L.S. Skaggs (1923-2013) Research Laboratory
L.S. “Sam” Skaggs, Jr., was born in 1923 in Yakama, Washington. His family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1932 where Sam attended local schools and later Westminster College. Sam served his country in the U. S. Army, Chemical Warfare Division during World War II.
After returning home from the war, Sam joined his father’s company, Payless Drug Stores, where he soon became manager of the Boise, Idaho store. While in Boise he met his future wife, Aline Wilmot. They were married on February 27, 1949 and soon after moved to Montana. In 1950, Sam’s father died unexpectedly at age 55, requiring Sam to move to Salt Lake City where he assumed the job of president and CEO of Payless Drug Stores, running 11 stores at just 27 years old.
At the time of the agreement, the Skaggs Research Laboratory was set up to house Utah State University’s Animal Nutrition Research and Training. Today, the building houses, in part, the Plant, Soils, and Climate Department in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. Research units located throughout the state provide research opportunities for graduate students and faculty members.
Also housed in the laboratory, the Utah State University Analytical Laboratories (USUAL) provides testing and analysis services for soil, animal feed, manure, plant tissue and irrigation/livestock water.
*Note: All bios are current and up-to-date as of Summer 2022.