Memorial to Charles C. Doll 1898-1990 ROLFE STANLEY and BARRY DOOLAN Burlington, Vermont
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Memorial to Charles C. Doll 1898-1990 ROLFE STANLEY and BARRY DOOLAN Burlington, Vermont Charles G. Doll passed away on March 12,1990, thus end ing a long and productive career as State Geologist for Vermont and as a well-known professor at the University of Vermont. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, on Au gust 22,1898, he was educated at Brown University where he received a Ph.B. in 1924 and an M.A. in geology in 1926. Two major events occurred in the fall of 1927: Charles Doll joined the faculty of the University of Ver mont as an instructor, and a massive flood devastated much of Vermont. “Charlie” often joked about his early welcome to the Green Mountain State. He remained on the faculty of the University of Vermont until his retirement as Professor and Chair in 1964, an administrative responsibil ity that he assumed in 1946. During his tenure at the uni versity, the department grew to three members and offered an undergraduate major and a master of science program. From his first entry into Vermont, the varied topography and fascinating geology were a central love of his professional life. In 1930 and 1931 “Mr. Doll and Mr. Carleton,” both instructors at the university, were inspired by Professor Buchanan to complete the northern extension of the Long Trail in the Jay Peak region of the Green Mountains. In the following years Charlie worked for the Vermont Geological Survey, publishing many of his findings in the Biennial Reports. Chief among these was his work in the Vermont copper belt in Strafford and his discovery of Paleozoic fossils in eastern Vermont. Charlie’s map of the Strafford quadrangle, published in the Vermont Survey Biennial Report for 1944, was the first example of detailed mapping in the highly deformed metamorphosed sequence of eastern Vermont. Much of this mapping remains unchallenged even today. From 1944 through 1946 Charlie studied at Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1951. His thesis, “The Geology of the Memphremagog quadrangle and the southeastern portion of the Irasburg quadrangle,” was guided by Walter Bucher and Marshall Kay and was subsequently published as one of the many famous “yellow bulletins” of the Ver mont Geological Survey. Charlie was appointed Vermont State Geologist in 1947 and held that position until 1976. Charlie’s great enthusiasm and curiosity for geology, his ability to produce modern geologic maps, and his appreciation of the benefits that geological knowledge would bring to the State of Vermont made his appointment as State Geologist not only timely, but critical. As a small token of their appreciation the Senate and House of Representatives unanimously passed a joint reso lution praising Charles Doll “for his quiet, dedicated, and long service to the state of Vermont” and bestowed on him the title “Vermont State Geologist Emeritus.” Beginning in the 1950s Charles Doll began his major professional effort, although some rightly call it a “crusade”—publication of the “Centennial Geological Map of Vermont.” To accomplish this tremendous task with a one-man survey required dedication, professional recognition, and political good luck. Joe Johnson, then governor of Vermont, was interested in 29 30 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA geology and was soon won over by Charlie’s arguments. Such an undertaking required new mapping by a number of people. Many of Charlie’s professional colleagues (Marland Billings, John Rodgers, Jim Thompson, Marshall Kay, and Walter Bucher, to name a few) at major graduate institutions in the northeast, young Ph.D. candidates, did thesis projects on 15-minute quadrangles throughout Vermont. Work by professors on summer research projects and by Wallace Cady, Walter White, A1 Chidester, and Dick Jahns of the USGS was finally assem bled, and the new map was published in 1961. The Centennial Geological Map of Vermont has been a standard of excellence for other state maps in orogenic regions. It has received world wide recognition and has served as an excellent document for research, exploration, and teach ing. It is indeed a tribute to its director, for without the dedication of Charles Doll such a map would not have been published. During the 1960s and 1970s, Doll continued to publish all the quadrangle work as compre hensive bulletins with geologic maps, structural sections, and complete, informative texts. These famous “yellow” bulletins are valuable resources for current research. With the bedrock pro gram complete, he turned his attention to surficial geology. This effort was to occupy much of his time during the next 12 years, and in 1970 he published the Surficial Geologic Map of Ver mont. This project was based largely on the work of David Stewart of Miami University in Ohio and Paul MacClintock of Princeton University, who together wrote a comprehensive bulletin on the “Surficial Geology and Pleistocene History of Vermont.” Although this map and bulletin did not receive the acclaim that the bedrock map did, they do serve as very useful resources for environmental solutions and subsequent Pleistocene research. The data for the state map were published in a new series of Environmental Bulletins written largely by David Stewart. Again, Charles Doll’s dedication and perseverance led to the completion of this project. Although he retired from state activities in 1976, Charles Doll continued to write and com plete earlier projects. Several of his efforts were published by the Vermont Geological Society and do not appear in his bibliography. He continued to be active in departmental seminars and was often seen in the field with colleagues and students. He was honored in 1972 at Burlington, Vermont by the New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference through the dedication of their annual field guide. In addition, two awards honoring him have been given each year since 1970, one by the Vermont Geological Society and the other by the Department of Geology, for excellence in geological research and academic achievement. Charlie is survived by his wife Ruth H. Doll of Essex Junction Vermont, and two children, Linda Doll Vincent and Charles Doll, Jr., also a geologist. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF C. G. DOLL 1936 A glacial pothole on the ridge of the Green Mountains near Fayston, Vermont: Vermont State Geologist, 20th Report (1935-1936), p. 145-151. 1938 Fossil rains: Vermont Alumnus, v. 17, p. 267-268. ------Geology of Clay Point, Colchester, Vermont: Vermont State Geologist, 21st Report (1937-1938), p. 74-83. 1941 Geology of the Memphremagog quadrangle, Vermont [abs.]: Geological Society of Amer ica Bulletin, v. 52, p. 2014. 1942 An abandoned stream valley in West Castleton, Vermont: Vermont State Geologist, 23rd Report (1941-1942), p. 21-36. 1943 A brachiopod from mica schist, South Strafford, Vermont: American Journal of Science, v. 241, p. 676-679. ------A Paleozoic revision in Vermont: American Journal of Science, v. 241, p. 57-64. MEMORIAL TO CHARLES GEORGE DOLL 31 1944 A preliminary report on the geology of the Strafford quadrangle, Vermont: Vermont State Geologist, 24th Report (1943-1944), p. 14-28. 1951 Geology of the Memphremagog quadrangle and the southeastern portion of the Irasburg quadrangle, Vermont: Vermont Geological Survey Bulletin, no. 3,113 p. 1961 Editor, Guidebook for the 53rd Annual Meeting of the New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference: Montpelier, Vermont. ------ (and Cady, W. M., Thompson, J. B., Jr., and Billings, M. P.) Centennial geologic map of Vermont: Montpelier, Vermont Geological Survey, scale 1:250,000. 1969 Report on the Cuttingsville pyrrhotite deposit, Cuttingsville, Vermont: Vermont Geological Survey, Department of Water Resources, Studies in Economic Geology, no. 4, 8 p. Printed in U.S.A. on Recycled Paper 2/92.