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that reads “National Surveyors Week March 11-17, 1984”. Paul From George Lindesmith, PLS
is staring into the camera’s eye with a serious look of intent and
perhaps a hint of a smile, while Mott is slyly giving the camera the I’ve known Paul for well over 40 years, In fact, we studied together
finger. We were in good hands in those days! (That photo can be for the then” Land Surveyor in Training” and the “Professional
viewed in Vol 41, No. 2 of the Nevada Traverse on page 29) Land Surveyor” exams.
For many years Paul has entertained and enlightened us with his Paul loved surveying in Nevada and as a surveyor for Sierra Pacific
writing in the Traverse. He has written so many great articles, Power Company and later NV Energy, he was able to travel all over
that for a several year stretch, you could not pick up an edition the state of Nevada. He definitely preferred working in the field to
and fail to find one his fantastically well-researched, impeccably the office, even after he became licensed. He took advantage of
foot-noted and excellently illustrated articles. Paul is obvi- his field trips to study and learn about the history of every where
ously fascinated by Nevada history and the surveyors’ place in it he went. He also was and avid student of the survey history of
but his interest is not limited to Nevada. Paul has offered this our country. He had a great love and respect for those who went
magazine pieces as far-flung as the work of Roman surveyors before him and was very involved in preserving and restoring
and enlightenment era French surveyors trying to nail down the important monuments whenever possible.
size and shape of the earth.
Paul and I served as Lahontan Chapter officers together. He was
His interest in Davidson’s and Von Schmidt’s surveys of the a year behind me as president of the chapter. I was president in
California-Nevada state line led to group search and recovery ef- 1989 and he followed me in 1990. I always got to tease him that I
forts, articles and the enshrinement at Boomtown of a Davidson was president twice since he was almost always out of town do-
monument, which later was subject of a group visit during one of ing a survey, so I got to be president for him.
our conferences.
I’m pretty sure Paul didn’t have a choice of what he was going
Paul was instrumental in getting me on board as the editor of the to do as a profession. With the last name of Pace, he had to be a
Traverse, mostly by refusing to do it himself when it was first dis- surveyor.
cussed at a Lahontan Chapter meeting in the fall of 2014, but also
by strongly encouraging me while I made up my mind, and then From John Wilusz, PLS, PE
following up afterwards with a huge amount of support. I was It sure is nice to see Paul Pace, PLS recognized in the Nevada Tra-
editor for five years, which works out to twenty issues and in that verse Living Legends series. I met him in 1997 during a volunteer
time, Paul contributed substantially to thirteen of them. archaeological dig in Toiyabe National Forest and he was a living

Paul is a Life member of NALS, a recipient of the NALS Surveyor legend then. Paul accomplished a lot in life, but because he is not
of the Year and a four-time (and counting) recipient of the NALS one to brag probably no one person knows the full extent of his
Article of the Year award. He is deserving of every one of those contributions to the surveying profession. Following are a few
and more and I’m glad to count him as a friend! examples that I am aware of.
From Terry W. McHenry, PLS (ret.) Beginning in 2007, or perhaps earlier, Paul led a group effort to
preserve a granite column that marked the site of an astronomic
Congratulations to you, Paul Pace, PLS, for being selected as a observation station set in 1872 by George Davidson of the U.S.
NALS Living Legend in the continuing series of The Nevada Tra- Coast Survey. The station was part of a triangulation net that Da-
verse – a well deserved recognition for many years of service and vidson used to determine the location of the 120th meridian near
dedication to the profession.
Verdi, Nevada. For well over a century, the granite column looked
Many years ago my college surveying professor offered some like a hefty fence post that had gotten lost inside of a cow pasture.
sage advice: be dedicated, versatile and equitable in every aspect Several surveyors who knew what it was talked about preserving
of your career. That wisdom has served me well, and certainly has it, but it disappeared suddenly in 2007 during the development
been exemplified by Paul Pace throughout his career. of the property. Detective Pace tracked it down in a corporation

I first met Paul in the early 1980’s, initially through our early yard and explained its significance to the owners. Sufficiently
involvement with the Lahontan Chapter of NALS. Our paths convinced, they preserved it and in 2011 Paul and his colleagues
crossed often not only through NALS, but also professionally as a encouraged NVEnergy to install it at the main entrance to Boom-
consequence of his position at Sierra Pacific Power Company, and town Casino Hotel. They also coordinated the creation of an
as well in later years as a frequent contributor of content for The interpretive bronze plaque, made by Berntsen International, that
Nevada Traverse. Both of us bonded probably most significantly explains the significance of the column and Davidson’s geodetic
through our common interest in history and its vital connection to survey. NALS, CLSA, and others contributed funds to cover costs.
land surveying. Today the column and plaque are side by side next to Boomtown’s

From Paul’s early adjunct professorship of mining surveying at galloping cowboy sculpture, giving the public a surveying history
UNR, a largely rural Nevada/Public Lands oriented career (con- lesson that it was not expecting. These are only the high points of
trasted with my largely urban/legal orientation), a dauntless the project and no doubt I left out important contributions by oth-
researcher, an historian extraordinaire, a polished conference ers in the task force. If you want to know more, read Paul’s articles
presenter on a broad range of surveying topics, a fabulous old sur- “Boundary Relic Has a New Home” in the 2012 Nevada Traverse,
veying instrument collection, and a priceless library collection, to Vol. 39, No. 2, at www.nvlandsurveyors.org, and “Verdi’s Geodetic
name just a few, Paul has literally lived and breathed most every Monuments” in California Surveyor Issue #168 at www.california-
aspect of land surveying. His numerous professionally prepared surveyors.org.
papers and presentations over the years are in a league by them-
selves, and thus deserve preservation at all costs. Here’s another example of Paul’s efforts to preserve
surveying history.
To me Paul Pace is a treasured friend and admired colleague. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE u
The Nevada Traverse Vol.50, No.2, 2023 15