poultry; and Farm Mechanics. A converted flat car acted as a platform for the display and demonstration of the "well-selected" horses, cattle, sheep, swine and poultry. Each section usually contained a lecture car accompanied by one or more demonstration cars.

F.H. Auld, University Chancellor,making presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Samuel R. Laycock at spring Convocation. N.K. Cram, University Registrar, prepares to hood Dr. Laycock.

Bio/Historical Note: Samuel Ralph Laycock, ’16 MA, ’20 BDiv, ’23, BEd, was born in Marmora, Ontario, in 1891. He received his BA from the University of Toronto before moving to Edmonton, where he taught math and Latin for five years while earning a MA from the University of Alberta. During the First World War Laycock enlisted in the Canadian Signals Corps and served in France. After demobilization he joined the staff of the University of Alberta and earned a master’s degree in education. He attended summer sessions at Columbia and Harvard before enrolling at the University of London, from which he received a PhD in 1927. That same year Laycock was appointed assistant professor of educational psychology at the newly formed School of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. He was promoted to full professor in 1929 and served as dean of education from 1947 to 1954. Upon retirement Laycock continued to teach summer session courses at a number of Canadian and American universities and in 1958 accepted a University of British Columbia appointment as special lecturer. He was the author of 14 books and published more than 700 articles, as well as conducting the CBC’s School for Parents for 18 years. Laycock also pioneered the Canadian Home and School and Parent-Teacher movement and served on a number of boards, councils, committees and commissions. Among the many honours bestowed upon him were an honourary degree from the University of Saskatchewan and the Medal of Service of the Order of Canada. Laycock died in Vancouver on 5 September 1971.