The Fiftieth Anniversary Banquet: Messages from Charter Members of the Association ofPacific Coast Geographers Gary Dunbar* In making preparations for the fiftieth anniversary meetings of the APCG, held at UCLA, 12-15 September 1985, I wrote to the surviving charter members and invited them to participate, either in person or by message. Several had hoped to attend the meetings but could not do so because of other engagements. In the end, only Winnifred Varney Fischer came to the meetings, but several other charter members sent their greetings. We heard taped messages from two of the founding members, John Leighly and Alvena Suhl Storm. There was so much interest in these messages that we are now reprinting them for the benefit of the entire membership. A letter has been added from Dr. Willis Miller, who was not a charter member of the APCG but joined soon after and has always taken a keen interest in the affairs of the Association. Transcript of a taped message from Alvena Suhl Storm, Professor Emérita, San Diego State University Thank you for your invitation to the fiftieth anniversary meeting of the APCG. I regret that I shall not be able to be with you in person. It would be fun to see some of my old friends and meet some of the new people in the field. You ask for some sort of message to the group. You mention reminiscences of early meetings of APCG, * Dr. Gary Dunbar is a professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. 169 170ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS memories of early days of geography, or advice to young geographers. The prospect of a captive audience is an irresistible temptation for one who has lectured to college students for forty years and now has been retired for almost twenty. Any modesty disappears. Others can report on the early meetings of the APCG better than I, for, except for meetings in San Diego, I did not attend with any regularity. Of those, however, I do recall some very enjoyable and profitable times. Do you remember the field trip to Tijuana where we visited three plants: one that made mops, another spaghetti, and a third cigarettes? They were a far cry from today's border operations. Another time I took some of the group over our Geography 1 field trip route. And then there was that barbecue on Brennan Island in the Bay on a warm moonlight evening. Alas, Brennan Island and the whole Rowing Club complex have been replaced by a restaurant and a parking lot. Of the early days of geography: if John Leighly has a fifteenminute tape, he has covered those days! However, at the risk of repetition, let me say that at Berkeley in the '20s, we were few in number. We were housed in the basement of South Hall, one of the oldest buildings on the campus. We had very little equipment. We made many of our own wall maps. Most of us were as poor as church mice. We worked long hours and we had little time to feel sorry for ourselves. When we finished the reading of the blue books for the finals, we had a rare party about midnight. Our refreshments: popcorn, pretzels, and a soft drink. I hope someday to get an enlargement of a picture John took at that time, but he may already have made one. John and I are the only ones left of that group. The others were Warren Thornthwaite, Peveril Meigs, Dick Russell, and Lauren Post. Well, that leaves the last suggestion—advice to young geographers . Remember, you asked for this! My advice would go like this: get out into the field and get your students into the field. I know it takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of planning, it isn't always convenient. And then there is always the chance that some student will say, "What's that?" and you don't know. Don't be alarmed. YEARROOK · VOLUME 48 · 1986171 You simply say, "I don't know, but let's try to find out." The students will respect you for your honesty, and they will enjoy the challenge of...