Fall - Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association

BiographyBy J. H. Webb, SLS (Life Member), ALS, MLS, CLSHenry Stanley Carpenter(1874 - 1950)OLS, DLS, SLS (#011), MEIC, P.Eng., B.A.Sc.Henry Stanley Carpenter was Deputy Minister of Highwaysand Transportation, Province of Saskatchewan,from 1916 to 1939 when he retired in Regina.A dedicated public servant who was well versed in Engineeringand Surveying before coming west in 1905. Bornin Collingwood, Ontario he was the fifth child in a familyof nine and received his initial schooling in Ontario. Whileattending the University of Toronto he spent his summersin engineering and survey work prior to his graduation inPractical Science. He was a graduate of the University ofToronto in 1898, with a B.A. in Science. He soon obtainedhis commissions as an Ontario Land Surveyor in 1899 andhis Dominion Land Surveyors in 1901. From 1900 to 1905,as a Professional engineer and surveyor, he worked for theDepartment of Railways and Canals in Ottawa, Ontario, onreconnaissance surveys. He was the assistant engineer onconstruction of the Trent Canal in Ontario along with spendingtime in exploration work on the Yukon Railway.Mr. Carpenter joined the Saskatchewan Government servicein 1905, as a District Surveyor and Engineer out of Regina.Due to his diligence, he was made Deputy Minister, Departmentof Public works from 1910 to 1912. He was then appointedSuperintendent of Highways until 1914. While withhighways, he held the position of Chairman, Board of HighwaysCommission until 1916, when he was again appointeda Deputy Minister under the Highways and TransportationDepartment. This position he held until he retired in 1939.An interesting side note about Mr. H.S.Carpenter is that henever owned a car while he held the position of Deputy Minister.We can only assume that he used public transportationto attend functions throughout Regina and in the Province.On May 27, 1909, a meeting of district surveyors of the Departmentof Public Works was held to discuss the formationof a Saskatchewan Land Surveyor’s association. Mr. Carpenterwas a member of that committee. The first official meetingto organize our association was in 1910 and was held inthe office of the district Surveyor in Regina. Mr. Carpenterwas elected chair of that meeting.He was the SaskatchewanGovernment Director of Surveysfrom 1908 to 1910. At thetime of the passing of the LandSurveyors Act of 1909, he became the first Secretary of theBoard of Examiners, Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association.He held this position until 1913.In private life Mr.Carpenter married Jessie Ross Cameron in1903 and they had five children. Their first born was Stan,who became a Civil Engineer, then Paul who became an investmentofficer. The third son Jack was a philatelist withthe Federal Government in Ottawa, then daughter Alison(Mrs. Brown), and daughter Nancy (Mrs. Wooley) a visualartist and teacher. Mr. H.S.Carpenter was a member of theWascana Lodge #2 A.F. & A.M, the Regina Curling Club,the Regina Golf Club and a member of the 1st PresbyterianChurch in Regina.He was a past president of the Saskatchewan Branch of theEngineering Institute and held executive offices with theCanadian Institute of Civil Engineers and the SaskatchewanLand Surveyors Association.Mr. Carpenter has an island named in his honour shown onmap 63L9 at Latitude 54 degrees, 41 minutes and Longitude102 degrees, 06 minutes which is situated near DenareBeach, Saskatchewan. He was also honoured by having asmall community named after him, “Carpenter”. It was situatedon the Aberdeen-Melfort line half way between Alvenaand Wakaw just west of the present highway number41. Since Mr. Carpenter was responsible for the Provincialadministration of railways in the Province, the Canadian NationalRailways saw fit to honour him with the naming of thesmall village of “Carpenter”.Quoting from his obituary in 1950:Photo Courtesy of Sask. ArchivesBoard - Photo # R-A3598The man who was Saskatchewan’s Deputy Minister ofHighways from the time of the highway system consistedof little more than winding roads until it became a complexnetwork, H.S.Carpenter died suddenly at the age of256 SLSA Corner Post Fall 2006