THE FATHER OF
PENNSYLVANIA
OCEANOGRAPHY
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Ben Oostdam story # 566 THE FATHER OF
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Sometime in August, 1966, when I was teaching the first oceanography course at Millersville State College under the umbrella of Dr. Henderson's BIO 511 SEMINAR I told him that I had met both "Fathers of Marine Geology": my SIO Professor and Advisor Dr. Francis P. Shepard, author of "Submarine Geology", and Professor Dr. Philip H. Kuenen in Groningen, author of "Marine Geology". Since Alex was the man who had hired me specifically to set up a marine science program for PA State Colleges, I semi - facetiously said we could call him "The Father of PA Oceanography" - which he apparently liked and adopted thenceforward. I so much respected Alex that I tenaciously persisted in calling him: "Doctor Henderson" for years, even though he repeatedly asked me to call him "Alex"... It was also very easy to persuade him of the risky proposition to establish a non-profit corporation (ESRA) to circumvent the then powerful and autocratic DPI (Department of Public Instruction) with its oceans of red tape and to take advantage of his old friend Dr. Breidenstine to help us get the next non-profit launched: The Marine Science Consortium. It was Alex who prepared a list of 50 relevant items to help me when Dr. Christie called me on the carpet to justify ESRA though it was a slip of paper I had kept that saved us.. Together we called on Senator Snijder to help overrule the PA Governor's moratorium on spending, and save the $64K HEW matching Fund Grant we had received for the MSC oceanography program, including a catamaran, two 60 ft lab trailers and lots of simple oceanographic instruments and sampling devices. We kept working together for decades and in our retirement went for many Chinese and Oysterpie Dinners with our good friends Ken Miller, Harry Ashley, Luis Freily, Paul Billeter and others.  Alex's demise was a great shock and we send our sincere condolences to his lovely wife Adeline and son Alexander III and family. I guess that from now on I have to try and fill Alex's seaboots and settle for the title of "Stepson of Pennsylvania Oceanography"... LINKS: Initial Letter Sent to All PA STATE COLLEGES Environmental Science Research Associates website A narrative of the first years of The Marine Science Consortium The Marine Science Consortium - List of Documents TMSC Preluders 1965-8 R.V. "Lydia B" and ESRA - Christie Atlas of the Fishes of Chincoteague Bay APSCURF Newsletter article by Alex on the occasion of TMSC's 40th Anniversary in Dec. 2008 |
