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History of PGS

 

If you have any information to contribute regarding the history of the Philadelphia Geological Society, please contact the webmaster:

 

Historical information currently available includes a brief history of the society, lists of speakers since 1969, and a tabulation of past society officers and related information.

 

 

A Short History of the Philadelphia Geological Society

by Ben Greeley, President

Although there are rumors that the PGS began with Ben Franklin, the modern PGS was extant in the pre-War and post-War years. Its early incarnation was led by Professor Ed Watson of Bryn Mawr College, according to Bill Crawford. Unfortunately, details of meeting and speakers are lost to history. It was likely that speakers invited to give seminars to the students remained on campus through the evening to speak to the society.

 

The next incarnation of the Society was in the winter of 1960-61 when Dr. Howard A. Meyerhoff, then the chairman of the Department of Geology at the University of Pennsylvania, convened a meeting to organize the Society. In attendance were faculty from other colleges and representatives from academies and industry (see list below). A more formal organization with three elected officers was created (see List of Officers).

 

Mimeographed membership lists and financial statements from that time list the speakers’ surnames but specific information is missing. Dr. Lucian Platt recalled that meetings were in the afternoon. Active members attended from the greater Philadelphia area, representing not only the academic institutions but also Sun Oil Company and International Exploration. At least two field trips also took place, one of which was led by an Academy of Sciences paleontologist.

 

The speakers to the Society have been familiar to those in the local universities and colleges and some have been important to the history of geology (see List of Speakers). We have been fortunate to have AAPG Distinguished Lecturers and other speakers from around the country visit our group. The most frequent speaker has been Dr. Gene Ulmer, of Temple University. The topic most often presented has been exploration geophysics.

 

In 1979 an Ad Hoc Committee on Procedure formulated a formal mission statement (see home page). Lucian Platt, Ronald Hartman, and Alice Hoersch were the committee. The status of the PGS has followed the fortunes of the local geological community, swelling in membership in the 1980s. However, in 1996 dwindling meeting attendance prompted then Secretary-Treasurer David Smith to appeal to the membership to decide whether the PGS should continue as an organization. Fortunately, through the efforts of the officers since that time, the Society was not allowed to become moribund.

 

If you are reading this, then you have the desire to ensure that the PGS has not only a history, but a future as well. Please contribute any information you have about our past activities.

 

Many thanks to Mr. Heyward Wharton for compiling the list of officers and contributing the announcements, newsletters, meeting handouts, and financial statements from which we compiled the list of speakers and this history. Heyward began the PGS history project in 1996. We also acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Lucian Platt, Dr. Bill Crawford, and the late William Fergusson.

 

Partial list of attendees at 1960 organizational meeting (from William Fergusson)

 

Robert Chambers, Wagner Free Institute

Albert J. Depman

Lincoln Dryden, Bryn Mawr College

William Fergusson, Pennsylvania Railroad

Ronald Hartman, Academy of Natural Sciences paleontologist

Juliet Reed, Bryn Mawr College (possibly)

Irwin Remson, then at Drexel, later at Stanford

Horace Richards, University of Pennsylvania paleontologist

Dick Teichman, Pennsylvania Railroad

Edward Watson, Bryn Mawr College

 

PGS Lore on the Lighter Side

When Professor Ed Watson at Bryn Mawr led the PGS, the seminars included a significant social element well lubricated by the Society’s private supply of beer. On one occasion a distinguished visitor was being escorted around the school by the Bryn Mawr president. The Geology Department’s keg had been stored in the basement lab, which had overheated. The keg burst, spreading an odor unavoidable to notice. The department’s lab was of course on the visitor’s itinerary. No one said a word as Professor Watson led the president and her visitor around the Department. At the formal reception that evening, the president said to Watson with a gleam in her eye, “Oh, Edward, you thought you could pull a fast one on us, didn’t you?”

 

 

Philadelphia Geological Society Officers

 

Year

 

President

 

Secretary

 

Treasurer

Dues-

Paying

Members

Number

of

Meetings

1960–1965

No information.

1966

Alice Weeks

1967

Irwin Remson

1968

Albert W. Weeks

1969

Robert Greenwood

Juliet Reed

Albert W. Weeks

94

7

1970

Robert Greenwood

Juliet Reed

Albert W. Weeks

80

5

1971–1972

Ron A. Hartman

(VP: Robert Giegengack)

Bruce Saunders

Albert W. Weeks

91

6

1973–1974

Albert W. Weeks

72

5

1975

Albert W. Weeks

59

5

1976

William Crawford

Albert W. Weeks

76

6

1977

Albert W. Weeks

77

5

1978–1979

William Fergusson

Albert W. Weeks

72

5

1980

Alice M. Hoersch

69

6

1981

Alice M. Hoersch

67

5

1982

William A. Crawford

Barry Bergman

64

6

1983

William A. Crawford

Barry Bergman

1984–1987

No information.

1988–1989

Robert Giegengack

Richard Bischke

1990

Robert Giegengack

Bud Alcock

1991–1992

Bud Alcock

1993

Maria Luisa Crawford

1994–1995

Danielle Michelman

David Smith

1996

Henry Bienkowski

David Hassrick

1997–1999

Benjamin Greeley

Henry Bienkowski

2000–

Benjamin Greeley

Joseph Tomalavage

This table was compiled by Ben Greeley from information kindly provided by long-time member Heyward Wharton.

 


Last revised: 12 September 2016