Edmonton in the 50's

On Friday(July 15th/05) I received a phone call from Phil Campbell.We had met in Edmonton, both working with the Canadian Dept of Agriculture in Plant Pathology. I had just graduated from U of M with a B.Sc. Hons, Phil with a B.Sc. in Agriculture from U of A. Phil went to Toronto to get his doctorate while I worked on my M.Sc. in Biochem. It took me 3 years to get my degree because I worked full time. In 1952 I too went to Toronto to take my Ph.D. in Plant pathology and Cytogenetics- getting my degree in 1955- see my earlier blog of Class reunion Spring 2005
When they phoned the Campbells were staying at their daughters home. We picked them up around 8.00 pm and drove out to the Esplanade bridge (Salisbury house ) Phil and his wife Marian split a cinamon bun, Marge and I shared a salman sandwich- coffee for the men and ice tea for the ladies. We all tried their special ice cream-looked like small pellets.-Cost $29.60.
We reminesced about the good old days- Miss Brodie the spinster secretary who died of a heart attack while at work, Tom Davidson a virologist who had developed special drafting technics for virus transmission who was transferred to StCatherines, Jack Lebeau(who died of undiagnosed stomach cancer ) who for his Ph.D at Wisconsin demonstrated that the winter kill by the snow mold fungus was due to the release of cyanide by the fungus which attacked the buds of clover and grasses whileunder ice cover.Earl Sanford the director -a suspicious person who would confront you to explain even your most normal behavior. Larry Tyner my boss who had an obsession with the Warburg apparatus for measuring Oxygen consumption and emmision in different systems, Bill Skoropad an airforce veteran (gunner ) who worked with smuts and other diseases of cereals. The photographer Ted; Nick Colotelo- I never really knew what he did. He was a great friend of Mrs. Grenchenko- one of the lab techs. She had a most interesting history , living through the Stalin famines in the Ukraine in the 1930's where her husband - a chief agronomist at the U. of Karkow was sent to Siberia and never heard off again- I believe his crime was just pousing or knowing where one of the priests was living and did not inform the KNVD. They lost their son in the famine because at school the boy would share his food with other less fortunate kids- He developed typhis-There were also remineses of Toronto- Dr. Bailey head of the Botany Dept
who developed Alzheimer- his daughter would not let Phil visit him in this mental state. Klaus Rothfels - my supervisor in Cytogenetics (He was a German prisoner of war , studying in England who was sent to camps in Canada ); Don Brewer who went back to Halifax; Hazen Thompson (the African Violet root rot expert) who returned to Ottawa. Sandy Best- son of insulin guru Charles Best- Sandy work on the cytogenetics of lilies- a nice project as this plant only have a diploid chromosome number of 6 There were other names that Phil mentioned but I could not recall them. You see Phil was in his final year in Toronto while I was in my first.
We ended our reminscing shortly after 10 pm. A very enjoyable evening. I might add a footnote, Marge my wife was not too anxious to go out. I guess because the Campbells have several grandchildren- gifts with which we have not been blessed to date.
I took a few digital photos for the memoirs.