Memorial to Preston Mcgrain 1917–1996 GARLAND R

Memorial to Preston McGrain 1917–1996 GARLAND R. DEVER JR. Lexington, Kentucky

Preston McGrain, retired assistant state geologist of the Kentucky Geological Survey at the University of Kentucky, died Sunday, November 3, 1996, at the age of 78. He is survived by his wife, Magdalene, and by a sister, Alice (Suzie) Griffith of Los Angeles, California. Preston was born in Corydon, Indiana, on Decem- ber 10, 1917. He graduated from Corydon High School in 1935, and attended Antioch College. He received A.B. and M.A. degrees from Indiana University in 1940 and 1942, respectively. There, he studied and worked with Clyde A. Malott, who inspired Preston’s lifelong interest in geomor- phology, particularly karst features, and Mississippian stratigraphy. Throughout Preston’s career, his favorite for- mations remained the St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve Lime- stones, rocks that he literally grew up on in Corydon, and the subject of his master’s thesis. During World War II, Preston served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, attaining the rank of captain. He saw duty in the United States, the Philippines, and Japan. After the war, Preston became a fellow-in-geology at Indiana University in 1946 and 1947. During summers in the early and middle 1940s, he worked at the Indiana Geological Survey, and as a consulting geologist. His first full-time employment as a geologist was with the Indiana Flood Control and Water Resources Commission, from 1947 to 1950. In late 1950, Preston was appointed assistant state geologist of the Kentucky Geological Survey, a position that he held until his retirement in 1983. Preston said that he was hired partly because of his background in water resources, but, as is so often the case for geologists, his career with the Kentucky Survey mainly involved other resources and activities. In addition to his administrative and supervisory responsibilities, Preston conducted investigations of brines, sandstone, sand and gravel, clay and shale, limestone, gypsum, fluorspar, building stone, secondary recovery operations, tar sands, coal, stratigraphic relationships, and geomorphic features, particularly karst. Preston was author or coauthor of more than 150 reports and maps, including popular pub- lications on parks and scenic geology, as well as a series of county economic geology reports. He worked with the Kentucky Department of Parks in efforts to promote tourism, and partici- pated in 4-H educational programs. Preston was a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and the Indiana Academy of Science. He also was a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists; Ameri- can Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers; Geological Society of Ken- tucky; Kentucky Academy of Science; and Society of Sigma Xi. Preston was active in these organizations, serving variously on committees and as an officer and field trip leader. An avid fisherman and sports fan, Preston particularly enjoyed fishing with Magdalene at Lake Ellerslie Fishing Club outside of Lexington. Gardening also was a favorite pastime.

Geological Society of America Memorials, v. 29, December 1998 93 94 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF P. MCGRAIN 1942 Helictites in the new discovery at Wyandotte Cave, Indiana: Indiana Academy of Science Proceedings for 1941, v. 51, p. 201–206. 1943 The St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve Limestones of Harrison County, Indiana: Indiana Academy of Science Proceedings for 1942, v. 52, p. 149–162. 1947 Wyandotte Cave: The Compass, v. 24, no. 2, p. 91–96. 1949 Ground water resources of Henry County, Indiana: Indiana Academy of Science Proceedings for 1948, v. 58, p. 173–187. 1951 Thickness of glacial drift in north-central Indiana: Indiana Flood Control and Water Resources Commission Circular 1, 1 sheet. —— (and Thomas, G. R.) Preliminary report on the natural brines of eastern Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 9, Report of Investigations 3, 22 p. 1955 Geology of the Cumberland Falls State Park area: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 9, Special Publication 7, 33 p. (reprinted with minor revisions, 1966). 1956 Recent investigations of silica sands of Kentucky no. 2: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 9, Report of Investigations 11, 32 p. 1957 Sources of shale in Kentucky for lightweight aggregate production: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 9, Report of Investigations 12, 23 p. 1958 (and others) Summary of secondary recovery operations in Kentucky in 1957: Interstate Oil Compact Commission, 43 p. 1959 (and Crawford, T. J.) High-silica sandstone and conglomerate on Pine Mountain near Elkhorn City, Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 10, Information Circular 1, 5 p. —— Services of state geological surveys to the structural clay products industry: Ceramic Bulletin, v. 38, no. 8, p. 415–417. 1960 (and Crawford, T. J.) A physiographic and stratigraphic profile in Kentucky—Lexington to the Mammoth Cave region (road log for Geological Society of America Southeastern Section 1960 field excursion): Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 10, 39 p. 1964 (and Helton, W. L.) Gypsum and anhydrite in the St. Louis Limestone in northwestern Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 10, Information Circular 13, 26 p. 1965 Fuller’s earth resources of the Jackson Purchase Region, Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 10, Bulletin 3, 23 p. 1967 (and Dever, G. R., Jr.) Limestone resources in the Appalachian region of Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 10, Bulletin 4, 12 p., 1 pl. 1969 Extension of the Lost River Chert across parts of Kentucky: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 53, p. 1506–1507. 1970 Economic geology of Marshall County, Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey Ser. 10, County Report 5, 33 p. 1972 (and Kendall, T. A.) Miscellaneous analyses of Kentucky clays and shales for 1960–1970: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 10, Report of Investigations 12, 62 p. 1973 (and Tibbs, J. S.) Geologic guide to a portion of the fluorspar mining district in Livingston and Crittenden Counties, Kentucky (road log for field trip held in conjunction with Ninth Forum on Geology of Industrial Minerals): Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 10, 12 p. 1975 Scenic geology of Pine Mountain in Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 10, Special Publication 24, 34 p. 1976 Tar sands (rock asphalt) of Kentucky—A review: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 10, Report of Investigations 19, 16 p. 1977 (with Boyd, W. T.) The mineral industry of Kentucky: U.S. Bureau of Mines Minerals Yearbook, 1974, v. 2, p. 295–307. MEMORIAL TO PRESTON MCGRAIN 95 1978 (and Currens, J. C.) Topography of Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 10, Special Publication 25, 76 p. 1979 An economic evaluation of the Kentucky geologic mapping program: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 11, 12 p. 1982 Overview of sand and gravel resources of Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 11, Report of Investigations 1, 19 p. —— (and Noger, M. C.) Economic geology of Rowan County, Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 11, County Report 2, 34 p. 1983 Geology of construction materials in Kentucky, in Ault, C. H., and Woodard, G. S., eds., Proceedings of 18th Forum on Geology of Industrial Minerals: Indiana Geological Survey Occasional Paper 37, p. 127–142. —— The geologic story of Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Ser. 11, Special Publication 8, 74 p. 1986 Economic geology, in McDowell, R. C., ed., The geology of Kentucky—A text to accompany the geologic map of Kentucky: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1151-H, p. H59–H64.

Printed in U.S.A. on Recycled Paper 12/98