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Ralph Pickard Bell, the younger brother of Winthrop Bell, was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on March 28, 1886. He undertook his early education in Halifax and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University of Mount Allison College in Sackville, New Brunswick, in 1907. Later that same year on May 22 he married his college sweetheart, Annie Marguerite Deinstadt, of Saint John, New Brunswick. The couple subsequently moved to the Canadian West where Ralph Bell worked for the Fairbanks Company

The Bells had two daughters: Dorothy (born February 20, 1908, in Winnipeg) and Helen (born January 19, 1909, in Calgary) before returning to Halifax in 1910. Bell returned to assist his father with the family business, A.M. Bell & Company, Limited. In 1913 he withdrew from the active administration of the company and became involved in public affairs as a member of the Nova Scotia Good Roads Association. He also carried out some land speculation through the development of Rosebank Park in Halifax. These activities continued until the Halifax Explosion on December 6, 1917, when he took on the responsibility of Secretary of the Halifax Relief Commission

Thereafter, Ralph Bell became heavily involved with the timber trade and the Canadian Pulpwood Association. In 1921, he and his wife welcomed their third child, Nancy (born April 11, 1921, in Halifax)

During the 1920s he also became interested in the fishing industry and bought an interest in the Lockeport Company on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. His involvement in both timber and the fisheries continued until the outbreak of the Second World War when he was appointed by Ottawa to assist the federal minister of the Department of Munitions and Supplies, C.D. Howe. Ralph Bell became the Director-General for Aircraft Production in Canada, holding the post between 1940 and 1944.

His wife Marguerite died on March 17, 1943. Later that same year he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) for his war service. During 1944 he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.) by Mount Allison University at the May Convocation.  On June 11 that same year he married Marjorie Young Smith of Shediac Cape, New Brunswick, in Amherst, Nova Scotia

Following the Second World War Ralph Bell successfully oversaw the merger of two holding companies: Smith Fisheries Ltd. and Associated Investors Ltd., which in turn represented twenty-four smaller fish processing businesses. Between 1945 and 1953 Bell served as the first President of this new company which became known as National Sea Products Limited. Thereafter, he acted as President of Halifax Insurance Company from 1954-1959. This very successful entrepreneur was also a principal of the Pickard Investment Company of Halifax and served as a Vice-President of the Bank of Nova Scotia

In 1960 Ralph Pickard Bell was installed as the first Chancellor of Mount Allison University and served in that capacity for eight years. His second wife, Marjorie Young Bell, died on June 27, 1964, and left a large bequest to Mount Allison University over which her husband presided. During his tenure Chancellor Bell oversaw the construction of numerous buildings on campus.  He was pleased in 1971 when the University honoured him by naming the new library building the 'Ralph Pickard Bell Library'

Ralph Pickard Bell died on March 3, 1975, at his home 'High Head' at Murder Point (see note below), Nova Scotia. He was a most generous benefactor of Mount Allison University. His gifts to the institution continue to support and enrich the work of both faculty and students to the present day.

Alfred E. Whitehead was born 12 December 1883 in Peterborough, England. At the age of five he was introduced to the organ and studied under Peterborough Cathedral’s organist Dr. Hayden Keeton. He moved to Canada in 1912 and became Assistant Director of Music and Professor of Organ and Harmony at the Mount Allison Conservatory from 1913 to 1915. He then furthered his own education, receiving a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto in 1916 and a doctorate in music from McGill University in 1922. From there, he was the Organist at the Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal from 1922 to 1947. He also began writing music around 1923, and at his death had more than 400 compositions credited to his name

Dr. Whitehead returned to Mount Allison as Dean of Music from 1947 to 1950. In 1953, he retired to Amherst, NS, though from 1953 to 1965 he was organist at the Trinity St. Stephen’s Church in Amherst. In addition to organ, Whitehead also conducted and directed numerous choirs in his lifetime, some as large as 2000 voices. He also pursued art and was able to exhibit his work in Canada and the United Kingdom

He received an honorary doctor of law degree from Mount Allison University in 1958, and from Queen’s University in 1970. Dr. Whitehead died at the Highland View Hospital in Amherst, NS on 1 April 1974, leaving behind his wife, the former Amy Mosher (Ladies’ College graduate 1915) and one daughter, Elizabeth. In October 1974, Mount Allison University posthumously honoured his memory by naming its music library the Alfred Whitehead Memorial Music Library

See also Alfred Whitehead , The Canadian Encyclopedia