A Willamette Legend:
Harry “Hot Rocks” Rorman
He was known to many at Willamette as “The Commander,” “Hot Rocks,” “Mr. Geology,” or just simply “Harry.” Harry Rorman was one of the most unique individuals I have ever met and probably ever will. His 20 years in the Navy, in which he attained the rank of Lt. Commander, created an organized, strict, and precise leader. Though Harry often seemed to wear a scowl and reveal a tough exterior, in reality, he was actually very caring. His dedication to always help his students was undeniable. One just needed to be familiar with him to appreciate this inner side of Harry. He relentlessly championed for his students, providing support for them regardless what oppositions they faced.
His class lectures showcased his innate gift of a photographic memory. Harry never relied on lecture notes aside from referencing the next topic. His lectures were filled with enormous amounts of information while using slides, maps, and real geologic samples to help us better understand. Harry presented his material in painstaking detail and extremely quickly. Students were often exhausted from high-speed note taking. But class time would quickly fly by! Although Harry’s classes were stimulating, he was neither an easy grader nor was his class easy. I never received an “A” in any of the courses I took from him. I more often than not earned a B- or B at best. Having said that, one of the most loved things about Harry was his passion for geology and his never ending curiosity to look at the earth and ask “Why?”
Harry believed the best way to teach was to give a complete and full lecture in class and then visit an area to see it for oneself. For example, his geology courses always featured several field trips to various locations in Oregon, Washington, and sometimes Idaho. There, students could see for themselves and experience what he lectured about in class. From 1969-1979, Dr. Donald Breaky (Doc B) and Harry led yearly summer field studies courses for students and later for alumni. These one-credit field studies courses lasted one-month and hosted upward of 25-40 students. There were three: the Northwest Region, Hawaii, and the Desert field studies. The two mainland field studies were the most adventuresome. Twenty-five students would pack up an old Navy school bus, which Harry secured from the military. The bus was painted Willamette’s red and gold, and “Willamette Field Studies” was printed on both sides. On the road, students studied biology under the direction of Doc B and geology/geography instructed by Harry. Together, the students and this “academic dynamic-duo” camped beneath the stars and cooked meals over campfires every night. There was no special treatment for Doc B and Harry. They roughed it just like we did.
Doc B taught us about the flora and fauna of such places as Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and Saguaro National Park. When we visited these sites, we hiked around to capture insects, pick and press flowers/leaves, and observe and study living creatures. Harry delivered an array of meticulous geologic lectures on such subjects as the various rock layers from the Kaibab Limestone to the Bright Angel Shale of the Grand Canyon. When we arrived at the Grand Canyon, we hiked down to the Colorado River while viewing the millions of years of deposited limestone, shale, and sandstone that Harry had just lectured us on.
Now that I am 48 years old, I realize how unbelievably tough Dr. Breaky and Harry were for their age, at that time respectively, Doc B about 50 and Harry was 63. They had to lecture daily and survive the entire trip with 25 overly energetic, “foot-loose and fancy free” students for 30 days on an old school bus. On the bus, there was no AC–it was dusty, hot, bumpy, and rough. How many professors possess such dedication and passion for their students’ learning, that they would be willing to test their stamina, patience, and sanity in this manner? I don’t know if I could go through what Doc B and Harry did for us: sleeping on the rocks and sand under the stars, being buried in dust storms, finding scorpions in your shoes, waking up with slugs on your face, having no shower for days or cold “Breaky hose showers,” and being able to tolerate 25 students on an old school bus for a month. However, for many students, without a doubt, these field studies courses were definitely the highlights of our Willamette experience. Harry also took a group of 30 students to Central America for one-semester and did an additional field studies to Australia. Harry’s never aging spirit and passion to offer his students real world learning experiences, resonates with me to this very day.
Although Harry and I were very different in personality, he was my mentor in teaching and in life. Nevertheless, we disagreed on many things. While in college, I made efforts to “Save the Whales” by joining the efforts of the Greenpeace organization and supported halting the bombing of Kahoolawe Island in Hawaii by the Navy. Harry was the pragmatist who always said to me “You can’t save everything, Wahoo!” We argued about energy and nuclear power. He contended that nuclear energy would eventually be the way of the future, while I argued for wind and solar. I fondly recall a discussion we shared concerning various global and local environmental issues. Some of his points I agreed with and some I didn’t. Yet, our different points of view never lessened the level of admiration and respect that I held for Harry. In fact, during the past 26 years, after graduating from Willamette: I have since discovered that so much of what he and I disagreed on, he was actually right about. During those college years, I was still young and much too idealistic to grasp the reality of many global and environmental issues and problems.
I have been fortunate enough to remain in close contact with Harry and his wife since his retirement from Willamette in 1979. Throughout the years, whenever it was possible, I would visit them at their home. The visits symbolized somewhat of a pilgrimage for me. Each visit was like reuniting with the “Master,” or the “Yoda” of my life. I recall fond memories of Harry when I visited him at his home on the Big Island of Hawaii in Waikaloa, a place he called home for fifteen years. Another time a few years back, I drove to seem him in Alpine, Texas where he lived for five years. And most recently, in the past year I enjoyed two separate visits with him and Mrs. Rorman in Dallas, Oregon. My last visit with Harry was just this past February and even at the mature age of 90 years old, Harry was as mentally sharp as ever! That’s why I was so shocked when I received notice of his passing from Masaki Shimada and Sandy Miller (Rorman). I had just seen Harry and now I will always cherish that last memory of him. Together, we stood saying good-bye in the driveway of his duplex in Dallas, Oregon. Harry, who was never one for emotional send offs, was grinning and playfully poking me in the stomach as he said, “Okay Mike, you write me how you’re doing sometime!”
One memento exists that undoubtedly confirms Harry’s affection for his students and truly demonstrates how much he valued his time at Willamette. This memento is a plaque, which was presented to Harry in May of 1979 when a group of us hosted a surprise farewell party for Harry during his final semester at Willamette. That evening Sally Koppenberg and I presented a slide show tribute to Harry with slides from our field studies trips accompanied by the theme music “In the Navy” and “I am a Rock.” At the end of the evening, we presented him with a small, simple plaque, half in jest, half in seriousness. I recall we made a small student collection and the plaque cost us $12. Believe it or not, I saw that same plaque displayed on the walls of each home I have visited him at. The plaque reads:
Harry “Hot Rocks” Rorman
For years of Dedication, Sacrifice,
Service, Harassment, and Constant Torture.Give’em Hell Harry!
“Mr. Geology”
1969-1979
Harry Rorman, a man who traveled extensively throughout the entire world; who lived in so many different countries and places; who had friends, gifts, and awards from all aspects of his amazing life–continued to keep and display this humble $12 plaque on the wall of each of his three different homes of the past 26 years! No other words need be expressed that Harry loved his students, he cherished his teaching career at Willamette, and he never forgot his sense of humor… “Give’em hell, Harry!”
One of your many disciples,
Mike “Wahoo” Matsuno
Class of ‘81