1983 President Francis Clair Stahl

Born at Philomath, Benton County Oregon on October 25, 1913 as Francis Clair Stahl.

1983 - Francis Clair Stahl

Parents : Charles Myron Stahl, a teacher, and Evadna Elizabeth (Springer) Stahl, a teacher.

After graduating from Bellfountain High School, Benton County Oregon, in 1932 and trying various sawmill and logging jobs, enlistment in the US Army 29th Engineer Topographic Battalion, then stationed in Portland Oregon, on June 25th 1938 I had the opportunity to learn mapping from Aerial Photographs and by Survey methods. Discharge from the US Army was after WW2 on October 31, 1945. As a Civilian working for the Corps of Engineers with an appointment of Photogrammetric Aide, I married Marguerite (Peigi) S. Schatter on August 24, 1946. A year — 1947 — at Vanport Extension Center then back to the Corps of Engineers in Surveying and later Topographic Drafting.

April 25, 1955 found me transferred to the US Forest Service, Surveys and Maps Branch in Portland Oregon where summer field work and winter in the office was the usual regimen. Later field work was eliminated and plotting and producing maps of all sorts was our responsibility.

While at Vanport Extension Center I enlisted in the US Army Reserves in June 1947. For the next 25 years, with Artillery, Transportation Corps and Training Battalion assignments the reserve affiliation was maintained until 1973 and retirement from the US Army as a Chief MSG.

Retirement from the Civil Service on March 10 1978. My Hobbies of Photography and Natural History especially Geology and Conchology led me into several night classes in Geology at Portland State University to learn why the hills and streams were there in that particular place. June 1964 Peigi and I joined the Geological Society of the Oregon Country. Peigi has been Editor twice and I was also President in 1974.

1984 President Viola Lagasse Oberson

Portland, Oregon is my native birthplace and home. My early education began at the Rose City Park grade school and then at Washington high school. Before I was graduated from high school, my parents being of Belgian descent and religious background thought that I should attend a private school in order to add Christian training to my education.  So I was enrolled at Seattle Pacific College (now University) where I obtained a Normal School certificate to teach in grade school. I continued in school there and obtained the Bachelor of Arts degree and added high school teaching certification. Since I had become enamored with the scholar's program, I decided to complete the Master of Arts requirements at the University of Washington in liberal education. My major was Literature with minors in history, speech, and education. Drama and communications were high in my choice of electives and extra-curricular activities.

1984 - VIOLA LAGASSE OBERSON

My first teaching position was in 1932 at Cul de Sac, Idaho, where I not only taught English, Latin, and Home Economics, but also was Dean of Girls. I gained many friends with whom I have corresponded these many years. My next position was at Kent, Washington. Having come from a school where the student body was half Indian, I soon found myself teaching classes with fifty percent Japanese or Nisei young people who were extremely studious and not so sport minded as the young braves of the Nez Perce. I still treasure some of the meticulous pen and ink drawings made by the drama and Shakespeare class students. And can you imagine putting on the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, "Pirates of Penzance" with half the cast being Japanese? But we did, with aplomb and what the community said was great success.

While attending summer school at the University of Washington, I received a letter requesting that I apply for a position at the Canby Union High School. I did, and in the fall I was not only teaching English and dramatics but was assigned again to be Dean of Girls. Clerk Belton, later Senator Howard C. Belton, seemed adamant that that was where my niche was.

Several years before this, I had taken a two day test given for prospective Portland teachers. During the summer while vacationing in San Francisco, I received a letter from the Portland School Board stating that out of the 250 who took the test the nine that were ahead of me had been used up and that there was now a vacancy in the English department.  Should I wish to accept this position, I was to report for work early in September at Roosevelt High School. I returned to Portland, resigned from the Canby Union High School, found an apartment in town, went to Roosevelt High School, met and later married my husband, Louis Oberson, and automatically became a member of the Geological Society of the Oregon Country of which he had become a charter member three years earlier.

We bought a home near Grant High School where I had been transferred because at that time a husband and wife were not allowed to teach in the same building. After teaching at Grant for several years, I was again transferred to Franklin High School without my willing consent or Principal Bitner's. Superintendent Jack Edwards said that I was to initiate a speech and drama department there. It seemed I had the qualifications and KBPS was in need of trained students and broadcasting was an attractive new job opportunity. We filled the bill with a number of students who have made the field of communications their life's work.  A group of us keep in touch and meet for lunch in the summertime - still. They are my boys and girls even though they are in their fifties. I hear about their year's activities at Christmas time. I finished my public school career by teaching evening Veteran's refresher courses at Lincoln High School. However much I enjoy the classroom, it was time to think about having a family, but as usual, two things happened.

Going to a Geological Society Luncheon meeting at the Chamber of Commerce building, I met Dr. Courtland Booth, a close friend and member who escorted me up the long flight of stairs. He surprised me by revealing that he would be delivering a baby to be born soon and if we were interested in adoption to let him know;  My attention was not on the speaker that day. Upon going home after the meeting, Dr. J.C. Stevens took my arm and as we walked down the stairs said, "Viola, I'm going to start a museum for the state of Oregon and I want to set up an office. Will you come and be my assistant?" What a dilemma this presented!  We decided to do both. I hired a substitute mother for the hours I was away from home. We had the best of both worlds - a beautiful baby girl and I was able to help Oregon's Museum get started. After occupying an extra office space for one month,  Aaron Frank asked where we were located.  My response was not too enthusiastic as I told him we had no room to display any objects to the public to let them know we needed a museum.  "You can have the writing room of the Portland Hotel for your office if you want it.  We'll see about using the windows of the store to let Oregonians see all your displays."  He gave me wings and sky both for that was the beginning of what the five civic organizations put together as an initial effort to make a Museum of History, Science, and Industry for the state of Oregon.

Dr.  Stevens contributed the rest of his life and a fortune to make it a success.  My booklet entitled,  "One Man's Dream Becomes Community's Push Button Project," was written in his honor and it was distributed at the dedication of the present Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) building and later sold in the book store.  Several of the science related organizations bought five hundred copies and gave them to their members.

After working full time for two years it was time for me to quit and become a full fledged mother. It was also time for OMSI to engage a museum specialist and fund raiser to try to take some of the burden from Dr. Stevens. The William T. Hornaday Foundation supplied John Ripley Forbes and again we thought we were off to a flying start. The Museum did take off but in an entirely new direction from the original dream of which Dr. Edwin T. Hodge spoke in his inaugural address to the Geological Society,  "It is my dream that this Society establish a natural history museum that would become the Smithsonian of the West. "

Since we had known Alonzo Wesley Hancock for many years and I had assisted him in the making of his will for the assignment of his paleontological collection to OMSI upon his death, his wife, Berrie, asked me to write an account of their lives.  Lon gave his first display of skeletal bones from the Clarno Mammal Beds as a promotional feature for a museum for Oregon while we were located in the Portland Hotel.  My brief account of this import­ant amateur paleontologist was published in the October 1979 issue of the OREGON GEOLOGY magazine by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. Through the years, I have found time to cultivate many friends in different professions. Upon invitation, I was accepted as a member of the Professional Woman's League- a league of women active in their many various professions. In 1972, I became their 60th president. Again through the invitation of friends,  I was invited to attend the meetings and later asked to join the Pi Omicron Sorority - a literature and fine arts study association of interested women. This group had its inception in 1929 through the University Guild. I have served twice as president - 1971 and 1981. Both of these fine organizations have enriched my life and I have gained many Close friendships.

It was also my privilege to be affiliated for many years with the Soroptimist Club and the University Women's Association.   Presently I am associated with Ikebana International and am also enjoying my membership in the Japanese Gardens.

The Geological Society of the Oregon Country has been a family affair with us. Mary Lou attended most of the outdoor activities until she finished high school.  Louis and I have taken many related classes.  He has held a number of offices in the Society and was president in 1970. I have been in charge of the annual picnic,  banquet, and have written articles for the newsletter, helped with the memorial book purchasing for the library, staged many of the programs at different events, participated in panel discussions, and lectured to the Society.  I was appointed historian in 1969 and served through 1976, and was elected editor of the Geological Newsletter from March 1972 serving through February 1976. At the Society's Banquet in 1976 President John H. Bonebrake presented me with a certificate which stated that the Society designated me as "A Fellow of the Society."  This was indeed an honor. Upon submitting two copies of The Geological Newsletter that I had edited to the Association of Earth Science Editors,  I was accepted as a member in this national organization. In 1978, Laurette Kenney resigned as Luncheon Program chairwoman and recruited me to take her place. I served in this capacity until 1981 and was then appointed Luncheon Chairwoman. All the while it was my privilege to supply the luncheon members and guests with 140 speakers and have presided at that many luncheons to which 7,636 people have attended.

The members of the Society have now elected me to be their 50th President! Truly,  it is my crowning achievement even though I never dreamed of it happening to me. I always have been happy in the work I was doing at the moment. The historical contributions of those who have served is as awesome to me as are the challenges to be accomplished in the future. Albert and Ruth Hopson Keen were the first couple, each of whom has served as President of the Society. Louis and I are now the second team to be so honored. We feel especially privileged in that we have personally known and count as our friends all 48 of the presidents and their mates who have preceded us!

Read articles written by Viola Oberson and her daughter, Mary Lou Oberson, in The Geological Newsletter and our website:

Charter GSOC member Lon Hancock was first to discover vertebrate fossils in the Oregon's Clarno Formation

Two Generations of "Geesockers"

1985 President Donald. B. Parks

•Born Portland, Oregon, December 28, 1912
•Father: Rupert Norris Parks, Born county of Kent, England
•Mother: Newell Oakes Parks, Born Salt Lake City, Utah

1984 - DONALD B. PARKS

After Graduating from Rose City Park Grade School and Grant High school in Portland, I entered the School of architecture and Allied Arts at the University of Oregon. In pursuing my Bachelor of science degree, on of my elective courses was an Introduction to Geology, and one of my instructors was Lloyd Ruff who served as GSOC's 9th president in 1943.

Phi Kappa Psi fraternity became my Greek connection while attending the University. Eugene was becoming my permanent residence after graduating in 1939. Part-time work in an architectural office and part time in the school of architecture continued until 1941.

At that time I returned to Portland after accepting an engineering position with Albina Engine and Machine works, a Portland shipyard building navy ships. It there that I met Enid, who was employed as a secretary. We were married in June of 1943 and became firmly settled in Portland.

I was granted a certificate to practice architecture in 1951 and shortly thereafter established my own architectural office.  My works included the design of schools, churches, a number of residences and a variety of structures for Pacific Northwest Bell.

In 1971 I accepted a position as architect with Pacific Power and Light Company, and retired in 1978.  While there, I was invited by my longtime friend John Bonebrake to give a luncheon program of slides I had taken on a visit to Southern Spain. Following that introduction to GSOC, I joined the Society in 1973, and to my surprise, in 1985, became its 51st president.

1986 President Hazel R. Newhouse

Native Oregonian,  Born at Springbrook (now part of Newberg),  Oregon, May 19, 1906.   

1986 - HAZEL R. NEWHOUSE

 This small village was the heart of a thriving berry and fruit area. Her father C. E. Newhouse organized and managed a cooperative cannery. Her mother, Hattie Rush, taught in her native state of Minnesota where she met and married Clint Newhouse when he came from Wisconsin to take up a land claim. They moved to Oregon in the late 1800's.

Elementary education was in a two-room school.  She graduated from the Quaker Prep school in Newberg which Herbert Hoover once attended.  B.A. fromWillamette University in 1927.  (Major - History,  Minor- Mathematics).  She took her first geology course there in 1925.

Travel and camping began early. Twice before 1914 she traveled with a community covered-wagon train over the Coast Mountains to a beach camp north of Cape Kiwanda. Several camping trips were made in the Columbia Gorge.

Campfire and 4-H activities were early interests and she was a leader at Camp Namanu (east of Gresham) and Camp Sealth on Vashon Island.  At the latter she made a friend who asked her to accompany her to Japan. (In 1930 the ticket cost $100.21)  A college friend in Peking, China, requested her to fill in for a teacher on leave. 1930-33 she was a leader of a Girl Scout troop sponsored by Mrs. Herbert Hoover and for which Pearl Buck was a director.  (Lots of camping in geological settings.)

Taught mathematics and Latin in Chehalis, Washington before going to China, English in Wei Wen Academy (Chinese boy's Middle School), mathematics in Peking American School and Latin for English majors in the Peking Women's University. At least half of the American school students were Chinese preparing to attend American Colleges.

Returning to Oregon in 1933 (depression years) her Oregon teacher's certificate had to be renewed and a year of (so-called) education courses required. Travel was achieved by taking summer courses up and down the Pacific Coast:  Oregon Agricultural College (OSU), University of Washington, University of California, University of Southern California, and University of Oregon. Having had little knowledge of the Orient when she went there - courses in geography and geology were sandwiched in when possible.

1935-41 - taught geography (also mathematics, history and Latin - not all the same year) at St. Helens, Oregon.

Mount St. Helens played an interesting part in her life. At Chehalis the hotel was The St. Helens and most of the field trips and picnics were to Mount St.  Helens. At St. Helens, Oregon, the mountain was viewed across the Columbia River. Then for the over 30 years she taught at Gresham, Oregon, Mount St. Helens was on view driving to and from her home at 4709 N. Willamette Blvd. She always told her students that many of the Cascade volcanoes were not dead but, like many others, never dreamed one would erupt in her lifetime - but Mount St. Helens did May 18, 1980.

During W, W. II she taught geography for the A. S. T. P. at the University of Oregon.  During that time she completed work for her M. A.  She was then offered a position as graduate assistant in the Geography Department while working on Ph. D, but was told that no woman would be offered a position as professor in that field at the University and, as at that time, no other Oregon college taught geography and as she wanted to stay in Oregon, she went back to full time high school teaching and taught college courses in geography at summer school and in evening classes at Monmouth (now Western Oregon College),  U. of O. Extension (Portland), Lewis and Clark, Concordia,  U. of O. (Eugene),  Mt. Angel,  P.S.U., and for the Oregon System of Higher Education (mostly at P. S. U.  and Gresham).

Physical geography was always a basic interest. Ruth Keen, whom she met at the University of Oregon often invited her to GSOC lectures, banquets, Camp-outs and to give slide lectures. Joined GSOC in 1972.

From 1952 - attended IGU (International Geography/Geology Union) meetings where field trips were led by geography and geology professors. These meetings, held every four years,  were at Washington,  D. C.,  London,  Stockholm,  Montreal, Moscow and New Delhi.  For New Delhi and Moscow,  she went around the world.  Slide lectures, about places visited, have been given at GSOC meetings and for many other organizations and for schools and colleges.

1959-60 - Fulbright exchange to Wallasey (near Liverpool) Girls Grammar School.

1975-78 - Vice president and president of East Multnomah County Retired Teachers. Also led their tours (over 100 - mainly to places where she had led college and high school geography field trips) and served on the board since 1972.

Fellow - National Council for Geographic Education.

Board - 1. English Speaking Union 2. U.S. China Peoples Friendship Association 3. American University Women 4. Overseas Educators 5. Pacific Coast Geographers 6. Oregon Geographers.

Member -  Oregon Historical Society, University Park Methodist Church, State and National Retired Educators.

1937 - her brother moved to Wedderburn (near Gold Beach).  First drove through this area in 1933 when Highway 101 was largely two planks with turn outs and all rivers were crossed by ferry except the Rogue which had been bridged.  These facts plus studying the Tyee formation which has spectacular outcrops in Ruth Keen's seminar influenced the choice of southwestern Oregon for the 1986 President's Geological Tour/Campout.

1985-87 - Real challenge - serving as vice president and president of the Geological Society of the Oregon Country.  The help and support of the past presidents made the years rewarding.

1987 President Raymond E. (Andy) Corcoran

I was born in Norfolk, Virginia, where my father was stationed at the Norfolk Naval Base.  It was also where my mother grew up and eventually met my father, so it worked out well for everyone.

1987 - RAYMOND E. (Andy) CORCORAN

In 1931 my father was transferred to the Pacific Fleet (U.S.S. Saratoga) based in Long Beach, California, and I continued to live there until I graduated from college, (U.C.L.A.).

My first job was with Union Oil Co. in their Rocky Mountain Division.  It was very good experience for me because most of California (like Oregon) is Cenozoic geology, whereas most of the Rocky Mountains are underlain by Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks.  In 1951, Union Oil transferred me to their West Texas Division, and after spending six months down there I decided that I wanted to return to the West Coast, I enrolled in graduate school at the Univ. of Oregon , and received my M.S. in geology in 1953.  While in Eugene I had applied to the Oregon Dept. of Geology when Mr. Fay Libbey was Director, and was subsequently offered a job with them when I graduated.

After working for the Department for four years I was offered a position with Harvey Aluminum Co. to direct their bauxite (aluminum ore) exploration program.  Since this would allow me to work in areas of the world I would not otherwise have an opportunity to see, I accepted it.  During the next three and a half years I explored bauxite deposits in Hawaii, Jamaica, and South America (Surinam and British Guiana), as well as here in Oregon and Washington.  It was great fun, but hard on my family life, so I returned to the Department in 1960.  I remained with DOGAMI until 1977, becoming Director and State Geologist in 1969 when Hollis Dole, my predecessor, became Asst. Secretary of the Interior for Minerals.

Seeking new challenges, I accepted a job with the U. S. Bureau of Mines in Washington, D.C. as administrative assistant to the Director overseeing environmental impact of Bureau related mining and metallurgical research.  Three and a half years later, I had had enough of Federal bureaucracy and decided to return to Oregon and go into private consul­ting.  Since 1980 I have been enjoying my "new life" immensely, not the least of which has been to be elected President of the Geological Society of the Oregon Country.

My wife, Jean, and I will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary this year.  We have three children, Mike, Rick, and Debbie, all of whom we are inordinately proud.

1988 President Joline Alta Robustelli

Joline, a native Oregonian, was born May 16, 1939, in Klamath Falls. She attended Altamont Elementary and Junior High School, and graduated from Klamath Union High School in 1957. She played clarinet in the KUHS band. Rainbow for Girls provided an additional interest during her teen years.

1988 - JOLINE ALTA ROBUSTELLI

She accepted employment in June, 1957, with the Klamath County Public Welfare Commission. For nine years, she was the Commission secretary, taking minutes at the monthly Commission meetings, transcribing dictation, certifying applicants for food stamps, and other routine clerical work.

Klamath Falls was a small community and employment opportunities were limited. While working full time, she took evening continuing education classes at Kingsley Field and at Oregon Institute of Technology. She moved to Portland in September, 1966, to enroll full time at Portland State University. She received a BS in History from PSU in June, 1969.

She accepted a secretarial position in July, 1969, with Unigard Insurance Group. In March, 1970, she became a casualty-property claims adjuster. Assisting people during time of loss and extreme stress due to accident and injury was overwhelming, so she left Unigard in September, 1980.

Joline worked for temporary agencies for several months. In February, 1981, she was referred to Portland Development Commission. Following 4 1/2 years as a temporary employee, doing microfilming, she became a permanent employee in July, 1985. She was transferred to the new Computer Services/Records Management Department in January, 1988.

Joline has taken numerous business and professional courses and classes. The general property and casualty classes with Insurance Institute of America, followed by Law for the Claimsperson, lead to professional designations. In 1984, she received a Certified Professional Insurance Woman award, followed by Casualty Claim Law Associate and Casualty-Property Claim Law Associate designation.

She has been active in service organizations, including the American Council of Venture Clubs, affiliated with Soroptimist International, where she served as secretary to the Klamath Falls club from 1960-1962. This was followed by regional secretary, 1962-1964, and regional governor, 1964-1966. During this time three new Canadian Venture Clubs were chartered.

She was affiliated with the Oregon Casualty Adjusters Association from 1970-1980, and Insurance Women's Association of Portland from 1970-1977.

Other organizations include YWCA Tour Committee from 1977 to the present, planning and escorting tours; member Oregon Historical Society, 1980 to the present; World Affairs Council of Oregon, 1986 to the present; American Records Management Association, 1988; and Audubon Society, 1989.

Joline joined GSOC in September, 1980.  She served on the hospitality committee, 1982-1983; treasurer, 1983-1985; assistant newsletter editor, 1985-1988; vice president and program chair, 1987-1988; and president, 1988-1989. In addition, she has presented several slide programs.

Joline has many outside interests and hobbies. She likes traveling, outdoor activities and hiking. Knitting, sewing, and needle work comprise additional interests.

1989 President Rosemary Richartz Kenney

Rosemary Richartz was born and reared on a dairy farm near Walla Walla, Washington. After the family moved to Umapine, Oregon, she attended the Umapine Public Schools, graduating as valedictorian from Umapine High School.

1989 - ROSEMARY RICHARTZ  KENNEY

After graduation from Oregon State University and dietetic internship at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, she combined her professional career and her love of travel. Home base was always Portland, Oregon. No matter whereshe traveled, she always returned to Portland where she worked as a dietitian at various times, at St. Vincents Hospital, Beth Kaiser Hospital, University of Oregon Health Science Center, University of Oregon Dental School, Emanuel Hospital, and at the U.S. Veterans Medical Center both in Portland and at the Vancouver Division.

Enjoyable work was found in Casablanca, Morocco; Denver, Colorado; Walla Walla, Washington; Los Angeles, California; and Corvallis, Oregon. The high points of Rosemary's career were working for the Indian Health Service Hospital at Fort Defiance, Arizona on the Navajo Indian Reservation, and at Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia. On one of her return trips to Portland, she married Albert Kenney, former president of GSOC.  They combined their interests of geology, paleontology and travel.

She always had an interest in geology, but it began in earnest when she attended a night course at Portland State University taught by Dr. Ruth Hopson Keen. That sparked motivation to attend more and more classes. She joined GSOC in 1962 and has served the society on the Refreshment Committee and held offices of Librarian and Secretary, in addition to President.

Our fifty-fifth President took an early retirement in 1989 to enjoy life without the interference of work.

Historical note from Carol Hasenberg in 2024:

Rosemary also maintained her contact with GSOC quite well in the years prior to the COVID pandemic. She hosted all the GSOC board meetings for many, many years. During the first 10 years or so of my stint as GSOC newsletter editor (2000-2020 and now the archive document post 2020), Rosemary was the newspaper publisher and indexer, and you can still see those indices printed on her old dot matrix printer in the January newsletters from that era. She also did some volunteer work at DOGAMI and PSU.

She moved to Newberg with her friend and companion, GSOC member Jan Kem, in the fall of 2022. She passed away peacefully on May 5, 2024, after a period of declining health.

To read more about Rosemary’s life, go to the GSOC tribute written after her death.

1990 President Dr. Ruth Hopson Keen

Dr. Ruth Hopson Keen - see also 1982

1990 - Dr. Keen at the 1991 GSOC Banquet

1991 President Walter A. Sunderland, M.D.

• Birthdate June 16, 1929,  Clinton County, New York State

1991 - WALTER A. SUNDERLAND

• U.S. Army 1946 - 1949 - Japan and South Pacific.

• Champlain College, Plattsburgh, New York; B.A. Magna Cum Laude 1953 (3 years)

• M.D. State University of New York @ Syracuse - June 1957 Rotating General Internship,

• 1 year, Syracuse, New York Medicine & Obstetrics - 1 year, Syracuse, N.Y. General Practice 5 years.

• Pediatrics residency 2 1/2 yrs @ Syracuse, N.Y. and Portland, Ore. Board Certified Pediatrician

• Fellowship in Pediatric Pulmonary Disease for 2 yrs.

• Asst. Prof. Pediatrics @ Univ. Of Oregon Medical School

• Residency 2 yrs. Anesthesiology at Univ. of Oregon Med. ctr

• Instructor in Anesthesiology at Univ. Of Oregon Med. School.

• Board certified anesthesiologist

• Private Practice of Anesthesiology at Emanuel Hospital and Meridian Park Hospital.

Retired July 1990

Presently studying biology and geology at Portland State University and Portland Community College as a hobby.

Joined GSOC about 1979.

Wife: Katharine Gartner, M.D. (anesthesiologist)

1954 President Albert J. Keen

Albert J. Keen was born in Summertown, Tennessee, on December 17, 1901, and moved to Monroe, Washington, in 1909.  In 1911 he moved to St. Maries, Idaho, where he started to high school. He was graduated from high school in Bremerton, Washington. He attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, and came to Portland in 1922. Here he took extension courses from the University of Oregon in geology, rocks and minerals.

1954 - ALBERT JAMES KEEN

In 1922 Mr. Keen entered the employ of the Burroughs Adding Machine Company at the age of twenty and has served this company continuously ever since.  He now holds the position of field service representative.

While attending the University of Idaho he met Miss Stella Van Riper, to whom he was married in Portland in 1925.  They have one daughter, Carolyn, now Mrs. David Schmidt, and three grandsons - Daniel David and twins Ronald Allen and Randall James.

In addition to the Geological Society of the Oregon Country, Mr. Keen is a member of the Oregon Academy of Science, the Oregon Agate and Mineral Society, of which he was president in 1955, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and a charter member of the Oregon Archaeological Society.

Mr. Keen is a staunch Republican.

On. May 6, 1966, Albert J. Keen and Dr. Ruth Edwina Hopson, Professor of General Science at Portland Extension Division, were married. Dr. Ruth teaches all evening classes. For the past three years Albert Keen is engaged as her full time assistant in the geology and natural history classes. Together they are busily engaged in assembling material on the geology of all National Parks and Monuments in the United states for the class Dr. Ruth teaches and the book that will be forthcoming.

1955 President William F. Clark

William F. Clark was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, July 7, 1890. He was the first son of William and Mary Ferguson Clark.  The family moved to Portland in 1899.  Mr. Clark attended public schools in Portland. After completing high school, following Scotch custom, he was apprenticed to the pattern shop of the Willamette Iron and Steel Company.  Since 1929 he has been associated with the Modern Pattern Works.

1955 - WILLIAM FERGUSON CLARK

May 12, 1917 he married Catharine Theresa Parkinson of Portland, Oregon.  They have a son and a daughter.

In 1948, Mr. Hollis Dole, instructor of the class in General Geology of the University of Oregon Extension, which Mr. Clark was attending, urged his students to avail themselves of the opportunities for study provided by the Geological Society of the Oregon Country. Mr. Clark joined the Society and has been an enthusiastic member ever since.

Mr. Clark is also a member of the Foundrymen's Society of America, Oregon Agate and Mineral Society, Oregon Color Slide Club and Oregon Marine Biological Society.

1956 President Francis Garritt Gilchrist

Francis Garritt Gilchrist was born in the manse of the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church, where his father was minister, in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. His family moved to the west when he was two years old.

1956 - FRANCIS GARRITT GILCHRIST

He was educated in the grammar schools of San Anselmo and San Jose, California, and in high school at San Jose and Lowell High School in San Francisco. He went to Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1914-1916. In 1917 he was Field Assistant to the U.S. Geological Survey in the Bellingham area. From 1917-1919 he served in the U. S. Army, A.E.F., 26th Engineers. After World War I he went back to college at the University of California, where he received his B. A. degree in 1921. He continued there as a graduate student and assistant in the Department of Zoology from 1921-1924 and received his PH.D in 1927. On graduation he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi.

From 1924-1936 Dr. Gilchrist taught at Pomona College, Claremont California in the Department of Zoology. In 1936 he had a Research Fellowship at Yale University. From 1937-1946 he taught at Riverside Junior College, Riverside,  California. In 1946 he began teaching at Lewis and Clark College in Portland in the Department of Biology.

Dr. Gilchrist was married to Pearl May Brown on June 6, 1922. She was born at Prosser, Washington. There were two sons, Kenneth Wells, (1925-1943), and Alden Hugh, (1930-), who is a musician and composer.

Dr. Gilchrist has contributed several articles in scientific journals dealing with experiments on regeneration of coelenterates and development of amphibia. He was trustee of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry from 1955-1959, and Secretary from 1956-1959. He has served as committee Member of the Arboretum since 1957.  From 1949-1960 he has been an Elder of the First Presbyterian Church.

He has been a member of the Geological Society of the Oregon Country for about ten years. Beside the office of President he has served on the Executive Committee from 1955-1960, and as Editor of Newsletter from 1954-1955.

1957 President Leroy Atwood Palmer

Leroy Atwood Palmer was born at Lockport, Illinois, June 10, 1879. He held various positions in the mineral industry from 1903 to 1909, and was a mining engineer for the U.S. Land Office, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Reclamation Service in western states and Alaska from 1909 to 1931. He then had an office in San Francisco as a consulting engineer. During and after World War II he was safety engineer at the Naval Supply Depot at Oakland and at the Marine Supply Depot at Barstow, California. He retired in 1947 and came to Portland to live.

1957 - LEROY ATWOOD PALMER

Mr. Palmer has one son and two daughters, eleven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Other organizations to which Mr. Palmer belongs are: Masonic Lodge, the City Club, the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, the Profess­ional Engineers of Oregon and the Sons of the American Revolution.

1958 President Dr. James Stauffer

James Stauffer was born in Butler, Pennsylvania on April 27, 1902. He was graduated from high school and went four years to the University of Michigan, majoring in English and languages, and receiving a B. A. degree.

1958 - DR. JAMES STAUFFER

For a year he taught biology at the high school that he had attended at Butler, Pennsylvania, and from there he went to Berea college in Berea, Kentucky where he taught biology. He went back to the University of Michigan for one year of postgraduate work in sciences, and received his master's degree.

For eighteen years he taught biology at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. While he was there he went to summer school at Cornell University, working for his doctor's degree which he received from that college in 1937.

He was married to Paula Ford, December 26, 1928 in Dewitt, Michigan. They have two children, Norman and Bonnie, and three grandchildren, Peter, Eric and Thomas Stauffer.

Dr. Stauffer has lived in Portland eleven years, teaching biology at Lewis and Clark College. He has been a member of the Geological Society of the Oregon Country for eight years. He also belongs to the following organizations: The Oregon Academy of Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science and the University Professor's Association.

1959 President Paul William Howell

Paul William Howell was born on a homestead near Quincy, Washington, on November 2, 1909. His father, Lewis Grant Howell, and his mother, Gerta Peterson Howell, were both natives of Northport, Michigan.

1959 - PAUL WILLIAM HOWELL

Finding Oregon a more pleasant place to live than the coulees of Douglas County, Washington, the Howells bought a home at Troutdale. Paul was the middle child of a family of eleven. He often wandered alone through the bottom lands of the Columbia to explore the ponds for frogs and catfish. His adventures were the inspiration for some of the newspaper articles written by Ben Hur Lampman, Paul's not infrequent fishing companion.

While attending Jefferson High School in Portland, Paul was a member of the Glee Club. Intrigued by the stories his brother, Quincy, told of college life, Paul Joined him at the University of Oregon from 1930 to 1932 and majored in Geology. The depression, a broken leg, and love interrupted his education. Paul and Margaret Reynolds were married December 26, 1936.

Paul worked for the Oregon Highway Department. He hiked five and six days a week as a surveyor; on Sundays with his wife, he would explore the hills as a geologist. Moves became frequent and the geologic history of the country became more and more interesting. While living and working out of Klamath Falls, Paul became a member of the Geological Society of the Oregon Country in 1938.

In September 1940, Paul enrolled at the University of Washington. There he studied under J. Hoover Macken, one of his favorite instructors. While there he became an active member of the Amenite Club. A month before the graduation ceremonies where he was to receive his Bachelor of Science degree in June of 1942, he joined the Army. Within a week the 333rd Engineer's Regiment was in Louisiana. At Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, he was graduated from OCS in December 1943.

His son, Vincent Ernest, was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on May 6, 1944. Paul received the message of his birth minutes later at Camp Shelby and completely lost his dignity as an officer.

Celia Louise arrived November 8, 1945 while Paul was in Poland. It was twenty days before Paul received that message. He had rejoined the 333rd Engineer regiment in Europe as a First Lieutenant. Arriving home in Eugene, April 1st, 1946, he started the next week on his first job as a geologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"Little Paul," Paulette Carol, was born in Portland, June 30, 1948. She learned to walk a year later in Lowell where her father was project geologist for the Lookout Point and Dexter Dams.

In the summer of 1952, the Howell family moved to Arizona. Aided by a student fellowship, Paul worked for two summers at the University of Arizona in Tucson of the Navajo-Hopi Indian Reservation doing a Mineral Survey and collecting data for his dissertation: "The Cenozoic Geology of the Chetoh Country, Arizona and New Mexico."

Paul did exploration work for the Bear Creek Mining Company the summer of 1954. in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. In 1955 and 1956, he was the Arizona State Mineralogist. Between jobs he continued his graduate study at the University of Arizona and was elected to Sigma Xi in 1954.

The Howells returned to Portland in 1956. Paul worked as the Supervising Geologist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers In 1959, he flew back to Tucson to attend a Geological Society of America meeting and to receive his doctorate in geology from the University of Arizona.

Dr. Howell is affiliated with the Oregon Engineering Geologists, and the Geological Society of America. He has served the Geological Society of the Oregon Country as consulting geologist for the President's Camp-out in 1969 and as trip leader for the society during 1968 and 1969.

On Nov. 8, 1969, he retired from the Army Corps of Engineers. As of March 1970, Br. Howell is an adjunct professor of geology at Portland State University.

1960 President Franklin Monroe Brown

Franklin Monroe Brown was born in Goshen, Oregon, on May 19, 1913. His father was Allen Monroe Brown who married Mable Susan Askew. He was a foreman with the Southern Pacific Co. After completing high school, Franklin attended the Oregon Institute of Technology and then the Capitol Radio Engineering Institute.

1960 - FRANKLIN MONROE BROWN

Franklin and Ardna were married June 26, 1946, and they have three children: Richard Alan, 1948; Robert Monroe, 1950; and Joanne Mauree, 1964.

Franklin indicates that he is a member of the Presbyterian Church, his political affiliation is with the Republican Party, and he is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. His occupation as an engineer has been with these companies:

• 1940-1941 Electrical engineer, Klamath Iron Works, Klamath Falls, Ore

• 1941-1949 President &, Chief engineer, BECO, Portland, Oregon

• 1949-1953 President & Chief Engineer, Brown Electro-Measurement Corp.

• 1954-1957 Research Director, OECO Corporation, Portland, Oregon

• 195B-1960 President & Chief Engineer, Hinco, Inc., Portland, Oregon

• 1960-1964 Senior engineer & Chief Engineer, Fluke Mfg. Co., Seattle

• 1965-1970 Chief Engineer, President, ARCO Inc., Kirkland, Washington

• 1970     President & Chief Engineer, General Metrology Corp, Seattle

Franklin Brown is the author of several Military Technical Manuals, and papers relating to the theory and operation of various electronic equipment and components. He has also issued several patents in the fields of mechanical and electronic devices.

Franklin became interested in the earth sciences as early as the 7th grade in school although he remembers an extensive agate collection that started when he was in the second grade in a school in the Rogue River Valley near upper "Table Rock." The contemplation of the origin of the "Tables" in the Rogue River Valley was most intriguing. Crater Lake was also fascinating to him. His other hobbies have been astronomy and photography.

In about 1936 several papers by Professor Warren D. Smith of the University of Oregon came to his attention and renewed his interest in geology. In the early 1940's the book, The Scenic Treasure House of Oregon turned him into a "geological explorer." He became a member of the Society in 1955 and soon learned "to appreciate the friendship and many sources of knowledge within the Society."

His theme during his presidency was "Be thankful for the help you get from the 'Old Timers' for because of them you leave a meeting richer than you came." He was field trip chairman for three years (rained out only once) and served as president from March to July of I960 when the Browns moved to Edmonds, Washington.

1960 President Robert Fisher Wilbur

Robert Fisher Wilbur was born in Omaha, Nebraska, April 11, 1895, and "arrived with the last snow fall of the season, so I've been told." His parents were Edward C. Wilbur and Elva Fisher, both of Omaha. His father's occupation was Railway freight-Rate Specialist.

1961 - ROBERT FISHER WILBUR

Young Bob attended primary schools and later the secondary Central High School in Omaha. He entered Oregon Agricultural College at Corvallis in January 1917 on returning from the Pancho Villa Campaign in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. He took a "recess" from April 1917 to August 1919 for machine-gun service in France (World War I). He was wounded in the Somme Offensive, hospitalized in London and Marseille. In 1919 be returned to OAC and in 1923 was graduated with a degree of BS in Agriculture, majoring in plant pathology.

Over the years, Bob was Scoutmaster in Corvallis and also in Nogales, Arizona; Commander of the American Legion in Milton; president of the Federal Employees Union in Nogales; Member of GSOC and the society's Treasurer, Vice-President, Business Manager of the News Letter; and President following the resignation of Franklin Monroe Brown. His term of office was from July 10, I960 to March 10 1961.

In August 1924, Bob married Perle (Polly) Johnson of Milton-Freewater, who died in 1947. Their two daughters, both married, are Elaine Allison of Lake Oswego and Gail Linder of San Diego. There are seven grandchildren.

Mr. Wilbur's occupations have included the following: Agent, U.S. Bureau of Plant Industry on white pine blister-rust control in western Oregon, 1921; Deputy State Horticultural Inspector for Benton and Linn Counties and later for Morrow and Umatilla Bounties, 1922-1929; Assistant County Agricultural Agent for Umatilla and Morrow Counties, 1923-1924; Plant virus research on certain crop diseases at the Hermiston Experiment Station in 1928 and 1929. From 1929 to 1961 he was Plant Pathologist with the U.S. Bureau of Agriculture in Plant Quarantine Service - first at Nogales, Arizona, then in Seattle, Washington, and finally in Portland. He retired in 1961, at which time he received a letter of appreciation from the Secretary of Agriculture.

His hobbies are geology and paleontology. He gave his large collection of fossils and rocks to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry as a working collection for students in 1968.

Mr. Wilbur reports that his interest in geology was a gradual development. He writes as follows:

"The subject became increasingly interesting to me as the result of observation and reading. While driving from Portland and Seattle to the various sea ports, during the years I was on Federal plant quarantine inspection work, my curiosity was aroused by a number of phenomena. Starting at the home sea port of Portland, there was the Mount Tabor Crater with its mouth choked with water-worn gravel. How come?

"West of McMinnville, on the way to Coos Bay, I saw that big rock on a hill top, reportedly dropped there by an iceberg. How come?

"At Cape Arago near the lighthouse the strata were all up-ended. How come?

"After pondering over these and many other puzzling features, I determined to learn more about geology, and the only logical way seemed that of joining an organization that fostered such educational endeavors. I joined the Geological Society of the Oregon Country in 1948 as a follow-up to an Oregonian announcement regarding the regular meeting and program at the Public Library."

1961 President John Hayne Hammond

John Hayne Hammond is a native Oregonian both by birth and interest. He was born on August 17, 1911, in Oregon City. His education was attained in the local schools. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Oregon in 1937, and the D.M.D. in 1942, from the North Pacific College of Dentistry, now the University of Oregon Dental School..

1961 - JOHN HAYNE HAMMOND

Dr. Hammond has practiced dentistry in Oregon since returning from the service of World War II as a commissioned Major. His office is in the McCald Building at Oregon City. He is a member of the Academy of General Dentistry.

In 1937 he married Esther H. Reiner. They have two children. John Hayne Jr., was born in 1943 and is married to Paula Biggs. John is an enthusiastic Camp Hancock alumnus. At present he is serving in the army as a Captain and is an attorney in the Judge Advocate General's office at Fort Rucker Alabama. Their daughter, Anne Catherine was born in 1945 and is married to Donald Gassaway. They have two children, Kari Anne, and Ronald Mason, and live in Oak Grove.

The organizations which attest his native interest claim him as a member and officer. He is past president of the Native Plant Society of Oregon, past Oregon Chairman of the Nature Conservancy, member of the Forest Park Committee of 50, Member of the Oregon City Color-slide Club, and President of the Portland Christian Institute. Dr. Hammond considers himself to be an amateur botanist. He is a photographer specialist of native Oregon plants, flowers, and birds of which he has over 4000 slides that he uses in his many lectures to nature and garden clubs.

When asked about the beginnings of his interest in geology, Dr. Hammond thoughtfully remembered his early curiosities. While in the service, he studied conchology at St. Petersburg, Florida. He roamed the estuaries of Tampa Bay and Boca Ciega while making a special study of the ancient corals. Many earth science projects were coordinated with these nature studies.

When his son, John, was boy scout age, Dr. Hammond organized the first Natural Science Post in the Columbia Council 770 of the Boy Scouts of America and was their leader with the assistance of Murray Miller for nine years. Through the association and. the interest of Leo Simon in nature and photography, James Stauffer in conservancy and geology, and Murray Miller in natural and earth sciences, Dr. Hammond soon found his friends' urgency attractive to join them on a geological field trip. He acquired an immediate taste for the Society's activities and continues to enjoy both meetings and friendships.

1962 President Leonard Hatsil Delano

Leonard Hatsil Delano was born on August 30, 1908, in Seattle, Washington. He is the son of Hatsil O. Delano from Humburd, Wisconsin, and Nancy S. Suit of Sardis, Kentucky. When a very small boy he and his parents moved to a farm in Clackamas County, Oregon, where his brother, Howard, still resides. His father was employed for 16 years as chief inspector for the railroad's Interstate Commerce Inspection Bureau.

1962 - LEONARD HATSIL DELANO

Mr. Delano attended Benson Polytechnic High School and was a member of the class of 1930 at the University of Oregon where he belonged to Sigma Delta Chi, the honorary journalism fraternity. His major journalism professor was Dr. Eric W. Allen father of Dr. John Eliot Allen. He took courses in geology and geography from Dr. Warren D. Smith.

On July 18, 1937 Leonard married Emily L. McCornack of a pioneer Oregon family to which Ellen Condon McCornack was related. They have two sons. Douglas, born Feb. 22, 1940 and his wife, Jennie, have two daughters: Darcie and Julie. They live at Lake Grove. Leonard Jr., born, March 20, 1942, is presently working and attending school in Chicago.

Leonard and Emily own the Delano Photographics, aerial surveys and commercial photography, and the Western Mapping Company, a photogrammetric mapping firm which they have operated for more than 30 years.

The many local and national mapping societies vie for time in his busy schedule. In 1969, he was general chairman for the national convention of the American Society of Photogrammetry and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. He is past president of the local American Society of Photogrammetry.

Aerial photography and mapping work further triggered an interest in geological land formations. Evening classes in the earth sciences taught by Dr. Ruth Hopson Keen were found to be most stimulating and informative. Before becoming president of the Geological Society of the Oregon Country, Leonard served as program chairman.

His affiliations have been continuous in the Masonic lodge and the Presbyterian church.

1963 President Albert Richard Kenney

Albert Richard Kenney, Sr., was born on December 7, 1913, at Reuben, Josephine County, Oregon, the eldest son of James Peter and Opal Harlin Kenney. Reuben then was a "whistle-stop" on the Southern Pacific Railroad and is no longer in existence. With the responsibility of a child, his father had just given up gold mining as an occupation for that of a railroad employee which offered a more reliable income.

Albert received his grammar school education at Metzger, Oregon, and was graduated from Tigard Union High School at Tigard, Oregon. The depression prevented him from using the science scholarship which he had received. As an alternative he pursued his interest in the natural sciences by attending night school whenever he could. The depression further directed his steps to the CCC Camps where again he was in contact with the natural world.

Albert moved to Portland and became an employee of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Here he married Laurette Wheeler and together they reared three sons, Albert Richard, Jr., Charles Harlin and Robert Roland. Their first date reflected their interest in science for she took him on a tour of the museums and animal department of the University of Oregon Medical School upon which campus she was employed. During a portion of World War II Albert was in the service of the U.S. Army and was stationed at Camp Wolters, Texas.

1963 - ALBERT RICHARD KENNEY

After the war, prompted by the desire to rear their children outside of a city and their love of the ocean and marine zoology, Albert and Laurette moved to Netarts, Oregon. While living at the coast, Albert searched out the Astorian fossils up and down the coast.

While living at Netarts, Albert went into the employment service of the State of Oregon at Tillamook. The office was adjacent to the Chamber of Commerce. Learning through this office of Camp Hancock, he volunteered and served as counselor for three consecutive summers. It was through the contacts there he learned of and joined the Geological Society. He had served as President of the Tillamook Rock Hounds, the one local society that approached his interests.

Albert tells this story of the incident which kindled his interest in geology. With the advent of the Model T. Ford, touring became a vogue. His parents became addicted to this mode of recreation. They would bundle their four offspring into the Ford and away they would go. It happened at the Oregon Caves. As children were not permitted on the tours of the caves at that time, Albert's parents instructed him to take care of his brothers and sister while they made the tour. It was very evident that Albert was disgruntled. A lady noticed and as an effort to pacify a heart-broken boy, she directed his attention to fossils which were in a nearby bank. This kindled an interest that never waned.

As his predecessor, Leonard Delano, had instituted the practice of pursuing a theme for his term of office which was photogrammetry, Albert chose the Geophysical Provinces of Oregon.

President Kenney instituted the first President's Camp-out which was a week long caravan trip through the Steens Mountains. The banquet for 1964 was the first to be held at Portland State College, now Portland State University.

Historical note from Carol Hasenberg in 2024:

Albert Kenney married Rosemary Richartz in 1972 and the couple moved to Australia, where Rosemary worked as a dietician at the Royal Adelaide Hospital until 1979. Then she and Albert returned to Portland, where Albert died in the mid-1980’s. Rosemary Kenney then became GSOC President in 1989. Rosemary died in 2024 at the age of 97.