Class of 1893
News of the death of Penniman came to the Secretary so near press time for the October issue of the MAGAZINE that there was time to prepare only the brief notice that appeared in that month's Necrology. Later, through the kindness of Mr. Harold G. Rugg and Miss Charlotte E. Ford, the alumni recorder, an obituary prepared by Penniman's sister, Mrs. Mary Lansing of Hartland, Vt., was received; and we feel sure members of the class would like to have us devote, this month, the class notes space to its printing, as follows:
"William Merit Penniman entered theservice of the U. S. Engineer's office, St.Louis, as boarding master and timekeeperon May 1, 1891, and served in the variouscapacities of transitman, master of dredge,surveyor, junior engineer, engineer, andsenior engineer until his death, August 26,1934. In 1907 he was transferred to the office of the president of the MississippiRiver Commission to take charge of asurvey of the alluvial valley of the Mississippi river between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill.The maps produced as a result of thissurvey, dated 1908, are noted for their accuracy and detail. Despite their age theyare still used for certain types of basic data.In connection with this work Mr. Penniman wrote Appendix No. 5 to House Document No. 50, Sixty-First Congress, First Session, reviewing the fundamental principlesof open-river regulation with such completeness that the appendix has been usedconstantly as a reference work.
"Early in 1910 he ivas returned to the office of the District Engineer at St. Louis,where he continued his hydraulic studiesof the Mississippi river in that district. In1920 he started work on the developmentof a flow formula later to become knownlocally as the 'Penniman Formula' and usedwidely in the St. Louis District. A lengthymonograph on this work was submitted forpublication to the American Society ofCivil Engineers, which returned the manuscript for a condensation, which pressureof duties and ill health prevented theauthor from completing. Later Mr. Penniman became head of the Engineer Plan-ning Section and senior assistant engineerof the St. Louis District. He was noted forthe clarity and accuracy of his reports andhis great technical knowledge and skill inriver hydraulics were such that his serviceswere constantly in demand by many engineer boards. His training of younger engineers was especially valuable to the U. S.Engineers Department, and many of thesemen now hold responsible positions inother districts.
"Mr. Penniman was born in Windsor,Vt., Feb. 19, 1868, the son of Merit Farnumand Lavina Damon Penniman. He attended the public schools of Windsor andHartland, was graduated from KimballUnion Academy, Meriden, in 1888, and received the degree of Bachelor of Lettersfrom Dartmouth College as of the class of1893. He was a member of the AmericanSociety of Civil Engineers. August 6, 1901,Mr. Penniman married Idell Doyle Lombard! of St. Louis. She survives him, withtheir two children, Catherine Lavina, nowthe wife of Thomas D. Storie of New York,and Allen Damon, residing in St. Louis;and a little grandson, Allen Damon Penniman Jr."
Secretary 104 No. State St., Concord, N. H.
