Scholarship Information

Austin A. Scales Scholarships
Maximum Amount: $2000.00
Status:
Current 2nd Year
Application Form: Application Form
Deadline: Oct 1
Occasion: Fall Bursary (Financial Need)
Process: Applications available on the web
Scholarship Type: Bursary
Description: Awarded to students from rural PEI, one from each county, based on financial need and achievement in the first year of a university program. Available to second-year students only.
Background: Austin Scales was a Maritime entrepreneur. Born in 1886 on a modest farm in St. Eleanor's, Prince Edward Island, he stayed home from school to help his mother run the farm and to support the four children. Educated at home he attended the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in 1910 and in 1918 he received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at Guelph, Ontario. While studying in Truro he saw promise of the market demand for silver fox pelts. He and five others formed the Willow Hill S ilver Backfox Company selling pairs of breeding stock. In 1928 he bought a small P.E.I. grist and power plant pioneering a new field, the generation and distribution of electric power from waters of the Dunk River near his Freetown home. In 1946, following a fire, he re-established Island Fertilizers. Over the years he has become involved in the seed potato growing business and numerous export ventures. From his 400 acres in the Freetown potato belt he grew potatoes and helped to form Associated Shippers Incorporated which found new markets in the United States, Cuba and Caribbean countries. Another project of his was the P.E.I. potato dehydration plant which he established in 1943. The plant packed large brown tins of chipped spuds to be sent by the Canadian Government to feed allied troops during World War II. Austin Scales was recognized as a Canadian business leader serving as Director of the Bank of Canada and past Chairman of Industrial Enterprises Inc.. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Prince County Hospital. Austin Scales received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Prince Edward Island in 1972. He was inducted into the Agricultural Hall of fame in 1985, and appeared in Canada's Who's Who publication in 1986. Mr. Scales died in 1989 leaving a bequest in his Will to the University of Prince Edward Island to establish the Austin A. Scales Scholarships in perpetuity.
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