tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post6812252365215974541..comments2024-03-26T16:53:48.618-06:00Comments on In the Company of Plants and Rocks: My most important geology teacher -- Dr. Brainerd “Nip” Mears, Jr.Hollishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-63936028370343766412021-04-18T11:00:40.354-06:002021-04-18T11:00:40.354-06:00Hello George, thanks for the Comment and thoughts!...Hello George, thanks for the Comment and thoughts! I always enjoy stories and memories of Dr. Mears. He added so much to my life by introducing me to geomorphology, and through his great teaching.<br />best wishes, HollisHollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-33684476260029014532021-04-17T20:33:27.771-06:002021-04-17T20:33:27.771-06:00I took geology from Dr. Mears In 1969. It was the ...I took geology from Dr. Mears In 1969. It was the finest educational experience of my life. Nothing has been so engaging since. I went to the journalism, but what he taught us has never left us 52 years later. Thank you Dr. Mears! May your legacy live on! <br />—George J. Wienbarg Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-87474953269403508712015-04-04T09:12:30.576-06:002015-04-04T09:12:30.576-06:00Very sad. I only knew that Bart died in an "...Very sad. I only knew that Bart died in an "accident" of some kind. There were other tragedies and I have to wonder if that didn't sharpen his compassion ... put academic pressure, competition and other BS in perspective. In any case, we're fortunate to have crossed paths with Doc Mears, especially during our formative years ... as you describe so well.Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-31875194122640670022015-04-03T19:20:44.390-06:002015-04-03T19:20:44.390-06:00Your reflections here, and in the Pawnee Buttes po...Your reflections here, and in the Pawnee Buttes post, reminded me of a Brainerd Mears story that I have told only a couple of people. These postings jogged my semi-retired feeble brain. <br /><br />I enrolled in Summer School at UW during the late 1970s due to an accident that did not permit me to attend school during the normal terms. I lived in one of the dorms on campus, can't recall the name of it, but in the cluster on Grand Ave. My next door neighbor in the dorm? Bart Mears, Dr. Mears son. <br /><br />I am not certain why Bart was in summer school because during the regular terms he went to another school other than UW. Bart was a runner. He ran all the time, and only wanted to talk about running. I recall he went to school on a track scholarship of some sort. <br /><br />I don't recall seeing Dr. Mears visit during summer school, but I am fairly certain Bart mentioned this stupid undergraduate geology major living next to him that just wanted to drink beer, watch Laramie thunderheads boil in and leave megarainbows, and pursue other distractions during those brief, but glorious, Laramie summers.<br /><br />After finishing Regional Geomorphology during a Spring term, my good fortune led to a summer field assignment in Arizona. Fall semester was about to start and I was walking down Third Avenue in front of the First Interstate Bank. I encountered Dr. Mears along the way. In his usual style of caring what undergraduate students did with their lives, he asked about the summer field work, made other small talk that was always interesting and sometimes funny with his sense of humor. Yes, he had a grey wool jacket on during late summer.<br /><br />I asked about Bart. He told me matter of factly that Bart had died at the finishing line of a running race with a personal best time.<br /><br />I was stunned, and did not say anything. Dr. Mears recognized the uncomfortable silence. He left me slack jawed by saying "Bart liked to run", thanked me for asking about him, and continued southward towards the old photo store on the corner.<br /><br />I never could go to the Albany County Library because the Mears family had a statue commissioned to commemorate Bart and his love for running. It always made me very sad. I do recall the statue and the plaque were beautiful, very artistic to celebrate Anne Mears love for art as an art historian (might have even been a Russin piece). <br /><br />It is a memory I will take to my grave about what a class act, professionally and personally, that Dr. Mears was as a geologist, a father, and a human being.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-46752044475475538302015-04-03T11:11:50.054-06:002015-04-03T11:11:50.054-06:00I hope you find this reply, as I really want to sa...I hope you find this reply, as I really want to say "thanks so much!" for sharing your stories. My interest in geomorphology, fueled 30 years ago by Dr. Mears, now provides me so much pleasure in retirement. I often think of him. And just yesterday I was reviewing my Regional Geomorphology notes in putting together today's post about the Pawnee Buttes ... still very helpful! Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-83246309760096407672015-04-02T20:33:52.518-06:002015-04-02T20:33:52.518-06:00I read that Dr. Mears died a couple of days ago. I...I read that Dr. Mears died a couple of days ago. I found your blog with the wonderful look back. I, too, took classes from Dr. Mears as a geology student at UW during the late 1970s and early 1980s. I shared an office with one of the folks in the 1980s photo, Cheryl Jawaroski (spelling probably tortured - apologies), and I think my old friend Jim Coogan is the happy person in the lower right of the photo. I became an expert at drawing block diagrams thanks to Dr. Mears selfless efforts at sharing this wonderful skill with the class, many times after we had already filled a page with notes, only to have him say - "oh, what the heck, let's throw it into 3-D". I finally knew that he considered me worthy of geologic debate when I proposed a karst model for the development for Stink Lake, and he filled my mailbox with articles on piping - an alternative theory. What a great teacher.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-13057965937193024252014-08-16T16:00:15.055-06:002014-08-16T16:00:15.055-06:00A belated "thanks" for reading and for t...A belated "thanks" for reading and for the comment. Those were great times, good memories! Recognize Hank Heasler, Dan Rosen, Larry Munn? I suppose we've changed a little bit since then ;-)Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-44170684829666582142014-08-08T20:13:45.553-06:002014-08-08T20:13:45.553-06:001986. That was the year I graduated from the Univ...1986. That was the year I graduated from the University of Wyoming with a BS in geology. Some familiar faces in that photo, but other than Mears, I don't think I could name any names.Pat, Marcus & Alexishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13097254988446524947noreply@blogger.com