Dr. Charles Drew is known but not well known as the father of modern blood banking. Before Dr. Drew’s work the shelf life of whole blood was about a week. Dr. Drew developed the techniques to safely separate and store plasma which could be used for months after collection. His work saved tens of thousands of lives during WWII. Have you heard of him? He was African American, and this community’s many contributions are often neglected.
Yvon Chouinard is the founder of Patagonia whose puffer jackets seem to be everywhere in our area. He was a pioneer rock climber, and his company made pitons which were hammered into rock face as anchors for climbing rope. Once he realized the environmental damage the pitons were causing, he shocked the company announcing they would no longer make pitons. Pitons made up 70% of their sales! The company then developed and patented chocks and stoppers making pitons obsolete. Patagonia donates significant sums to environmental causes and is a leader in plastic recycling and fair-trade manufacturing. The Patagonia website even has instructions on how to repair your gear. How many billion-dollar companies show you how to avoid purchasing more of their product? And breaking news, Yvon just gave the company away so all profits will go to fight climate change and protect the environment.
Rosalind Franklin discovered the key properties of DNA which allowed Francis Crick and James Watson to determine the structure of the double helix. This is arguably the most important scientific discovery of the 20th century. Rosalind died before the Nobel Prize was awarded to Crick and Watson, and the prize is not awarded posthumously. Would she have been awarded the Nobel Prize if she had lived? It is a question still debated in the life sciences community.
Sputnik Monroe was a professional wrestler who played the villain in the ring and was also a civil rights activist. Yes, you read that right. African Americans could only sit in the balcony and not on the floor near the ring. Sputnik went on to become the biggest draw in segregated Memphis. He used his leverage wisely and refused to perform unless anyone could sit anywhere in the arena. The promoters had to agree and started selling out the arena. Other southern sporting events followed suite. Doesn’t matter who you are, even a wrestler playing the bad guy can make a difference!
Admiral Raymond Spruance was a Task Force Commander at the Battle of Midway. He made the decision at the exact time and place to launch his dive bombers for maximum effect. This order caught the enemy refueling and rearming their planes on their flight decks. These attacks resulted in the destruction of four Imperial Navy Aircraft Carriers which turned the tide in the Pacific War. This is the single most consequential tactical order of WWII. I tried to model my naval career after his asking myself what would Spruance do? It was a high standard that was difficult to meet. You may have heard of General “Blood & Guts” Patton and Admiral “Bull” Halsey, but not Admiral Spruance. He avoided the press, and his biography is appropriately titled “The Quiet Warrior”.
Our youth. I’m an optimist and don’t believe Tik Tok will be the doom of civilization. We’ve heard this before about the Jitterbug and Hard Rock. Check out our National Youth Orchestra (NYO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT0QeD_mP1w performing “ La Conga del Fuego Nuevo” When you hear such beauty from these high schoolers, you’ll realize we are going to be just fine. These youngsters are going to do great things. Proud to say there are five Oregonians on this year’s NYO, and this performance will definitely rev you up!