Rocknocker: A Geologist’s Memoir. George Devries Klein
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Preface
Since my days as an undergraduate geology student, I read many memoirs and biographies about geologists, both the pioneers of the early days of this science, as well as those I met. The ones I recall in order of their being read are:
Fenton, Carol L, 1952, Giants of geology.
Youngquist, W. L., 1966, Over the Hill and Down the Creek: Caldwell, ID, Caxton Printers, 322 p.
Pettijohn, F.J., 1984, Memoirs of an unrepentant field geologist: Univ. of Chicago Press
Scott, H.W., 1986, The Sugar Creek Saga: Ann Arbor, MI, Cushing Malloy, 308 p.
Rodgers, John, 1999, The company I kept: The autobiography of a geologist: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. DuBar, J.R., 2004, Never piss into the wind: Baltimore, MD, Publish America, 343 p.
Friedman, G.M., 2006, Saxa Loquntur (Rocks Speak): The Life and Times of the Geologist: SEPM Foundation Publication.
I also read Dan Merriam’s well written and informative biography of Raymond C. Moore, one of my professors at the University of Kansas:
Merriam, D.F., 2007, Raymond Cecil Moore: Legendary Scholar and Scientist: Univ. of Kansas Dept. of Geology and Paleontological Institute Spec. Pub. 5.
Perhaps the most compelling and the best geological memoir I ever read is by a fellow-graduate student at the University of Kansas where I earned my M.A in geology in 1957. It is:
Fisher, W.L., 2008, Leaning Forward: A Memoir: Texas Bureau of Economic Geology.
It details Bill’s life from humble origins, to army service, to graduate education, and a distinguished career in scientific research, science administration, and a sub-cabinet appointment. It was, in fact, Bill Fisher who suggested I write my memoirs because as he wrote, “You have a few good tales to tell also.”
My approach to this Memoir differs slightly from other memoirs. First, each chapter ends with a section on Lessons Learned. One reviewer, Gerald J. Kuecher, recommended including such a section. Second, I added postscripts at the end of some of the chapters. These items are relevant to that chapter and provide additional context.
Because I am writing this book from memory, some details may be sketchy, and some names forgotten or misspelled. Nearly all the dialog and quotes are accurate because some quotes one never forgets. I made an honest effort to be as accurate as I could.
In this memoir, whenever I introduce a person, I add information about their degrees and a brief career description. I do so to provide perspective about them. Again, this information comes from memory so details may be incomplete.
This Memoir is organized into two parts. Part I provides a chronological autobiography. Part II treats several topics that could not be blended successfully into Part I but deserve inclusion.
I thank Robert Isham Auler, William L. Fisher and Gerald J. Kuecher for reading parts or all of an earlier manuscript version of this book and helping improve it. However, all errors and omissions are solely my responsibility. I also thank Peter C. Patton of Wesleyan University for providing critical information about the early history of the Wesleyan University Department of Geology some of which is included herein.
PART I:
Chronological Events and Experiences
Chapter 1
Early Childhood (1933-1939)
I was born on January 21, 1933, and as my parents told me many years later, around 11:00 PM. My arrival startled both the doctors on duty and my parents because the predicted birth date was January 22. I was not expected for another nine or ten hours. Clearly, I wanted to get on with my life right away. This habit of arriving early stayed with me for the rest of my life.
My father, Alfred R. H. Klein, was born on May 31, 1900, in Munich, Germany, where his family lived before moving to Vienna, Austria. On completing high school, he went to a one-year business college, and then immigrated to The Netherlands where he started his career with the Mepel Company. He lived frugally, and saved his money.
Mepel was in the import-export business focusing mostly on waste materials from manufacturing high quality paper. Together with one of his co-workers who he befriended, they bought the business. They sold their product throughout Europe and the USA, including sisal discarded from paper manufacturing. It was used as insulation in automobiles between the carpeting and the floor boards. My dad made several marketing trips to the USA and established a wide network of contacts in New York, Detroit, Chicago and Roanoke, VA. It provided a good income and although the depression caused a downturn, Mepel survived.
My mother, Doris deVries, was born in Krefeld, Germany on April 15, 1906. That location was an accident because of her father’s business. He owned a wall-paper manufacturing company in The Netherlands, with a branch factory in Krefeld, Germany. Her family spent time in both the Netherlands and Krefeld while grandfather supervised operations. When my grandmother was due with my mother, they were in Krefeld.
My parents met each other through mutual friends and married in 1928. When they met, she was in university studying psychology but never finished. When both my sister and I left to attend university, she learned ceramics and became a world-recognized potter. She displayed her pieces at art museums in New York, London, and Tokyo. My father built a studio for her in the basement of the last home they owned together.
My birthplace was s’Gravenhage, Netherlands, commonly known as “Den Haag” (The Hague), the seat of the Dutch government. We lived in an upscale suburb, Wassenaar, at 16 Zuidwerfplein. The house was a two-story town row-house built during the early 1920’s at the end of the row on a street corner. I also had a sister, Marianne, who was four years older. My grandparents passed away before I was born.
I don’t recall much about the house or my life there. Five things I remember. First, I apparently was interested in gravity experiments. We owned a cat (Franci) and I used to pick it up, carry it up the stairs to the second floor, and let the cat fall to the first floor to watch it land on its four feet. Eventually, my parents discovered this and immediately ordered me to stop or ELSE!!
The second thing I recall was at age three, I didn’t like vegetables. My parents insisted I eat them. I kept them in my cheeks and after dinner, went to the toilet, spat the veggies out, and flushed them down the drain. Once my parents discovered this habit, it also came to a stop.
I recall an unhappy incident involving my sister. We never enjoyed the most comfortable or filial relationship and one day I provoked her too much while we were playing in a sandbox in the backyard. She hit me over my left eyebrow with a kiddy shovel. My mother witnessed this, rescued me, and provided first aid. No bones were broken and I still have the scar today. But, in time she was forgiven.
Fourth, when I wasn’t attending the local Montessori School, I spent my time at a nearby gasoline station. The attraction wasn’t the late model automobiles. The owner had two daughters and they were not only attractive, but were much nicer to me than my sister. My parents tolerated my time with the “benzene miesieje’s” (gasoline girls) but were less than approving of it.
Then there were the trips to Scheveningen’s beach, the Christmas pastries, trips to Alkmaar, a trip to Switzerland, outings to The Feivre, a famous pond in The Hague, and learning ice skating on local canals. In short, I experienced a reasonably pleasant childhood.
Near my fifth birthday, we had visitors. They were relatives, all on my father’s side. First to arrive were my aunt Gretel, her husband and two sons. They lived in Vienna and decided to leave. My father arranged immigration visas to Australia and they settled in Sydney, Australia.
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