The following is a list of some of the most recent collections to be processed at the University of Saskatchewan’s Archives and Special Collections. Note that this list is not comprehensive, but is meant to give a taste of some of the materials we are currently collecting, and which provide new research opportunities for our patrons.
MG454 – Sharon Bakker fonds
Sharon Bakker was born in 1952 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her contributions to the Saskatchewan and Canadian drama scene have been extensive. Paper Wheat, which first opened in Sintaluta SK in 1977, stands as a highlight on Bakker’s CV as she at various times both acted in and directed the play. . She was herself a founder of a number of theater co-operatives, including the Fully Dressed Ladies Co-op and Bakkery Products Co-op. In the early seventies, Bakker was a founding member of the 25th Street Theater group, and in the early eighties established VIEW, a group for female performing artists in Vancouver.
The material in this fonds consists largely of scripts, clippings, photographs and ephemera pertaining to Bakker’s involvement in theater in the province of Saskatchewan, and Canada at large. Materials highlighting Bakker’s career are included, as are materials pertaining to her involvement in various theatrical professional organizations. Some personal materials have also been retained.
MG557 – Gordon Barnhart fonds
Gordon Leslie Barnhart was born in Saltcoats, Saskatchewan on January 22, 1945. He earned a BA in History from the University of Saskatchewan (Regina Campus) in 1967, a MA from the University of Regina in 1977 and Ph.D from the University of Saskatchewan in 1998. He briefly taught at North Battleford Collegiate Institute before accepting an appointment as Clerk of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly. In 1989, he was appointed Clerk of the Senate. From 2000 to 2005, he served as University Secretary, University of Saskatchewan before retiring to teach political studies classes, specializing in Canadian politics, government and the Canadian Senate. In 2006, Dr. Barnhart replaced Lynda Haverstock as Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan. In 2012, he returned to the U of S as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of History and on May 21, 2014, Barnhart was appointed interim President of the University of Saskatchewan. He held the post until October 24, 2015. On June 24, 2014, Barnhart was named a Member of the Order of Canada. Barnhart’s book Peace, Progress and Prosperity detailed the life of Saskatchewan’s first premier, Thomas Walter Scott. Other works include E. H. Oliver : a study of Protestant progressivism in Saskatchewan, 1909-1935; Saskatchewan’s Premiers of the Twentieth Century, Building for the Future; a photo journal of Saskatchewan’s Legislative Building and Parliamentary Committees: Enhancing Democratic Governance. The material in this fonds documents the career, interests and writing of Gordon Barnhart.
MG418 – Robert Calder fonds
Born in Moose Jaw on 3 April 1941 and raised in Saskatoon, Robert Lorin Calder is a lifelong resident of Saskatchewan. Having taken a BA (1964) and MA (1965) at the University of Saskatchewan and a PhD at the University of Leeds (1970), he was the longest-serving (45 ½ years) member of the Department of English at the University of Saskatchewan, and at 38, was also the youngest Department Head in its history. Additionally, he served as the Acting Head of the Music Department and as the first Associate Dean of Fine Arts and Humanities in the College of Arts and Science.
Calder is the author or editor of eleven books, most of which have been published internationally. He was the first writer in the history of Saskatchewan to have a book published by an international trade publisher while residing in the province. His Willie: the Life of W. Somerset Maugham, for which he was awarded the Governor General’s Literary Award, made him recognized as the leading authority in the world on Somerset Maugham. In 2005 he was given the University of Saskatchewan’s Distinguished Researcher Award, and in 2011 he was selected among the first hundred College of Arts and Science Alumni of Influence.
Throughout his career, Calder has been an active member of the Saskatchewan writing community, serving as President of the Sage Hill Writing Experience, the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild, and The Word on the Street Saskatoon (of which he is a founding member). He was instrumental in the creation of the Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence, and the innovative Master of Fine Arts in Writing at the University of Saskatchewan. In addition to the Governor General’s Literary Award, he has won two Saskatchewan Book Awards, and has twice won the John V. Hicks Manuscript Award.
This fonds is a record of Calder’s activities in three areas: personal life and career as student and faculty member, career as an internationally published author, and contributions to the Saskatchewan writing community.
MG513 – Christopher Chapman fonds
Born in Toronto in 1927, Christopher Chapman was an innovative Canadian filmmaker and documentarian. He was best known for A Place to Stand, produced for the Ontario Pavilion at Expo 67 and for which he won an Academy Award. A Place to Stand represented the beginning of IMAX technology, and Chapman pioneered the “multiple dynamic images” technique.
The fonds includes film footage and audio recordings created during Christopher Chapman’s film project relating to Richard St. Barbe Baker; photographs of the film shoot in British Columbia; correspondence, drafts, proposals, notes, etc. documenting the film project, including correspondence between Chapman and St. Barbe and between Chapman and others; photographs taken and collected by St. Barbe; letters sent to St. Barbe care of Chapman during his extended visit to Canada; articles and other resource material compiled by both Chapman and St. Barbe, especially relating to forestry and the environment, and about St. Barbe; and related material including slides of the Findhorn Community in Scotland.
MG545 – Allan Cushon Collection
Owner of Saskatoon’s most recognizable locksmithing shop, Burnett’s keys. Allan was a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, and an avid collector of books, magazines, and other materials with particular focus on mysteries, Sherlockian works, and anything to do with locks and keys. Allan passed away in 2015.
This collection contains books, magazines, and a variety of ephemera. Much of the material consists of advertising (dating from the Victorian era to the present), and Canadiana. Other themes include socialism, sex and gender, science fiction, western living, and adventure. In line with Cushon’s interests as a locksmith, there are also a variety of materials relating to locks, keys, and locked room mysteries.
MG580 – D. W. (Zach) Hauser fonds
Donald William (Zach) Hauser earned his BFA from the University of Saskatchewan in 1979 and did post-graduate studies in Gesamthoschschule Kassel (the Consolodated University of Kassel), Germany. He has taught photography for Camosun College, Victoria, and for the University of Saskatchewan, both through Art and Art History and the Extension Division. A photographer since his first photograph was published in 1962, Hauser also began furniture making; and in 1998 became a blacksmith. He has had individual and group exhibitions in Germany and western Canada. Hauser is a member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council and has served on the Board of Directors of the Mendel Art Gallery, and on the board of CARFAC.
This series contains original images of arctic flora found on Axel Heiberg and Ellesmere Islands, and to a lesser extent, from Cornwallis Island (specifically, Resolute Bay). The photographs were taken by Hauser over the course of two separate research trips with James Basinger, a professor of geology with an interest in fossil plants, the evolution of land plants, and tertiary plants and climate change. The images taken by Hauser document both common and rare plants, together with detailed records on the location and date of each photograph. As such, these images provide excellent documentation of one aspect of the northern Canadian environment at a specific point in time, and may well provide evidence of change over time as the climate (and human impact) may alter the northern landscape.
MG548 – Cecil King fonds
Cecil King is an Odawa from Wikwemikong, and a residential school survivor. He obtained his BEd (1973), and his MEd (1975) through the INEP program. He received a PhD in 1983 from the University of Calgary through the Department of Policy and Administrative studies. He has spent fifty years in education as a teacher, professor, researcher, and consultant. He was one of the founders of the Indian Teacher Education Program, and served as it’s first director. He was Head of the Indian and Northern Education Program at the University of Saskatchewan, as well as Dean of the Saskatchewan Campus of the First Nations University of Canada. For many years, King also served as the first Director of the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program at Queen’s University, and is a Professor Emeritus of that school.
This fonds contains materials related to Cecil King’s work in Aboriginal Education. Important documents surrounding the aboriginal education work done by the University of Saskatchewan, Queens University, the Indian and Northern Education Program, the Indian Teachers Education Program, the Northern Teachers Education Program, the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teachers Education Program, the First Nations University of Canada (formerly SIFC), the Gabriel Dumont Institute, and the Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Center form the core of these materials. The history of troubles at the First Nations University of Canada is tracked through nearly-daily news reports collected by King from 2005-2010. King also extensively collected materials on Aboriginal Education, language, and general matters of indigenous interest.
MG364 – Edgar Mapletoft
Edgar Mapletoft was born October 7, 1920 in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. His father, John, and uncle, Charlie, homesteaded in the Fort Pitt District, just north of Lloydminster, on the north side of the North Saskatchewan River in 1911. His parents, John & Martha Mapletoft, had one son, Edgar, and a daughter, Mary Margaret. Edgar grew up and remained in the Fort Pitt District all his life. He attended the School of Agriculture in Saskatoon and in 1941 received his Diploma. Edgar married Florence Patricia Chapman on July 2, 1942 and they raised three sons on the Little Pipestone Ranch just a couple miles from their childhood homes. He died on April 1, 2006. Mr. Mapletoft was an authority on Simmental cattle. He first imported the breed to Canada in 1969 and was a successful breeder for several years. In 1983, he was given the Golden Book Award by the World Simmental Federation. Included in this accrual are materials regarding the local history of Frenchman Butte, and slides of celebrations in the area.
MG551 – Reuben Mapletoft fonds
Reuben Mapletoft was born on Little Pipestone Ranch near Fort Pitt, Saskatchewan. His father, Edgar Mapletoft was among the earliest importers of Simmental cattle in Canada. Reuben received his DVM from the University of Guelph before interning at the University of Saskatchewan in 1967-1968—the first student to intern at the college. After obtaining his PhD, Mapletoft returned to the WCVM as a professor in the Department of Clinical Studies. He became the Head of the Department of Herd Medicine and Theriogeneology in 1998, and in 2002 he became a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry (Bioniche). His main area of research and innovation is in bovine reproduction, and more specifically, embryo transfer, superovulation, and in-vitro fertilization. Through the course of his career, he has been involved in many collaborative efforts with universities around the world, most notably in South America, and Japan. Dr. Reuben J. Mapletoft is now a professor emeritus in the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences.
This accrual includes a broad array of teaching slides on the subject of large animal reproduction, conference and workshop proceedings from around the world, information on international courses taught by Mapletoft, an array of papers written by Mapletoft, and a small selection of relevant ephemera.
MG568 – McConnell Family fonds
John McConnell attended the University of Saskatchewan, earning a degree in Agricultural Economics (1951). He began a 21-year career with the Saskatchewan public service, working for the departments of Co-operation and Co-operative Development, and Agriculture. During this period, he hosted a radio show, “Good Listening for Good Farming,” and a television show, “Rural Route Saskatchewan.”
Doreen Muriel Ratcliffe was born in Regina on 17 July 1927. She earned a BA from the University of Saskatchewan, and worked as an executive secretary and advertising copywriter in Vancouver and Regina. She married John McConnell in 1957. Doreen was active as pianist for her church, with the CGIT, and with the Canadian Institute of International Affairs and the World Food Program.
This fonds documents McConnell’s work in communications, his work for the Canadian and Saskatchewan governments, together with materials relating to his interest in the environment and social and international development issues. It also includes materials relating to the interests and activities of Doreen.
MG561 – Carol Morrell fonds
Carol Morrell received her BA (1966) from the University of New Brunswick, and earned her MA from the University of Toronto (1968). She taught part-time at UNB while completing her dissertation; and joined the faculty at the University of Saskatchewan in 1985, as assistant professor of English. She served as co-chair of the Dean of Arts and Science’s Special Committee on Women’s Studies (1989-1990) and was one of three members of the Ad Hoc Committee of Academic Affairs looking into Women’s Studies at the University of Saskatchewan.
This fonds focuses on the initial proposals for courses relating to women’s studies at the University of Saskatchewan, leading eventually to the development of the department of Women’s and Gender Studies. The organization reflects the description of materials provided by the donor.
MG223 – R. H. D. Phillips fonds
In 1948, Robert Howard Daniel Phillips began his lifelong career as a journalist, working variously for the Canadian Press, the Regina Leader Post, and the United Press. In 1960 he joined the staff of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, becoming its first research analyst and subsequently, director of their Research Division. In 1973 he was named editor and publisher of the Western Producer, as well as general manager of Western Producer Publications. Phillips was active in the Presbyterian Church as well as with both the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina.
Tanyss Phillips, wife of R. H. D. Phillips, was one of the earliest female economists in Canada, and worked with the research department at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa, with the Saskatchewan Royal Commission of Agriculture and Rural Life, and was an instructor at the University of Regina from 1960-1973. She also served many years as a member of the University of Regina’s Senate.
This fonds contains materials created or collected by RHD Phillips relating to the establishment and demise of St. Stephen’s Church in Regina, photographs and textual materials relating to Phillips’ work with the SWP and Western Producer Publications. Also included are a variety of (primarily Scottish and Irish) genealogies compiled by Phillips, documents pertaining to Tanyss’ work with the Royal Commission on Agricultural and Rural Life, and documents relating to post-secondary education in Saskatchewan.
MG579 – Roger Pierson fonds
Roger A. Pierson joined the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan in 1988 as a professor in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and director of the Reproductive Biology Research Unit (College of Medicine). His research is multi-disciplinary: he is an associate member of the department of Herd Medicine and Theriogenology (Western College of Veterinary Medicine), and a member of the department of Biomedical Engineering (College of Engineering). This fonds contains materials relating to Pierson’s research interests, and his collaborative work with graduate students and faculty from medicine, nursing, veterinary medicine, and computational science. Pierson and the reproductive biology research unit made medical history when they were the first to capture natural human ovulation, witnessed with the use of an intra-vaginal probe to produce ultrasound waves. Those original images, on video tape, form part of this fonds; as do other images and data relating to Pierson’s research in reproductive technologies.
MG355 – Neil Richards Collection
Born and educated in Ontario, but based in Saskatchewan since 1971, Neil Richards (1949 – ) has been an active participant in local, provincial and national gay organizations since the early 1970s. His activist work included participation in the Committee to Defend Doug Wilson in 1975, the organization of the 1976 convention of the National Gay Rights Coalition in Saskatoon, and many of the earliest AIDS awareness efforts in Saskatchewan. In conjunction with his work at the University of Saskatchewan Library, he produced many exhibitions and public events concerning AIDS and gay history and life. This accrual extends the existing series relating to cross-dressing; and adds a series relating to “beefcake,” physique or body-building magazines; articles from popular magazines, as well as a collection of serious magazines relating to the LGBT community; and works from artist and fellow activist, Duncan Campbell.
MG572 – Ron Steer fonds
Ron Steer received his B.Sc. (1963), Ph.D. (1968) and D.Sc. (1995) degrees from the University of Saskatchewan. He did postdoctoral research at the University of California, Riverside, concentrating on the chemistry and relaxation dynamics of electronically excited molecules. After returning to the University of Saskatchewan as an assistant professor in 1960, he was promoted to full professor in 1978. Steer served a term as department head from 2002 to 2005, and served as the elected representative of the faculty on the University of Saskatchewan’s Board of Governors from 2001 to 2004. Steer received the Master Teacher award in 1996; was awarded the title of distinguished professor by the University in 2011; and received the John C. Polanyi award (from Canadian Society for Chemistry) in 2013. This fonds contains materials relating to Steer’s education at the University of Saskatchewan and his career: including his research and publications; teaching material; and various presentations and addresses.
MG 169 – Bill Waiser fonds
The most recent materials donated to the University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections by historian and professor Bill Waiser include material relating to his academic and writing career, such as instructional material; assessments and referential material; and research and publication activities. Specifically, the accrual contains material collected by Waiser relating to the 1906 census and his research on Canadian National Parks, and working papers relating to his Governor General Literary Award winning book A World We Have Lost: Saskatchewan Before 1905. More information on the Bill Waiser fonds.
MG305 – Sam Wynn fonds
S.N. Wynn began his career at the West Toronto Tribune where he learned to operate the Monoline, a forerunner of the linotype machine. This skill provided him with the opportunity to move west, and in 1904 he accepted a printer’s job in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. In 1928 he became the publisher of the Yorkton Enterprise. Under his direction, the paper won numerous honours in provincial and national weekly newspapers competitions. He served as a director of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association; was first vice-president of the Western Canada Press Association; director of the Yorkton Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition Association; president of the Saskatchewan Hospital Association; chairman of the Yorkton Hospital Board; a member of the advisory committee to the health services planning commission; trustee of the Anti-Tuberculosis League; served on the school board and was a member of Yorkton city council for six years. In 1955, the University of Saskatchewan awarded him an honorary degree. This fonds contains materials relating to the Yorkton Enterprise and the newspaper business in Canada, correspondence with various individuals (usually in relation to Wynn’s career), as well as material relating to his family and volunteer community organizations.
MG586 – Raymond Yochim Collection
Raymond Pius George Yochim was born on August 17, 1935, and died July 25, 2016. He was married sixty years to wife Irene, and had three sons. He was, for much of his career, a travelling salesman, and his collecting was partially a result of his ongoing travels as well as his multitude of interests. Ray was a member of the Air Force Club, Royal Canadian Legion, Army Navy & Air Force Veterans, and Knights of Columbus. He was an avid collector of coins and stamps, books and ephemera.
Yochim’s collecting ranged over a variety of topics and medium. Often, he would take interest in a specific subject and collect everything from articles and clippings to books on the subject, interleaving the former with the latter. He also gathered collectible items such as trading cards and magnets on a variety of subjects.
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