Our Beginnings
On July 26, 1914, delegates began arriving at the Regina Normal School. Some came by wagon, others by foot. The train ride was single fare for the round trip. Thirty-eight men, dressed in their finery, arrived in the capital City anxious to spend the next four days attending the First Annual convention of the Saskatchewan Funeral Director's and Embalmers' Association.
​
They came to hear Professor W.P. Hohenschuh of Hamilton, Iowa, lecture and demonstrate on such topics as blood discolorations, anatomy of organs of circulation, communicable diseases and disinfectants, and post mortem cases. They paid the year's dues of $10, which went down to $5 per annum thereafter, and appointed committees to deal with the pressing issues of the time. The officers of the day were A Broadfoot of Moose Jaw and A.E. Young of Saskatoon as honorary president and president respectively. First and second vice-presidents were George Speers of Regina and MS. Popplewell of Davidson. The sergeant-at-arms was G.H. McKague of Saskatoon and secretary-treasurer was A.C. Howard of Prince Albert. All these men were listed on the programme announcing the meeting, indicating the association existed before this first convention. Their aim was to educate their members in the art of embalming and in directing dignified funerals, to provide quality services to the Saskatchewan public. That goal continues today, 109 years later, to be a main objective of the Saskatchewan Funeral Service Association.
​
The first records of Saskatchewan legislation applying to funerals and interment were under the Public Health Act of December I, 1909. Legislation referred to the isolation, funeral and burial of the body of persons who died from smallpox, diphtheria or scarlet fever. On January 1913, the act was amended to include regulations for embalming and provision of licenses to those qualified to carry out this technique. Those wishing to be embalmers had to write an examination on subjects such as sanitary science and embalming, submit a fee of $5, be "of good moral character" and at least 21 years old. However, if they were already practicing embalming in Saskatchewan, a $5 fee would ensure they received a license.
​
The I913 act included directions for preparation of the body and transportation instructions for bodies where the disease causing death was or was not communicable. On September 24, I 914, the public health act was amended to make provisions for undertakers who were not licensed as embalmers. Undertakers could not be licensed as embalmers or ship bodies for transport unless the body could reach its destination within 30 hours. (That section of the act was repealed the following year.) A $2 annual fee was charged to become a licensed undertaker in Saskatchewan. A major change in Saskatchewan legislation relating to funerals occurred in 1930, when The Embalmers Act was passed in the legislature. A three-member board of examiners was struck to license and oversee education for embalmers.