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Jack Prince passed away on November 19, 2018,
one month shy of his 90th birthday. Most of you do not know who
he was, or that he made one of the most memorable discoveries in
a cave in Texas. Bill
Stephenson, founder of the National Speleological Society,
described the cave as "the most indescribably beautiful cave in
the world." On Sept 24, 1955, Jack was the first person to cross the precipitous narrow sloping ledge in Mayfield Cave (Sutton County, TX) that led into the stunning world-class beauty of what is now known as Caverns of Sonora. The most detailed account of that discovery and the story of the cave is in the 2007 book 50 Years of Texas Caving by Carl Kunath, who interviewed Jack. When it was printed, Carl gave him the very first copy. I met Jack only once, in 2008, thanks to Susan Chelf. He was retired and a volunteer helping people with tax forms. Caves came up in the conversation and she was astounded to hear his story. She told me and I went a few days later. Without explanation, first thing I asked him was "Do you remember where you were on Sept 24, 1955?" He looked at me for a few seconds, thought for a few more seconds, and answered "Well, I probably was in Mayfield Cave, crossing the Devil's Delight ledge." We had a good chat and he autographed my copy of 50 Years below a full page photo on page 417 of him with the awesome Antler Helictites, taken on the discovery trip. Here is the link to his obituary. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/statesman/obituary.aspx?n=clarence-e-prince&pid=190890160 I'm going to attend his memorial 3:00 this Monday Dec 10th at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3208 Exposition Blvd, Austin 78703 He obviously was a man of deep faith and is in Heaven now. But he also had the good fortune to discover a part of Heaven on Earth. Logan McNatt lmcn...@austin.rr.com 512-462-9581 |
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