I was pleased to see Saturday’s paper give a rose to the city for developing the fossil park, but I beg to differ about your comments on naming the park. The suggestion that the park be named for the late Dr. John M (Jack) Kaye came from both George Phillips, curator of paleontology at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science and myself. Dr. Kaye not only taught geology at Mississippi State and MUW but he also instilled in many young people in Columbus an interest in fossils and earth science.
Dr. Kaye was not only George’s mentor but was the person who instilled in me a love of science and natural history. George and I are but two of the many young people Dr. Kaye mentored. He was always ready to take the time to give a natural history lesson to anyone who came to see him. In talking with a childhood friend the other day, she recalled Dr. Kaye coming to her 6th grade class to talk about fossils. He instilled a love of science and learning in a lot of Columbus kids.
Dr. Kaye was a real hero of World War II. He was an Army Air Corps pilot, flying a fighter bomber out of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. He survived flying an amazing 287 combat missions mostly as part of the air assault on the heavily defended Japanese naval base at Rabaul on the island of New Britain. His decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross.
The Dispatch suggested waiting to name the fossil park until after the city developed a naming policy. Last fall the city was looking at a new naming policy. My November 9 column in the Dispatch proposed naming the fossil park for Dr. Kaye and addressed the city’s naming concerns. It is now almost seven months later, and the city still does not have a policy. In asking for major donations or applying for grants it is important that the park has a name to give it credibility and show it is for real and not just a pipe dream.
The Dispatch also mentioned selling the name. The name needs to be one that has more merit than just that someone bought it. The name be it after a person, institution or business needs to be one that when a child asks, “who was this” we can respond “they did a lot of wonderful things for our community.” Jack Kaye was a decorated hero of World War II who devoted his life to teaching both inside and outside of a classroom. He instilled a love for learning in many young people including me. I can think of no more appropriate name than the Dr. John (Jack) Kaye Cretaceous Fossil Park.
Rufus Ward
Columbus
Rufus Ward is a Columbus native a local historian. E-mail your questions about local history to Rufus at [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
