Display in the Mechanical Car includes the "Uni-electric Light and Power Plant" spark plugs and carburetors. "No. 130 The electrical corner of the mechanics car - 1919 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.

View of the President's Residence with snow on access road.

Bio/Historical Note: The President’s Residence is among the original buildings constructed on campus. The residence was designed by Brown and Vallance, and was built under the direction of A.R. Greig, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds. The building was originally planned as a wooden structure. However, a proposal to construct the building out of a local river rock, later known as greystone, was raised prior to the commencement of construction - if the government would foot the bill. Eventually the latter material was chosen, though the government perhaps came to regret its decision. Construction on the President's Residence began in 1910 and finished in early 1913. By the time it was completed the original cost for the building had ballooned from $32,000 to $44,615. Walter Murray, the first president of the University, was deeply embarrassed by the cost of what was to be his personal residence, even though it was also a public building. However, the people of Saskatoon were proud of the building and the status it gave their University, and no public outcry over the cost ever materialized. Renovations to the President's Residence were completed in 1989 by PCL-Maxam at a cost of $96,752. The renovations were designed by architects Malkin/Edwards.

Four horses and a foal being held by two men, and another two men with their backs to the camera. Barn and sheds in background.

Design plans and cross section of a straw gas retort. In a chemistry laboratory, a retort is a device used for distillation or dry distillation of substances.

Bio/Historical Note: Prof. R.D. MacLaurin, head, Department of Chemistry, was interested in the production of gas from straw as a fuel for heating and for engines. Though he was not alone in the research field, MacLaurin built a small extraction plant in the late 1910s and operate a McLaughlin Motor Car using straw gas. The research was promising but far from a breakthrough. The volume of gas produced was small and the mileage between fill-ups low. The most significant aspect of the research was not scientific but financial. MacLaurin felt cheated when Walter C. Murray, University President, distributed provincial research funds to several campus projects. Though he had the largest share of the grant, MacLaurin felt he deserved it all. He alleged Murray had misappropriated funds. A battle ensued for the control of the University administration. Murray was able to maintain the confidence of the Board of Governors and MacLaurin and three of his supporters - Samuel Greenway, Extension director; Ira MacKay, professor of Law; and John L. Hogg, head, Physics - were dismissed. Research into straw gas was discontinued.

A straw gas retort made of brick with a metal front in the [Engineering Building]. In a chemistry laboratory, a retort is a device used for distillation or dry distillation of substances.

Bio/Historical Note: Prof. R.D. MacLaurin, head, Department of Chemistry, was interested in the production of gas from straw as a fuel for heating and for engines. Though he was not alone in the research field, MacLaurin built a small extraction plant in the late 1910s and operate a McLaughlin Motor Car using straw gas. The research was promising but far from a breakthrough. The volume of gas produced was small and the mileage between fill-ups low. The most significant aspect of the research was not scientific but financial. MacLaurin felt cheated when Walter C. Murray, University President, distributed provincial research funds to several campus projects. Though he had the largest share of the grant, MacLaurin felt he deserved it all. He alleged Murray had misappropriated funds. A battle ensued for the control of the University administration. Murray was able to maintain the confidence of the Board of Governors and MacLaurin and three of his supporters - Samuel Greenway, Extension director; Ira MacKay, professor of Law; and John L. Hogg, head, Physics - were dismissed. Research into straw gas was discontinued.

Wooden benches piled on the back of an overhauled truck by returned men, parked in front of Engineering Building.

Large group of people posed for a photo dressed in oriental style costumes. Lanterns and streamers are hanging from the ceiling.

Head and shoulders portrait of Dr. Samuel Earl Greenway, Director of Extension.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Samuel Earl Greenway was born 16 February 1875 in Little Prairie, Wisconsin. He settled in Manitoba in 1880, and was in turn a farmer, teacher, telegraph operator, and reporter, editor and contributor to magazines. Dr. Greenway was involved in a pivotal event in the history of the University of Saskatchewan, known as “the University crisis of 1919.” The matter became public on June 28 when the Saskatoon Star announced that four members of faculty had been fired without explanation. They were: Samuel E. Greenway, director of Extension; Robert D. McLaurin; head of Chemistry; Ira A. MacKay, professor of Law; and John L. Hogg, head of Physics. All were senior members of faculty with many years of experience. The affair had started in March of that year when Greenway had accused Walter C. Murray, University President, of falsifying a report about University finances. This complaint had been made to the government and not to the Board of Governors. In early April Council voted 27 to zero “affirming its confidence and loyalty to the President” while four members abstained. Three of those who abstained plus Greenway were dismissed as the Board put it, “in the best interest of the University.” The public and the press clamoured for an explanation. When one was not forthcoming, calls for a public inquiry were loud and persistent. In accordance with the University Act, the Lieutenant Governor assumed the role of Visitor and through the office of the King’s Bench held a series of hearings. The Visitor’s report was delivered in April 1920 and vindicated the Board’s decision saying it was “regular, proper and in the best interest of the university.” The professors were not protected by tenure but were employed “at the pleasure of the board.” Their act of disloyalty was enough to cost them their jobs.

Houses and barns at Tighnduin Farm in Lashburn Saskatchewan

Frenchman Butte looking east down a road into town. Two grain elevators are seen in the background.

View of the North Saskatchewan River at Frenchman Butte

Hillmond hockey team; Tom Chambers, Bill Newman, Harold Knight, Howard Newman, Howard Cook, Emery Leveille, Joe Fiddler, Howard Bygrove, George Adomeit, Don Newman, Arden Ritchie

Taken from Southminster 1903-1955 page 26

8 men and a dog standing in front of a building