Luther College Geology Collection

Several thousand rock, mineral and fossil specimens are contained within
the geological collection. The core collection was originally part of the
Norwegian-American Museum, returned to the college in 1972. Other notable
specimens include the Ellison Orr collection of fossils; rocks and minerals
donated by potter, Marguerite Wildenhain; the Wallace Skarshaug fossil collection; specimens donated by curator Jean Young and a collection of
Cold Water Cave photos by Jerry Grier. Currently, work is focused on the Amel Priest collection donated by the Madison County Historical Society.

The History of the Collection

The Luther College Geology Collections appears to have been started in the early days of the college, with a combination of privately collected specimens and purchases from Ward's Natural Science Establishment. These materials were, at some point, transferred to the Norwegian-American Museum (then the college museum, now Vesterheim).

In the 1940s, Ellison Orr donated a portion of his paleontology collection; this collection was for some time exhibited in the space now occupied by the Sherman Hoslett Collection, and may have been considered part of that museum for a time. In 1972, the materials from Vesterheim were returned to campus, and most of them identified or re-identified and numbered by Jean Young, who made a preliminary catalog for them. Most of the Ellison Orr Collection was moved into the Physics wing corridor, along with all its display cases.

In the middle 1970s, the College received at least part of Marguerite Wildenhain's rock and mineral collection (along with her catalog), some of which was displayed with the Orr collection, some left packed, and some dispersed into teaching sets. At about the same time noted amateur collector Art Gerk gave us a fine collection of brachiopods. Local dentist Dr. Henry Field donated vertebrate remains, notably the jaw of a baby mammoth found in the floodplain gravels of the Highway 76 bridge over the Upper Iowa River. [See photograph.]

Vertebrate display currently housed in Valders Hall of Science. The display includes a baby mammoth jaw, a turtle from the Badlands, and numerous other items from the collection.

During the 1970s and 1980s, as space was needed for other items, the geology materials were packed, repacked, moved, stored, moved again, until in 1990 the great bulk of the collection was to be found in a heap on the floor of the basement of Preus Library. At that point, Jean Young (our present geology curator) began sorting, re-identifying and re-cataloging, attempting to match specimens with existing catalogs. She also donated a large personal collection to the college.

Today the Geology Collection, housed in its own storage facility in the Preus Library basement, has been augmented by the donation of several other collections, notably plant fossils from the Mazon Creek locality and other materials given by the widow of Luther alumnus Wallace Skarshaug. Two years ago Luther was offered a large collection which another famous amateur, Amel Priest of Winterset, Iowa, had left to the Madison County Historical Society. So far, we have brought three loads of a half-dozen to several dozen boxes each of this material. It includes a large number of crinoid specimens; brachiopods; stratigraphic collections of Pennsylvanian Age material from southern Iowa and eastern Nebraska; Cretaceous fossils from Texas; and assorted other materials. We have begun the enormous job of cleaning and identifying these specimens. In August 2001, the combination of high humidity and condensation on overhead pipes led to water on the floor and a subsequent outbreak of mold in the storage area. Clean up was completed in January 2002.

Lindsey Lane (2003) works with Jean Young, curator,on classification of fossils from the Amel Priest collection.

Use of the Collection

Materials from the collection are used in the introductory geology courses, and five quasi-permanent exhibits have been set up in Valders 164 to be references for igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and minerals, and invertebrate and vertebrate fossils. The Physics wing hallway has displays in geology and astronomy; the geology exhibits are intended to be relatively short term.

A display, currently on bird fossils and the origin of birds, is located in the Valders Concourse by the Biology wing. Several displays have appeared in Preus Library. Among these were one on Marguerite Wildenhain's minerals and rocks, along with some of her drawings of places where she had collected. Most recently the Library has had an exhibit of the crinoids of the Amel Priest Collection.

Portions of the collection have traveled to the North Winneshiek School and Crestwood Junior High School (Cresco), and various school groups have toured the displays and the collection in the basement. The Environmental College for Young Leaders, Cub Scouts, and others have visited or used our materials. Paleontology students in two January Term classes used the fossils in the collection extensively, some of them doing research projects on materials in the collection. These specimens are also used by students in the summer science symposium. A few are on loan to the University of Minnesota and the University of Iowa.

Curator Jean Young has also joined students from seventh and eight grades at North Winneshiek School in the field for fossil collecting and observations on sedimentary rocks, as part of the Partners in Education program. In fall 2000, Luther's science education class also went in the field with Jean, and visited the collection in Preus Library; the 2001 class went to Postville Quarry with Jean.

Student assistant Lindsey Lane (2003) scrubs a fossil from the Amel Priest Collection.

Current Focus

Mold cleanup was completed by the end of January Term, 2002. On March 14, we held an open house to celebrate, with refreshments upstairs in Hovde Lounge and Professor Emeritus Kellogg running a video on the Burgess Shale to accompany the specimens borrowed from the University of Iowa for the Evolution course being taught this spring. Student assistants ferried visitors down to the "dungeons," now as spick-and-span as they've ever been. About 60 people attended the open house.

We have recently been bringing some samples from the collection to the Astronomy Open House observing nights, on the second Friday of each month. Curator Jean Young will attempt to identify any specimens brought in by the public at this time. Plan to join us and enjoy sky and earth at the same time!

Our newest acquisitions are some "coal balls" (calcified peat) from Pennsylvanian Age coal swamps--a gift from Jeffrey Schabilion, Department of Botany, University of Iowa; and some samples of the Burgess Shale, donated through Julia Golden, curator of the Paleontology Repository, University of Iowa. We are greatly indebted to the University for specimens we could not otherwise have acquired.

Last Spring we succeeded in getting a database form created, and 3 students started doing data entry. Since our computer/workspace area was closed to students because of the mold problem, we moved the database program and all our (suitably cleaned) catalogs to Valders, where 2 students are continuing data entry.

Our other main focus, on sorting and cataloging the vast amount of material in the Amel Priest Collection. Over three hundred catalog entries, many of which represent anywhere from five or ten to over one hundred specimens have been made so far, and there are dozens of boxes of materials awaiting cleaning and identification.

Much of the material, especially the crinoids, needs to be cleaned with an air-abrasive device, and we are "saving" towards purchase of one with our endowment spending allocation. If any friends/alumni of Luther College would care to donate towards purchase of an air-abrasive device, or know of a used one in good condition that is for sale, please contact the curator.

Visiting

Since the collection is housed in a secure area of the library, visitors need to make arrangements to visit the Geology Cage. Call Jean Young at 387-1508 to arrange for a visit, or stop by the Valders Concourse and Physics wing hallway to see the exhibits there.