"Immediately after high school, I did six months training in the Army,
worked on the assembly line at Hiller Aircraft in East Palo Alto, and
went to the College of San Mateo (at Coyote Point). Several of us
without direction in life decided that it would be exciting to travel and
experience other cultures or at least meet some different people --
the catch -- none of us had any money so we would have to work when
we got there. That narrowed the list of possibilities. In January 1961,
two of us left for Australia on the P&O ship Arcadia. I was in Australia
until September, touring the country by thumb and working when I needed
money. It was a great time to be there. Jobs were plentiful and Americans
were especially welcome because the US had come to the aid of Australia
during WW2 (the battle of the Coral Sea).
That trip turned out to be the most important event in my life. I left
Australia in September on the Greek ship Patrais bound for Athens.
I met my Australian wife Judy on that 30-day voyage across the Indian
Ocean to the Gulf of Aden, through the Suez Canal to Athens. We
ended up in London, got married, and honeymooned in Spain.
Judy and I got to Menlo Park in December 1961 and, with a little help
from our friends (especially JoAnne and Jerry Robertson), we started
a life together. I went back to work at Hiller Aircraft until they lost
a government contract and I was one of many laid off (Hiller
later moved to New Jersey). I decided then to go back to college.
Judy went to work in the billing office for All American Markets
(remember them, now out of business) and she supported us. I started
at Foothills Jr. College in 1963 and ended up getting my undergraduate
(class of 67) and graduate degrees from Stanford in civil engineering
(water resources).
In 1968, with fresh parchment in hand, I was hired by the US Geological
Survey, Water Resources Division, to study the ground-water supply for
Anchorage, AK. The USGS offices in Menlo are on Middlefield Road
just south of MA as they were when we were in high school. After
spending some time in Alaska and another year at Stanford (this time
on Uncle Sam's dime), the USGS moved us to Denver in 1972 to study
the effects of proposed oil-shale development on the water resources in
western Colorado. When the energy crisis waned (remember the lines
at the gas stations), so did interest in oil shale. However, timing is
everything. Drought in the western US in 1977 caused Congressional
concern about the future of irrigated agriculture and the USGS put me
in charge of a study of ground-water depletion in the High Plains which
extends from South Dakota to Texas and includes parts of eight States.
Since then, I have headed a research group investigating all facets
hydrology -- from floods to computer models of the movement of contaminants
in the environment. I have been with the USGS for 30 years and it has been a
challenging and rewarding. Our work makes a difference in the understanding
of our environment and the management of our resources
Judy and I have been lucky to be in Denver all these years. It is a great
place to live as many Californians are now finding out. We have been
married 36 years; we raised two boys, David (born 1962) and Jon (born 1970).
We lost David to a car accident in 1988. Jon was married in 1995.
He and his wife Cyndi are juggling work and school in Denver. Jon is
majoring in engineering and working for an engineering and surveying
company. Cyndi is majoring in psychology and working in a law office.
They hope to finish college this year. Judy is the bookkeeper and office
manager for an auto repair shop; she has helped run their business for
the past 18 years. My lovely wife Judy has been the motivating force
in my life. I'm lucky to have her.
Time flies when you're having fun, and these 40 years have certainly
flown by!
Jack
Write to Jack at jbweeks@usgs.gov.
