This is Throwback Thursday #237. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected]. Thanks!
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US Route 66 has been termed the "Mother Road" by some as it was one of the original highways in the United States. It was commissioned on November 11, 1926 and ran from Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA, via Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Road signs were erected the following year. One of the alignments of Route 66 ran right through the heart of what was the Northern Illinois Coal Corporation's (NICC) Pit 3. We did a post about Piano Hill a few years ago (see Throwback Thursday #127).
At last weekend's 2024 MAPS Show, I was reminded of Bruce Stinchcomb when part of his collection was made available for sale. Bruce was a geologist and educator who taught at St. Louis Community College for 36 years. Sadly, he passed away on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at the age of 85. His contributions to science and paleontology will long be remembered. The following is an excerpt from his obituary.
Dr. Bruce L. Stinchcomb
85, passed peacefully at home, Wednesday July 12, 2023. On Monday, two days before, he was doing what he loved; discovering fossils with friends and colleagues at Crowley’s Ridge. He leaves behind his daughter, Beth Stinchcomb; two nephews, Frank and Lou Wachowe, Teresa & Nick Wachowe, and many friends. He earned a PhD in earth science from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in 1978, and received his MA in geology from Washington University in 1966. A professor at St. Louis Community College for 36 years; he retired in 2005. His contributions to science and paleontology will forever be recognized. Mentor and Teacher; he was instrumental in the discovery, excavation & preservation of our Missouri dinosaur: Parrosaurus missouriensis, currently on display at The Chicago Museum of Natural History.
Bruce did a small video of the geology of Route 66. The segment of the video about Mazon Creek and Braidwood is available on Youtube. It's nteresting that he mentions the MAPS fossil shows in the video.
Route 66 crossed the Illinois Basin in the state of Illinois. It cut right through an extensive coal strip mine area what is and was the source of large numbers of fossils and known as the Mazon Creek (and Essex) fossil beds. Shown here are a variety of fossil plants and animals which came from this area and are representative of it. Many of these were collected in the 1950's and 60's when collecting of these fossils was especially productive.
