Doug, I just wanted to say thanks for your words. And thanks, Bill. He  
was my chairman for a MA thesis at UAz in the late 1980s. I wanted to  
look at pueblo geometry but he said no, and suggested the baroque, and  
then suggested DC, which has led to the adventure of a lifetime. I  
hated him when he first suggested the baroque, but growth hurts I  
guess, and when the features were found, he found himself in the  
position of growing as well. That he was a pioneer in making  
archaeology relevant to the modern cultural world, instead of as an  
entertainment, is without question. Sadly, I only knew him up close  
for those couple of years, but he lived (and instilled) that  
possibility, or mission, of trying to fuse the relevance, utility and  
the practicality of the profession into modern life. He succeeded in  
revolutionizing the field. He leaves behind an honored legacy, and  
hopefully many clones.
Chris


On Jun 7, 2012, at 12:19 PM, Doug Wilson wrote:

> Mentors are important.  One of my mentors, one who had a profound  
> influence
> on my life was Bill Rathje, who passed away May 24th in Tucson.   
> Bill had a
> significant effect on the field of archaeology, stretching the  
> boundaries
> of what archaeologists do and the questions they address.  After a
> successful career as a Mayanist, he developed the field of modern  
> material
> culture studies in archaeology.  The University of Arizona has a nice
> summary of Bill’s accomplishments http://uanews.org/node/47560.  To  
> me,
> however, Bill was an energetic mentor.  He was a perfectionist that  
> threw
> himself fully into his projects.  This was of tremendous value to me  
> as one
> of his graduate students.  I remember a particularly excruciating 6- 
> month
> period when I drafted a proposal to the National Science Foundation to
> explore household hazardous wastes.  I would present Bill with my best
> graduate student writing, trying to address the somewhat mysterious  
> (to me)
> proposal requirements of the NSF’s Environmental and Water Quality
> Engineering directorate, and Bill would quickly return it to me  
> covered in
> red ink.  After a few iterations of this, I would think I was getting
> better because there was less red ink, but then the next draft would
> “bleed” as much or more than the first.  While frustrating, this  
> process
> was exceptionally useful to me and ultimately paid off in a funded  
> grant.
> It led to more funding from the Bay Area of Governments and the
> Environmental Protection Agency, among others.  Working with Bill on  
> grants
> immensely helped my writing, but also taught me how important the  
> grants
> process was to scholarship.  Working through reports and articles  
> with Bill
> showed me how attention to detail and clear and effective writing  
> was a
> critical skill in archaeology, one that has served me well in CRM, the
> National Park Service, and in mentoring my own students at Portland  
> State
> University.
> Bill was also acutely aware of the media and the good that positive  
> media
> had on developing an understanding of what scientists really do.   
> Bill was
> a master in front of a television camera.  He taught me how to  
> develop and
> present the “sound bites” that would forward one’s research objectives
> while countering the bizarre twists that reporters sometimes develop,
> particularly acute when anthropology students are doing such  
> nontraditional
> things as poking through modern garbage or drilling holes in  
> landfills.
>
>
> Bill could be very persuasive in front of a lecture hall, or in a
> boardroom.  He had no problem expressing why garbology was a valid  
> science
> and how archaeology could contribute to the modern world.  He was a
> charmer, and could tell incredibly funny jokes and stories.  He  
> loved to
> talk and socialize.  While he was by no means a perfect man, his  
> strengths
> outweighed his weaknesses.  In sum, Bill had a surprising influence  
> on me.
> While I have had other mentors in my life, there was no one quite  
> like Bill
> Rathje. RIP Bill!
>
>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> Douglas C. Wilson, Ph.D., Director
> Northwest Cultural Resources Institute
> Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
> 612 East Reserve Street
> Vancouver, Washington 98661
> Phone: (360) 816-6251
> Cell: (360) 921-5241
> Fax:  (360) 816-6363