Personal Records, 1922-1993, Undated

The Vincent Schaefer personal subseries comprises material spanning his life and career and pertains only to personal interests outside the realms of his atmospheric and prescribed research ventures. This subseries contains his schedules and itineraries, along with Schaefer’s personal logs from 1947 through 1993. Along with Schaefer’s own autobiography Twenty Years at Langmuir University there are timelines, resumes, and lists of works published, all created by Schaefer.

When Schaefer was not conducting research experiments, he had numerous interests and hobbies that occupied much of his time such as Scouting with the Lone Scouts and as a Boy Scouts of America scoutmaster of a troop in Schenectady, NY, avid participation and avocation for conservation of the Adirondacks where he, himself owned a camp, Woestyne North. Conservation played a large portion of Dr. Schaefer’s time outside of the professional avenues; he advocated for the preservation of the Adirondacks, Whiteface and Gore Mountains, the Mohawk Valley area, Vrooman’s Nose in Schoharie County and was a member of the Van Epps Hartley chapter of the New York State Archeological Association. He was a founding member of the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club. Personal items and experiences related to all of these interests are found within this subseries.

This subseries also documents family relationships. There are family photographs and correspondence with his wife Lois, their three children, and his younger brother Paul. Also included are diaries of family trips, including a cross-country adventure.

In addition, many of Schaefer’s colleagues wrote reminiscences about their experiences and memories; these have been collected and placed in this subseries. Among such is a tribute to Schaefer by Duncan Blanchard that appeared in the ASRC annual report in 1975-1976. As Schaefer gained international acclaim in the atmospheric world, he received many awards and honorary degrees at Notre Dame, York University and Siena College.

Late in life, Schaefer embarked on the project “Ancient Windows of the Earth” which involved cutting rocks from across the country into thin slices with a diamond saw. The slices transmitted light and also showed the color, pattern and structure of the rock. Schaefer often used the rock slices to form unique creations such as windows or lampshades. This subseries includes correspondence about the ongoing project, cutouts, samples of rock slices, the history of each original creation and the technique of the manufacturing.