J. Bruce Stone

1953

OAC

Thursday, October 1, 1998

E. Brubaker

RE1 UOG A1340109

Ed Brubaker (00:05):
This is an interview with Dr. J. B. Bruce Stone, uh, a graduate of 1953 OAC. And, uh, is being conducted by Ed Brubaker at Bruce's home in Guelph on Wednesday September 2nd, 1998 for the Alumni In Action Program. Bruce, your home was in Eastern Ontario, and I think you came from a dairy farm. Can you tell us a little bit about your home and family and so on?

J. Bruce Stone (00:48):
Thanks Ed. Yes, that's uh, correct. Uh, my, uh, parents were dairy farmers at a little village called Forfar in Leeds county. And, uh, one of the, uh, things that has, uh, created a little interest is the name of the township that I was born in. Uh it's, it's the township of Bastard. And, uh-

Ed Brubaker (01:13):
How do you spell that, Bruce?

J. Bruce Stone (01:14):
It's, just as you'd expect, B-A-S-T-A-R-D. Uh, my, uh, my, uh, I had, uh, two older brothers and an older sister, uh, and we, uh, shipped milk to a cheese factory and, uh, worked hard, uh, as, uh, all helping particularly through the war, which was, uh, during the time that I was in, in high school.

Ed Brubaker (01:44):
Worked hard, uh, working, what type of work Bruce?

J. Bruce Stone (01:50):
Well, uh, I, I helped with the chores of, uh, feeding and, uh, and actually milking. We didn't have a milking machine till I think, uh, 1943. So we milked the cows by hand and I helped milk cows both night and morning, uh, before getting the school bus, uh, which, uh, then took us while I was in high school, took us to Athens. And, uh, that was a round trip on the school bus of about 60 miles each day to Athens High School.

Ed Brubaker (02:27):
Okay. So how many cows did you milk? Two or three, or?

J. Bruce Stone (02:33):
Uh, I, uh, I would s- I relying on my memory to say that we were probably milking, uh, 25 to 28 cows, uh, during the war. And, uh, there were, uh, my dad and one hired man and my three, my, the, my two brothers and myself. So there would be, uh, five of us. And, uh, so we were milk, uh, on average of five cows. So maybe I milk four cows, uh, night and morning. But then, uh, about 1943, um, my brother was old enough and, uh, could be, uh, uh, we had enough help. So he, uh, he joined the army, so he was away, uh, the last two or three years of the war.

Ed Brubaker (03:23):
Okay. Bruce, uh, and then you went to high school and what, uh, made you decide to come to Guelph?

J. Bruce Stone (03:29):
Well, that, that's kind of an interesting story. Uh, the, the war was over and I graduated from high school in 1940 in the spring of '48. Uh, my brother was back and had decided that he was gonna be a farmer. And, uh, the size of the farm was such that, uh, it was really, uh, one family operation. Uh, so, uh, not only my parents, but, uh, the teachers, the principal at Athens, uh, encouraged me to, uh, go to Queens. So in the fall of '48 I started to, to Queens University. Uh, I was young and hadn't been away from home. Uh, at Queens there wasn't, uh, a lot of residence, so I had a, a, a upstairs room in a, you in a boarding house. And, uh, I was, uh, enrolled in a program of, uh, economics and mathematics. I, uh, stuck out that year. I didn't, uh, I can't say that I really was happy there, but, uh, I, I stuck it out.

J. Bruce Stone (04:40):
I came home that summer and, uh, worked on the farm. And, uh, when, uh, university started, uh, I went back to Queens starting my second year. Uh, uh, at the end of the first week I came home and, uh, from Kingston and, uh, told my that I was changing and I was gonna go to OAC. Uh, my brother Frank was, uh, in his final year at Guelph, uh, in OAC. So he went to see Archie Porter and, uh, classes had already started by then. Uh, and he, uh, told him my situation and I suppose, uh, I had some kind of, uh, record of my, uh, school work. And, uh, Archie Porter, the registrar said to get 'em up here and we'll take them in.

J. Bruce Stone (05:34):
So I arrived in the fall of '49, uh, about 10 days late as I recall, after the rest of the class had started. And, uh, that's the story of, uh, why I changed and came to OAC. And I moved into, uh, a room on the fourth floor, uh, of, uh, what was then called the administration building now Johnson Hall, uh, with, uh, Ron Dennis, who, uh, we've been lifelong friends. And, uh, and I thoroughly enjoyed my four years at, uh, in OAC.

Ed Brubaker (06:14):
So you really didn't get any credit for your first year in Queens, you came right into first year at OAC?

J. Bruce Stone (06:20):
That's, that's correct. I, I didn't get credit for my economics or my math, I, uh, started over again. I, I, I, no, I, I, I'm sure I also had to take English over again in my, uh, in the first year, second year of, of OAC. Um, so I, yes, that's correct. I didn't get credit for that year.

Ed Brubaker (06:44):
Comparing the two years, now not so much academically but socially, uh, enjoyment of life and courses that you were taking, I suppose, uh, what was the difference?

J. Bruce Stone (06:56):
Well, uh, a t- tremendous difference. Uh, first of all, at, at Guelph there was, uh, just under a, under 100 students came into our class in their first year. Uh, we all except, uh, the four girls that were registered, uh, yes, and one married person, we all lived, uh, on the third or fourth floor of Johnson Hall. So, uh, we all soon got to know each other. Uh, we went to the same classes, uh, because the course was, uh, was, uh, the same for the first two years. And, uh, and so we, we had a, a comradery r- right from the start and, uh, all the fun that along with it, uh, that at Guelph that I didn't experience at Queens.

J. Bruce Stone (07:54):
Uh, I was, uh, as I indicated, living off campus I didn't, uh, there was nobody else in the rooming house that I was in taking the same courses. And so, and I, I didn't get to know any very many other students and I, I certainly didn't get involved with, uh, many, uh, athletic or other social activities at Queens. So, uh, you know, that, uh, that's one of the things that has been great about OAC, uh, as far as, as graduates are concerned has been the fact that, that their, their, their experience of, of living and socially was, uh, was just outstanding.

Ed Brubaker (08:43):
Very good, Bruce. Uh, you had initiation?

J. Bruce Stone (08:48):
Well, because I was 10 days late, uh, I missed, uh, most of initiation. As I recall, I arrived, uh, just at the time, the last day or two of, uh, the, what was the famous initiation in those days of, uh, of first year students. The, the one initiation event that I remember was about the first or second day I was there, our, uh, class was, uh, feeling pretty sorry for themselves having had to endure quite a bit from year '52. And, uh, they had found a supply of, uh, slightly overripe tomatoes, uh, from the horticulture gardens and gathered up, um, maybe, uh, six or seven bushels.

J. Bruce Stone (09:40):
And, uh, uh, the 6:30 in the morning or seven o'clock, whenever we were supposed to have met for the last, uh, drill experience by '52, we, uh, congregated out, uh, the r- the road beyond the pagan sheep barn, which now alumni house, uh, to the start of the, what is now the Arboretum, and there was a little, uh, wooded area there. And we were, uh, we gathered there with our tomato supply. And, uh, I don't know how it was arranged, but somehow it was leaked to somebody in '52 that that's where they might find us. So they came, uh, not the whole group, but the group that was doing the initiation, uh, out to get us. And, uh, when they got, uh, appropriately close, we opened, fired with these tomatoes and we had to be tomato fight that you (laughs) can't imagine.

Ed Brubaker (10:39):
You wouldn't take part in that, Bruce.

J. Bruce Stone (10:41):
It was a good fun activity. (laughs)

Ed Brubaker (10:45):
(laughs) Very good. Uh, now the coursework, Bruce. Uh, you were in the general agricultural course here compared to math and economics at Queens. What were the differences in the course programs, the class sizes, the labs teaching and so on that you noticed?

J. Bruce Stone (11:06):
Well, I think, uh, we all enjoyed our courses and, uh, we had some excellent two professors. And, uh, some of our courses, uh, like English and, and, uh, microbiology and, uh, so on were were, were, were good, basic sound courses. Uh, in agriculture at that time and then, uh, as, uh, as we got into third year I chose to major in the animal husbandry option. Uh, I would have to say that, uh, that while those courses had, uh, a lot of good experience and common sense and, uh, good agricultural management practices, uh, they were not particularly, uh, founded on, uh, a lot of, of, uh, basic science, uh, and, uh, research, uh, experience and, and background. It was, uh, it was, uh, very practical, uh, as opposed to theoretical.

Ed Brubaker (12:27):
Okay. Then you had three summers here, uh, those, uh, through your, uh, first and final year. What did you do the summertime?

J. Bruce Stone (12:38):
Um, after my first year, the first summer I went back home to, uh, help with farm work. In my, uh, second summer after second year, I, uh, had a position with agriculture Canada in the economics branch. And, uh, I spent that summer in, uh, headquarters in Truro, Nova Scotia, uh, doing, uh, field surveys of, first of all in Prince Edward Island on the data production. And then for quite an extensive period in New Brunswick on, uh, doing a poultry survey. So I had a very, uh, interesting, uh, experience that summer, uh, in the Maritimes working for AGCanada. Uh, then after my third year, I worked for Johnny Eccles and Herb Pettipiere at the college in OAC, uh, which were then in what was called the Dean's office.

J. Bruce Stone (13:50):
And, uh, we looked after, uh, general Joe jobs of, uh, conference or people that were coming in for meetings and so on. And, and, uh, there was people that would, uh, stay for two or three nights in the rooms. And we cleaned up the rooms after and, uh, took the, got the laundry cleaned and, uh, that kind of, uh, work in terms of, uh, just administrative work of, uh, around Johnson Hall.

Ed Brubaker (14:21):
Good laboring jobs.

J. Bruce Stone (14:22):
Excellent.

Ed Brubaker (14:23):
Yeah. Um, Bruce, you said you had some extra professors, uh, what courses, what professors do you remember with particular fondness? Were there any courses that you thought were not of much value on?

J. Bruce Stone (14:38):
Well, uh, particularly as I started to major in, uh, in animal husbandry, and I'm going to tell you this story too. Uh, uh, in order to, to, uh, decide your major, you, uh, at that time had to, uh, have a form signed by the head of the department. And, uh, as I had indicated, I had had an ex- a summer experience with, at Canada in the economics branch. And, uh, I thought very carefully whether I would, uh, major in, in animal husbandry or in agricultural economics. And, uh, RG Knox was head of, uh, health department and, uh, uh, very much a character as I'm sure you remember and know.

J. Bruce Stone (15:38):
Uh, I, uh, went in to see Professor Knox and, uh, suggested that I wasn't quite sure whether I wanted to take AGEC or animal husbandry and, uh, was, uh, looking, seeking his, uh, advice. Well, he was, uh, he knew me and he was, uh, particularly, uh, aerate that I would consider, uh, taking agricultural economics. And, uh, he, he essentially said, uh, "Leave my office. You, uh, you know, you should take animal husbandry and when you're ready to have your form signed, come back." And I just about, uh, on basis of that, uh, went into AGEC, but my true love was, uh, animal production. And, uh, so I went back and, and signed up and, and went into, uh, animal husbandry.

J. Bruce Stone (16:37):
Uh, the, the, uh, the department of animal husbandry had, uh, a number of, uh, props that were well known, very highly respected. Uh, and, and must say a bunch of characters. Uh, R.G. Knox was, uh, was a character, uh, Dock Staples, uh, had worked there all his life. Uh, a man that had tremendous memory and, uh, and, uh, recollection of animal pedigrees and, uh, animal history, and, uh, was, uh, very strong on livestock judging. Uh, Dock Staples, the, the meats professor was a character also. A person that, uh, had, uh, gone through the depression and was always, I think, uh, nervous about losing his job because of the, uh, government changes and so on. Uh, but, uh, but new the, uh, meat, uh, industry and, uh, and, uh, slaughtering and, uh, and, uh, all the meat processing side of it, uh, very good. And I was a very good friend of Mike Stillwell.

Ed Brubaker (17:51):
And professor Stillwell was the nickname-

J. Bruce Stone (17:51):
Right.

Ed Brubaker (17:51):
... not Professor Staples.

J. Bruce Stone (17:51):
Right.

Ed Brubaker (17:51):
Okay.

J. Bruce Stone (17:57):
Sorry. Mike Stillwell. Uh, then, uh, Orv Kennedy was, uh, the barn manager and, uh, also, uh, did, uh, a lot of the judging work. You know, it, it was a fact that, that, uh, we did more judging and, uh, livestock evaluation than we really, yeah, should have. But, uh, there were, uh, some strengths to that in terms of, uh, allowing us to, uh, reach the point where you made, uh, you made decisions and had to justify it orally. And, uh, and I think that, uh, that had some, uh, merit as, as well. Uh, outside of, uh, the department, uh, the, we took poultry from, uh, professor Cavers, who was a very, uh, was the honorary president of, of the year '53 degree and was a very great friend of, uh, year '53.

J. Bruce Stone (18:54):
Uh, Frank Newbolt, uh, in microbiology and, uh, and, uh, mastitis work and that kind of thing was a, was a strong professor. Uh, I enjoyed the English, uh, courses from Chibby McClain and, and George Elmore Reman. Uh, so it was, uh, it was a, a, a very good, but probably not, uh, exceptionally challenging course through the four years. In, in field husbandry, uh, uh, Don Huntley had to come in, uh, not too many years before I arrived. And, uh, and he was a outstanding teacher and, uh, and faculty member in, in, uh, crop production.

Ed Brubaker (19:46):
And you then got into other departments and so on and then you-

J. Bruce Stone (19:50):
Yes, we took, uh, drafting and, uh, and field survey. Uh, professor Ferguson wasn't in engineering.

Ed Brubaker (19:58):
Art Ferguson.

J. Bruce Stone (20:00):
And, uh, Earl McNaughton, uh, was there, uh, taught, uh, a calculus course and a physics course. And, uh, uh, professor Waghorn in chemistry and was a outstanding, uh, teacher in, in chemistry. So we got a, a, a well rounded, uh, program.

Ed Brubaker (20:23):
Yeah. And you're never sorry you chose animal science instead of economics.

J. Bruce Stone (20:28):
Ne- never sorry. I, I enjoyed it. I, uh, got into my fourth year, which would be the, uh, spring of '53, uh, Clare Rennie had, uh, finished his PhD in animal breeding and, uh, was hired into the department in 1952. And, uh, I was on the dairy cattle judging team that went to Waterloo with, uh, Dr. Rennie and his first year as a, as the, as the prof, uh, taking that, uh, team to Waterloo. And, as well I was, I went to Chicago with the, uh, with the livestock judging team with, uh, professor Staples and Kennedy. Uh, but I had decided, uh, as I came into the spring of my final year that I was, uh, going to, uh, do my masters degree and, uh, with Dr. Rennie. Uh, so, uh, it, it, uh, just naturally flowed, uh, from my undergraduate to, to my graduate without, uh, any break at all.

Ed Brubaker (21:36):
Very good. And, uh, we'll get back to a college in a couple minutes, but, uh, let's finish your education. Uh, what did you do then after you completed your master's degree, in what?

J. Bruce Stone (21:48):
I, I was, uh, Dr. Rennie's first graduate student. And, and I, uh, because he was, uh, an animal breeder, I, my thesis work was in, uh, the area of, of animal breeding. Uh, I, uh, the department obtained in 19- in the spring of 1953 the first computer that came to the college and to the university of Guelph. And as you know, those, uh, original computers were pretty primitive, uh, e- e- equipment. But anyway, I stayed on and, and completed my master's in one year. And, uh, in the spring and summer of, uh, of '54, uh, George Raithby who was, uh, taking over, he, he, he still wasn't head of the department. Prof Knox was still head, but, but, uh, George was, uh, heir apparent to the head of the department.

J. Bruce Stone (22:50):
And, uh, he, uh, came to me in the, in the summer and said, uh, would I be interested in, uh, staying on as a faculty member in the department as, uh, assistant professor? So in the fall of, uh, '54, I started, uh, as, uh, a, uh, faculty remember and, uh, taught first year students for a few years. And, uh, then in 1957, uh, they asked me if I would, uh, take a leave of absence, uh, and, uh, and, uh, take my PhD and, uh, change over to the, uh, nutrition area. Because Dr. Rennie was, uh, doing the, the breeding work and they needed, uh, somebody in, in nutrition. And so I, from '57 to '59, I, uh, was at, uh, Cornell University to do my PhD and, uh, came back in the fall of '59. And, uh, my area then was, uh, nutrition and management in the dairy cattle area.

Ed Brubaker (24:01):
And during this period you also got married.

J. Bruce Stone (24:04):
Uh, fall of 54 I got married to a wonderful girl that, uh, took the diploma course, uh, and graduated in '52. Her name was Nora Bowles and, uh, we got married in '54. And, uh, we've been happy and had, uh, four children and now five grandchildren.

Ed Brubaker (24:23):
Oh, good for you. Okay, Bruce, let's go back to college days again. Uh, did you live in residence for four years?

J. Bruce Stone (24:31):
Yes. Uh, all four years. And, uh, and except for my third year, uh, all four were in John- in Johnson Hall or the old, that building. In the third year we were in Mills Hall. But, uh, I think, uh, we all lived in Johnston the first two years and then most of the third and fourth year male students went to Mills Hall. Uh, but in my fourth year I came back as a student Dean in, uh, in the Art Building.

Ed Brubaker (25:05):
And, uh, they were quiet years and residents Bruce?

J. Bruce Stone (25:08):
Uh, as again, you're well aware they, they were, uh, lots of, uh, fun and pranks that went on. Uh, you want me to tell you-

Ed Brubaker (25:21):
Sure.

J. Bruce Stone (25:21):
... a couple of those? Well, of course we, we were all involved in what were notorious in those days of water fights between floors in between years and between rooms and everything else. So-

Ed Brubaker (25:35):
Lots of water fight, Bruce.

J. Bruce Stone (25:39):
Well, (laughs) they'd, uh, unroll the fire hoses and, uh, fill up all the garbage cans, uh, with the water from the washroom and just, uh, have a real old battle of, of, uh, water with it running down the halls and down the stairs and everything else.

Ed Brubaker (25:59):
And this was against your classmates?

J. Bruce Stone (26:01):
Well, we, we, there was always, uh, somebody playing a trick on another, uh, classmate. They had, uh, that wouldn't be a full scale water fight. But, uh, but for example, uh, somebody would fill a, a, a big garbage can with water and, uh, and lean it up against the door. So when the, the, I came out, opened the door in the morning, the can would, uh, tip in and all the water would, uh, go into the room. So then, of course that, uh, meant that they had to get back at the person that they suspected it.

J. Bruce Stone (26:37):
And so those kinds of, uh, inter room, inter, uh, inter year, as well as in the year, uh, scuffles all always took place. But, uh, the two, the two things that... And, and our class had a share of, uh, of, uh, pranksters. And I guess, um, you might believe me, I, I had my little share. But I, I wasn't one that was, uh, greatly involved in, in, uh, some of the more spectacular pranks that, uh, went on. Uh, I'm gonna tell you about two that happened in the spring of our final year.

J. Bruce Stone (27:16):
Uh, one was, uh, uh, about Easter time. There was, uh, a weekend that a conference of junior farmers. And, uh, the signs were put out, uh, for the, uh, girls to register in the Art building and for the men to register in Mills Hall. Uh, the normal expectation was that, uh, that, uh, they would a register at 10 o'clock or something like that in the morning. Uh, some of our fellows, uh, decided that there might be some people come a bit early before the, the people that were doing the registration and so on would be on the, on duty. And they switched the signs so that they, uh, directed the girls into, uh, Mills Hall. And, uh, there was a, we got a long table and, uh, some guys got their shirts and ties and suits on, and, uh, the form. They got some forms to fill out.

J. Bruce Stone (28:20):
And, uh, then they sent these girls up to the third floor. And, uh, on the third floor, there was, uh, two of our characters that had on white lab coats and, uh, and, uh, some kind of a false beard, and, uh, had a stethoscope. And they had to give these girls a medical examination. (laughs) And the girls, uh, there were four or five girls that came early and, uh, fell into this, uh, this trap. And, (laughs) and, uh, uh, and the other thing that happened at that same time, uh, uh, was, uh, that, uh, one of our fellows had a shotgun. And, uh, he, uh, had to have gotten some, some shells and taken the pellets out so that it all there was, was the gun powder.

J. Bruce Stone (29:16):
And, uh, and one of the guys, uh, who was, uh, uh, a real character, went running out of Mills Hall and another guy chasing him. And then, uh, this guy with a shotgun came out with a gun, with a, a knife in his, uh, teeth and fired this, uh, shotgun at these two guys. And one guy dropped down mortally wounded and they carried him up to these doctors to, (laughs) to get treated. Well, about that time, Ian White discovered that, uh, something was going on. And man, was he (laughs) cross at what our year had, uh, had, uh, tried to pull. And, uh, he was very apologetic to these, uh, young ladies that, uh, had to fall for this trap.

J. Bruce Stone (30:07):
The other one occurred a few weeks later just before we graduated. And, uh, a couple of guys, uh, picked up an old junk car. They said they paid $10 for it. And, uh, they towed it onto campus and, uh, and hid it kind of, uh, one day. And, uh, this was all very carefully planned. Uh, right at midnight, they, uh, moved this car, uh, all on college avenue between Dr. McLaughlin's house, the president's house and, uh, Mac Hall. They, uh, doused it, uh, completely with gasoline and, uh, then they tipped it over on the side and somebody threw a lighted, uh, match into the car. Uh, within seconds it, another group had set off the, uh, the fire alarm and, uh, Olive Kennedy was, uh, head of the volunteer fire brigade.

J. Bruce Stone (31:16):
And so within seconds, uh, they were showing up, uh, and, and, uh, Pete Cop was, uh, was, uh, rushing to the fire. And Dr. McLaughlin heard the sirens and, uh, and he came out in his dressing gown, and here was this, uh, car burning. And in the meantime, uh, our guys had, uh, had, uh, had telephones watching over this, uh, and, uh, had an open window in Mills Hall that they, uh, ran and jumped through and, and got back in held a sight. But, uh, of course, uh, they, people realized it was a prank. And, uh, so then, uh, and they weren't, uh, amused. So a, uh, started an investigation to, to find out, uh, who had done this. And, uh, some of our guys were, uh, were the prime suspects. And, uh, there was quite a kerfuffle. And, uh, I think our year had to pay a, a fine after that, of, uh, uh, a few dollars to, uh, to, uh, settle the, the prank that we'd played.

Ed Brubaker (32:30):
Very good. You had a good time to organizing it all and-

J. Bruce Stone (32:33):
It, for sure. Thank you.

Ed Brubaker (32:35):
Yeah. I beg your pardon.

J. Bruce Stone (32:36):
And of course, uh, I suspect that over the years this has been, uh, uh, the, it's been told over and over and over again and, uh, a few of the details have embellished to some extent. The other one that, uh, was kind of funny. One of our guys, uh, broke his ankle playing football against, uh, year '52 and they took him down to the general hospital. And there wasn't any, uh, any, uh, room on the, the normal floor. So he would had to be put in a room in the maternity ward. Uh, of course it was a common practice for a bunch of friends to go visit, uh, somebody if they were in the hospital. And, uh, I think there was about 10 of us who went down this night to, uh, to, uh, to visit Jake.

J. Bruce Stone (33:27):
And, uh, so we found out, uh, that he was on the fourth floor and, uh, we all went draping down the hall in- into his room. Well, the, the duty nurse on the fourth floor was kind of, uh, surprised to see, uh, 10 guys, uh, walking into this room. And, and as I remembered her comment was, "What are all you fellows doing here?" And, uh, Bill Tolton who was, uh, old, old, uh, Prof Tolton's, uh, son, uh, right, uh, snapped back immediately. "Well, we are not sure who the father is." (laughs)

Ed Brubaker (34:04):
(laughs) So what'd the nurse do?

J. Bruce Stone (34:05):
Well, that story was apparently, uh, caused a lot of fun among the nurses for the next few days around the hospital. (laughs)

Ed Brubaker (34:16):
(laughs) You're on the right floor anyways.

J. Bruce Stone (34:18):
Yeah.

Ed Brubaker (34:18):
Um, Bruce, what were, was the food like, what were the meals like when you were here?

J. Bruce Stone (34:24):
Well, we all ate in Greenman Hall. And, uh, I, uh, would have to say that, uh, for me, the meals, uh, were wonderful through those four years. Uh, I guess there was, uh, lots of complaints that, uh, on Friday night we always had fish and on, uh, Monday we had, uh, standard, uh, dinner quite frequently, and then on Thursday we had, uh, mystery meat, uh, which was the leftovers from, uh, a few days before. But, uh, there were always, uh, a lot of food and, uh, and lots of milk and bread. And, uh, we used to take back, uh, milk and bread, uh, to our rooms. And, uh, and, uh, considering what we were paying for our room onboard, uh, you'd have to say it was a tremendous bargain.

Ed Brubaker (35:20):
Do you remember how much?

J. Bruce Stone (35:22):
No, I don't. Uh, I, I really don't. Uh, but I don't think, uh, it was, uh, I don't, I think it was less than $10 a week for a room onboard.

Ed Brubaker (35:34):
And that was for 21 meals-

J. Bruce Stone (35:36):
Yeah.

Ed Brubaker (35:37):
... a week-

J. Bruce Stone (35:37):
Right.

Ed Brubaker (35:38):
... plus laundry.

J. Bruce Stone (35:39):
Did their laundry. Right.

Ed Brubaker (35:41):
And, uh, tuition fee.

J. Bruce Stone (35:43):
Again, I, it isn't, uh, a figure that I can remember. It was, uh, very low.

Ed Brubaker (35:50):
Much less than-

J. Bruce Stone (35:54):
Something like, uh, something like $300 for the year, as I recall. Because, uh, the college was, uh, very heavily, uh, supported by the, the, what was then the department of agriculture.

Ed Brubaker (36:08):
Okay. Bruce. So you look back with many fond memories.

J. Bruce Stone (36:12):
Absolutely.

Ed Brubaker (36:12):
A year, four years and, plus two year... No, one year of masters degree here. And then, and how did, uh, Cornell compare?

J. Bruce Stone (36:28):
Well, uh, you know, by, by '57, uh, we were getting more mature and, uh, we were, I was married and we had, uh, um, one, one of our kids were born by that time. And so we, we, uh, we lived in a, in a apartment. And, uh, and, uh, I, I completed my PhD in two years, which, uh, which was a very short period of time compared with, uh, what happens, uh, these days. Um, so I had to, uh, work, uh, days and most evenings and, uh, and, uh, quite a bit on the weekends too. Um, so, and, and it was, uh, um, by this time after the war and so on, uh, Cornell was, uh, a very prominent, uh, university in animal nutrition and, uh, many of the, uh, most famous, uh, nutritionist, uh, in the livestock area were at Cornell at that time. So I felt I got a very good education at Cornell.

Ed Brubaker (37:35):
The academic standards were considerably higher-

J. Bruce Stone (37:38):
Absolutely.

Ed Brubaker (37:39):
... and they were at, uh, at, at Guelph here soon after the war.

J. Bruce Stone (37:42):
Right. But, uh, you know, as, uh, it wasn't long till, uh, here in, in the department, uh, Gordon McCloud, uh, came back with his PhD from, uh, from California. Uh, Bob Ingram had a PhD in meat science, uh, John McPherson, uh, in physiology. And, uh, so, uh, very quickly after, uh, that time the academic, uh, standards, uh, at, uh, at, at OAC, I would say, uh, increased dramatically.

Ed Brubaker (38:21):
Right. Uh, you came back to the OAC to teach after your PhD?

J. Bruce Stone (38:26):
Yes. Uh, I did. And, uh, and to start some research. There really had not been research carried out, uh, in the nutrition area prior to that time. Um, but, uh, with Gordon McCloud, we got a, a laboratory for, uh, chemical analysis of feed stuffs and, uh, started some feeding trials. Uh, but still, uh, we weren't satisfying my, uh, curiosity in research, uh, adequately. Uh, probably we had a, a relatively heavy teaching program. And, uh, in the spring of '62, uh, I got a phone call from the head of the department at, uh, Cornell in, of animal husbandry, animal science. And, uh, he asked if I would be interested in considering a faculty position at, uh, in the department of animal science at Cornell.

J. Bruce Stone (39:32):
So I said, well, uh, that might be a possibility, uh, write a letter and give me some details. And within a few days the letter arrived and offered me a job. And, uh, because I, uh, wasn't getting quite the fulfillment that I, uh, thought I should, I, uh, I resigned and, uh, accepted the position at Cornell. And, uh, I, I enjoyed that, uh, tremendously. Uh, and that was at the time of, uh, that, uh, the federated colleges were being formed here. And, uh, then in the fall of, uh, '65, which was just, uh, little over three years after I'd left, uh, I, I got, received a letter from the Dean who was, uh, Rick Richards saying, uh, that the university of Guelph, uh, had been, uh, recently, uh, uh, formed.

J. Bruce Stone (40:34):
And, uh, and that there was a, a good deal of changes going on and that, uh, the, uh, college was in the, in the, uh, process of establishing research facilities. Uh, they were, uh, buying land out towards Laura and, uh, were going to set up a, a research station. And, uh, would I be interested in talking about coming back? And so then I carried on negotiations with, uh, Claire Rennie who was then, uh, chair of the department of animal husbandry. And, uh, I came back to Guelph, to the university of Guelph in, uh, first March of 1966 and had spent the rest of my career at, uh, OAC in the University of Guelph.

Ed Brubaker (41:21):
Okay. Let's talk a little bit about your career. Uh, what did you do in the department when you came back? And then where did you go on from there?

J. Bruce Stone (41:35):
Well, my first, uh, assignment when I got back was, uh, as, uh, chair of the planning committee for the new dairy research facilities at Allora. And, uh, that was a very interesting and it was a very challenging, uh, project, uh, because, uh, it, it meant, uh, trying to, uh, design facilities that would, uh, be, uh, a research facility to serve, uh, all the disciplines of, uh, dairy production and, uh, and, uh, cooperation with the, the, uh, crops people on, uh, on different feed production systems and, uh, and the vet, uh, veterinarians, uh, on animal health management and so on. And, uh, we, uh, we, uh, worked on that. And, uh, that took us through, we moved the, uh, first cows moved up to the new facilities in December of 1969.

J. Bruce Stone (42:42):
Uh, after that for, for many years, I, uh, was, uh, teaching and doing research and, uh, took my turn in, in, uh, in managing the, the, uh, Allora facilities for dairy. And, uh, and then of course, uh, the system of, uh, the OS system, uh, Ontario Agricultural Services, Coordinating committees for setting priorities for research, uh, using not only the university people, but also the ministry of agriculture and food and, uh, industry people. And, uh, I was quite involved with that over the many years that that happened. Uh, in '78, uh, the, uh, associate Dean OAC was, uh, going on sabbatic and, uh, Clay Switzer called one day and said, uh, would I be, uh, interested in, uh, coming over to Johnson Hall as acting associate Dean? And, uh, Gordon Ball was away for one year and then, uh, Clay Switzer had a sabbatic for the next year.

J. Bruce Stone (43:57):
So, uh, for two years I served as, uh, acting associate Dean. Um, then I was back to the department in my regular teaching and research role. And, uh, all over that time too, I did a good deal of, uh, extension work, uh, around the province, uh, speaking to, uh, groups, uh, here and there on, uh, nutritional matters and, and, uh, dairy cattle management factors. Uh, then I spent the last 10 years back over in Johnson Hall as associate Dean, uh, primarily in charge of the, uh, research programs of the college, uh, and working with the ministry of agricul food and then agriculture, food and rural affairs.

Ed Brubaker (44:47):
And who was Dean during those, those 10 years?

J. Bruce Stone (44:50):
Uh, Clay was Dean when I moved over. Uh, but, uh, Freeman McEwen, uh, ha- had been selected. And, uh, essentially, uh, from the time I was there, uh, Freeman McEwen was the Dean. Uh, he retired and I was Dean with, uh, Rob McLaughlin for two years before I retired in, uh, in, uh, in November of 1994.

Ed Brubaker (45:19):
And you think of in one or two or three outstanding achievements you made in those years as director of, uh, research, not director of research, but really in charge of the research and so on?

J. Bruce Stone (45:35):
I, uh, I don't think I should, uh, um, brag about any of that. I, uh, I think we just, uh, tried to do, uh, what was, uh, the job that had to be done. Uh, but, uh, all that time, uh, uh, when I was associate Dean, uh, there was still, uh, the good times in, in, in the government, uh, and it was, uh, it was the relatively easy to get, uh, support to, uh, get new faculty and, uh, to get new facilities. And, uh, you know, uh, I had my career during those very best, uh, days. Uh, the other thing I, I maybe would like to say is that, that, uh, I never applied for a job through my career. I think as our interview is said, I was approached and offered positions.

J. Bruce Stone (46:36):
Uh, as, uh, as the situation is today and has been now for 10 years, um, new PhD students are, uh, obligated to spend, uh, three or four years as a postdoc. And, uh, they, uh, send out resumes all over the country, all over the world, uh, applying for positions. And, uh, you know, they have to go through many interviews and so on in order to get positions. So it's, uh, it's a very different, uh, situation now than it was, uh, after the war and through the growth of the '50s, and '60s, and '70s.

Ed Brubaker (47:17):
Those were good years for agriculture.

J. Bruce Stone (47:24):
Uh, absolutely. They were outstanding. Uh, uh, when, when my class graduated, uh, almost everybody probably had offers from three or four different jobs, uh, that they could, uh, choose from. Because I was going into graduate work, I didn't take only a couple of interviews, but, uh, just for experience sake. But, uh, you know, there was no question, everybody could get a job and had the option of more than one opportunity.

Ed Brubaker (47:54):
Okay. Your class of '53, it still functions as a, a class in what do you do?

J. Bruce Stone (48:01):
It, it sure does. Uh, I, I feel very proud also to be a member of the class of '53. Uh, we were a relatively, uh, small group, uh, smaller than, uh, the, the big classes of, uh, '49 and '50. Uh, we started out at, uh, slightly under 100. I think it was 11 students that "graduated" at Christmas that because of, uh, not making their, uh, academic standards in that first year. So we graduated, uh, '79, uh, classmates. And, uh, I believe there are 11 of those, uh, members of our class that are now deceased. But our class, uh, because we, uh, lived together and were a relatively small class, and because the majority of the students, uh, had worked within 100 mile race of Guelph. Uh, we've been a very close, uh, class, uh, all through the years.

J. Bruce Stone (49:08):
Uh, our class, uh, has had a, a yearly reunion every year, um, the last many years. Our five year reunions are at, on campus that alumni weekend time. And, uh, the intervening class reunions are maybe staged, uh, any place around the province or, uh, a place of interest. Uh, so we've had a reunion every year, we've put out a newsletter every year. Uh, we've uh, I think have done, uh, quite, uh, nobly in terms of, uh, support. Uh, I mentioned that prof Cavers was our honorary president and a great friend of our class. Uh, soon after graduation, we started a campaign to raise some funds to establish what we have called Cavers Scholarships. And, uh, the, at endowment now stands at $150,000, which, uh, I think we can be quite proud of for our class of, uh, started out as, uh, in the '70s and now is in the '60s. Uh, so, uh, yes, uh, our, our class has, uh, has been, uh, one with a lot of, uh, of spirit and, uh, support for OAC and the University of Guelph.

Ed Brubaker (50:34):
Uh, do you hold a, an executive office in your class?

J. Bruce Stone (50:37):
Uh, yes. As a matter of fact, uh, I, uh, I was, uh, secretary. We, uh, we, uh, e- elect our executives for five year terms. And, uh, way back, uh, after the first year after graduation I was secretary for the five years. And then, uh, I, I didn't hold an office until, uh, our 45th reunion, uh, this past, uh, June. And, uh, I was asked to, uh, take on the role for the next five years of, uh, of the class president. So, uh, I'm looking forward to, uh, working with our executive and, uh, planning our activities up to our 50th year reunion in, uh, 2003.

Ed Brubaker (51:28):
Very good. And Bruce, uh, you had another prominent man on the campus here who was a member of your class for a while?

J. Bruce Stone (51:39):
Yes. Uh, Ed, uh, thanks for reminding me. Uh, Padreong was, uh, in his, uh, a day after the war during the time that, uh, we were here at OAC. And, uh, Padreong was very much respected by our, uh, class. And, uh, I think he, uh, he liked, uh, us too. And, uh, we had, uh, a, a good deal of association with Padreong. And, uh, when we graduated after we graduated, uh, we made Padreong an honorary member of the year class of '53 as we did also for Ross Cavers. And a third, uh, member who was Stan Monkhouse. Uh, Stan Monkhouse was, uh, a caretaker or janitor in Mills Hall. And, uh, out of the guys, uh, thought very highly of, of Stan.

J. Bruce Stone (52:46):
Uh, unfortunately, Stan, uh, died relatively soon after we graduated, so we didn't have much contact with him. But, uh, as long as Padreong is alive, uh, and Ross Cavers, they used to come to our year reunions. And, uh, and we, uh, had a portrait of, uh, Padreong painted, and it is, uh, hangs in Alumni House in the Padreong, uh, boardroom. So, uh, he and Marion were, uh, were, uh, well respected by the class of '53.

Ed Brubaker (53:24):
Good Bruce. Uh, your four children, did any of them attend Guelph?

J. Bruce Stone (53:28):
Uh, only our daughter Wendy. Uh, Wendy started out at, uh, Western in languages, but, uh, she did her last two years in, uh, in the language department, uh, French and Spanish here at Guelph. So got her, uh, bachelor's degree here. Our, uh, three boys, uh, all went to the university Waterloo.

Ed Brubaker (53:52):
And the other relatives.

J. Bruce Stone (53:55):
Oh, yes. That's uh, interesting. Uh, the, one of the, uh, sons of one of my first cousins, uh, his name was Jim stone. And, uh, Jim took his undergraduate to work at, uh, Queens, but, uh, came to Guelph and got a master's degree in, in AG Economics. Uh, this, uh, summer at the annual Stone picnic reunion, uh, Jim had just returned from, uh, Belgium where he's working within the diplomatic, uh, core of, uh, of, uh, the government of Canada. But he, uh, has been, uh, completed his term in Belgium and, uh, he's back in Ottawa for two years. And he attended the picnic and, uh, when he, uh, greeted me and, uh, said, "How are things at Guelph?" Uh, and I said fine. And he said, uh, "You know, I went to Queens, but I got educated at Guelph." And, uh, I thought that was a pretty fine compliment of, uh, what, uh, his, uh, regard for the OAC too.

Ed Brubaker (55:09):
Very good, Bruce. That's probably a good spot to wind up then.

J. Bruce Stone (55:13):
Yep.

Ed Brubaker (55:13):
So thank you very much for this good interview this afternoon.

J. Bruce Stone (55:18):
I've enjoyed it Ed. Thank you.

Ed Brubaker (55:19):
Okay.