Veeder first came to the MBL in 1890 when the laboratory acquired the Sagitta. The Supply Department began with the advent of power, making it possible to take students out on field trips, picnics, or other outings. Having grown up on Cuttyhunk Island, Veeder knew the waters of Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay, and was famous for valuing the safety of students and others on his boat. In fact, he is even remembered for rescuing the occasional lost tourist who had become stranded due to the unfamiliar tides.
Veeder is said to have made collecting trips into fun outings, as evidenced by his tendency to run lobsters through the ship’s steamers. He is remembered for valuing the local environment, as he tried to avoid over collecting and threatening the delicate balance of marine organisms. For example, he preferred to collect sea urchins at the water’s edge, where he felt their populations were abundant, rather than the sea bed, which could jeopardize the fertilization process of the eggs and hurt the next population. Veeder retired in 1933 after 43 years at the Laboratory.
- Dolgin, Elie, “The Squid Collector,” http://www.nature.com/news/not-your-average-technician-1.16785
- “John J. Valois, Obituary” http://www.mbl.edu/obituaries/john-j-valois/
- “John Valois, Longtime Specimen Collector and Naturalist, Honored at the Marine Biological Laboratory,” July 12, 2011, http://hermes.mbl.edu/news/press_releases/2011/2011_pr_07_12.html
- The Collecting Net Spring 2006, Vol. 2, No. 1 http://hermes.mbl.edu/publications/collecting_net/2006/06_01net06.html Accessed on July 16, 2015.
- Maienschein, Jane, and Ruth Davis. 100 years exploring life, 1888-1988: the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1989.
- “MBL Moment with Dave Remsen,” MBL Catalyst January 2014, p 12-13. http://www.mbl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Catalyst.Winter13-14.web_.pdf Accessed on July 16, 2015.
- Williams, Wendy. Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid. Abrams, 2011.
