First, let me say that the comments to the last two posts are a great example of why I still find this enterprise a generally happy one. I can’t claim that I always like Rice but there’s no question that I’m always deeply interested in it and I’m very grateful to my readers who help me understand it. You have my most sincere thanks. And a special thanks to commenter Doug Williams, who has certainly earned the title “Most Alert Reader Ever” for finding the second elephant.
Now, on to the canoe. I found this 1915 photo the other day and at first assumed it was more biologists on a collecting trip:
A closer look, though, reveals three engineers and a physicist, apparently just having some aimless fun:
Left to right, that’s Jimmy Waters, J.H. Pound, Claude Heaps (our physicist) and Carl Knapp.
What I love about this is that two of these fellows were faculty (Pounds and Heaps) and the other two students (Waters–who went on to join the faculty and–Knapp). This sort of obviously close and friendly relationship is something that I’ve seen again and again in the early years at Rice.
Bonus: A real photographer, Tommy Lavergne, sent me this lovely image of the roses. I can already tell that they are going to give a lot of pleasure–yet another thing to be grateful for.
…and there are those of us who always appreciate historical pictures of wood-and-canvas canoes.
So we all seem to be having a good day!
Thanks for posting the pictures of my grandfather (Pound). It’s always exciting to see him in your posts.
I have to confess I think he was pretty handsome.
And mine too!!! Carl Knapp was my grandfather! I am Carolyn Gayle, daughter of Elizabeth Knapp Gayle
Melissa – thanks for the title. It took me a minute to figure out why there were multiple trunks in the picture. It does feel odd, though, to be named “most alert” for spotting an elephant on a football field.
I know! It really is odd. I think that’s the beauty of it.
This is the best comment ever.
Had the elephant simply been in a room, we all would have seen it!