In Memory Of Dr. Vogl
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  In Memory Of My Dear Friend & Teacher: Dr. Richard J. Vogl      Wildfires  

by Wayne P. Armstrong, Graduate Student & Long-Time Friend Of Professor Vogl, 19 August 2018
I met Dr. Richard Vogl while attending California State University at Los Angeles in the late 1960s. I was a student in his general ecology, plant ecology and plant geography courses. I was so impressed with his lectures and photography that one day after class I approached his lecture table and introduced myself. I guess he saw some positive attributes in my interest and enthusiasm and invited me to his home for dinner and to meet his family. I became his TA (Teaching Assistant) and research assistant with my own office and parking space on campus. Later I became his graduate student where I pursued my Master's Thesis on Ecological & Taxonomic Relationships Of Cupressus (cypress) In Southern California. We joked about him moving to the city of Cypress! We spent numerous hours together on field trips to chaparral & forested areas of southern California, especially the Santa Ana Mountains of Orange & Riverside Counties. The summer prior to coming to Palomar College I joined him at the University of Montana Biological Station at Yellow Bay, Flathead Lake. In fact, we took a group of students on a fabulous road trip to Canada via the dusty Kananaskis Hwy to Lake Louise. Dick Vogl truly changed the direction of my life.

By The Way, The Submersed Rocks At Yellow Bay Are Really Yellow!

Dick Vogl wearing his bluejean jacket in dense thickets of Cuyamaca cypress (Cupressus stephensonii = Hesperocyparis stephensonii) below the summit escarpment of Cuyamaca Peak, San Diego County. (February 1965)

Dick Vogl in a grove of Tecate cypress (Cupressus forbesii = Hesperocyparis forbesii) near the summit of Otay Mountain, San Diego County. The white-flowered shrub is southern mountain misery (Chamaebatia australis). (April 1966)

An evening with Dick Vogl at his home in Cypress, California. Life goes by so fast, I wish we could have had more time together. (February 2002).

During my busy career at Palomar College, travel trips, and all of my retirement passions culminating in ant photography, years quickly passed into decades. Regrettably, I didn't keep in touch with my mentor Dr. Vogl that often. I am so sorry that I didn't visit him more frequently during the last years of his life. He was truly an inspirational teacher who had a tremendous influence on my life. In fact, I was so impressed with his beautiful photography, humor and philosophy of life that I know it made me a better teacher during my 40-year career. I think about him often whenever I am “out in the field.” There are so many fond memories of our times together. I will never forget him as long as I live.

My Fabulous Univ. Of Montana Field Trip With Dr. Vogl Summer 1966

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Moraine Lake and Valley of the Ten Peaks, Alberta, Canada
Original Kodachrome Transparency Taken by W.P. Armstrong, Summer 1966

Wayne P. Armstrong
Professor Emeritus
Palomar College
19 August 2018