Joe Ben Wheat's Excavations The Yellow Jacket Project Home

Crew Members at Yellow Jacket: 1954-1991

By Jeannette L. Mobley-Tanaka and Richard H. Wilshusen

Over 140 different students and professionals participated in the excavations at Yellow Jacket over the four decades that Joe Ben Wheat worked at the site. Many students, such as Jerry Bair, Doug Bucy, John Westcott, Joy Brown Stevenson, Ruth Hagerman, Priscilla Ellwood, Karen Laitner, Nancy Mahaney, John Cater, Mark Chenault, Andy Darling, Nancy Malville, and Jeannie Mobley-Tanaka worked at the site for three or more seasons. Some such as Jerry Bair would return to visit the site decades after they had first worked at the site. It was a powerful experience for many of the participants.

Joe Ben Wheat was at the site for every season until his retirement and even after that time he continued to participate for at least a portion of each field season. Pat Wheat, Joe's wife for four decades, participated as a skilled archaeologist and recorder in the first years; she became less directly active in field work as student crews grew in number. Fred Lange took over as the director of the project in the mid-1980s, but Yellow Jacket continued to be associated with Joe Ben Wheat because of his long involvement in the project and intent to write up reports for 5MT1 and 3.

A list of crew members and professionals who participated at the site over the decades is presented in Table 1. The list has been composed by going through the field notes and other records. The list includes people who were field school students, active participants for much of the season, professionals in charge of the work (with the exception of Joe Ben Wheat), or visitors who stayed and worked for several weeks. The names of visitors or part-time laborers who worked for several days are usually not included. It is quite possible that some names are missing and will need to be added in the future.

Table 1. Yellow Jacket Crews by Year
YearNameComments
1954 Don Ackerman  
1954 Jean Bussing  
1954 Unnamed third student  
1954 Pat Wheat  
1955 Hod Stevenson  
1955 Pat Wheat  
1956 Pat Wheat  
1956 Gerald (Jerry) Bair  
1957 Erna Frenzel Cook
1957 Doug Bucy  
1957 Gerald (Jerry) Bair  
1957 John Wescott  
1957 Pat Wheat  
1957 Ruth Gruhn  
1958 Doug Bucy  
1958 Gerald (Jerry) Bair  
1958 John Feistel  
1958 John Westcott  
1958 Maggie Read  
1959 Alan Brew  
1959 Doug Bucy  
1959 Gerald (Jerry) Bair  
1959 Jean Wolf  
1959 John Feistel  
1959 John Wescott  
1959 Pat Wheat  
1961 Alan Brew  
1961 Anne Pearson  
1961 Robert Homman  
1961 Carla May  
1961 David Bitter  
1961 Dick Hsu  
1961 Doug Bucy  
1962 Hannah Huse Crew Chief
1962 Robert Homman  
1962 Dick Hsu  
1962 Karen Thomas  
1963 Hannah Huse Crew Chief
1963 David Greene  
1963 Harry Scheele  
1963 Karen Thomas  
1963 Kathy Greene  
1965 Carla Bucy  
1965 Jim Balderstone  
1966 Frank Eddy Crew Chief
1966 Bob Mishler  
1966 Cassandra Nelson  
1966 Christopher Hall  
1966 James Balderstone  
1966 Marie Louise Lind  
1966 Pat Lease  
1966 C. Roderick Wilson  
1969 No students  
1975 Joy Brown Stevenson Crew Chief
1975 Barbara LaMont  
1975 Beverly Kolkman  
1975 Bob Amundson  
1975 Diana Van Elsacker  
1975 Georganne Ross  
1975 Hillary Brown  
1975 Janet Joyer  
1975 Jean Afton  
1975 Jettie Person  
1975 John Sheets  
1975 Karen Laitner  
1975 Mary Puller  
1975 Marcia Kelly  
1975 Priscilla Ellwood  
1975 Sigrid Smith  
1977 Joy Brown Stevenson Crew Chief
1977 Leah Allen  
1977 Beverly Kolkman  
1977 David Fraley  
1977 Karen Laitner  
1977 Lorna Serber  
1977 Priscilla Ellwood  
1978 Joy Brown Stevenson Crew Chief
1978 Beverly Kolkman  
1978 Brad Noisat  
1978 David Fraley  
1978 Diana Van Elsacker  
1978 Elaine Mings  
1978 Erica Stuckenrath  
1978 Gordon Tucker Jr.  
1978 J.R. Hummert  
1978 Judith Luskey  
1978 Karen Laitner  
1978 Laura Viola  
1978 Priscilla Ellwood  
1980 Jude Southward Crew Chief
1980 Elaine Mings  
1980 Jettie Person  
1980 Kendall Miller  
1980 Ruth Hagerman  
1980 Shelby Tisdale  
1980 Sylvia Miller  
1981 Augustine Wanzama  
1981 Brenda Bechter  
1981 Debbie Thomson  
1981 Katherine Kane  
1981 Ruth Hagerman  
1982 Lisa Beach  
1982 Andrew Darling  
1982 Ruth Hagerman  
1982 Andi Hunter  
1982 Katherine Kane  
1982 Bobbi Klausing  
1982 P. Manini  
1983 Mark Chenault Crew Chief
1983 Andrew Darling  
1983 John Cater  
1983 Sandy Hargrove  
1983 Nancy Mahaney  
1983 Whitney Kim  
1984 Mark Chenault Crew Chief
1984 John Cater  
1984 Nancy Mahaney  
1984 Russell Coburn  
1984 Whitney Kim  
1984 Andrew Darling  
1984 Fred Lange Co-director
1984 Gerald (Jerry) Bair Visitor
1984 Joanne Moore Visitor
1985 Fred Lange Co-director
1985 Mark Chenault Crew Chief
1985 Betty Tobias  
1985 John Cater  
1985 Brad Dilli  
1985 Mark Neupert  
1985 Nancy Mahaney  
1986 John Cater Crew Chief, 5MT2
1986 Russell Coburn Crew Chief, 5MT3
1986 Mark Chenault Field Supervisor, 5MT2
1986 Alisan Boes  
1986 Andy Granitto  
1986 Charles Whitesell  
1986 Jeannie Mobley  
1986 Kevin Gilmore  
1986 Kristin Cook  
1986 Leigh Ferreira  
1986 Minette Church  
1986 Valerie Smith  
1987 John Cater Crew Chief
1987 Fred Lange Director
1987 Cynthia Webb  
1987 Darcey Delaney  
1987 Donna Bryant  
1987 James Salter  
1987 Ken Boden  
1987 Khang Le  
1987 Mark Chenault  
1987 Nancy Malville  
1987 Patricia Tomlinson  
1987 Jose Vasquez  
1987 Susan Kepecs  
1987 Diana Wilson  
1988 Fred Lange Director
1988 John Cater Crew Chief
1988 Diana Wilson Cook
1988 Abe Friedman  
1988 Amy Rogel  
1988 Cynthia Webb  
1988 Donna Bryant  
1988 Doug Bowman  
1988 John Foster  
1988 K. Burt  
1988 Kelly McAndrews  
1988 Lorrie Hulson  
1988 Mark Chenault  
1988 Patricia Tomlinson  
1988 Scott Somers  
1988 Nancy Malville  
1988 Annie Jones  
1988 Susan Yuhasz  
1988 Yvonne Teh  
1988 John Jacobs  
1988 Jim Walton  
1988 Brad Dilli  
1988 Trisha Danke  
1988 Carol Armbruster  
1988 Rudy Poglitsh  
1988 Logan King  
1988 Jennifer Ritter  
1988 Bob Owen  
1989 Jeannie Mobley-Tanaka Crew Chief
1989 Marty Simpson  
1989 Diana Wilson  
1989 Murray Hammond  
1989 Nancy Malville  
1989 Sue Meyer  
1989 Summer Shuman  
1990 Jeannie Mobley-Tanaka Crew Chief
1990 Diana Wilson Cook
1990 Bob Owen  
1990 Jennifer Ritter  
1990 Kay Adams  
1990 Krista Deglish  
1990 Shannon Chappell  
1990 Susan Yuhasz  
1990 Erin Finegan  
1991 Jeannie Mobley-Tanaka Crew Chief
1991 Chris Imhof  
1991 Karen Kievet  
1991 Karen Kuhn  
1991 Kelly Fitzpatrick  
1991 Priscilla Ellwood  
1991 Tracy Murphy  

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