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Donald Everhart Field Notebooks, 1949-1986

By Rachel Lilley

Collection Overview

Title: Donald Everhart Field Notebooks, 1949-1986

ID: MSS Everhart

Primary Creator: Everhart, Donald L. (Donald Lough) (1917-)

Extent: 0.83 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: Field notebooks are arranged chronologically.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Donald L. Everhart Field Notebooks consists of 27 hard-bound field notebooks documenting Everhart's work as a geologist for the Atomic Energy Commission and various mining companies. The notebooks cover Everhart's work on Operation Plowshare, and document his travels, both domestic and international.

Scope and Content Notes

The twenty-seven notebooks that comprise this collection document Everhart's 30-plus year career as a geologist, including his work as Geologic Advisor to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and subsequent work on Operation Plowshare; field work and site visits done during his years with the International Mineral and Chemical Corporation; and conference attendance.

Everhart traveled extensively during his career, and these travels are documented in his field notebooks. In the United States, Everhart visited sites in New Mexico, California, Colorado, Michigan, Utah, Florida, Wyoming, Arizona, and Arkansas; internationally, his work took him to Chile, Argentina, Spain, Japan, South Africa, Australia, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France, and Switzerland. His notebooks document these site visits, and include observations on soil type and depth, extraction data, the mining approaches used (e.g. room and pillar, etc.), and notes from meetings held with other geologists, government employees, and mining company representatives. Everhart occasionally also includes stratigraphic sketches.

Of special interest is Everhart's 1959 field notebook (Box 2, Folder 2), in which he discusses his work on Operation Plowshare - a project to develop techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes - including a visit to the Gnome test site near Carlsbad, New Mexico. Everhart visited the Gnome shot site two years in advance of detonation; his notebook documents the types of ore present (langbeinite and sylvinite), the level at which the ores are found, and extraction methods used. He also lays out the general schedule for testing at not only the Gnome site, but also the Oilshale (location not determined) and Oilsands (Athabasca, Canada) project sites.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Donald L. Everhart, who served as Geologic Advisor to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in the 1950's, received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology from Denison University in 1939, and his Masters and PhD in Geology from Harvard University in 1942 and 1953, respectively. He later received a Distinguished Alumnus Citation and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Denison University.

Everhart began his career as a Geologist working for the United States Geological Survey, and was eventually promoted to the position of Chief of the Geologic Branch. After his time with the AEC, Everhart spent 18 years in the private sector as Chief Geologist, and later a Division Vice-President for International Minerals and Chemical Corporation. In 1977, Everhart moved to Grand Junction, Colorado where he worked as the Project Manager of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Project, and later managed the Grand Junction Office of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Everhart retired from government service in 1981, practicing as an independent Consulting Geologist for the next 15 years. Everhart was a Senior Fellow of both the Geological Society of America and the Society of Economic Geologists, and from 1989 to 1992 he served as President of the Society of Economic Geologists Foundation, Inc. He passed away December 17, 2013.



Author: The Daily Sentinel; Grand Junction, Colorado, December 29, 2013.

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 3 boxes

Statement on Access: This collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: These materials were purchased by the Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center in May 2015.

Related Materials:

Other collections relating to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) include the Barton C. Hacker Papers, 1955-1995, and the Charter Heslep Papers, 1932-1963. Series 1 in the Hacker Papers contains AEC nuclear operations safety reviews. The correspondence series in Heslep's papers describes the nature of his work on behalf of the AEC including, most notably, descriptions of activities surrounding the Tumbler-Snapper Charlie test, the Upshot-Knothole Annie test, and the Redwing Lacrosse and Cherokee tests.

Other collections that document the field work, research, and scholarship of geologists include the George W. Moore papers, 1952-2001; the William H. Taubeneck papers, 1881-2010; the Ellen J. Moore papers, 1909-2003; and the Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection, 2013-2017. The papers of George W. Moore and Ellen J. Moore document their work as geologists for the U.S. Geological Survey; both were eventually given courtesy appointments at Oregon State. William Taubeneck's papers document his research and teaching career in Oregon State's Department of Geology. The Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection includes four interviews with including John Byrne, Brent Dalrymple, Mike McAllister, and Dawn Wright.

Preferred Citation: Donald Everhart Field Notebooks (MSS Everhart), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Creators

Everhart, Donald L. (Donald Lough) (1917-)

People, Places, and Topics

Atomic bomb--Testing.
Everhart, Donald L. (Donald Lough), 1917-
Geology--Fieldwork.
Geology--Research.
History of Science
International Minerals and Chemical Corporation
Project Plowshare (U.S.)
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission

Forms of Material

Field notes.


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