Bob Spillman:
CLASS OF 1967
North High SchoolClass of 1967
Evansville, IN
University of Illinois - ChemistryClass of 1975
Urbana, IL
Indiana University - ChemistryClass of 1971
Bloomington, IN
Bob's Story
Wow. I can't believe I'm writing a note to classmates I last saw over 40 years ago. I recognize the names, but I haven't thought about you for all that time. That is embarrasing. One good friend is included.
If you remember me, please say "Hi." I was the science nerd. Tall, but too uncoordinated to play basketball.
I left Evansville and went to Indiana University (IU) where I graduated with a BS in chemistry in 1971. I met a great woman, Lana, at IU who was in my same class. I was too shy to say much, but we started talking when we passed on the campus once in a while. We dated for a while but she told me that this was not going to go anywhere. So I quit seeing her. Anguish.
However, she also was taking some chemistry. She eventually asked for some help on organic chemistry, and I was able to see her once in a while. But we went separate directions after graduation.
I went to graduate school at the University of Illinois (UI) in Urbana, majored in chemistry, and graduated with my PhD in 1975. I roomed with a great friend I met at Indiana, Andrew Loh. I loved Chinese cooking and I figured he'd show me some tricks. Alas, he couldn't boil water. But we had a good time, worked hard (he was also a chemistry major) and we are still good friends, although we live on opposite coasts.
Lana got a job at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis. We saw each other once in a while, but I had virtually no income and the dates consisted of Boone's Farm wine and home-cooked meals. It was still fun, especially since she loved the outdoors. I bought a used aluminum canoe and we had some fun trips in the area. It turns out that canoeing is a sure-fired way to determine whether two people are compatible. We weren't compatible for a long time, until I realized that it was always my fault what the canoe did something unexpected, like flipping over. Once I realized that it was always my fault, things got a lot better.
I graduated UI with my PhD in chemistry in 1975 and moved to Cincinnati, OH to work for Procter and Gamble. That is a good company and I got a lot of great training and experience. We developed a light-activated bleach for developing countries so that clothes would bleach while they hung in the sun to dry. While at P&G I went to night school and got an MBA in marketing. I was very interested in the cost/benefit analysis of new technologies.
Lana and I still did the weekend commute dates. She eventually left Eli Lilly to continue her education which led to a PhD in Medical Genetics. She attended both the University of Muchigan and the IU school in Indianapolis. The Michigan/Cincinnati commute was difficult, however.
In the years 1975 - 79, Lana and I had some great summer activities, including trips to Montana, Switzerland, and a 2-week rafting trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Our Montana trips included some serious backpacking in Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness in Idaho. One trip took us on a two week kayaking trip down the Noatak River in northern Alaska. Back home we did a lot of canoeing on weekend trips.
These adventures got into my blood and it was September 1979 when I concluded that I may want to make some changes. P&G was a great company to work for, but I found myself spending a lot of time developing products with marginal benefits, including a year of my life to reduce the surfactant level by 5% in order to save money. When a company sells a lot of any one product, there is always strong pressure to tweek that product for cost savings. This is a good thing, but another one of P&G's strengths is extensive quality control. For them, this means that the customer should always get the experience every time. So it took a huge amount of work to do what most people would do in a much shorter time.
While at P&G I enrolled in night school to obtain an MBA in marketing. This meant that in September 1979 there were several events that I foresaw:
1. My MBA would be completed April 1980.
2. Lana was graduating June 1980
3. I had a growing career interest in longer term R&D and the process of making those investments compatible with the financial goals of a company.
4. I really wanted to live in the West all my life.
5. I thought it would be great to drive the Alaska Highway some day.
So I contacted a recruiter in Seattle, WA, and asked him to find me a job in the Seattle area. I would use that as a transition to meet the above goals. Perhaps it would be exciting enough to attract Lana's attention?
But 1979/1980 was a recession period. Finally, in Jan 1980, the Seattle recruiter called to say the economy is too bad to find a good job in that area. He stated "We have PhD's out here washing dishes." It only took me 2 seconds to respond: "How much do they make?"
I remained committed to the idea of an extended outdoors trip and a change of company. So my brilliant plan was to assume that I could find a job of my own in the Northwest "as I drove through the area on my way up the Alaska Highway." Brilliant!
So I bought a used Toyota pickup that had a cap on the bed (October 1979). I finished my MBA on time, fixed up the truck, gained permits to raft the Middle and Main Forks of the Salmon Rivers in Idaho, and, most importantly, got a sign of interest from Lana to join me on the trip. She planned to complete her PhD work in June.
May 1980. Everything is coming together. I find myself waking up at night thinking "this is stupid to leave a good job and take off." But I kept at it and the more I looked at all the maps and the wilderness areas and rivers on the way to Alaska, I couldn't stop.
Then it gets a little crazy. I found myself trying to keep all options open. This continues until two weeks prior to Lana's graduation. Then we put everything into first gear:
1. I proposed to Lana on a Thursday night, staing that "maybe it would be best if we got married before we left on the trip." She agreed, for some reason. But she needed a blood test for me to apply for the marriage certificate. Hard to believe, but Lana drove to Cincinnati early the next morning and got the test. It takes one week for the results.
I had earlier offered my house for sale to a coworker, with good terms. I reached an agreement with him and got a lawyer to write up the contract. The agreement allowed me to store my junk there until I came back from Alaska (I assumed a 2 month trip). The blood test results came back early June. Lana's graduation was June 13. The house sale was completed the first week of June. I submitted a resignation letter to P&G.
The week of June 8 was bizarre. I had left my job the previous week. Lana and I let a couple of close friends know we were planning to be married that Saturday, June 14th, assuming I could make the arrangements for a church, etc. I invited my parents. Lana's parents were on a trip in Europe and could not be reached. (Gulp).
Some advice: Don't call churches in the week before your planned marriage and tell them you want to get married. They were aghast. Some required a series of counseling sessions. Others were simply not willing to act on such short notice.
I finally found a retired minister who agreed. Better yet, he knew of an old clapboard church north of town that he figured he could use.
Lana finished her work on June 13th, as scheduled. She moved her belongings into storage and drove to Cincinnati Friday afternoon in time for a small reception among some friends and coworkers.
On Saturday, June 14, we finished our preparations and loaded the truck as best we could. Our wedding was in the early afternoon and we headed to the church early so that I could stop and find a wedding ring for Lana. We were in a hurry so I stopped at Sears, of all places. Lana found one she liked so I told the clerk we would take it. She responded "These rings are for display purposes only. We'll need to order one." I explained, hurriedly, that Lana and I were getting married in 1 1/2 hours and I needed it now! The woman looked quite shocked, ran to her manager and got him to agree to sell us the ring. So funny.
We made it to the church, a very rustic white clapboard church north of Cincinnati. Besides ourselves, we had the preacher, my mom and dad, Andy Loh, Wesley Billups, and Shelia, Lana's sister. Lana's parents were in Europe traveling and they wouldn't know of our marriage until they returned, a fact that was of concern to me! We had a stress-free ceremony and the cost was virtually nothing. I gave the preacher $30, Lana borrowed Sheila's dress, and we had no flowers, etc. Fast and easy and we were able to edit the preacher's short talk to our liking. I did spring for dinner for the group. All in all, it was an amazing week, but it didn't stop there.
I had earlier interviewed for a job in the central research center for WR Grace, a specialty chemicals supplier located in Columbia, MD, just north of Washington, DC. I still wanted to move west, not east, but the job was in their Commercial Planning Department, which functions to help establish the commercial viability of new technologies under development and to assist in their commercialization. It was a great fit for my interests and training. They had offered to fly my wife and I out for a look at housing in the area. Well, I figured I'd have a wife by June 14, so I scheduled a trip for Sunday, June 15th, to meet with a real estate agent.
So that is how Lana and I found ourselves starting our honeymoon; on a job interview. We left very early Sunday and arrived in time to spend most of the day looking at homes. I'll never forget our agent as we were wlaking through one home. I saw the clock in the kitchen area just as it approached 1PM...Expand for more
. I said to Lana "We've been married 24 hours now!" The agent was incredulous. "You what???"
I did a second interview on Monday and we flew back to Cincinnati that afternoon and then drove the pickup to Evansville to my parent's house. Our heads were spinning but, at last, we were headed to Alaska.
In all, we spent 4 months on our trip. I accepted the job at WR Grace, and they allowed for my proposed start date of "some time in October." It was a GREAT feeling!! No home, no going to work, married to a great person, starting an adventure filled with great outdoor experiences. The safety net of a job when I returned was icing on the cake.
You should know that both Lana and I watch closely how we spend our money. I was surprised to find how little it can cost to travel when you carry your accomodations and kitchen with you. We almost never stayed at a motel, perhaps only 6 or 7 times the entire 4-month trip. We didn't eat often in restaurants, either. We had no home payments, no real estrate taxes, etc. Our expenses were primarily fuel for the truck and fuel for ourselves (food). Most of our meals came from the grocery store. It turns out that there are many places where you can find coin-operated showers, and we used them often.
Our first big adventure was rafting the Middle Fork and Main Fork Salmon Rivers in Idaho through the Sawtooth Mountains. Both rivers are in wilderness areas and both require permits. The Salmon River is also known as "The River of No Return." I was lucky enough to obtain a joint permit that allowed us to float from the start of the Middle Fork on to the Main Salmon in one long trip. I rented an oar-powered raft and arranged for a transport of our pickup from the start point to the takeout area.
The Salmon rivers float was a two week trip. I've gotta say I was very nervous starting the trip. The river had just fallen below flood stage the previous week, but it was still running very high. I really had very little experience with an oar-powered raft. When we finally got the raft inflated and into the river, the current was fairly strong. We loaded it up with our tents, food and clothing and we were ready to go. I gritted my teeth as we pushed off. There no getting back since the river ran quickly through a canyon just a few hundred feet from the put-in.
Ohmygosh, what a great trip. Lots of rapids, beautiful scenery, no roads, no cars, and no people. We did see an occasional kayaker or raft come through, but most of the time we were by ourselves. This is by design as a result of the permit system which restricts the number of visitors so as to maintain the wilderness character of the river.
Our first big challenge was making it over a small waterfall, around 3 feet high. We made it over fine, but not without a lot of yelling. We took a break in an eddy below the falls and got a snack. As we were waiting another raft showed up with two guys. They lined up the raft and, like us, went over the drop with lots of yelling. But, unlike us, they landed in the water, raft upside down. We quickly caught their raft and helped rescue their belongings. No big deal, except that the experience gave me some confidence that I was doing OK.
You pretty much have to find your own campsite along the river, which is not as easy as it would seem. Trees, rocks, brush, etc. After all, it is a wilderness. Our first night found us in close proximity to the two we had helped rescue, so we ate together as a group. It was then that I learned the great joy of helping others; they gave each of us a beer. Here we were, far into a wilderness, comparing freeze-dried food and sipping beers. You can't ask for more.
The whole two-week trip was full of adventure. The rapids were plentiful and they were what is called "technical" rapids, since they were full of rock obstacles that required careful planning and quick execution. It was an interesting feeling: my food, lodging, camera, clothing, and even my wife were on the raft as we headed into frothy rapids with large rocks many miles away from anyone other than the occasional boaters. Time and time again we would stop and scout a rapid, deciding what maneuvers we would make. As with canoeing, I already knew that if anything went wrong that it was my fault. So we had a great time. All shouting was confined to fear or satisfaction of success. It was great!
We then traveled to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. I had reserved a room in the historical Yellowstone Inn where we watched Old Faithful geyser erupt from the hotel outdoor balcony.
After exploring Yellowstone we traveled to northwest Montana to McGregfor Lake, where the extended family owns two cabins on the lake that were built in the 1940's. We spent several weeks there, wifh many trips to Glacier National Park where we did some backpacking.
From McGregor Lake we traveled to Washington State. We first trained for a climb up Mt. Ranier by practicing hiking on steep, icy slopes with crampons and an ice ax. The training was great and included some falling on a steep ice slope to see if you could use the ice ax to stop the slide. Good exercise when you fail and have to climb back up. I must add that this was the year that Mt St. Helens erupted with a huge explosion. We could see St. Helens from Ranier and there was still plenty of smoke and ash coming out. There were concerns over a secondary eruption. I mention this because in the slide training the ash that covered Ranier torn at our outer clothing layer.
After passing the training course, we were able to sign up for a climb up Ranier the next day. The climbs are broken into two days. The first gets 3/4 the way up the mountain and stops at Muir Lodge, a one-room structure that has a dozen or so of the world's hardest bed platforms. After we had cooked a dinner, Lana and I sat out on the small deck and had a wonderful view of Mt. St. Helens as the sun was getting lower. As we were watching, St. Herlens had another very large puff of smoke and ash. It was a spectacular picture and one that I will always remember. At the time, the wind was blowing east and the ash formed a hugh, drifting cloud to our left.
The combination of hard bed, close quarters and high altitude made it difficult for me to sleep. I had a slight case of high altitude sickness which left me a little nauseated. We got up early to start the second day climb and I eventually became used to the altitude (if not the lack of oxygen). We started out with one guide in front and the second in back, all connectred with a long safety rope. The day started out great and we saw St Helens continuing to spew ash once in a while.
The group kept up a brisk pace even though the thick snow and occassional ice slopes made hiking a bit of a challenge in the high altitude. The two guides weren't very patient - they seemed to want to get down quickly.
About mid-day, with the peak clearly visible and perhaps another 1,000 verticle feet, the weather started to quickly change. The ashj from St Helens was now returning west and cereating a bit of a snowstorm on Ranier. We started losing a little visibility and the guides decided that it was safer to turn back. What a disappointment. I didn't think the snow was that bad to have cancelled the trip. But the guides wanted to get back down, for whatever reason. Once we got to the bottom trhe weather cleared up and the day turned sunny and bright. The guides with still congratulating themselves for being so safety-concious.
We got to our truck and found it covered in volcanic ash. It was hard to get it off since it was so abrasive.
We then headed to Seattle to do some sightseeing. Great town. I still want to live there. The remnants of the great gold rush are presented in a museum on the harbor. We had a drink on top of the Space Needle and then a dinner at a harbor restuarant. Eating on top the Space Needle would have been more fun, but the prices exceeded our budget.
From Seattle we headed west to the Olympic Pensinsula and Olympic National Park. Did you know this was a rainforest? They get a tremendous amount of rain in this area and the trees grow to gargantuan size. There were many photos taken during the early days of logging in which men would stand next to a felled tree and were dwarfed by the realative size of the tree. Most of the trees have been preserved in the Park and we decided to make a 3-day backpacking trip across the middle.
On the first night we made camp in a forested area and hung our backpacks, with the food, high up a tree. This is standard practice for backcountry camping to prevent the bears from helping themselves to the food. We were awakened by noises outside the tent early the next morning and when I looked out I spotted a bear standing on a log reaching for Lana's backpack - successfully, I should add. I chased him off and we found punctures in her backback, which she still points out over 20 years later.
On the second night we camped near the top of one of the mountains under a tree. That night we were awakened by an odd noise from the top of the tent. As always, we immediately assume we are in danger of a bear attack. For some reason, I always get out my Swiss Army Knife and build some illusion of protection before opening the tent. What I found was quite a surprise. No bears, just small chipmucks who were climbing the tree over our tent and then dropping off and sliding down the roof. As best as I can tell, one of them must have sold tickets for the night's entertainment. We still laugh about those critters. We exited the park along the Pacific coast and saw some huge trees. I hitchhiked back to our vehicle and we then headed for Canada to start our trip on the Alaskan Highway
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