While I was mining in 1980, driving a drift to reach a buried river channel, I attended Sierra Collage’s Program on mining. I took their assaying program under the direction

My grandfather Ollie taught me a number of things, but one has always been permanent in my life.

Ollie was a hard-working man, from a farmer in the foothills of Tennessee, to a roofing contractor, and a man who dealt with many others on various business and personal levels. One thing I always heard about my grandfather from others was that he was man of his word, and that his handshake was a binding contract to him.

“Gold Bug” or “Gold Fever”. My mind says I’m maybe 38 years old but my body tells me I should definitely know better. I’ll be 84 shortly but God has blessed me with a good body that still permits me to hike deep canyons here in the northern California mountains. I’ll hike a 9-mile round trip down into a remote, deep canyon of the North Fork of the American River, dropping an elevation of 2200 feet, looking for and likely finding some gold, and then coming back out, maybe the same day.