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PLSO Issue 1 2015 Jan_Feb

Downtown Portland, Oregon circa 1960s #17My First Seven Years at M.I.T. HAVING LEFT ROSEBURG AND MR. SHANER, I arrived in the big city of Portland in 1966 and I’ve never left . I began my search for work in the Yellow Pages, which I thought was the way everyone did it. (1) Andy Paris & Assoc., (2) James Chase with Marx and Chase, (3) John Compton Surveying located near King City. John told me about an outfi t in Beaverton (we always called companies “outfi ts,” like ranches in Baker County) that might be hiring: Robert E. Meyer Engineering. Off I went to REM Engineering located near the corner of Watson Avenue and Farmington Road. I talked with Bob for about 15 minutes and he then introduced me to Walter L. Caswell (Layne). We talked and he said I was hired and it would be about a week before a second crew member would arrive, Mr. Zen Dutson. So for that week I ran blueprints through a wet process ammonia machine. I hated it when the original wrapped itself around a roller and I had to stop everything and take it apart. It was a most interesting seven years that I worked for REM Engineering. Bob Meyer was very good at hiring newly graduated engineers (especially from Oregon State University) and giving them a start in their career. Th is is probably why over the years the company became known as M.I.T. (Meyer’s Institute of Training.) For a brief time Bob Meyer joined with two other engineers, Andy Klein and Carl Green, and thus became Green, Meyer, and Klein. All these men were guided by the highest ethical conduct and driven for a quality project. However, I think because of the diff erences in personalities it just didn’t work. Many of the people I met while at Robert E. Meyer Engineering became lifelong friends and others have left me with fond memories of our times together. Layne Caswell became one of my closest friends and I miss him very much. Others include Carl Clinton, Al Hertel, Zen Dutson, Dave Kucera, Dave Gould, Dave Sandstrom (Mr. Cool under pressure), Errol Garr, Jerry Williams, Steve Baker, and LaVola Meyer. Many others have slipped my fading memories. Aft er seven years, I was lured away to Wilsey & Ham by their vice-president David Evans. Th at is another 19 year story. It should be noted that while at Bob Meyer’s company I gained my professional license. Th is was largely due to Layne Caswell, night classes at PCC, and Spencer B. Gross. So I passed the examination in 1970, ten years from the time I picked up an axe for Al White. ◉ 11 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org BOB TAYLOR’S CADASTRAL TALES


PLSO Issue 1 2015 Jan_Feb
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