Pigs and Dogs, Oysters and Music, Water and Sun ... and Friends

Steamed Oysters, barbequed pork, Richard at the helm.

This past Saturday, May 3rd, 2008, marked the annual ECU Geology Barbeque at the Ranch. If you made it to the event, I don't have to tell you how much fun it was. These things are family reunions. If you missed it ... well, I'm really sorry for you.

The Old Farts Club held several impromptu meetings.

This year the Department is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Started way back when by Dr. C.Q. Brown, and staffed by Drs. Stan Riggs, Mike O'Connor, and Jean Lowery. C.Q. was at the party on Saturday; Stan was there; and, I know that Jean was there in spirit. Jeff Brame flew in from Durango, CO. Jeff was a member of the founding class (and spoke of a recent sighting of Mike O'Connor). Scott Hartness was there, another member of the founding class. Bill Crew was there; I'm not sure if Bill was in the founding class, but if not, he only missed by a week or two. (I, on the other hand, like to remind myself whenever I'm feeling old, that when C.Q. and Stan were starting the department, and the guys mentioned above were playing "Rat Patrol" with departmental vehicles over the dunes on the NC Outer Banks, *I* was 8-years-old and riding my new "banana bike" to cub scout meetings. Heh heh ... bunch'o old farts, those guys are!)

"The Revelators"

A bazillion thanks are due to Lisa and Richard, for once again offering their place and their gracious hospitality as hosts for this event. Nearly as many thanks are due to "The Revelators" for providing live music throughout the day. But most important, without a doubt, are the faculty and current students who ARE the ECU Department of Geological Sciences. These are the folks who make it happen. These are the folks who keep it going. The are the folks who make me proud to be an East Carolina geologist, a member of the alumni.

Marshmallows and Beer

So now ... How about a little game? You may have seen me making photographs on Saturday, and I've posted a few here. I think there were quite a few "nice 'uns" in the bag; far too many to post here on this blog page. So, what I've done is to post them on a web gallery. You can get there by clicking this LINK. "So what's the game", you might ask? Glad you did. When you go to that web photo gallery, YOU get to test your recognition and departmental history skills by identifying the most people in the most photos. The winner on each photo is the one who first leaves a comment with everyone correctly identified. Remember, spelling counts. The overall winner is the one who wins on the most individual photographs. I will select what I think is the best caption suggestion, or you all can vote for those previously posted. You don't have to leave your full name in the comment - though you can - but we'll need some way to identify you if you want to be a contender.

Again, the link to the web gallery is HERE.

Have fun. And thanks again to everyone for an excellent day last Saturday!