1945 President Lon Hancock

I was born March 17, 1884, in the small village of St. Joe, Searcy County, Arkansas. The birthplace of my father was Springfield, Illinois, and that of my mother Marietta, Georgia. At the age of seven symptoms of a weakness for the earth sciences began to manifest themselves. Armloads of limestone slabs filled with crinoid stems were carried into the house for inspection, and when I asked why these rocks were filled with worms, was emphatically ordered to return them to the hillside and to refrain from further foolish questions, as these were just rocks and nothing more.

1945 - ALONZO WESLEY HANCOCK (Charter Member)

When I was nine years of age, my parents migrated to Indian Territory. There I found the geological picture greatly changed and much more interesting. Along the eroded banks of the Arkansas river were innumerable veins of coal outcroppings. Between these and beds of concretions filled with pastel shades of clay I spent many happy days. When my father found a lot of these multicolored clays smeared all over the side of the barn another of my geological endeavors was quickly and decisively squelched.

Educational advantages in the Indian Territory at that time were practically nil. During the six years of residence there, only a few intermittent months of “Subscription School” were available, and principally for that reason my parents decided to follow the course of empire westward. Acquiring two covered wagons or "prairie schooners", we loaded in and for three long months listened to the song of wagon wheels across the states of Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho, reaching the green and fertile valley of the Snake river just at the opening of the harvest season. This so resembled Paradise in comparison to anything we had ever seen before that Oregon of course became our home.

Among the many advantages to be found in this land of promise was one in particular which caught my interest. Just across the river in Idaho was a boarding school known as the Idaho Intermountain Institute. At this place one without means could secure enough employment on the campus to pay for both board and tuition. I contacted the school authorities at the earliest possible date, all arrangements were easily made, and I became an immovable fixture for four years.

My arrival at this school should have created quite a sensation because I had with me all my worldly goods and these consisted of two sacks, one filled with clothing and the other with rocks. My second sack was to bring me deep disappointment. No one seemed to know very much about rocks, and cared less.

One professor, however, was somewhat sympathetic and directed me to the Weiser Academy, located about half a mile away, where he thought I might probably get the desired information. The instructor was found and for a full hour he delved into the mysteries of mineralogy - all of which failed to register with me. This I know because when I returned to my school the teacher insisted that I explain fully to the class all I had learned about my specimens. To the best of my memory, those small yellowish-pink crystals were called "mizpahs". Later I learned that what the teacher had really said was that they were feldspars. Still the class marveled exceedingly - it was their first lesson in geology.

After spending four years at this school, it became increasingly apparent that the seventy-five dollars which I could save during the three summer months would hardly support me in the lavish manner in which I craved to live through the nine-month school year, so I decided to spend a year or so in Alaska for the purpose of bolstering my modest fortune, and possibly locating a few of those elephants frozen in the ice which I had been reading about.

The explorations of course proved fruitless, and the long, workless winter months exhausted my summer earnings to such an extent that when I arrived back in Seattle my fortune had dwindled to two dollars and fifty cents. It was then and there I made up my mind that what I most needed was a guardian, so I became an employee of the Post Office Department and remained in this position thirty-five years. It was during my employment in this position that I met and married Miss Berrie Horton, who has always shared my interest and enthusiasm in my lifelong avocation.

During these many years as a government employee my interest in the earth sciences never lessened, but on the other hand grew and a very large portion of my spare time, such as vacations and holidays, were spent roaming the semi-deserts of the Northwest and exploring the fossil-bearing cliffs of the John Day country.

In 1933 a semi-technical club was organized, known as the Oregon Agate and Mineral Society. This I joined as a charter member, having already spent fourteen years with the Mazamas.

Beginning in 1934 and extending through several years, the University of Oregon conducted extension courses at the Lincoln High School in the following sciences: Geology, Dr. Edwin T. Hodge; Rocks and Minerals, Dr. W. D. Wilkinson; Paleontology, Dr. Earl Packard; Anthropology, Dr. Goldenweiser. From these sources I received all of my classroom geology.