Ohio Geological Society Honorary Member - Pauline D. Smyth (1917-2008)

The past few years, I've been writing biographies of geologists who have been awarded Honorary Membership by the Ohio Geological Society. Because of various website reorganizations, these biographies were never republished to the website or never released on the website (https://www.ohiogeosoc.org/). I thought I would release these biographies through my blog, in order to help recognise the important work that these geologists had done in Ohio.

                                                                                                                                                              

Ohio Geological Society Honorary Member

Pauline D. Smyth (1917-2008)

By James McDonald and Madge Fitak

Pauline D. Smyth was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 22, 1917 to Paul and Gertrude (nee Brown) Smyth. Pauline received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati and worked as a teacher until she went to graduate school at the Ohio State University. There, she received her M.S. degree in Geology in 1951, where she studied the unique Pennsylvanian age microfossil, the Fusulinids. 

After graduation, Pauline went to work for the Ohio Geological Survey and worked as a geologist until her retirement. While at the Ohio Geological Survey, Pauline worked in the Public Service section of the Survey, primarily answering public service requests and handling sales of publications. It was during the time of Morrow County oil boom that the Ohio Geological Survey was overwhelmed with public requests for information concerning oil and gas exploration. She expertly handled the large number of visitors to the Survey, and the large number of written and phone requests for information and publication sales. At the same time as the Morrow County oil boom, the U.S. Geological Survey completed remapping the topography of the state of Ohio at 1:24,000 scale, and released the 788 maps during the height of the Morrow County oil boom. As the Ohio Geological Survey was a reseller of the U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps, this function only brought more visitors to the Survey asking for information and maps. These maps were in great demand by the oil and gas industry exploring for oil in Morrow County. All during this time of the Morrow County oil boom and afterwards, Pauline was also compiling the Bibliography of Ohio Geology. The final version of the bibliography, Bibliography of Ohio geology, 1755-1974: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Information Circular 48, was completed and published at the end of her career in 1979.

Pauline joined the Ohio Geological Society (OGS) in 1968. She served as chair of the OGS Membership Committee in 1968-1969. Pauline became the first woman to serve as an officer of the Ohio Geological Society, first by serving as Secretary in 1969-1970 and then Treasurer in 1970-1971. She also served as a member of the Registration Committee of the first Eastern Section AAPG Annual Meeting in 1972. Because of her work with the public during the Morrow County oil boom, her monumental and comprehensive work on the bibliography of Ohio geology, and the volunteer work she did for the Ohio Geological Society, the Ohio Geological Society awarded her Honorary Membership in 1974.

Pauline was a world traveler, visiting such exotic places as Africa, Japan, Russia, Australia and many more. During her world travels, she attended a number of International Geological Congresses, where she was well-known expert on Fusulinids. She greatly enjoyed Scottish Country folk-dancing, bird-watching and was a masterful quilter. Pauline was a faithful Christian and a dedicated volunteer to serving others. She passed away on April 27, 2008 at the age of 90.

Bibliography

Smyth, Pauline, 1951a, Fusulinidae in the Pennsylvanian of Ohio: Ohio State University, M.A. Thesis, 90 p.

Smyth, Pauline, 1951b, Fusulinidae in the Pennsylvanian of Ohio (abs.): GSA Bulletin, v. 62, no. 12, pt. 2, p. 1481.

Smyth, Pauline, 1955, The geology along Route 40 in Ohio: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Information Circular 16, 65 p.

Smyth, Pauline, 1957, Fusulinids from the Pennsylvanian rocks of Ohio: Ohio Journal of Science, v. 57, no. 5, p. 257-283, http://hdl.handle.net/1811/4470.

Smyth, Pauline, 1963, Bibliography of Ohio geology, 1951-1960: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Information Circular 32, 63 p., http://hdl.handle.net/1811/80369.

Smyth, Pauline, 1969, Bibliography of Ohio geology, 1961-1965: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Information Circular 36, 46 p., http://hdl.handle.net/1811/80373.

Smyth, Pauline, 1972, Bibliography of Ohio geology, 1966-1970: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Information Circular 37, 52 p., http://hdl.handle.net/1811/80375.

Smyth, Pauline, 1974, Fusulinids in the Appalachian basin: Journal of Paleontology, v. 48, no. 4, p. 856-858.

Smyth, Pauline, 1979, Bibliography of Ohio geology, 1755-1974: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Information Circular 48, 249 p., http://hdl.handle.net/1811/80384.