1967 President Ralph Stevenson Mason

Ralph Stevenson Mason (middle name after Robert Louis Stevenson, but not related) was born in Hood River, Oregon in 1912. His father was a civil engineer. Ralph grew up in Parkdale, Oregon and graduated from Parkdale High School. He attended the University of Oregon where he majored in journal­ism up into his senior year. At this time he became interested in geology and transferred to Oregon State College where he majored in geology and mining and obtained his BS degree in 1957.

1967 - RALPH STEVENSON MASON

A geode triggered Ralph's interest in geology. He found it in 1934 while exploring the canyon wall of the east fork of Hood River. Not knowing what the object was, he showed it to Dr. McKitrick in the geology department at the University of Oregon. The explanation so intrigued him that he enrolled in a basic course in geology taught by Dr. Warren D. Smith at the University of Oregon, and then went on to make this field his career.

Ralph married Dorothy Dill in 1938. They have a daughter, Michele, and a son, Bruce. Both children are married.

In 1943, Ralph joined the staff of the State of Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, where he has been employed ever since. His position is that of Mining Engineer. In addition to this work, he has for a number of years been teaching evening courses in geology at Portland State University Extension Division. He has made innumerable appearances before groups and on TV to speak on geologic subjects.

At the present time, Ralph is a member of the following organizations; American Institute of Mining Engineers, Oregon Academy of Science, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and the Geological Society of the Oregon Country. He serves on the State Mapping Advisory Committee and the Governor's Committee on Synthetic Chemicals in the Environment.

His training in journalism has served Ralph well in the numerous publications on geology and mining that he has either authored or co-authored. For the Department he helped prepare bulletins on coal and ferruginous bauxite, wrote chapters on coal, iron, clay, and other nonmetallic minerals; for the recent bulletin on the mineral resources of Oregon.

He collaborated with. Ira A. Allison on a report on sodium salts in Lake County, with J.E. Allen on a brick and tile industry report, wrote a paper on the lightweight aggregate industry of the state, and prepared a key to the Oregon Mineral Deposits Map. For the Ore Bin, he has compiled annual summaries of the state's mineral Industry and has contributed articles on a wide range of subjects. His non-department publications include a USGS circular with M.I. Irwin on coal resources in Oregon; various articles on lightweight aggregates for industrial magazines; articles for the GSOC Newsletter; and reports on glacier studies for the Mazama magazine.

He has been the geology instructor at Camp Hancock for several sessions.

He led his President's Camp-out on July 22 to 50, 1968 from the Tilly Jane Forest Camp on the north side of Mt. Hood.

Mr. Mason's favorite hobby is woodworking in his basement workshop. He also likes to travel and take scenic geologic photographs. His wife, Dorothy, is the editor of the OMSI Pendulum.