MONROE — Open to all, Ann Johnson, daughter of explorer Paul Siple, is sharing her father’s intriguing history in the Aster Assisted Living Home, Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 1:30 p.m. Johnson, a resident who suffers from Alzheimer’s, is aided in the presentation by Sales and Marketing Director of Aster, Amanda Gerber. The program will also be available to watch on Zoom. 

“It’s going to be very casual,” Gerber said. “After listening to Ann about her father and doing our own research, we thought it would be nice to share this piece of history with everyone.”

During the presentation, Johnson and accompaniment will detail her father’s trips and his close relationship with Admiral Richard Byrd, including personal photos, drawings and books from her youth. Johnson adds little anecdotes from stories she was told and experiences she had in her life.

As one of only a few individuals to assist Byrd on all five of his Antarctic expeditions beginning in 1928, Paul Siple lived an extraordinary life. At only 19-years-old, he was the first Eagle Scout selected for an Antarctic expedition, detailing his journey in his book, A Boy Scout with Byrd.  

“He must’ve won some sort of competition in the boy scouts,” Johnson said. “He was a go-getter from the beginning and got nearly every badge.”

Siple received 59 merit badges before joining Byrd on the expeditions that would truly test his knowledge and resourcefulness. Navigating a plain of all white, is very difficult. The group relied on sled dogs and shadows to guide their routes.

After the first expedition, Siple continued on with his degree and received his bachelor of science in biology from Allegheny College, a three-year program, in only two years. At the college is where he met his wife, Ruth Johannesmeyer.

“My mom did a double take when my dad walked through the admission’s office door,” Johnson said. “She knew what she was getting into before they were married.”

While her father was away on his trips, Ruth “held down the fort” according to Johnson, raising their three daughters at times alone and assisted in documenting Paul’s work. There were limited ways to communicate via letters and an unstable radio/phone system. 

“Most people if you told them where my father was, they would ask, ‘Where is the South Pole?’” Johnson said. “No one knew at that time much about Antarctica.”

Siple received his Ph.D. from Clark University in Worcester, Mass., with a dissertation entitled “Adaptations of the Explorer to the Climate of Antarctica.” Through his work, Siple developed an index scale for wind-chill factors and coined the now common phrase “windchill”. Siple also created cold weather gear still used today through missions including Operation Deepfreeze. He wrote several books in which he lays out his scientific findings.

In the frozen tundra, Siple left his mark, naming an active shield volcano, after his wife, Mount Siple. Over 10,000 feet above sea level, the volcano is ranked 78th in prominence and serves a breeding ground for a colony of Adele penguins. Later, an Antarctic coast, an island, a ridge and a station are all named in the legacy of Siple. 

Siple’s expeditions were the first to bring penguins to America for public viewing according to Johnson. 

“It might not be so nice now, but they brought back the first penguins to be studied and viewed in zoos,” Johnson said. 

Johnson will share more information including documentary video from the expeditions during her presentation. Joining via zoom is Johnson’s brother-in-law, Bill Johnson, currently residing in Lincoln, Neb.

“I don’t know if I will have much to add,” Bill Johnson said. “Paul was a good man. He looked at everything through the eyes of a scientist, always wondering why or how something happened.”

The trait of curiosity in nature seemed to be passed down to his daughter as she collects beautiful leaves this fall. 

“I enjoy it all,” Ann said.