Whispers from the Maple on the Hill

Mr. Shell has captured the essence of rural America and life on Crowley's Ridge during the Great Depression and World War II era. For some, this book will bring back fond memories of your country upbringing and the way things used to be. Others will be inspired by these tales of life, gaining understanding that although times, indeed, may have changed, people can remain the same.

Mr. Shell left high school at the end of his junior year in 1950 with enough units to enter college. He earned a BS degree in chemistry and biology at SEMO State College, Cape Girardeau, Missouri when he was barely 20 years old. He taught science and mathematics for one year at Gray Ridge High School, and was drafted into the U.S. Army. After serving in the Army for two years, he obtained a BS Degree in Chemical Engineering from the School of Mines and Metallurgy, Rolla, Missouri. He is a Registered Professional Engineer.He worked as a Technical Supervisor for Mallinckrodt Chemical Company, Weldon Spring, Missouri in their uranium processing plant for two years. He then joined Pennsalt Chemical Corporation, Calvert City, Kentucky. There he designed equipment in the general engineering department of various types, including a large distillation column. He then supervised the technical startup of a new sodium chlorate plant, and later became the production supervisor of a hydrofluoric/sulfuric acid plant complex.In 1966, he attended the University of Missouri-Columbia, and worked for one year towards a Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering. A summer job in 1967 developed into full-time employment with the Missouri Air Conservation Commission, the state agency responsible for controlling air pollution in Missouri. He became director of the state agency. He was responsible for hiring the staff, obtaining funds from the appropriations committees, establishing an air monitoring network, meeting with the Commission and public, promulgating the air emission, and coordinating his activities with the EPA. He served on several state and federal committees. He was appointed by Bill Ruckleshause to the National Manpower and Education Committee, and was elected as head of the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators.He left the state, and established Shell Engineering & Associates, Inc. in 1975. The firm consults in environmental engineering matters, and is still active after 33 years. Consulting work has been done in virtually all the continental United States. Internationally, it has done work in Labrador, Quebec, Russia, Colombia, Indonesia, China, Oman, Kazakhstan, and Nigeria. Training as been done with funding from the USAID.Mr. Shell was born in 1933, and experienced the years of the Great Depression and World War II. He is retired and his son Charles Shell, PE, operates the company. He spends his retirement time writing, producing video material, and pursuing other hobbies.