Acceptance of the 2016 Henry Baldwin Ward Medal A Long and Winding Road to a Diet of Worms
President Siddall, members of the society, I am deeply honored to stand before you today. It's been quite a year for me in the ASP, what with serving on the Meeting Resolutions Committee for the fifth straight year. Seriously, I am humbled by the recognition bestowed on me with the Ward Medal, and the faith entrusted in me with election as vice president. I sincerely thank Rebecca Cole and members of the Ward Committee, Kirsten Jensen for her wonderful introduction, my supporters who wrote letters, and Janine Caira for nominating me as well as for her persistence in seeing it through. I also thank the society for their support. This is probably the first time in society history that a member has received the Ward Medal and been elected vice president in the same year. I am truly honored, and a little terrified that I am that person. I have always found it difficult to promote or talk about myself, so these next 2 hr will hurt me as much as it hurts you. Ok, just kidding. It won't hurt me at all. Traditionally, the Ward Medal recipient recounts the events that led them to a life in parasitology, perhaps imparting a few pearls of wisdom, or tossing a few nuggets of insight, to the budding parasitologists in the crowd. Maybe a few laughs even. Being somewhat of a traditionalist, I will do the same. Take the pearls and nuggets for what they are worth, and I hope the jokes are funny. I will try not to dwell on the scientific details but instead concentrate on the important people, places, and events that led to me becoming a parasitologist and to this podium today. Being somewhat further along in my professional life cycle than previous Ward medalists, that is, being the oldest recipient so far, the path has been somewhat longer and perhaps a bit more convoluted than most. Hence, the derivation of the first part of my title the long and winding road. As for the second part of my title, we will get to that in hour 2. I will start by saying I have always been a biologist. I knew this at age 8, and it hasn't changed at age 56. The aspirations, vocations, and titles have changed over the years, but the fascination with living things has always been there. I was born and raised in a small town in western Pennsylvania called New Kensington. 'New Ken, as it is known to the locals, sits along the banks of the Allegheny River, about 25 miles (40 km) upstream of Pittsburgh. At one point, it was quite a bustling town, with multiple industries and a thriving main street. It is famous for three things. In 1891, it became the home of the first production plant of the Aluminum Company of America, or Alcoa. Alcoa was the dominant force in the area and employed thousands. Because of Alcoa, New Ken became known as 'The Aluminum City. New Kensington is also famous for a housing project called the Aluminum City Terrace, designed by Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius of the German Bauhaus School of Design. Built originally for Alcoa defense workers, it set new standards for federal housing design. When I was a kid, its splendor had worn off, and it was widely known as a place to obtain illicit substances. This brings me to the last area of fame for New Kensington the mafia. Part of the Pittsburgh mob, the Mannarino family ran the racket in New Ken, which came to be called 'Little Chicago' and later 'Guntown. While past its heyday when I was growing up, it was still a poorly hidden secret that the mafia controlled the drug trade in the area, but we didn't talk about that. My father George was a 6th grade math teacher and principal of the elementary school that I attended as a child. He was beloved as a teacher by multiple generations of students. It was common to have a parent of a current student stop him in the Kmart and tell him how he was their favorite teacher too. It never seemed to go to his head. It was particularly interesting, and at times annoying, to have him as a teacher. Accusations of grade fixing abounded. If he was fixing my grades, he didn't do a very good job. As principal, he even had the occasion to discipline me for pushing Billy Goodrich while in line for the sliding board. I remember his words to Billy while we stood fearfully in his office: 'Are you crazy? Look at how big he is! He'll kill you! Then he DOI: 10.1645/16 107
Journal of Parasitology