1 - Mines Magazine - Colorado School of Mines

of all their concentrators. Xhese operationscover a wide territory and willprovide a variety of ore dressing problems.After completing his post-graduateworic at Missouri School of Minesand a special research project with tinores at the Bureau of Mines, Rolla,Mo,, Mr. Davila returned to his nativeland, Bolivia, Five months priorto his latest promotion, he was millsuperintendent at the largest tin minein Bolivia, Empresa Minera deCatavi.Mr. Davila's present address is SuperintendenciaGeneral de Ingenios,Casilla 626, Oruro, Bolivia.Harrah, '42, in InternationalSales at Denver Equipment Co.H. W. Harrah, a 1942 metallurgicalengineering graduate of the ColoradoSchool of Mines, has been transferredto the International Sales Divisionat Denver Equipment Co. Hewill be located in Denver and be responsiblefor sales activities in Canada,Australia, Japan, Burma and thePhilippines.An internationally known specialistin non-metallic flotation (a process ofmineral beneficiation), he has been asales engineer in the Domestic SalesDivision of Denver Equipment Co.since 1945. He lives at 9570 W. 5lstAve., Arvada, Colo.J. B. Willis, '57, RecountsExperiences in Soudi ArabiaThis letter by John B. Willis giveshis impressions of Saudi Arabia andtells about some of his experiences inthe Land of Aladdin's Lamp. Willisreceived his MSc. degree in geologicalengineering at Mines in 1957.Sept. 24, 1959Mr. George H. RollAlumni AssociationGolden, Colo.Dear Mr. Roll:Would you change my mailing addressfrom Saudi Arabia to 430 No.Parkman Ave., Los Angeles 20, Cal.,piease? I'll be returning to the Statesby November.My short stay in Saudi Arabia hasbeen a very gratifying experience. Thehospitality of the desert Arab is quiteremarkable. Whenever you stop totalk to someone in the desert theyinsist on offering you coffee and teaand if you don't watch them carefully,thej^'re liable to kill a sheep andmake a big feast for you. Sometimestheir cuisine is not the best but theygladly give a guest whatever theyhave.The people with special talents forfinding water are called sonants andfor a good many centuries they havebeen doing quite well. In nearlyevery village I visited to locate waterwellsites, a sonant had been over theground previously; and after 1marked the spots we would drill, thepeople would show me "witchedsites" which generally proved to be ingood locations (one or two laterproved to be better than mine). Itbrought to mind some of Dr. BobCarpenter's comments about keepingan open mind and not scoffing atideas presented by non-college educatedpeople.The feeling of Arab Nationalismis quite strong here, and there is verylittle tension and unrest. They aregenerally happy and enjoy their wayof life even though it is rigorous. Intravelling around the kingdom youhave to be very careful that someonedoesn't jump in front of your car, andmost of the local drivers act likethey're still on camels, but aside fromthat there is no need to worry. Stealingand vandalism are practically nonexistent,and if you should need ahand there's always someone ready tohelp.Americans are generally well-likedhere but little understood. Our engineerstend to isolate themselves insmall groups and don't mix with thelocals and thereby miss a valuable opportunity.It's like a dance where theboys stand on one side of the roomand the girls on the other. A certaindistant admiration results, but thefruits of a more intimate relationshipare lost. I'm afraid that our diplomatsact the same, as they visit withthe king and generals and never comein contact with the people.Well,,in closing I'd like to say foranyone coming to Arabia, that ifthey like the desert and aren't botheredby having no TV, they'll findthe Saudi Arabs are a very warmhearted,friendly and interestinggroup.Sincerely,John B. Willis, '57ALUMNI BUSINESS(Continued from page 34)for action to be approved by the ExecutiveCommittee.Mr, Roll asked if it was really necessaryto send membership cards tothose paying their annual dues. Hesuggested that some money could besaved if cards were not sent.Mr. Math'ews moved that theAlumni Ofiice discontinue sendingmembership cards unless they are specificallyrequested and that a noticeof explanation be inserted in the magazine.Seconded by Mr. Crabtree. Passed.No further business appearing, themeeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m.CLASSNOTES(Continued from page 16)c/o Dhofar-Cities Service PetroleumCorp., Box 1201, Steamer Pt., Aden,Arabia.Robert C. Bartlett's addre.ss is 12 LicataTr., Cos Cob, Conn.John C. Capshaw gives his address asM'ecom Bldg. Box 2566, Houston 1, Texas.James W. Faber, metallurgical engineerfor Westinghouse Electric Corp., AviationGas Turbine Division, lives at 11605Holmes Rd., Rt. 1, Grandview, Mo.Graham B. Gibson, exploration geologistfor Colombian Petroleum Co., hasbe«n transferred from Cucuta to Bogota,Colombia. His mailing address is ApartadoAereo 3434.Newell H. Orr has moved from Denverto +51 Brown's Lane, Pittsburgh 37, Pa.Aidon H. Strobeck's address is Box 592,Stanley, N. Dak.Stewart W. Towie, now on furloughfrom Douglas Reduction Works, PheipsDodge Corp., where he was assistant testengineer, is now a graduate student atthe University of Arizona. His mailingaddress is 1817 E. 10th St., Tucson, Ariz.1955A boy, Mark Francis, was born Sept.17 to the Arden L. Bement family. Thisbrings the family tally to three boys andtwo giris. In November Arden attended atwo-week training session at the NavyAmphibious Training School in San Diegothrough his Army Reserve program.Hugh King has returned to Venezuelawhere he may be addressed c/o CreolePetroleum Corp., Lagunillas, Zulia, Venezuela,S. A,George Kinsel's address is 6J9 S. Washington,Casper, Wyo.1956Edward J. Graeber, Jr., staif memberfor Sandia Corp., may be addressed at3425 Inca St., N.E., Albuquerque, N. M.K. William Jeffers' new mailing addressis c/o U.S.C.& G.S., Norfolk DistrictOffice, 102 W. Oiney Rd., Norfolk10, Va. He was formerly in Portland,Ore.1st Lt. George E. Reeves is fixed-androtary-wingpilot with the U. S. ArmyCorps of Engineers. His mailing addressis Engr. Topo Section, U. S. Army Eng.Dist, Gulf, APO 205, New York, N. Y.Richard H, Self, petroleum engineer,development and research. Standard Oil(Continued on page 44)36 THE MINES MAGAZINE • JANUARY, 1960IN MEMORIAM;Herbert Austin EverestHerbert Austm Everest, "Bert" tohis intimates, died at his home in LosAngeles, Oct. 30th, 1959, at the ageof 72.His was the class of '08. His degreesE.M. and E.Met.A splendid athlete (high hurdles),tall, powerful, he had the great misfortune,ten years after graduation,while directing fire-fighting in a coalmine, to be hit and crushed by a fallof rock. It severed his spinal cord,an injury that kept him confined to awheel chair the rest of his life.In the ten years between graduationand the accident, Bert was activein mining and geology, first as chiefof party with the Oklahoma GeologicalSurvey, then as an independentconsultant in petroleum geology inTexas, Oklahoma and Kansas ; as partowner, superintendent and managerof Hazelton Coal Co,, Coalgate,Okla. and also of the Southern AnthraciteCoal Co., Russellville, Ark.Following two years spent in thefight to live and regain some measureof health, he put his mind on radioresearch and became a consultant inelectronics.In 1933, finding the old-type,heavy wide, wooden wheel chair madehim a home-bound invalid, he begandeveloping his ideas of what wasneeded to liberate him. Thus the lightweight,folding, metal chair came intobeing. He acquired the assistance ofa mechanical engineer, Mr. Harry C.Jennings, and organized the Everest& Jennings firm of which Bert waspresident for 20 years during whichthe company established its internationaloutstanding reputation forservice and quality.In 1948 the company received aPresidential Citation for the employmentof the handicapped. In 1953 theTHE MINES MAGAZINE • JANUARY, 1960Colorado School of Mines awardedBert its Distinguished AchievementMedal, the citation emphasizing theutilization of his engineering trainingto the great benefit of those handicappedby the inability to walk.In May 1954 the National Societyof Indoor Sports honored Bert with aDistinguished Service Award, and inNovember 1954 the Southern CaliforniaDistrict of Indoor Sports gaveBert a Citation for his work witb thehandicapped.He wrote many articles in publicationsfor the handicapped, their rehabilitationand emploj'ment. Hismail brought actually thousands ofletters from the handicapped to whichhe dictated responses. He made repeatedvisits to hospitals for themaimed and broken to evince the possibilitiesfor usefulness.His wife, Zoe Kline, to whom hewas married four years before the accident,and his daughter, Mrs, JosephT. Gregory, who survive him, gaveto him a life-time of never falteringadoration, care, encouragement.Bert was a valiant soul; an exampleof courage of the highest type and,withal, a modest, kindly, thoughtfulgentleman.Orvil R. WhitakerOrvil R. Whitaker, 84, of 99 S,Downing St., Denver, Colo., diedThanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, 1959,at Rose Memorial Hospital. Burialwas at Fairmount.* * *Behind this simple obituary noticein the Denver newspapers, lies the unsungsaga of a useful man's life.For all the years of an active miningcareer which began with his graduationfrom the Colorado School ofMines in 1898, "O, R." or "Whit"as his many friends knew him, wasat once a friend and advisor, and,later a national authority in his field.In his earlier days, he ranged overthe United States, Mexico, Canadaand Central America as an employeeof several of the great mining companiesin those countries.Throughout this period, his naturalabilities were enhanced by experiencein operation, management and appraisalin connection with his profession.By 1912, he had acquired such staturein that field that he was able toset himself up as a consultant. In thatcapacity, he was frequently calledupon to aid companies in makingmajor decisions. Not the least of hiscontributions, was the men whom heselected out of his broad field offriends for top-side jobs. Out of thisside of his efforts, rarely talked aboutby him, came a devoted set of followers.The path to his Denver officewas as often taken by men who cameto sit at his desk for personal adviceand help, as it was by hard pressedexecutives who sought assurance thattheir course of action was the rightone.When the Raw Materials AdvisoryCommittee of the Atomic EnergyCommission was created, he wasnamed to it and there as in the commercialfield, his views were acceptedas the expression of a forthright manwho never stooped to personal advantagenor sought popularity by sayingalways what men desired to hear.No better expression of the type ofman "Whit" was, could be foundthan that contained in the citationwhich accompanied an Award ofMerit given to him in 1942 by theColorado School of Mines as an expressionof appreciation for his servicesas a trustee of that institutionand for significant achievement in themineral industry.In essence, it describes him as theman he was—the ideal mining engineer.It discloses the traits which willcause him to be sorely missed throughoutthe engineering fraternity.It follows in full. Quote:AN ENGINEER:—Devoted to thorough investigationof any problem; to the determinationof all of the facts; to the selectionwith instinctive wisdom,those pertinent to the correct solution.Concerned with performance—oblivious of praise or remuneration.A MAN:—Critical of himself—tolerant ofothers; doubtful of his rights—certain of his obligations; humblein the evaluation of his ownachievements •—• laudatory of another'ssuccess, A broad, balancedmind and a generous spirit.Survivors include his wife, MinaK, Whitaker; two sons, O. R. Whitaker,Jr. and George B. Whitaker;a daughter, Mary W. Parsons; twobrothers. Dr. Milton C. Whitakerand Fred Whitaker; and four grandchildren.Harold E. EadsRobert W. Harrison, '33, has justsent us a notice of the death of Col.Harold E. Eads, x-'30, in Miami,Fla., on June 22, 1958. Mr. Harrisonadds that although "Lefty" did notgraduate, he was a prominent part ofcampus life while he was in school.37