GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
January 9, 1957
The 768th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, January 9, 1957, at 8:00 P. M. ,
Vice-President Paul Averitt presiding.
Mr. Averitt commented on the conspicuous absence of President
Johnston and Vice-President Greig, who shortly after
their election to office managed to find more pressing business away from
Washington, leaving the Society affairs in the frail hands of the incumbent
presiding officer.
The minutes of the 767th meeting were read and approved.
The Secretary announced the election to active membership of
the following: William R. Barton, Jr., Donald J. Casey, Maurice Grolier,
Raymond P. Keroher, David V. Lewis, Birute Saldukas, George E. Stoertz, James C. Warman, all U.
S. Geological Survey; Richard A. Page, U. S. National Museum.
The regular program followed:
K. H. Wedepohl, Mineralogic
and Petrologic Institute,
H. G. Thomasson, U. S. Geological
Survey - Ground water problems in the southwest. Extended by Sayre, and
discussed briefly by Woodring, Thayer, and Henbest.
G. A. Cooper, National Museum- Evolution of the spiny
brachiopods. Discussed by White, Berdan, Sayre.
Distinguished visitor, Dr. Olaf Holtedahl,
Professor of Historical Geology and head of the department at
Attendance: 123.
The meeting adjourned at 9:55 P. M.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
January 23, 1957
The 769th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, January 23, 1957, at 8 P.M., Vice-President
Paul Averitt presiding.
The minutes of the 768th meeting were read and approved.
The election to active membership of the following was
announced: Leonard S. Dimbinski and Charles H.
McCurdy, Navigation Section, Hydrographic Office; Roberta Dymond,
Geochemistry and Petrology Br., U. S. G. S.
An invitation to attend a symposium and panel discussion,
sponsored by D. C. Engineer and Architect Societies, on technological advances
in the Soviet Union (chief topics, Automation and Nuclear Energy) at 10 A. M.,
February 20, in the Willard Hotel ballroom was announced.
Plans to resume publication of the Proceedings of the
Geological Society of Washington in the Journal of the Washington Academy of
Sciences were also announced.
A visitor, Mr. Phor Siggerud, petrologist and uranium geologist of the
Norwegian Geological Survey, was introduced to the Society.
Vice-President Paul Averitt announced the death of James
Steele Williams on January 16, 1957.
A memorial to N. L. Bowen was read by Frank Schairer.
The regular program followed:
K. C. Dunham,
Paul C. Bateman, U. S. Geological Survey:- Characteristics of
some eastern
Attendance: 165.
The meeting adjourned at 9.:40 P. M.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
February 13, 1957
The 770th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, February 13, 1957, at 8 P. M., Vice-President
Paul Averitt presiding.
The minutes of the 769th meeting were read and approved. Mr. Woodring's
request that his name be deleted as a discusser of Paul Bateman's talk on the
The Secretary announced the election to active membership of
the following: Arthur R. Kinkel, Cleaves L. Rogers,
Charles W. Spencer, all U. S. Geological Survey.
Announcement was made of a panel discussion meeting of the
Pick and Hammer Club to be held February 20 at the Raleigh Hotel. Discussion
topic, "What minor metals mean in the world of today and tomorrow. "
A memorial to William F. Foshag was
read by George Switzer.
James Balsley announced the criteria
to be used by the current Awards Committee in judging prize winning talks. The
principal items to be considered by the Committee are: 1. Quality of subject
matter; 2. Organization; 3. Selection of illustrations; 4. Delivery; and 5. The
speaker's handling of discussion.
Vice-President Paul Averitt urged on behalf of the Council
that more informal communications be presented to. the Society. Scheduled or unscheduled talks on geologic or
related subjects that can be presented in 10 minutes or less were solicited.
The regular program followed:
J. T. Hack:- Erosive work of great rainfalls or gully washers
in the
W. J. Dempsey:- Use of aeromagnetic data to determine regional
basement topography. Discussed by Cohee, Mason,
Whitmore, and White.
Douglas Ball and A. S. Wyner:-
Underground natural gas storage for the
Attendance: 181.
The meeting adjourned at 10:03 P. M.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
February 27, 1957
The 771st meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, February 27, 1957, at 8:00 P. M.,
Vice-President Paul Averitt presiding.
The minutes of the 770th meeting were read and approved.
The presiding officer announced that the Joint Board of
Science Education in the Greater Washington area has asked the aid of the
Geological Society of Washington. The Society was asked to help by supporting
the Joint Board with services of individuals within its membership and with
funds to help defray costs of such activities as the Annual Science Fair.
Informal communications:
Gordon Wolman: An experimental flume for sedimentation
studies.
Wendell Woodring: First successful
oil well in
The regular program followed:
T. P. Thayer--Some relations of later Tertiary volcanology and structure in eastern
J. R. Vallentyne,
H. A. Meyerhoff--Evolution of
Appalachian drainage; a reinterpretation from geologic evidence. Discussed by
Mason, Goldman, Waters.
Attendance 140.
The meeting adjourned at 10:00 P. M.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
March 13, 1957
The 772nd meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, March 13, 1957, at 8:00 P.M.,
Vice-President Paul Averitt presiding.
The minutes of the 771st meeting were read and approved.
The election to active membership of the following was announced:
Richard S. Mitchell, Department of Geology, University of Virginia; Pauline Moyd, Yonkers, N. Y.; Hsin-Yuan-Tu,
David L. Durham, Elizabeth G. Newton, James V. A. Trumbull, all U. S.
Geological Survey.
The Secretary announced that the Council had voted to make a
contribution by the Society of $100. to the Joint Board of Science Education in
the Greater Washington area.
Dr. James Harrison, Director of the Geological Society of
Canada, was introduced to the Society.
Informal communications:
Luna B. Leopold,
Meyer Rubin, U. S. G. S. - A carbon 14 age determination of a
Pleistocene section near
Francis Johnston, Army Corps of Engineers - Review of a text
book on coastal and submarine geomorphology, by Andre Guilcher,
titled "Morphologie littorale
et sous-marine," published in
The regular-program followed:
David B. Stewart, U. S. G. S. - Some feldspar problems.
Earl M. Irving, U. S. G. S. - Regional geology of the
Robert B. Neuman and A. R. Palmer,
U. S. G. S. – Critique of Eocambrian and Infracambrian.
Discussed by Woodring and Goldman.
Attendance 152.
The meeting adjourned at 9:51 P. M.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
March 27, 1957
The 773d meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, March 27, 1957, at 8:00 P. M., President
W. D. Johnston, Jr., presiding.
The minutes of the 772d meeting were read and approved.
The election to active membership of the following was
announced: Arden Albee, Jack Meuschke, Andrew Griscom, Howard
Oliver, all U. S. Geological Survey.
Informal communications:
W. D. Johnston,- Jr. - Some recent foreign affairs of the
Geological Society of Washington.
Sam Altschuler, U. S. G. S. -
Geologic features of the Dead Sea Rift Valley and Negev area, Israel and
Jordan. Discussed by Henry Faul.
The regular program followed:
Isidore Adler - Some applications of X-ray
fluorescent spectroscopy. Discussed by Balsley and Faul.
Robert G. Schmidt - Titaniferous
sedimentary rocks in the Cuyuna district,
G. E. Andreasen and Isidore Zietz - Limiting
parameters in the aeromagnetic interpretation of a geologic structure.
Discussed by White, Graham, James, Faul, Thayer, Balsley, Phair, Klemic, Johnston, and Lasky.
Attendance 101.
The meeting adjourned at 9:35 P. M.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary Report
April 12, 1957
The 774th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, April 10, 1957, at 8:00 P. M. President
W. D. Johnston, Jr., presiding.
The minutes of the 773d meeting were read and approved.
The election to active membership of the following was
announced: James R. Burns and William R. Matheny, U. S. Geological Survey.
The Secretary announced that the Pick and Hammer show, Omnibust or As ye sow, so shall ye weep, will be presented
Friday, April 26, 8:15 P. M., at the Washington-Lee High School, 1300 N. Quincy
Street, Arlington, Va.
Informal communications:
Ellis L. Yochelson - The Recent Mollusc - Neopilina. Discussed by Dutro, Woodring,
Milton, Thayer, Sayre, and Loeblich.
The regular program followed:
W. P. Woodring - Geology of
R. C. Douglass - Significance and distribution of Orbitolina. Discussed.by Woodring, Sayre, Loeblich, and Lohman.
L. C. Pakiser - Gravity studies of
structure in the earth's crust. Discussed by Guild, Bates, Balsley,
Carder, and
Attendance 114.
The meeting adjourned at 9:45 P. M.
George V. Cohee
Acting for Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
April 24, 1957
The 775th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, April 24, 1957, at 8:00 P. M. President
W. D. Johnston, Jr., presiding.
The minutes of the 774th meeting were read and approved.
The election to active membership of the following was
announced: Joseph E. Worthington, Army, Beach Erosion Board; Thomas M. Davis,
Navy, Hydrographic Office; Grace Brush and Lucien M. Brush, Geological Survey.
Informal communications:
Irving Friedman – Vesiculation in
glassy rocks.
The regular program followed:
R. L. Nace – Hydrology of the
A. R. Kinkel – Copper deposits of
the
Harley Barnes – Geology of a Philippine coal field. Discussed by Murata.
Attendance 98.
The meeting adjourned at 9:50 p. m.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
May 8, 1957
The 776th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, May 8, 1957, at 8:05 p.m., President W.
D. Johnston, Jr., presiding.
The minutes of the 775th meeting were read and approved.
Informal communication:
Gregory Sohn - Ostracods
from the Morrison formation and Inyan Kara group of
the
The regular program followed:
Ellis Yochelson - The Lower
Ordovician gastropod, Ceratopea.
Discussed by Dutro and Faul.
Isidore Zietz - How
significant can a figure be? Discussed
by Lohman, Dempsey, Felix, Fleischer, Eisenhart, and Yochelson.
Irving Friedman and R. L. Smith - The origin of water in some
volcanic glasses. Discussed by Anderson, Peck, Roedder, and Murata.
Attendance 99.
The meeting adjourned at 9:55 p. m.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
October 9, 1957
The 777th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, October 9, 1957, at 8 p. m. President W.
D. Johnston Jr. presiding.
The minutes of the 776th meeting were read and approved.
The resignations of the following members of the Society were
announced: R. C. Jensen, Martin Prochnik. D. E.
Outlaw, J. D. Sargent.
The names of members who had passed away during the year were
announced.
Deaths of the following members of the Society were announced:
Leona Boardman, Walter C. Mendenhall, Laurence P. Buck, John C. Rabbitt (not a member), Nicholas Shreders,
Emma M. Thom, James Steele Williams (announced earlier).
The membership of a committee appointed during the summer
months by President Johnston for the purpose of bringing geology to the
attention of the Boy Scouts of the Greater Washington area was announced:
Douglas M. Kinney, Chairman, and Montgomery Co. representative, I. G. Sohn (Eastern part of the District of Columbia), Louis C.
Conant (Western part of the District of Columbia), Donald R. Wiesnet (Arlington County), Holly C. Wagner (Prince Georges
County), C. F. Stewart Sharpe (Fairfax
County).
Douglas Kinney reported on activities and plans of the Boy
Scouts Committee.
A visitor, Gunner Henningsmoen, of
the
President Johnston announced that prizes have been established
for the two best papers presented before the Society in 1957.
The regular program followed:
R. B. Guillou and R. G. Bates--The
correlation of airborne radioactivity data and aerial geology. Discussed by
White, Smith, Ingerson, Milton, and unidentified
gentlemen.
G. R. Tilton--Are tektites out of this world? Discussed by Ingerson, Rubey, Roedder,
Friedman, Goldman, Benson, Faul, Tracey, and an
unidentified gentleman.
Attendance: 114.
The meeting adourned at 9:45 p. m.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
October 23, 1957
The 778th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmo Club, Wednesday evening, October 23, 1957, at 8 p. m., with the
President, W. D. Johnston, Jr. presiding.
The minutes of the 777th meeting were read and approved.
The election to active membership of the following was
announced: Gordon W. Prescott and Norman E. Taney, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers; Burton E. Ashley, U. S. Bureau of Mines; Allan Powers, U. S. Bureau
of Reclamation; Al S. Wyner, Ball Associates; Robert
L. Boardman, Lyman C. Huff, Robert S. Jones, Betsy Levin, Robert B. Raup, Jr., Donald C. Ross, Edward T. Ruppel,
Harry W. Smedes, Carol Turco,
Samuel J. Pollock, William L. Van Horn, Roger van Vloten,
Joseph I. Ziony, all U. S. Geological Survey.
A geologic field trip covering parts of
The regular program followed:
Recent Russian movie - The fall of Sikhote-alin
meteorite. The movie was introduced by Ed Henderson.
W. O. Robinson, Harry Bastron, and K.
J. Murata – Biogeochemistry of the rare earth elements with special reference
to the hickory tree. Discussed by Abelson, Friedman, Mertie, and Robinson.
H. W. Oliver - Testing isostasy in
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p. m.
Attendance: 116.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
November 13, 1957
The 779th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, November 13, 1957, at 8:05 p. m., with
the Vice-President J. W. Greig presiding.
The minutes of the 778th meeting were read and approved.
The election to active membership of the following were
announced: D. M. Raup, Department of Geology, Johns
Hopkins University; Arthur R. Kinkel, U. S. Bureau of
Mines; Wayne U. Ault, Fred Barker, and Wayne Chisholm, U. S. Geological Survey.
A memorial to James Steele Williams was presented by Wendell
P. Woodring.
The regular program followed:
W. H. Hass - Classification and stratigraphic range of disjunct conodonts. Discussed by Yochelson,
Faul, Gilully, Milton, Klemic, Gordon, Tracey, Cloud, and Cannon.
W. G. Pierce - Detachment thrusts, with special reference to
the
Attendance: 89.
The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p. m.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
November 27, 1957
The 780th meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, November 27, 1957, at 8:00 p. m., with
Vice-president J. W. Greig presiding.
Minutes of the 779th meeting were read and approved.
The election to active membership of the following was
announced: James L. Calver, State Geologist of
Virginia; Richard E. Grant, U. S. National Museum; Adrian F. Richards, U. S.
Navy Hydrographic Office; Deane Smith, U. S. Bureau of Standards; William A.
Oliver, W. O. Robinson, John Williams, U. S. Geological Survey.
Informal communication:
On behalf of the Society of Taxonomic Engineers, sometimes
known as the resurrected Paleontologic Society of
Washington, Thomas Dutro presented condolences to the Pick and Hammer Club for
the small attendance at a recent meeting held the same evening that the
Petrology Club met. Free beer was
recommended to entice a larger Pick and Hammer audience.
The regular program followed:
P. E. Cloud - Extinction. Discussed by White, Rubey, Graham, Lohman, and Abelson.
E. C. Robertson - Experimental consolidation of aragonite mud.
Discussed by Greig, Pecora,
Thayer, Cloud, Stewart, and Tracey.
D. S. Carder and L. F. Bailey, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
- Contributions of nuclear explosions to the knowledge of the earth's interior.
Discussed by Wetherill, Rubey,
and Faul.
Attendance: 126.
The meeting adjourned at 10:03 p. m.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
Secretary's Report
December 11, 1957
The 781st meeting of the Society was held in the Assembly Hall
of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday evening, December 11, at 8 p. m., Vice-President
J. W. Greig presiding.
The minutes of the 780th meeting were read and approved.
The election to active membership of the following was
announced: C. Ervin Brown, William L. Newman, John Horton, and Arthur E. Nelson,
all of the U. S. Geological Survey.
It was announced that new membership lists as of November 1957
had been distributed. A limited number of copies are still available from the
Secretary for members who have not received copies.
The regular program followed:
Meyer Rubin--New treatment and resulting C14 dates from the
Robert J. Braidwood--(Oriental Institute, University of
Attendance: 121.
The meeting adjourned at 9:32 p. m.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
65th ANNUAL MEETING
December 11, 1957
The 65th Annual Meeting of the Society was held in the
Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club, Wednesday, December 11, 1957, at 9:43. p. m.,
Vice. President J. W. Greig presiding.
The minutes of the 64th Annual Meeting were read and approved.
The annual report of the Secretaries for 1957 was read and
approved.
The annual report of the Treasurer for 1957 was presented by
Mary Mrose, who stated that there was a net decrease
of $86.17 in the Treasury for the year mostly due to the greater expenses for
Society meetings; two more than the normal number of meetings were held in
1957. W. T. Pecora
requested a breakdown of the costs of refreshment and rent of the meeting hall
and offered a motion that better beer be served at the meetings. The ;motion
was ruled out of order--as new business.
The report of the Auditing Committee, consisting of Marjorie
Hooker, Francis Wells, and Earl Ingerson (Chairman),
was read by Marjorie Hooker, who stated that the records were in good order and
commended the Treasurer with the following poem by inspired Chairman Ingerson:
"Your committee did audit the books
Checked the dues of the gals and the gooks
Found the bonds and the dough
And concluded just so
'The people in charge ain't the crooks. "'
The reports of the Treasurer and Auditing Committee were
accepted with appreciation by the Vice-President, after inquiries concerning
the investments of the Society had been answered. Motions by Cloud that better
beer be served and by Wolman that consideration be given to increasing dues if
necessary to provide better refreshments were ruled out of order as new
business.
The report of the Awards Committee, consisting of Kenneth Lohman, Jack Murata, Jack Tracey, and Tom Thayer
(Chairman), was presented. The first
prize of $20 was awarded to G. Arthur Cooper for his talk on "Evolution of
the spiny brachiopods;" second prize of $10 was awarded to John Hack for
his talk titled, "Erosive work of great rainfalls or gully washers in the
seems to be running down, so we will proceed with the next
paper." Honorable mention was given
Wendell Woodring for discussions made while speeches
were being given. (Harold James also seemed to be making a late application for
the cherished Cup in his award presentation. Secretary's note. )
As a matter of new business, Preston Cloud made a motion that
better beer be provided by the Council. Tom Lovering's
proposal that the Society use an almost unknown brand of beer was ruled out
because Lovering was only a corresponding member and
doubtlessly a stockholder in the little known brewery he recommended. None of
the motions were seconded, and no immediate action was taken. This was actually
very old business.
The Society then proceeded with the election of officers for
1958, the Vice-President announcing that the Nominating Committee had presented
a single slate of officers and a slate of 6 nominees to fill 3 vacancies as
Members at Large of the Council. It was noted that the nominations had not been
received by the Society membership a full two weeks before the Annual Meeting
as prescribed by the bylaws. Nominations
from the floor were invited. The same slates for officers and councilors was
nominated and seconded from the floor, and the nominations were closed. A
motion was made, seconded, and carried to cast an unanimous ballot for
President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. An unanimous ballot was
cast for the Society's nominee for Vice-President of the Washington Academy of
Sciences.
The election of Councilors was conducted. Tellers for the
balloting were Charles Milton (Chairman), Marjorie Hooker, and Sam Altschuler.
The following officers and councilors were elected:
President: Carle H. Dane
Vice-Presidents; Alice S. Allen, Lloyd C. Henbest
Secretary: Philip W. Guild
Treasurer: Mary E. Mrose
Members at Large of the Council (2-year terms): L. T. Aldrich,
Harold James, William R. Thurston
Vice-President,
About 100 members were present.
The meeting adjourned at 10:45 p. m.
Donald C. Duncan
Secretary
[For the record]
Sleeping Bear Award December 11, 1957
Selecting the winner of the Sleeping Bear trophy this year
offered a supreme challenge in jurisprudence. Should the committee be guided by
the letter or by the spirit of the terms for its award? Or should it, perhaps, go
even farther and attempt to fathom the devious objectives of the donor of the
trophy, whoever he may be?
As most of you know, the trophy shall be awarded to that
individual, be he geologist or outraged citizen of Lower Marlboro, who gives
the best discussion of a paper, or the best informal communication during the
year. A communication is apparently informal if its title doesn't appear on the
little card announcing the meeting. But there has been so much collusion this
year between the informal communicants and the man in the projection booth that
the committee decided, quite arbitrarily, to scratch all the entries in this
category.
This brings us to the people who discussed papers. And here we
must consider two classes: those who get up and discuss papers after they are
given, and those who discuss them from a sitting position while they are being
given. We understand from people who were close to Mr. Woodring
during some of the sessions that his comments had many of those qualities that
the Sleeping Bear esteems most highly. Unfortunately, your committee was never
foresighted enough to be within the 50-foot radius of the Inner Sanctum and
thus must reluctantly scratch him too. We respectfully suggest to Mr. Woodring that if he is really bucking for the trophy, he
supply himself with one of these loudspeaker things used on GSA field trips.
This brings us to those who stood up to discuss papers. We don't want to
disparage the fine battery of speakers we have had this year, but we must
confess to a large measure of disappointment at the neat dispatch with which
all the challengers have been dusted off by the speakers. It would be
depressing to think that speakers are gradually becoming invulnerable because
their arguments are so carefully reasoned--in fact, the idea is ridiculous. The
only alternative is to conclude that, none of the post-presentation discussions
this year have measured up to the high standards of the Sleeping Bear.
We have now disposed of both the post-presentation discussions
and the during-presentation discussion. This leaves only the pre-presentation
discussion. Here, quite unexpectedly, we hit a rich and unmined
vein. At least three of the meetings of
the past year will live long in our memories.
Among our cherished souvenirs will remain such gems as: "Our
speaker, Mr. Stewart, survivor of several summers with Pecora,
has clearly earned his Purple Heart;" "We introduce Mr. Neumann, who
will present a paper based on what he found up a dark hollow in the Smoky
Mountains;” and finally, "Thank you, Mr. Woodring.
The discussion seems to be running down, so we will proceed to the next paper.
"
Our candidate is a man who, with a dead pan, fried some of the
most august members of our society to a crisp, and who, with such delightful
aplomb, picked up the reins of office cast lightly aside by that slender reed,
our President. The committee awards the trophy to our Vice-President, Paul
Averitt.
Jack Stark
Walter White
Hal James, Chairman