Dear HCN,
One of
the authentic icons of 20th century Wyoming and the West is gone.
Dr. J. David Love, known to many as a great geologist and to many
others as simply a friend, died Aug. 23 (HCN, 9/16/02: A legend of
the land). He was 89.
His humble beginnings as a
ranch boy in the isolated Muskrat Basin of central Wyoming belied
the towering scientific figure he was to become. When asked only
recently how it was that he became a geologist, he jokingly replied
that as a youngster in a land of rocks and vast landscape, “there
wasn’t anything else to see where I was, except the rear end of a
cow 15 hours a day.” He went on to attain three degrees in geology,
two from the University of Wyoming and the last a Ph.D. from Yale
University.
Dave, as most of his friends knew
him, was a classic, old-time field geologist. He learned the
intimate details of geology by walking the ground. There is no way
of knowing how many thousands of miles he covered, afoot or on
horseback, from plains to mountaintops. He knew Wyoming as no other
man knew it, and he developed an encyclopedic knowledge. He came to
know soils, toxic minerals such as selenium, and poisonous plants,
as well as geology.
Dave’s knowledge of various
mineral deposits brought important economic benefits to Wyoming.
One of the accomplishments of which he was justly proud was an
exquisitely detailed geologic map of Wyoming, the first done in
1955 and a revision done in 1985. He generously gave me an
autographed copy of the latter, which hangs in the Wyoming Outdoor
Council office in Lander.
Dave’s training as a
geologist – and geology’s inclination toward the exploitation of
minerals for the needs of society – sometimes brought him
discomfort. He was the kind of man who loved the wild places whose
geology he explored, well aware that what he found might violate
the integrity of unspoiled land. Through it all, he always
respected the sanctity of natural creation.
Dr.
Love, as many people fondly remember him from memorable, roadside
geology trips, had a profound effect on many people. Throughout his
later years, he was invited to speak, or to lead show-me trips
investigating local geology. Those trips were cherished by the
folks who were fortunate enough to participate. His gentlemanly
manner and courtly grace endeared him to countless numbers of
admirers who, before they accompanied him on field trips, had no
idea of the wonders he revealed to them.
Margie
Rowell first met Dave and the Love family when they visited the Red
Bluffs Ranch southeast of Lander. That ranch had been the Gardiner
Mills Ranch, where Dave’s mother, Ethel Waxham Love, had come to
teach the Mills children in 1905.
Margie was
living there, fresh from California and completely ignorant of
Wyoming geology. Like many others, she became completely enthralled
with the world around her because of Dave. As she says, “Dave Love
enriched my perception of Wyoming by putting everything in
Technicolor.”
Dave and I never knew each other
until I began my environmental odyssey. I was some years his junior
but as I began to speak out on environmental matters, he took note,
and when we first met, he was sympathetic and
encouraging.
We shared somewhat similar boyhood
backgrounds, mine in the Great Depression days. My interest,
however, turned to plants and animals. When I returned from
military service, I finished my training in wildlife conservation
and game management at the University of
Wyoming.
A stint as a biologist with the Wyoming
Game and Fish Department took me all over Wyoming. I came to know
the state in a much broader sense, but my knowledge was never
comparable to Dave’s. As a result, his wisdom and experience were
invaluable to me. He gave me insights and answered my questions so
that I could speak and write with more authority. We found we had
much in common and became fast friends.
Dave was
always supportive of my efforts, and when I launched High Country
News, he was there to help. Both of us loved Wyoming and the Red
Desert. How it was that we never discussed efforts to save some
part of the desert, I will never know. But both of us,
independently, made that effort. I think it may have been one of
the last regrets in leaving this old planet – that we are still
fighting an uphill battle to protect the majesty and mystique of
the Red Desert.
Dave will be greatly
missed.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Farewell to Dave Love.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
