View of the head table and some of the smaller ones with the guests enjoying their meal. J. Gerrard speaking to the guests. R.W. Begg is seated on the right with his back to the windows in the background.

Head table guests at University of Saskatchewan Convocation Alumni banquet held at Bessborough Hotel. From l to r: Rt. Hon. Vincent Massey, Governor General of Canada; Walter D. Brice, alumni president; Hon. W.J. Patterson, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan; Mrs. Lionel Massey (daughter-in-law of Vincent Massey) and T.C. Douglas, Premier of Saskatchewan.

John G. Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada, speaking from podium during an Alumni Association banquet at the [Bessborough Hotel].

L.E. Kirk, Chief, Plant Industry Branch, Agricultural Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, speaks from podium during the Alumni Association Golden Jubilee dinner. T.C. Douglas, Premier of Saskatchewan; W.P. Thompson, University President; Frank Bastedo, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, and Mrs. Irma Douglas seated at head table.

Elevated view of Dr. Arthur S. Moxon, retiring chairman, University Board of Governors, speaking from the head table during a Alumni Association banquet at the [Bessborough Hotel].

T.C. Douglas, Premier of Saskatchewan, speaks from podium during the Alumni Association Golden Jubilee dinner. W.P. Thompson (at right), University President; and Frank Bastedo, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan (at left) seated.

James G. Taggart, federal Deputy Minister of Agriculture and honourary Doctor of Laws degree recipient, speaks from podium during Alumni Association banquet held at Bessborough Hotel.

Bio/Historical Note: James Gordon Taggart was born in 1892 in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia and raised in River Hebert, Nova Scotia. He attended public and high school in River Hebert, followed by post-secondary studies at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College and then the Ontario Agricultural College. Taggart was principal of the School of Agriculture in Vermilion, Alberta before entering the federal public service and becoming superintendent of the Swift Current Dominion Experimental Farm for the Department of Agriculture. Taggart was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan under the ministry of Premier William John Patterson and served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Agriculture. Following his tenure in provincial politics, Taggart served as Deputy Minister for the federal Department of Agriculture from 1949 to 1959. He was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Taggart died in Toronto in 1974. Taggart was posthumously inducted to the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1976.

Claude Bissell. president, University of Toronto, speaks from podium during the Alumni Association Golden Jubilee dinner.

Elevated view of Alumni seated at their tables at the Bessborough Hotel.