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Dr. Garald Gordon Parker collection, 1939-1990, bulk 1970-1987

 

Summary

Creator:
Parker, Garald Gordon, 1905-2000
Extent:
7.79 Linear Feet
20 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Dr. Garald Gordon Parker collection, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

Background

Scope and content:

Following Garald Parker's long career in Florida hydrology, his materials focus almost exclusively on groundwater resources in southern Florida. The series labeled "Professional Papers" contains "Biographical Materials" which houses items about Parker's life, a box of "Correspondence" sent to or by Parker, "Educational Materials" which contains Syllabi and handouts used by Parker during his teaching career, two boxes of "Legal Papers" which deal with extensive materials Parker collected relating to two court cases, "Organization and Association Records" for environmental and science societies Parker followed, and the two "Projects" boxes which are organized around certain cases and may contain correspondence, reports, or court documents. "Professional Papers" also contains three boxes labeled "Writings" boxes cover articles and other writings by Parker.

The next series is "Research Materials" which contains a box of "Maps and Charts" that Parker used for research or reference, and Parker's "Notebooks" box includes field notebooks with his handwritten notes. "Research Materials" also contains two "Publications" boxes which includes awritings Parker collected such as scholarly articles and newspaper clippings.

The final series "Photographic Materials" contains two "Photographs and Slide Collection" boxes containing groups of slides used by Parker in research or as lecture materials. This series also contains three boxes of "Scrapbooks" containing a scrapbooks of his field work.

Biographical / historical:

Garald G. Parker, often cited as the "Father of Florida groundwater hydrogeology," had a long career studying and preserving groundwater resources, particularly in Florida. In 1939, Parker and other scientists were sent by the U. S. Geological Survey to discover the reason why wells in Miami were going salty during a drought. Parker worked in the Everglades from 1940-1947, studying the water levels of wells with indicators that were monitored by planes flying over the marsh. During this time, Parker discovered and described both the Biscayne Aquifer and the Floridan Aquifer, detailing the water landscape of southern Florida in his monumental 1,000 page report "Water Supply Paper 1255, Water Resources of Southeastern Florida" (1955). Parker's work alerted Floridians to their ground-water resources, and resulted in the establishment of Florida's five Water Management Districts (though the state was slow in doing so). Parker also warned of the deleterious effects that unchecked settlement and water usage could have on the groundwater supply such as the encroachment of salt water that brought Parker to South Florida in the first place. After leaving the U.S. Geological Survey, Parker spent several years working as Chief Hydrologist for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, and then spent the last years of his active career working as a consultant.

http://sofia.usgs.gov/memorials/parker/

Note written by Justin M. White

Acquisition information:

Garald G. Parker

Donation.

Arrangement:

The collection is oragnized into three series. The first series labeled "Professional Papers" contains boxes "Biographical Materials" about Parker's life, "Correspondence" sent to or by Parker, "Educational Materials" he used while teaching, "Legal Papers" on court cases Parker followed, "Organization and Association Records" related to Parker's research, and "Projects" worked on by Parker or others. "Correspondence" is arranged chronologically, and all other boxes are organized topically and arranged alphabetically. "Professional Papers" also contains boxes labeled "Writings" which are works by Parker himself, arranged alphabetically by title.

The next series is "Research Materials" which contains boxes "Maps and Charts" Parker used for research, and "Notebooks" containing Parker's field research notes. "Research Materials" also contains "Publications" boxes which include a collection of articles and other publications Parker collected by others, and are organized alphabetically by author or organization. There is also a selection of newspaper clippings organized after the articles within the second "Publications" box that are arranged alphabetically by folder label and then chronologically by year.

The final series "Photographic Materials" contains boxes "Slide Collection" containing groups of slides used by Parker, and "Scrapbooks" made by Parker of his research. These four boxes are separated into folders that are organized alphabetically of contain the itemized scrapbooks themselves.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

None

Terms of access:

None.  The contents of the collection may be subject to copyright.  Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.

Preferred citation:

Dr. Garald Gordon Parker collection, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

Location of this collection:
The University of South Florida, Tampa Campus
4202 East Fowler Ave. LIB122
Tampa
FL
33620-5400
USA