Marie Tharp

In the 1920s, Marie Tharp was a little girl who spent many days bumping along country roads with her dad in his rickety green truck. He worked for the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Soils, visiting farms. He tested soil and drew planting maps for the farmers. Because of her dad’s job, her family moved a lot. By the time she finished high school, Marie had attended 17 schools. When she wasn’t on the road with her dad or in a new school, there was lots of time alone, reading, drawing, and playing violin.

Marie wanted to become a soil surveyor