Dr. Douglas R. Cherry, dean of Arts, presents the University Prize in Arts to Gertrude Elizabeth Story at Convocation and Installation of Dr. Leo F. Kristjanson as University President. Dignitaries in academic robes applaud in background.

Bio/Historical Note: Gertrude E. Story (née Wudrick) was born 19 September 1929 and grew up in a German Lutheran farming environment at Bergheim, Saskatchewan, close to Sutherland. Her early years formed the background to much of her writing. Starting in the early 1950s Story developed her craft as a freelance writer and broadcaster. Her works include adult and children’s fiction, poetry, radio plays, commentary and non-fiction. For many years she entertained CBC Radio audiences with her literary reports from her home in Vanscoy, southwest of Saskatoon. An active member of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild, her poetry and stories have appeared in a variety of publications across the country. In 1980 her first volume of poetry, The Book of Thirteen, was published, followed a year later with a collection of stories, The Way to Always Dance. Other major publications include After Sixty: Going Home; Black Swan; Counting Two; How to Saw Wood With An Angel; It Never Pays To Laugh Too Much; and The Last House on Main Street. In addition to her writing and radio work, Story has devoted much of her time to teaching the craft to others through workshops and writer-in-residence programs throughout the province. In 1981, at the age of 52, she received her BA at the University of Saskatchewan, convocating as the most distinguished graduate and receiving the university's Arts Prize and the President's Medal. She also was a recipient of the Saskatchewan Culture & Youth Poetry Prize, a CBC Radio Literary Award, and the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild Children's Literature Award. Story was very much appreciated by her peers. During her lifetime, Story was set alongside the likes of Szumigalski, Layton, Vanderhaeghe, and Mitchell in terms of the significance of her contributions to Canadian, prairie, and in particular Saskatchewan literature. She died 18 January 2014 in Weyburn, Saskatchewan.