These are the men and women who held offices in the Corpus Christi Geological Society but they are not the only ones who contributed to its success. Each year there are ten to twenty committees, which do much of the work for the society. Often, but not always, these committee chairmen take one of the offices listed above. Committee chairmen work with officers to make the society function.
Caroline Duffield was a long time aid to the Corpus Christi Geological Society. She started working for the society soon after its organization and continued until her death. She printed and mailed the bulletin and other mailings. She helped maintain membership rolls and mailing lists. She printed guidebooks and other society publications. Her dedication to the Corpus Christi Geological Society was unequaled.
Another individual who younger geologists will never have the privilege of knowing was Jeff Jeffries. Jeff was a founder and part owner of Nixon Blue Print Company. Early in Nixon’s operations, Jeff saw a need for someone to maintain electric logs from South Texas wells. Nixon Blue Print Company maintained copies of the logs and Jeff was always eager to help in identifying a log that might have a different name or something else that made it difficult to find. He had a phenomenal memory when it came to South Texas electric logs. Both Caroline and Jeff were given special recognition by the society.
The objective of the Corpus Christi Geological Society has always been to promote the science of geology, particularly as it relates to the geology of South Texas. To accomplish this objective, the society has undertaken a variety of projects. Since its inception, the society has met to discuss geology. Speakers at these meetings have been both members and guests. Members, and others, have contributed to publications to aid fellow geologists better understand South Texas geology. The bulletin has grown from a newsletter type publication to a magazine with technical articles, news of members, and activities of the society. Field trips are sponsored by the society to help members interpret what they may suspect in the subsurface. Often guidebooks are published for these field trips which may help other geologists. Type logs of certain fields are published to help in establishing a consistency of terminology. Field studies and a Rwa catalog have been published. Cross sections showing general geology of the Gulf Coast are available from the society. The society regularly offers continuing education courses for all geologists. As new ideas and concepts are developed, the society tries to present them to the membership.
Under the guidance of Owen Hopkins, the Society has undertaken a, “Maps in the Schools,” program. Object of this program is to place a geological map of North America in each school in the Coastal Bend to expose students to the science of geology and encourage them to enter the profession. The program has been funded by contributions from members of the Society and a variety of sources. Another project along the same line is establishment of a paleontological exhibit in the newly remodeled Northwest Branch of the Corpus Christi Public Library.
The Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies was formed in 1951 to aid the local societies in their objectives of furthering knowledge of geology. The first meeting of the GCAGS was in New Orleans, Louisiana and the second was in Corpus Christi. W. M. Chaddick, Jr., who was president of the Corpus Christi Geological Society in 1951 was the second president of the GCAGS. That meeting drew over 1,000 geologists and their spouses to Corpus Christi, with 800 of the attendees from outside of the city. The GCAGS affiliated with AAPG in 1967 and is now the Gulf Coast Section of AAPG. Meetings of GCAGS are rotated among the member societies. Corpus Christi held the convention again in 1958 with E. A. Lohse as president and R. C. Wilshusen as convention chairman. The convention returned in 1964 with Earl Knott as president and Byron Dyer as convention chairman. Don Boyd was president when it returned in 1972 and Jerry Sides was convention chairman. Paul Strunk was president of the 1981 convention and Wilson Humphrey chairman. The 1989 convention had Bill Payne president and Gerry Heinzelmann chairman. The 1998 GCAGS convention held in Corpus Christi had Bob Travis president and Gloria Sprague convention chairman. The 2007 GCAGS convention had Dan Pedrotti and Brent Hopkins as convention cochairmen and Gloria Sprague president. Paul Strunk and Don Boyd are honorary members of GCAGS, in recognition of the support they have given to that organization. GCAGS awarded Gloria Sprague the Distinguished Service Award in 1999 in recognition of her work for the organization.
The Corpus Christi Geological Society decided to go it alone with 2007 convention rather than enlisting the help of AAPG in putting on the convention. Through the effort of many geologist who worked on the convention, the Society was able to make a little money from it.
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At the 2000 meeting of GCAGS, held in Houston, the Don R., Boyd Medal for Excellence in Gulf Coast Geology was created to honor Don Boyd. The Boyd Medal is to be awarded for (1) excellence in research, (2) professional leadership, (3) and oil and gas exploration. It is not necessary that the award be made each year, but when it is awarded, the Boyd Medal is to be the highest award given by GCAGS. This honor given to Don Boyd is unique for GCAGS. Don passed away December 20, 2000 and the first Don Boyd Medal for Excellence in Gulf Coast Geology was given to his widow, Patricia, at a meeting of the Society on April 18, 2001. Don Boyd has served as secretary of AAPG, on the Advisory Council, and other committees. He was twice nominated for president of AAPG. Don was made an honorary member of AAPG at the 1989 convention.
Paul Strunk has served as treasurer of AAPG, on the Advisory Council, and other committees. Paul was made an honorary member of AAPG, April 11, 1999, at the convention in San Antonio. Fred Dix, who retired as Executive Director of AAPG, was a former member of the Corpus Christi Geological Society. Owen Hopkins was recognized by AAPG for his work on the, “Maps in School Project,” by receiving the Public Service Award at the 2009 AAPG Convention in Denver, Colorado.
Joe Dawson, a geologist who lived and worked in Corpus Christi for many years, received a posthumous award. The Corpus Christi Independent School District named an elementary school the Joe Dawson Elementary School in his honor. Joe was not only a long time geologist but also a hero during the Normandy Beach landings in World War II. This is a unique honor for a Corpus Christi Geologist. Two other Corpus Christi schools are named for men in the oil and gas industry. Wilson Elementary School is named for Robert T. Wilson, founder of La Gloria Corporation and a former mayor of Corpus Christi. Haas Middle School is named for Paul R. Haas, founder of Corpus Christi Oil & Gas, a former officer in La Gloria Corporation and a member of the Corpus Christi Independent School District board. Although Mr. Haas is not a geologist, he has generously supported projects of the Society.
The Corpus Christi Geological Society is represented in the AAPG House of Delegates. The number of delegates is based on society membership and is currently two, Dennis Moore and Owen Hopkins.
Members of the society have held national or state offices in both the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) and the Society of Independent Earth Scientists (SIPES). The late Fred Thompson was an officer in the society and served several positions in the national SIPES organization, including president. The late Dick Peterson was a long time member of CCGS and served as president of the SIPES Foundation. Robert Owen was vice president, natural resources, for SIPES. Jack Sulik, Paul Strunk, Charles Lundberg Bernie Bauer and Owen Hopkins are, or have been, directors of the national SIPES organization. Curtis Mayo, a former member of the Society, was president of the Texas section of AIPG and Paul Strunk has also served as president of the Texas Section of AIPG.
The Corpus Christi Geological Society has bestowed honorary membership on ten of its members. Dale Benson was an early president of the society and represented Corpus Christi when it was part of the South Texas Geological Society. Carroll “C.C.” Miller was an officer in the South Texas Geological Society and remained active in the local society for many years. W. Armstrong Price was the first president of the Corpus Christi Geological Society and remained active in it until shortly before his death in 1987 at the age of 98. Frith Owen was the second president of the society. Cleo Buck was a president of the society and remained active until shortly before his death. O. G. McClain was a charter member of the Corpus Christi Geological Society, held several offices, and is still a member, although he now lives in Houston. He recently contributed an article to the bulletin. Don Boyd was an honorary member until his death. Paul Strunk, Owen Hopkins and Ray Govett are honorary members still active in the society.
In 1991, the society started honoring members with a designation of, “Distinguished Geologists.” Joe Uri, W. Carlton Weaver, Bill Colson, Joe McCullough, Dick White, Bill Volk, Jay Endicott, Frank Cornish, John Vreeland, Lawrence Hoover, Louie Sebring, Jr., Bill Carl, Ray Govett, Matt Rokovich and Charles Jacobs have been honored by the society with that title. Of this group, Joe Uri, W. Carlton Weaver, Bill Colson, Dick White, John Vreeland, Lawrence Hoover and Louie Sebring, Jr. have died.
Beginning in the fall of 1993, the Corpus Christi Geological Society and the Coastal Bend Geophysical Society joined together to have meetings, publish the bulletin and for other activities. This cooperation has been beneficial to both organizations and they complement each other.
The geological society has several avenues for serving the community and the membership outside of meetings and courses. Speakers are provided to schools and other organizations requesting information about geology or the oil industry. Members work with the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, and local universities and colleges. A booth is sponsored at the annual Bay Fest, which provides an avenue for the younger segment of the population to become familiar with geology. The society sponsors a blood drive twice a year, which provides for not only the membership but also the community. Scholarships are made available to local college students and many in the society provide part time employment for some of these students. Geologists assist Boy Scouts in obtaining merit badges in geology and science.
Owen Hopkins started the, “Maps in School Program,” in 2006. The program places geologic maps of the United States in public school classrooms, along with talks by geologists. It has grown into a nationwide project, thanks to efforts of Owen, and placed over 1100 geologic maps in schools around the United States as of early 2009. Other educational programs for students are Earth Day, Junior Rockhound program, DinoDig, Bones in School, and other educational efforts.
Social functions, athletic events, and other activities are held each year for members, spouses, and guests. Many of these programs are sponsored with the society auxiliary and other groups, such as the land men, geophysicists and engineers.
Members of the Corpus Christi Geological Society began discussions about recording the history of the oil and gas industry in South Texas in the year 2000. It was realized that many of our members were no longer with us and that if any of the early history of the industry in South Texas was going to be recorded from some of those directly involved, we had better start on some kind of a history project. During the presidency of Alan Costello, a History Committee was formed with Ray Govett as chairman, Jay Endicott, Joe McCullough, Bill Volk, and Sebastian Wiedmann as members. As part of the agreement to undertake a task of this magnitude, it was agreed that the president and president elect of the Society would also be members of the committee in order that all in the Society could be made aware of what the committee was doing. A decision was made to work with Quadrant Productions, a local company owned by Frank van Heugten specializing in video productions, to make videos of interviews of local oil industry leaders. Several members of the industry agreed to be interviewed and a promotional video was made from these interviews.
It was immediately realized that whatever venue was decided upon for the final presentation of the history, it was going to require a large sum of money to complete the project and it was decided to use the Coastal Bend Community Foundation as a depository of funds raised rather than start a new company within the Society. This allowed the public to make tax deductible contributions to the Society for the project and the Society earned interest on unused funds contributed. As part of this arrangement, all funds raised, as well as any profits from the projects, must be used for educational purposes by the Society, which of course is the primary aim of the Society.
After considerable discussion, it was decided to have a book written to record the history of the oil and gas industry in South Texas and follow that with a video presentation suitable for showing on the Public Broadcasting television station, the History Channel, or some other educational venue. Bill Volk resigned from the committee, but Dan Pedrotti and W. Carlton (Tubby) Weaver joined the committee. Alan Costello, Tom Davidson, Dan Neuberger, Fermin Munoz, Brent Hopkins, Dennis Moore, Owen Hopkins and Juan Cabasos all worked with the committee as president or president elect. Tom Davidson and Dan Neuberger were presidents during the time most of the funds were raised for the book and did much of the work involved. Tubby Weaver was indispensable to the committee. He knew many of the older members of the industry and helped arrange meetings with them.
The promotional video was shown to anyone who might be interested in contributing to the project, individuals were contacted, and funds were raised to complete writing of the book. Mr. Paul Haas and Mr. Larry McNeil, officers of the former Corpus Christi Oil & Gas Co. agreed to make a sizeable contribution for the project if the Society would match that sum, which was done. This gave the fund raising effort validity needed to raise sufficient money to complete the book. Members of the Society and the community contributed funds to the project. A contract was signed with Bill and Marjorie Walraven, who have written several books of local interest, to write the history for the Society. The book was completed and printed in 2005, and is now for sale by the Society.
It is planned to continue interviewing members of the industry and complete the video portion of the history of the oil and gas industry in South Texas as soon as possible. It took over five years to complete the book portion of the project, but maybe the video portion will not take that long to finish. The Society signed a contract with Quadrant Productions to continue work on the video portion, which they are doing.
The Corpus Christi Geological Society maintains a website at http://www.ccgeo.org, which is used to disseminate information. No history is ever complete. What is news today is history tomorrow, so if any geologist has information they think should be included, don’t hesitate to submit it. It is not unusual for an officer to be elected and someone else serve the term because of transfers. Many geologists have contributed to the continuing success of the Corpus Christi Geological Society. Not all are mentioned in this brief history, but all are appreciated.
Ray Govett
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Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structure, physical properties, dynamics, and history of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed. The field is a major academic discipline, and is also important for mineral and hydrocarbon extraction, knowledge about and mitigation of natural hazards, some engineering fields, and understanding past climates and environments with reference to present-day climate change.
