This fonds consists of architectural drawings (1912-1954, 1973, 1986) showing details of the building construction and various mechanical devices associated with it, and a ledger book dating from 1908-1949

These postcards are printed photographs (not real photo) images of the University of Saskatchewan campus, and Saskatoon, taken during the 1940s. The postcards have not been used: each is identified with a “negative number” on the back, although the photographer is not known. It is assumed these were a reference set, from which orders for more postcards could be made. They are in pristine condition and provide exceptionally clear images of early University buildings, such as the original Veterinary Medicine building and the student-built “New Medical College,” as well as rare images of Saskatoon, including the Bessborough Hotel gardens and views of bridges from the road.

The University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon, SK.

Soldiers in military trucks, tanks and motorcycles proceed down Second (2nd) Avenue South, Saskatoon. In background is the Bowerman Block, occupied by Caswell's Men's Clothing Store, and located on 21st Street East near 2nd Avenue South. Crowds watch from the sidewalk at centre.

Bio/Historical Note: The disturbing news of Nazi incursions into the Canadian Arctic and the grim prognostications of America's commander-in-chief, Dwight D. Eisenhower, during the early days of World War II, were enough to prompt Saskatonians to prepare for the possibility of a Luftwaffe bombing run on their city. Ominous comments by local Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) personnel during mock blackouts that the prairie center would be a "pushover" in the event of a real blitz no doubt stirred the popular imagination. The crook of the river, the railway tracks that shone in the moonlight, and the usually cloudless atmosphere were all cited by military figures as factors that made Saskatoon especially vulnerable to an air attack. As a result, in January 1942 Colonel Robert W. Stayner, a distinguished veteran of the Great War, was placed in charge of air raid defense in the city. Concerned Saskatonians were encouraged to train for their community's defense. Not everyone, however, felt that war on prairie soil was imminent. Several officials in Saskatoon insisted, for example, that the prospect of an air attack on the city was still remote. Nevertheless, 1,132 local men and women were engaged in first aid, fire, and police drills in November 1942, striking evidence that the threat from the Luftwaffe seemed real enough to justify such precautions. The Star-Phoenix played a key role in whip ping up this war fever. Its special two-page "Nazi" edition of the newspaper (October 19, 1942) was a case in point. The premise behind the whole idea-that Nazis had conquered Canada, had Saskatoon in their grip, and had seized the Star-Phoenix-would have outraged every patriot in that urban center. Renaming the newspaper Deutsche Zeitung fuer Saskatoon, the editors set about filling the two pages with stories of Nazi hubris. A jubilant Hitler greeted his new subjects on the very front page: “The entire German people rejoice with me in the glorious victory of German arms in overcoming the last resistance of decadent democracy in Saskatchewan. . . . The rich farm lands of what the British were pleased to call the breadbasket of their former empire will fit magnificently into our plans for a New Order.”
The conquest of Saskatoon seemed irreversible. The amalgam of stories in the Star-Phoenix's Nazi edition were clearly designed to shock different sectors of Saskatoon's diverse population out of their complacency. Local church leaders, for example, could not have missed the upset ting announcement of the new Reichbishop appointed by the Nazis for the Canadian Gau (the German word for province) and the burning of old prayer books that promoted "unscientific Christianity." Farmers in the rural areas around Saskatoon would have been startled to read about Nazi plans to ship every ounce of butter they produced back to Germany and to confiscate all livestock, with anyone who resisted being shot on sight. And those in the prairie city with a medical background would have stared with disbelief at the Star-Phoenix's health section, a part of the paper that was now dedicated to Nazi teachings on biology and physiology. Even more hair-raising was a grim warning that anyone who opposed the new regime was to be sent to the "concentration camp" at Dundurn. These local stories were intermixed with national ones. Other stories in Deutsche Zeitung fuer Saskatoon were deliberately left blank and marked only with the word "censored" and the swastika emblem-giving the impression that the "German World Plan" was far too sinister to print. Readers of the Star-Phoenix's "Nazi" edition doubtless got the point: life in the "true north strong and free" was worth defending. Excerpts from Bringing the War Home: The Patriotic Imagination in Saskatoon, 1939-1942, by Brendan Kelly, 2010.

View of Normal School with cars parked in front; winter scene.

Bio/Historical Note: The Saskatoon Teachers' College, originally called the Saskatoon Normal School, was a facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for training teachers. The Saskatoon Normal School opened on 20 August 1912 in rented rooms in the Saskatoon Collegiate Institute (later Nutana Collegiate). It was a nondenominational institute for training primary and secondary school teachers. There were 12 second-class student teachers and 50 third-class students. Students also attended lectures at the University of Saskatchewan. The school moved in 1914 to four rooms rented in the Buena Vista School. In 1916 it moved again to rooms on the first floor of the university's Student's Residence No. 2. In 1919 the school moved again to St. Mary's separate school, and classrooms were also provided by the St. Thomas Presbyterian Church (now St. Thomas Wesley United Church). In 1920 it was decided to build a permanent home for the school on the west side of Saskatoon on Avenue A North. It was a gothic-style brick and Bedford stone building designed by architect Maurice W. Sharon and undertaken by architect David Webster. While construction was underway the school held classes in St. Paul's School on 22nd Street and 4th Avenue. The new school building was opened in March 1922, and the Provincial Normal School was officially opened on 12 February 1923, under the provincial Department of Education. In 1923 there were 335 students enrolled. In the summer of 1941 the Normal School gave up its building to the Defense Department for use in training air force recruits. The Normal School moved temporarily to Wilson School (on 7th Avenue North), whose students were relocated to other schools. It returned to the Avenue A premises after the end of World War II (1939–1945). The Normal School had an enrollment of 617 student teachers in 1945–46, of which three quarters were women. In 1953 the Normal School was renamed the Saskatoon Teacher's College. Teachers were now to be educated in teaching rather than trained in teaching. In 1986 the original Saskatoon Teachers College building was renamed the E.A. Davies building in honor of Fred Davies, a pioneer of technical education in Saskatchewan.