A L U M N I N U M B C E L E B R A T I N G ... - Mines Magazine

ByFREDERICK C. STEINHAUER. '99Denver. Colo."Mines" in the earlj' days hadalwaj's been considered a man's institution.No thought had ever beengiven to co-education. Why shouldthere be, for no woman would everhave the audacity to tread upon adomain so outstandingly that of themale sex. Strange things happensometimes and so one of the "sevenwonders" appeared one day as a memberof the class of 1898, a very robustyoung woman from Cleveland, Ohio.At first the tendency was to discourageher but the boys soon found she was"there to stay," so she was finallyinitiated as "one of the gang" and didher share of the "heavy work."As a student she was a wonder andthe records show a 99 in Calculus toher credit. Florence H, Caldwellwas one of the few to obtain the degreeof Civil Engineering at "Mines."Before coming to Golden she graduatedfrom the Ohio Wesleyan Universityand Cleveland School of Art.She was married to Frank H. Jones,also of the class of 1898, April 10th,1901, at Cleveland, Ohio. In a recentletter to the author, Mr. Jonesstated:"There is little to write about herengineering experience . . . . I preferto remember how much help she wasto me in assisting to solve many knottyproblems in my work. Her personalcharacteristics were admirable: loyaltyto friends, kindness and sympathyto any one in distress of mind or body,an unwavering courage. She kept meencouraged thru many rough places."FREDERICK C. STEINHAUERing the Mineral Industries. Mr.Jones now resides in Houston, Texas.Until Mrs. Jones death April 22,1937, at Clarkdale, Arizona, she andMr. Jones devoted their lives in serv-The experience of Florence Caldwellmust have attracted another oneof the fair sex, for with the class of1903, the second co-ed, Grace Mc­Dermut {now Mrs. Grace Mulligan)received the first degree of MiningEngineering conferred by "Mines"upon a woman. According to the DenverPost, in an article April 11th,1934, which in part is quoted, "WhileGrace McDermut was in school nearDenver, her aunt acquired a claimin tbe Razzle Dazzle lode in Colorado.Her aunt and her parents decidedit would be a good plan forGrace to study mining engineering sothat she could look after the mine. . . .She was pleased when it was decidedthat she should enter the ColoradoSchool of Mines. . . . a few M'eekshefore she received her degree in MiningEngineering, the Razzle Dazzlegold mine passed out of the Mc­Dermut family, 'and there I was,' sheexplained, 'with a fancy degree onmy hands and no place to make useof it.' There were no jobs open forwomen mining engineers. Even governmentofficials were inclined to regardwomen engineers in the samelight as the professors at the ColoradoMines regarded a woman student at apredominately male school. However,the year following her graduation shereceived an appointment at the NationalBureau of Standards, being thefirst woman appointed on the Scientificstaff, and the irrst to receive a permanentappointment there, the departmentstating "It was something ofan experiment."The Bureau which had but recentlymoved to its present site, hadabout one hundred employees andthree buildings. The Physical buildingin which most of the laboratorieswere located, was not quite completeas yet. It was a formative period,very interesting, and the work varieda good deal, according to the needsof the occasion. There was much experimentalwork, defining of specifications,designing and building of apparatusand equipment. At first Mrs.Mulligan did draughting, for the mostpart. Later, she had opportunity tocarry on experimental investigationsas well as routine testing and specialwork. For several years she was connectedwith the Electrical division, butmost of her experience has been in thedivision of Weights and Measures,chiefiy in the Volumetric and Densitysection, where she bas been for a goodmany j'ears, and to some extent in theMass section.The work of the Volumetriclaboratory deals with the calibrationof volumetric standards and the testingof precision volumetric apparatussuch as is used by chemists, physicians,and technicians. In the Densitylaboratory, hydrometers are tested.MRS. FLORENCE CALDWELL JONESdensities and the thermal expansionof liquids are determined. Routineapparatus must conform to thespecifications of tbe Bureau and specialapparatus must be of suitable designin order to be accepted for test.If the apparatus qualifies, it is tested,and if found to conform to thespecifications in all respects, receivestbe seal of the Bureau.Reports are made on special typesof instruments, hut they do not receivethe official seal. A great deal ofwork is done for the Federal Government,and State institutions may havetests made free of charge. A nominalfee is charged for work done for thegeneral public. Frequently requestscome for information from the generalpublic; manufacturers and otherscome to the Bureau to discuss technicalmatters.Mrs. Mulligan supervises the testingof the glass volumetric apparatusand acts as alternate for section chiefs.MRS. GRACE McDERWUTMULLIGANThousands of pieces of apparatus aretested each year and as the work is ofhigh precision, the staff must be carefullytrained and the equipment be ofthe best. A good deal of specializedtesting is done. She assists with thedeterminations made at the Bureau onthe density and expansion of alcoholwatersolutions, and has done quitea bit of work compiling and tabulatingdensity data of various kinds.Some of these appear in the internationalCritical Tables, some are inBureau and other publications. Occasionallythe work is done upon the requestof a private party where there issufficient need to warrant it."The Bureau received a great impetusduring the war," Mrs. Mulliganwrote, "because of the vital import-NINETTA DAVISance of its work in many ways, andit has continued to expand. There aretwelve large buildings and a numberof minor ones. At first, it seemedrather like a college campus, and youwalked up the steps with the Chief,or clung to a strap in the street car,beside tbe Director. But not anymore! The personnel numbers aboutnine hundred now, and the Great,drive cars—as do plenty of others."A long period lapsed and then ourthird co-ed, Ninetta Davis, had thedegree of IVIining Engineer conferredupon her in 1920. Her recent letterdoes not go into the interesting detailas that of Mrs. Mulligan, but,nevertheless, indicates a varied experiencein geology and petroleum andshe too is in the government service.Her first job was with the MidwestRefining Company, at Casper,Wyoming, where she spent four yearsas assistant to the petroleum engineer;then a year as office geologist for tbeUnion Oil Company of California at1940 A l u m n i B a n q u e tTHURSDAY MAY 23, 1940AT 6:30 P.M."Mines Men," members of ColoradoSchool of Mines AlumniAssociation and honored guestswill assemble af the UniversityClub, Denver, Colorado fo enjoya great celebration andfestive occasion. This will bethe greatest Alumni Banquetever given by "Mines" so rememberthe time and the placeand be there!Order your tickets now.734 Cooper Bliig. Denver, Colo.Fort Collins, Colorado; then severalyears in private business.She has been with the GeologicalSurvey, Conservation Branch, inDenver since January 1, 193^!—firstworking on office geology of dam sites,and soon studying subsurface geologyof oil fields in the western states tofurther the conservation of oil andgas on public lands.While very little has been heardfrom our "Three Co-eds" during allthese years, it cannot be overlookedthat they have done their part towardsholding up the traditions of "Mines"—leadership in the Mineral Industries.^ y y j i n e f a l ^ c o n o m i A t —(Continued from page 174)affiliations, financial resources, andmethods of settlement.9. Buyers, with information respectingtheir employers, principals,and affiliations when such data areavailable.10. Manufacturers, with informationregarding the nature and relativeimportance of their operations andproducts, and their customary requirements.11. Industrial contacts, classifiedwith respect to requirements,products, technical importance, andspecific relation to the probability ofdeveloping new uses.12. Governmental contacts. Departmentsor agencies directly interestedin minerals or mineral products,and names of specific individuals havingauthority to conduct negotiationsor sign contracts.13. Confidential contacts.14. Index of uses for each mineralor product, classified according to industriesand products manufactured.15. Index of industries, and thelist of minerals used in each.16. Classification of military orstrategic uses.The general subject of mineraleconomy offers a fascinating life workin a wide field of activity and service,and one that is likely to be of increasingimportance.Any Colorado Mines graduate hasthe basic theoretical training necessaryfor such work, and if on top ofthis he bas had ten to twenty years ofactive professional experience in thefield, his qualifications should be consideredadequate for an appointmentin this special profession. The longerand more diversified his experience,the better. Arbitrary limitations asto age should have no consideration inan occupation of this kind, where thechief qualifications are technicalknowledge, experience, judgment, anddiscretion.186 THE MINES MAGAZINE ^ APRIL 1940THE MINES MAGAZINE + APRIL 1 940187