Recollections of a Carnegie Archaeologist

Extract

I came in the back door, in 1993. It was the bottom of the Depression, and I happened to be in Washington, D.C., studying engineering in a technical school. One evening a man walked into our course, “Stresses and Strains in Structural Steel,” and asked for the drafting class. My professor told him it was down the hall, so our visitor backed out and apologized–he'd been looking for a draftsperson. In the of 1933 any job opening looked good, so I followed him and insisted that I had the appropriate qualifications. I didn't, of course, but you'd be willing to try anything in those years.