Bill and Bob, Where Did You Come From (LaFond, Gehring, Imes ...

managed the cottages (gas, electricity, rent), computed
and paid all salaries, took care of student registrations
and dozens of other essential chores. Her office
was just outside the director's office and controlled
his infrequent visitors.
The director's secretary and I ibrarian was Ruth
Ragan whose office was located on the upper floor of
the Library building. The two buildings, Scripps and
Library, were connected . by a covered bridge which
made it convenient for Ruth to get to the director's
office and vice versa. Later when Dr. Sverdrup and
others were writing their book "The Oceans" and Ruth
was typing and retyping it, the passage way proved
most useful.
Grounds and Maintenance
The grounds force was headed by Jim Ross one of
the original employees dating from 1908. He managed
the maintenance and other chores, which were numerous.
He also frequently drove the bus into La Jolla.
The jack of all trades was Carl Johnson. He could
repair the furnace and make major installations and
especially build instruments. He was clever in improvising
when materials were lacking. For me, in later
years, he built a depth sounder to measure the distance
to the sand from the deck of the pier, a wave
recorder, an arrangement for lowering a current meter
at the end of the pier and a camera adaption whereby
I could use cut film for detailed photography.
Claude Palmer took care of the aquarium and a
number of salt water tanks located on the lower floor
of Ritter Hall.
The person in charge of the museum located on the
Library bui I ding's lower floor, was Percy Barnhart.
He was expert at stuffing birds and fish, and displayed
instruments, sea shells and hundreds of pickled marine
organisms which impressed and educated the visitors
about the mysteries of the ocean.
The only janitor was Robert Wilson. He was rather
44