Past Presidents Carol Hasenberg and Ray Crowe make light with the GSOC pickaxe and gavel during the 2000 GSOC banquet.
Photo of the GSOC gavel taken during the 2010 GSOC banquet.
Photo of the GSOC pickaxe and The Two Islands taken during the 2010 GSOC banquet.
Photo of The Two Islands showing the photo of author and Oregon historical figure Thomas Condon.
THE HISTORY OF THE GSOC MEMORABILIA
The book The Two Islands by Thomas Condon was published in 1902. Condon was the first scientific investigator of the fossils of the John Day area. In 1872, Condon became Oregon's first state geologist while teaching geology at Pacific University. When the University of Oregon was founded in 1876, he was appointed its first professor of geology. Condon's book The Two Islands was the foundation for the study of Oregon's historical geology. The book is passed on to the incoming president of GSOC each year with the understanding that it must be read or at least signed.
The GSOC pickaxe was presented to President Fred Miller in 1965 and is passed on to incoming presidents. It is in pristine condition and has never been used by diggers or miners.
The GSOC gavel was presented to the Society by E. N. Bates, who had it made from the wood of the Glenesslin, a full rigged steel sailing ship that foundered and sank at the base of Neahkahnie Mountain in 1913. The gavel was first used by outgoing president, H. Bruce Schminky during his welcoming remarks at the banquet May 28, 1943. That was our Eighth Annual Banquet. Mr. Bates became president in 1944.