Jones, John Paul, PhD: Newfoundland: 1962-65

As a young kid, I just loved dinosaurs, an affair which never left me even unto today. In fact after twenty years of teaching public High School, I took the plunge and entered a PhD program, one of the most challenging things I ever undertook and after three brutal years became a paleontologist with a Dr in front of my name. Immediately a tall (6’3”) Half Chinese friend of mine, donned a baseball cap and followed me around shouting “Dr Jones, Dr Jones”, since I had the hat, all I needed was a whip. But I digress. My first grade teacher overseas in Newfoundland was an absolute gift. She taught all of us how to write our names in Japanese, a few phrases in it. She knew my reading level was WAY beyond “See Spot Run”, so she gave me more and more advanced books, for spelling words; I had to spell dinosaur names. The reason I bring this up is as some of you may know, I discovered several clutches (nests) of dinosaur eggs from 72 million years ago from a brand new species. As the describer of the species I get to name it, I would very much like to honor that first grade teacher soooo very long ago who fostered my interest.

Marie Anderson was my teacher’s name.

Burdette-Dragoo, Anita: Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada: 1969 – 1970

In an “ice-olated” location like the Strategic Air Command (SAC) base at Goose Bay, Labrador, the arrival of a planeload of new teachers was a Big Occasion. The airport lobby was packed with parents, children, and a few single Air Force officers looking over the mostly single women hired by DoDDS. Our appointed sponsors waved signs with our names and greetings of welcome.

By evening, we were unpacking in the single rooms assigned to us in two long green barracks and getting acquainted like the college freshmen we had once  been. The Officers’ Club where we would take most of our meals was a short walk across the street. But we rode buses to and from the high school, even before the snow began to fall—180 inches worth that winter.  (more…)

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