Bendix Falls: Characters

The Geologist

John Vamberg of Bryn Mawr, PA PhD Geology, Princeton

Vamberg thinks he should be the head of the expedition -- as befits a man of his station. He is well born, a natural gentleman and understands thoroughly why it is important to keep the Communist and Socialist elements out of the United States. He did not fight in the Great War -- war is not a gentlemanly thing to do, and he resents men who remind one another of what they learned there. The working class should keep to their station. Take that Bonner chap, for instance. He was actually a miner once and now he is pretending to be a professor at a prestigious school. What a lout!

The Anthropologist

Oscar Hallam Dunstan of Adams Township, PA PhD Anthropology, Penn

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a doctorate in historical studies predominately in the field of Native American Indian archeology and anthropology, Dr. Dunstan decided to stay in at the university to teach, buying an apartment in Philadelphia for himself and pet tabby “Duchesses�. An avid smoker of finer cigars and quality liquors (which he has his own supply of stashed at home for his own use) he also has a preference for tailored suits and blondes. He used to go skiing out in Whiteface New York and Vermont before settling in to a more quiet life in academia, which has weakened him physical - as paper punching would at anyone. He is a socialist at heart, though keeps his opinions to himself in public due to fear of losing his position as lecturer at the university.

The Mining Engineer

James Bonner of Pittsburgh, PA Army Corps of Engineers

Bonner worked in the copper mines in Colorado before the Great War. he joined the Army Corps of Engineers and was assigned to intelligence work. His experience with graft and greed in the armmed services have sickened him to the Fat Cats and he has become a practicing Socialist upon return to civilian life. He does not want to overthrow the government but he does want the miners to get decent wages and safe working conditions. He is very smart and well aware that his views are liable to get him in trouble, so he mostly keeps his mouth shut. His connections in the Army got him his job at Penn, though he knows many of the professors think him too working class to be a teacher.

The Doctor

Andrew Miller of Dayton, OH MD University of Ohio

Miller has been a dcotor for many years. He worked in private practice and got fed up with the men who used their medical skills to get rich but did little to heal the sick. He joined the Army in the Great War and learned a lot on the battle fieldss about the harm man can do ti himself. When he returned, he went into teaching. He has little time for pompous itions, but much respect for quiet men who get on with the work., He has read a lot about the bad working conditions of working men and women in the coal regions, and he wants to see for himself, perhaps even write a monograph for one of the medical magazines. He is not a Communist or a Socialist, but he is interested in the welfare of humanity.

The Demolitions Expert

Solly Hutchins of New York, NY Army Corps of Engineers

Hutchins has a checkered past. He started out as a street tough in New York and was forced to join the Army to avoid jail. In the Great War he proved to be an expert at setting explosives and was transfered to the Corps of Engineers. It was here he met Bonner, and the two men became friends. Back in the US, it didn't take Solly long to run afoul of the law again and he was arrested for blowing the door off of a bank vault. He escaped prosecution on a technicality and left town in a hurry. He took the train down to Philadelphia and bunked with his old Army pal, Bonner, who got him a job at the Unviersity teaching miners how to safely handle explosives. He still has many underworld connections.