strokes reached six per inch, tell them to stop and go to the next one.
Sig Franczak had a job with the contractor at the same work site so we ate lunch together and visited on weekends. One day, he walked on a cross-walk over an empty sewage holding tank. He fell, landed on his head and ended up in the local hospital. I visited after work while a Catholic priest was administering last rights. I explained to the nurse that Sig was Methodist; she notified the priest who left. Sig died that night. It was a great shock to all of us.
I left in late July to join Northwestern’s field camp in Duluth, MN, where I rendezvoused with the two professors teaching the course and the other students. We examined the Keweenawan basalts along Lake Superior, went to the Hibbing open pit Iron Mine and reached Ely, MN after three days.
There, we boarded chartered canoes and paddled and portaged our way to our first camp site. We mapped geology from canoes and bushwhacked inland to complete our maps. Because I had been a canoeing counselor, I helped instruct the other students on canoeing.
The other participants came from a variety of universities: DePauw University in Greencastle, IN, University of Cincinnati, LSU, Franklin and Marshall, and Northwestern. The best prepared student was Bill Rush, who attended LSU. He spent the previous summer on an oil company field mapping crew. I learned a lot from him as well as the instructors, and was shocked to discover later Bill never submitted his final report.
After completing the course, I returned to Evanston and met the department chairman, Art Howland. Northwestern had, at that time, a nationally-recognized team of three professors, William C. Krumbein (PhD, Chicago, sedimentology, geostatistics), Laurence L. Sloss (PhD, Chicago, stratigraphy) and Edward C. Dapples (PhD, Wisconsin, sedimentary petrology). I met all three because I planned to apply there for graduate work. Frank Hoodmaker warned me that Northwestern’s program was tough and he left and completed a Master’s degree at the University of Wyoming.
Krumbein was busy so we talked briefly, Sloss talked with me but at the same time was busy drafting, and Dapples spent time rambling about his work. Perhaps I caught them at a bad time or perhaps they met many applicants so interviewing one more became a routine and boring exercise for them.
I returned to Wesleyan and had two months, in addition to regular course work, to write my field camp report, draft the diagrams and submit it. I did with a week to spare and earned an “A”. Years later, at the 1958 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Ed Sullivan who graduated from Northwestern and took the course also, told me that I was the only one to earn an “A.”
Wesleyan’s financial fortunes also suddenly improved. An alumnus, Davidson, bequeathed his fortune of $6 million. Davidson’s wife predeceased him and there were no children. The endowment suddenly doubled and Wesleyan’s expectations changed.
During my senior year, I took a year’s course in statistics, a semester of Paleontology, a year’s senior geology seminar, a philosophy course and a year’s worth of credit to complete a senior thesis. I graduated with three other geology majors. They were:
- Dana Schrader who became a Navy pilot and then flew for Eastern Airlines.
- Tom Rogers, who earned an MS from the University of California, Berkeley, took a job with Gulf, was laid off, and then worked for the California Department of Mines.
and
- Lou Wilcox, who took a job with the Army Map Service, and later earned a PhD in geodesy from St. Louis University. Lou died in 1972.
I lost contact with Dana and Tom.
A week before graduation, we received our yearbooks which included a profile of the editors’ recollections of each class mate. Mine stated “Well-Assimilated Immigrant.”
Graduation was held on a hot day. My family joined me. Joe People and his family hosted a reception for the four geology majors and their families. We then went to graduation where Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, delivered the commencement address.
At the close of Commencement, the college President, Vic Butterfield, delivered his “Charge to the Class of 1954.” Starting with a quote from Alfred North Whitehead that “great ages are also dangerous ages”, Vic discussed how
- the atmosphere in the USA changed with McCarthyism,
- the American role in the world became more dangerous with the Cold War, and
- so many of the world’s people increased their demand for freedom and well-being. He discussed also the raging battle of ideas of the time and closed his remarks saying,
“These are the times for these forces (of moderation, justice, freedom) to speak out, if quietly yet very firmly. You are about to join them. With judgment and courage you can become effective spokesmen for the cause of civilization and freedom. You may get hurt if you speak. But you won’t be worth your Alma Mater’s faith and investment in you if you falter from fear. This is no time for timid men. There is no place in the hearts of Wesleyan men for this kind of fear.
I charge you therefore to join the battle with courage, working with all the judgment and skill you possess for the harmony and the mutual confidence of men based on a passion for freedom and tolerance, forever strong to insist, firmly, rationally, respectfully, on all that makes for a free and civilized society, on all that can encourage the fulfillment of men in terms of their nature, their conscience, and the will of their God.”
A framed autographed copy of that charge hangs in my office. Looking back, it still strikes me that during my time at Wesleyan something (perhaps the Davidson Bequest) changed Butterfield’s view about the role of Wesleyan graduates. It changed from just returning to New England small towns and becoming pillars of the community to something where I was perhaps more main-stream with respect to Wesleyan’s aspirations for its graduates than when I arrived.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. Be willing to mentor those who follow you and help them achieve their success.
2. Be aware of how the values and goals of an institution change. The Davidson bequest changed Wesleyan forever.
3. When attending university as an undergraduate, explore what the place offers and be prepared to follow your interests, even changing majors to do so. In my case, switching to geology changed my life and I never regretted it.
4. If told to remediate deficiencies, look at it as an opportunity to improve oneself. My bonehead English experience provided me with a critical skill. Professor Cowie did me a favor advising me to take it.
5. Never be afraid to ask questions or get advice from people who are more experienced. At the same time, be willing to do the same for those who are younger.
6. If you need to earn expenses through part-time employment, find out what’s available in the department of your major. I did, curating mineral and rock specimens, mounting maps, and storing laboratory materials. The experience reinforced my desire to continue in geology, particularly during moments when I had momentary doubts.
Chapter 5
Two Summers in Newfoundland and Johns Hopkins University (1954-1955)
During my senior year at Wesleyan, I explored my career options and graduate
