The Blessings of Research
One year ago, I was actively researching PAPER DIVER, a biography of Harry E. Rieseberg. From the 1930s until his passing in 1970, Rieseberg pretended to have undertaken dozens of undersea treasure-hunting expeditions where he was attacked by sharks and giant octopi on more than one occasion. His outrageous claims led to over a dozen books and a 1953 film starring Robert Ryan and Anthony Quinn. He called himself the world’s greatest underwater treasure hunter but never managed to get wet.
Part of my research effort was to gather as many of the thousands of magazine articles that he published as I could. He submitted articles to any venue he could find from Playboy and Stag to Catholic Youth. So far, I have been able to locate over 1,200 articles replaying about 10 basic tales.
The source I was searching for back in early December 2022 was a Jesuit magazine called Cor containing 1950s era articles by Rieseberg. With help from an archivist at the Jesuit Archives & Research Center in St. Louis, I was able to locate the publishers and their archives at the Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin.
Contact with Kathy Harty, the Research & Technology Librarian there, led to the discovery of several articles in magazines held in their provincial archives. Ms. Harty told me that Father Wayne copied two of the articles and discovered others in the process. There was also a second magazine that published seven more of his articles in 1954-1955.
By January 4th of this year, a nice fat envelope with research material was on its way via snail mail. The anticipation of seeing my mailbox stuffed with a discovery is a thrill that not everyone gets to appreciate. I love archivists.
I’ve said all that to tell you this.
With sources like this one, if they do not charge for their services, I typically make a donation. Ms. Harty had been communicative and helpful, so I thanked her heartily in my note of thanks. This year when I got a Christmas card/fundraising letter from Sacred Heart I was not surprised. However, the content of the card made it special.
In Spanish and English were the types of wishes for the holiday season you would expect from a religious institution. What struck me, however, was the expression of the Very Reverend Raúl Gómez-Ruiz, the President-Rector of the seminary and school. In a handwriting-style typeface, Father Raúl wrote:
Your intentions will be remembered
during the Holy Mass.
As an independent researcher, my “intentions” are to find that pivotal piece of primary source material that unveils the past. Instead of epiphanies, though there are those, it is far more often that grinding persistence is what leads to success.
The research gods can be fickle, so it sure can’t hurt to have Father Raúl putting in a good word.
May all of your research intentions be remembered! Happy Holidays…….
