Fonds F 14 - E.M. Culliton fonds

Edward Milton Culliton was born on April 9, 1906 in East Grand Forks, Minnesota to John Joseph and Catherine Mary (Kelly) Culliton of Ontario. The family immigrated to Herbert, Saskatchewan in 1907 where John acted as station agent for the Canadian Pacific Railroad and homesteaded south of the community. In 1912, the family moved to a farm near Elbow where Edward Culliton received his primary and secondary education, graduating in 1921. He attended the University of Saskatchewan, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree (1926) and a law degree (1928).

Culliton was admitted to the Saskatchewan Bar in 1930 and articled with Thomas Gallant, K.C. in Gravelbourg. When Gallant was appointed to the Gravelbourg District Court in 1930, Culliton took over his practice, practicing law in Gravelbourg from 1930 to 1951. This was interrupted by his service in the Royal Canadian Artillery and the Office of the Judge Advocate General (1941-1946). Commissioned as a second lieutenant. He achieved the rank of Major.

Culliton was first elected to the Saskatchewan Legislature in the November 26, 1935 by-election as the Liberal Party Member of the Legislative Assembly for Gravelbourg. He was re-elected in 1938 and 1948. Culliton served in the William John Patterson cabinet as Provincial Secretary (1938-1941); and while on active service as Minister Without Portfolio (1941-1944). As Provincial Secretary he was the minister in charge of the Saskatchewan Tax Commission, the King's Printer and Bureau of Publications. In the 1944 general election, Culliton lost the constituency of Gravelbourg to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) candidate Henry Edmund Houze. In 1946, he ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Liberal party, losing to Walter Adam Tucker. Culliton regained the constituency of Gravelbourg in the 1948 general election, defeating Houze.

In 1951, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent appointed Culliton to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal and when Chief Justice Hall was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1962, Justice Culliton replaced him as Chief Justice. Culliton served as Chief Justice for Saskatchewan until his retirement in 1981.

Culliton was active in numerous commissions and boards of inquiry at the local, provincial and national levels as well as in community and professional organizations. These included: Chair of the Saskatchewan Golden Jubilee Committee (1953-1955); member and chair of the University of Saskatchewan's Board of Governors (1956-1962); Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan (1965-1969); first Chair of the Saskatchewan Honours Advisory Council (1985-1986); Chair of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Study (1981-1983); Chair of the Code of Ethical Conduct for Saskatchewan Public Office Holders Review (1986); Chair of the Sale of Saskatchewan Government Insurance Properties Commission (1984); Chair of the Saskatchewan Electoral Boundaries Commission (1988); and member of the Committee to Study and Review the Judicial System (1984). In addition, Culliton volunteered with the Red Cross; Canadian National Institute for the Blind; Knights of Columbus; the United Appeal; Assiniboia Club; Advisory Board for Martha House; and the Canadian and Saskatchewan Curling Associations.

In 1963, Culliton received a honourary degree from the University of Saskatchewan and in 1981 the University established the Chief Justice E.M. Culliton Scholarship for post-graduate studies in criminal law. In 1981, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. Other honours received by Culliton included: Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (given by Pope Paul VI in 1973); member Canadian Curling Hall of Fame (1974); Honourary Vice-President of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (1988); Honourary Life Member Saskatchewan Curling Association (1964); and the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (1988).

On September 9, 1939, Culliton married Katherine Mary Hector of Dysart, Saskatchewan. Culliton died on March 14, 1991 in Regina.

John Hall Archer was born July 11, 1914 on a farm 20 km south of Broadview, Saskatchewan. He was the third of ten children born to British homesteaders Charles and Mary Archer, who came to Canada in 1903.

Archer's primary education began in Broadview's Highland School, and he completed his final year of high school at Scott Collegiate in Regina. Beginning in 1932, Archer farmed and attended Normal School in Regina. From 1935 to 1938, he upgraded his teaching credentials through correspondence and summer courses offered by the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. His enlistment during the Second World War resulted in a break in his studies. After the war, Archer obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in history (1947) and a Masters of Arts in history (1948) from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. At McGill University in Montreal Quebec, Archer received a Bachelor of Library Science (1949) and he earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in history (1969) from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

In the period from 1933 to 1940, John Archer taught in the Highland, Grainview, Edenland, and Wawota school districts. In 1940, he left his position as Vice-Principal of Wawota High School, and enlisted in the Canadian Army. He signed up as a gunner in the Royal Canadian Artillery and became a part of the 1st Canadian Survey Regiment, Flash Spotting Battery. He was stationed overseas in the United Kingdom, North African/Mediterranean theatre and Italy during the war where he served with distinction and completed officer training. He also ran (unsuccessfully) for public office as a candidate in the 1944 Saskatchewan General Election, representing active service voters in Area Number 2 (countries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea). Archer returned to Saskatchewan in 1945 with the rank of Captain.

Following the completion of his Bachelor of Library Science degree, Archer returned to Saskatchewan to become the Assistant Legislative Librarian in 1949. During the period from 1951 to 1964, he was Legislative Librarian of Saskatchewan and served on the Saskatchewan Archives Board. From 1957 to 1962, he also held the position of Provincial Archivist. From 1962 to 1964, he was Assistant Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

In 1964, Archer left Saskatchewan to become Director of University Libraries at McGill and in 1967 he became an Associate Professor of History and University Archivist at Queen's University. In 1970, Archer returned to Saskatchewan, this time to take up his appointment as principal of the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus. He served as the University of Regina's President from 1974 to 1976. In 1976 while Professor of Western Canadian History at the University of Regina, Archer was engaged by the Saskatchewan Archives Board to write a history of Saskatchewan to coincide with the province's 75th Anniversary. He continued to teach throughout the 1980's and 1990's at the Senior's Education Centre, University of Regina.

During his lifetime, John Archer gave many speeches and lectures throughout the province to interest groups and students. In the year 1980, as promotion for the Celebrate Saskatchewan 75th Anniversary and the publication of his work Saskatchewan: A History, he spoke at over 200 events.

Archer wrote and edited many books and articles, as well as contributing forewords, introductions and reviews to many literary works. These projects included writing Honoured with the Burden (a history of the Regina Board of Education); Bernard Amtmann, 1907-1979; and Living Faith, History of Diocese of Qu'Appelle. He was general editor of the memoirs of John Diefenbaker and also edited Grainbuyer's Wife; Billy Bock : The Book of Humbug; Land of Promise; and West of Yesterday. Archer participated in several radio and television broadcasts, such as The Saskatchewan Story; At Home in Saskatchewan; John Archer's Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Mosaic.

Throughout his lifetime, John Archer served on a number of boards and commissions at the local, provincial and national levels. These included the Saskatchewan Golden Jubilee Committee(Secretary); Rafferty Alameda Environmental Assessment Review Panel (Chair); Rural Development Advisory Group (Chair); Canadian Centenary Council (Director); South Saskatchewan Hospital Board (Member); Wascana Centre Authority (Director, treasurer); Saskatchewan Judicial Council; Glassco Commission on Federal Government Organization (Project Officer); Saskatchewan Commission on Continuing Education (Chair); and Regina Advisory Committee of the Salvation Army (Chair and Life Member).

He received numerous honours and awards during his lifetime, including the Order of Canada (Officer); Saskatchewan Order of Merit; Golden Jubilee Medal; President Emeritus for the University of Regina; Anglican Church Award of Merit; Doctor of Laws from the University of Regina; Doctor of Canon Law from the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad; as well as having the main branch of the University of Regina Library named in his honour.

Archer participated in a number of organizations, societies and charitable groups concerned with Canadian history, political science, libraries and the arts. Including: the Canadian and American Library Associations; the Canada Foundation; the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society; Monarchist League of Canada; Government House Historical Society; Saskatchewan Genealogical Society; Museums Association of Saskatchewan; and the Council for Canadian Unity.

His personal interests also extended to the game of bridge, curling, university athletics, rural development, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Canadian unity.

John Archer married Alice M. Widdup on August 24, 1939 in Broadview, Saskatchewan. They had two children John Widdup Archer (1947) and Alice Mary-Lynn Archer (1951). Archer died on April 5, 2004 in Regina, Saskatchewan.

In February, 1986, Regina Motion Picture, Video & Sound Ltd. was established when Kevin DeWalt assumed one half of a partnership with Ken Krawcyzk in Videotrends, a Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan-based video company. Regina Motion Picture, Video & Sound Ltd. was incorporated on April 15, 1986 and commenced operation in Regina with DeWalt as its president and Krawczyk as its secretary-treasurer. Early contracts for the company included corporate videos, short documentaries, commercial spots and music videos. By 1988, over seventy corporate videos had been produced. In 1989, the company produced its first television drama, The Great Electrical Revolution.

Also in 1989, Regina Motion Picture, Video & Sound Ltd. was reorganized to meet the increasing challenges of the broadening film and video market. Minds Eye Pictures was formed as the division that focused on the creative development and production of television commercials, corporate and educational videos, and on film/drama development. Another division, Quantum Post Production, was formed to focus on all aspects of post-production. Throughout the 1990s, Minds Eye Pictures continued to expand its production work with a variety of feature films, and television series, television movies of the week and television mini-series.

In 2001, Regina Motion Picture, Video & Sound Ltd. (with Minds Eye Pictures as a division thereof) and another business venture, Minds Eye New Media Inc., amalgamated to form Minds Eye Entertainment. The amalgamated corporation was registered in Saskatchewan on March 1, 2001. Kevin DeWalt continued as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Highlights in the history of Minds Eye Entertainment include the international success of the Gemini Award-winning children's television series Incredible Story Studio, and the television mini-series The Englishman's Boy which earned six Gemini Awards and the Seoul Drama Award in 2008. Minds Eye Entertainment embraced the digital age with interactive projects such as the Living Dinosaur Project, and web programs including My Global Adventure and inSayshable. The company also partnered with production companies in France, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom to produce various television series and feature films. In its history, Minds Eye has operated production offices in Los Angeles, California, Edmonton, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Currently (2017) Minds Eye Entertainment continues to maintain its head office in Regina, however it also operates a satellite office from Kelowna, British Columbia that was established in 2016. It has produced over fifty television and movie productions, many of which have been distributed by its subsidiary company, Minds Eye International.