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Howdy yall, I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkk. Thanks for waiting for me to write again. The last newsletter we did was back in March and shortly after that our 6 plus year old computer crashed. Fortunately we had saved on a thumb thingee all our information and most importantly our contact list of FRIENDS OF GOLD POINT info. Sadly it took awhile to properly import that info onto this new computer. Then after importing it showed we had about 900 more contacts then I knew we had. Time was consumed eliminating about 350 duplicates one by one. Then after last weekend’s e-mail update I was able to eliminate another over 300. Somehow we still have a couple hundred too many but I guess that will straighten out in time. We also found out you got the e-mail update with my name on it and not yours. To keep everyone’s e-mail address private I send the newsletters out to myself and BCC to everyone else. So actually you’re getting a copy of what I sent myself. It was sending to herb originally and I think I got that changed back to sheriffstone again. So hopefully you get this addressed to sheriffstone and you can’t see anyone else’s address. Well let’s get to it. we have good news, bad news and no news. This one may be a little longer than usual so you might want to make popcorn. Hopefully, like a good book, you’ll hate to put it down until you’re finished. First the bad news. Pat lost his battle with cancer June 24th. We first met Pat when he came out to our old July 4th parties called Wiley Days back in 1990. He started helping out way back then where he would help bar-b-q. I’ve got to tell you a quick story of how Pat woke everyone up one morning the following year. That year we had decided to bring up a couple of guys from the movie industry to film and make a video of the weekend. We have it available to watch if anyone comes to visit for the night. I was outside in front of the Wiley home talking to the guys when about 6 a.m. sharp the towns buildings vibrated from a thunderous kaaaaa-booooooooooommmmmm. Not many were up before that but after that people started showing up and asking what had happened. My first thought was that the all the cases of fireworks in my bedroom had blown up. I started running down to my house but quickly realized that fireworks don’t make one big boom, they make many. Since I knew I had over 1000 various sized mortar type fireworks stored there and there was only one big boom I turned around and went back to the saloon area. All this took place within a couple of minutes. I just shrugged it off as maybe somebody set off some dynamite somewhere and decided to check on Pat and the bacon. We were going to try baking bacon in the oven on cookie trays like in the fine gourmet restaurants. Since Pat was a chef at the Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite and was familiar of how to bake bacon and was staying the weekend in the Wiley home he promised to get up early and get all the bacon cooked for 8 a.m. breakfast. Pat was not a light drinker nor did he stop partying early. It was rumored he had been up having a good time until after 4 a.m. Well as I walked into the Wiley house Pat was picking himself up off the floor and our friend Jeff from Iowa was in tears laughing on the floor. Sheriff Stone got out his detective skills and got to detecting and this is what happened. Apparently, Pat was still in a fog from all the partying and wasn’t paying much attention to details, especially how time flies. He goes over to the gas stove and turns on the oven. THEN, he goes looking for a match to light it. You’re laughing already aren’t you. Lolololol. Jeff had just come out from the bathroom drying his hands and face as he watched Pat open the oven door and strike the strike anywhere match on the door. Lol. Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-booooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Jeff said flames shot 3 feet into the air out of all three burners and a huge flash of flames come out the oven and blew Pat back against the back wall taking most of his eye brows off. Lolol. Pat was okay other than the eye brows and a little shaken up. He did seem to come out of his fog pretty quick and had fun the rest of the weekend. Pat came from Sacramento and started living in Gold Point around 2001. We put him in the Wiley home connected to the Post Office. Living right next to the saloon he was able to greet many visitors and some of you. When needed he helped out with the cooking in McStones, bar-b-quing, bartending and working on many building and restoration projects in Gold Point. His daughter Brenda came to live with him for the last two years. Brenda brought his ashes back to Gold Point July 24th. Half is ashes are in an urn on a shelf on his plaque on the wall in the saloon. Brenda kept the other half to take home. He has joined his other friends in the saloon--Mike Wake, Kenny Payne, Karen Anderson and Daisy. Over 50 friends came out for his memorial taken care of by his long time and oldest friend Mark. It was also a fund raiser weekend for Brenda. Brenda was very happy and surprised to take home about $1400 or so to help her out with expenses. Ok, good news time. Red Dog and I are really close to buying a digital camera. Maybe in the next month or two. Definitely before we go down to visit my parents in Carmichael, California for their 60th anniversary. Why is this good news you ask or are wondering?? You are curious aren’t you?? If not just skip the next couple of sentences. Some of you have requested and I’m sure a lot of you would like to “SEE” what we’ve been working on. With a digital camera we will be able to send you photos via the air. Wouldn’t that just be the cat’s meow!!!! We lost our flag pole of 24 years back around the end of April. It was built by two brothers, Skip and Rick, back around 1986. They even brought over a back hoe and planted it during a very early Wiley day celebration. I’ve got to tell you a quick story about these two. They lived in Gold Point for a few years back in the eighties in a trailer. They just got tired of living in the big city of Los Angeles. They were both very nice and when sober were skilled at what they did and we used them when we could to give them a few dollars. We had them make and put up the street signs in Gold Point and helped build the saloon porch and install and plumb the bar and sink for beer and a few dollars. Anyway, one day I go over to talk to them and their faces were kind of purple so I asked what they had gotten into. Remember they didn’t have much extra money to buy alcohol but they received food stamps. The two would make homemade wine with ingredients they could buy with the food stamps. Here is their recipe if you’re interested. Get one 5 gallon jug (like a water bottle) put in 5lbs. or sugar, 1 bag of yeast, one large can of Welch’s frozen grape juice, fill with water, stir and put under your trailer in warm weather for 30 days. No joke. These guys sometimes couldn’t wait the 30 days and I think that’s what gave them purple faces. Now back to the flag pole. What a time to lose it with all the other work we were doing around town in addition to getting ready for Memorial Day weekend. Accidently Walt put up a larger flag than the usual 5 x 8 size flag. We get some good strong winds up here and they grabbed that big flag and bent the flag pole in half over the large Joshua tree. Our good neighbor Bruce gave us a couple of pieces of drill steel about 40 feet long together. Walt added an additional 5 or so feet to that. He added large nuts to each side of the steel for large bolts. If ever needed someone can climb the pole by screwing the large bolts into the nuts and use them as steps as they work their way up to the top. When he was finished the new flag pole was 5 feet taller than the old 40 foot one. Our other good neighbor Dan brought his bob cat over and drilled a hole about 7 feet deep. Bruce brought his crane over and set the pole into the hole and we proceeded to mix up bags of concrete in an old miners wheelbarrow. Had we known we had to mix over 30 60lb. bags we would have gotten an electric mixer. Oh well. Because of the huge amount of weight and height of the new pole we built a box about 8 inches high and about 4 feet across and brought the concrete right up to the top. The pulley we used wasn’t strong enough and it broke after 2 days of wind. I found one of my 16,000 lb. test mountain climbing pulleys and we hoisted Stranger up in a boatswains chair, because the crane was still handy, and he changed out the pulleys. We flew an 8 x 12 flag on it for a couple of days as a test and it held up very well. We then put the 5 x8 flag back on and we were good to go for the Memorial Day flag ceremony. I think we’ll get more than 24 years out of this one. Over the years I’ve talked a lot about the chili cook-off weekend and this year’s Memorial Day weekend was similar to the others so I won’t take up a lot of space telling you the same thing. It was our best year to date though as far as the fund raising. I also think we had a few extra fun loving guests over previous years. I can’t think of anything out of the ordinary over other years at this time. Although as I get older a little old timers disease sometimes effects me so if anyone wants to remind me of something I’ll put it in the next newsletter. There is one thing. This is the last year we will be able to advertise to heavily. Our tourism grant has run its time and we are now on our own and the memory of the people. In April and May Stranger, Dennis, Walt and I and friends, amongst other things, worked on the Gold Central cabin and Shangri-la and made some good progress. We got the windows installed in the Gold Central and the dry wall hung and all taped. Even the plumbing for the kitchen is in. Stranger spent 7 weeks this year working on Shangri-la and helping everywhere he was needed around Gold Point. He finished installing the solid oak wood ceiling in the backroom of Shangri-la. In the front room which houses the living room and kitchen he has finished texturing and painting the walls and ceiling. Most of the rough plumbing is finished in the kitchen, for the toilet, and both sinks. We need to get the very heavy Jacuzzi tub brought in and we can finish closing up the walls and finish the plumbing. Stranger also finished installing the slide-in-the-walls windows in the bedroom. So it would be good and clean for his friend Mary to stay with him during Memorial Day weekend he even painted the wood floors. He plans on coming back up in September to work on it some more. Think his plan is to get the tub in and finished closing up the walls in the back. He is only missing a couple sheets of drywall before being able to finish all the walls in the bedroom and bath areas. He is ready also for the cabinets in the kitchen. We have some but not enough. Bet you can’t wait till we get that new camera so we can send you pictures of this fabulous place. Just in case you were wondering if we truly have ghosts here other than the stories that people have told us we finally have proof. Jeremy, Tim and Brent, ghost researchers from Las Vegas, have just finished their 2nd trip and investigation. They brought us a photo of an image taken from a video camera they left set up overnight in the post office/general store of what appears to be a man. Sandy thinks she can see the image of two people. They are going to send us the video to watch as the screen is blank and these images then move across the room in front of the camera. Exciting!!!!!!!! Over the years we have had guests who have reported their experiences to us. This is the first time something has been caught on camera. Can’t wait for the results of their last trip. So next time you stay here and you hear BOO there is a slim chance that it’s not me. Now for the no news. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh sorry I’ve got nothing. Ok, now if you’ve enjoyed this so far you can give me a sitting ovation. Now we go to another episode of TALES FROM THE NOT SO OLD WEST April 16, 1908 Goldfield Daily Tribune Vol. 2 no. 206 Thursday “rush continues to the New Camp South. The rush to the new mining camp known as Hornsilver, at Lime Point, is now on in earnest. Lida has been about depopulated, and up from Old Camp the greater portion of the population have come to look and see for themselves. Every day a score or more of the prospectors and would-be investors from Goldfield are making the pilgrimage to the new Mecca. This is the outfitting point, and all materials and goods for the new camp are being purchased here. An automobile line has been established, and the work of grading as new automobile road into the camp will be underway by the first of next week. Capt. J. F. Bradley secured a lease on a portion of the Great Western ground a few days ago and has started work. To the east and west of him pay values have been opened up on the dyke. E.C. Smith and William Harper will leave this morning for the camp, and probably twenty others. Howard Russell, local manager of the company, made a flying trip to the camp yesterday, and he returned late last night. He says that the Great Western company has granted fifteen leases on its ground, and no more will be given. He said that while in town he was shown ore from other properties that appeared to be as rich and anything that has yet been encountered on the big mine, which is owned and controlled by himself and his brother Jim.” April 17, 1908 Goldfield Daily Tribune Vol. 2. No 207 Friday “phone materials for camp to the south. Within short time Goldfield will be talking with Hornsilver folks in a few days…” April 19, 1908 Goldfield Daily Tribune Vol. 2 no. 209 Sunday “Phenomenal growth of the Southern Camp. Hornsilver had seventeen tents a week ago, and now there are forty-two. Last Sunday there were seventeen tents in the new town of Hornsilver, the new mining camp at Lime Point, thirty miles south of town. By actual count yesterday morning, and Dr. Kitchen is authority for the statement, there were forty-two. The first tent was pitched on the townsite a week yesterday. According to the Great Western Gold Mining and Milling company, additions are being laid out in all directions from the original townsite. A week ago there were three sets of lessees working on the Great Western ground, and today the number is eighteen. On adjoining ground mines are being started every day and the pleasing feature is that ore of shipping grade is being found in a score of places. At least fifty new arrivals are coming into the district daily, and nearly all of them are from Goldfield. A shipment of 30,000 feet of lumber was started out from here yesterday, and all kinds of merchandise is being bought for the new camp. One wholesale house was the authority for the statement that they had sold more goods destined for the new camp the past week than had ever been purchased for a new mining excitement in the history of the company in the same length of time. Howard Russell made a flying trip to the camp yesterday, accompanied by the chief engineer of the Goldfield Bullfrog railway, who was so favorably impressed that in all probability a corps of engineers will soon be in the field… The ninth carload of ore was shipped from Cuprite yesterday, from the Great Western. The winze at the 100 foot level is down fifty feet, and the work of crosscutting to the ledge on the 200 foot level is in full swing, l with three shifts. J.T. Murray, the pioneer in the Lime Point section of Gold Mountain, who has thrown up his job as deputy sheriff, returned from the camp yesterday. Three years ago he went into the district two miles east of the Great Western Gold Mining and Milling company. He located a group of claims and later organized the Lime Point Gold Point Mining and Milling company. After he had sunk seven shafts on the outcropping leads, the deepest of which was 245 feet, he was forced to give up mining and turn his attention to day’s pay. On his property there is as good showing as can be seen in that section, and in doing the work he obtained values running all the way from $20 to as high as $195.40 a ton. Work on the ground will be started at once…” April 21, 1908 Goldfield Daily Tribune Vol. 2 no. 211 Tuesday. “Supplies for Hornsilver are sought here. well known Goldfield men are enthusiastic about new camp to the south. Hornsilver was in evidence all yesterday afternoon on the streets of Goldfield. It was on account of the return of James Russell and his brother Marion, and the long-lost ‘Cap’ Bradley, who is the ex-sheriff of the county, as well as a member of the lower house of the state assembly. Elmer Chute was also one of the arrivals from the new district that promises to turn out to be one of the best camps that has been opened up in the state. He laid out the original townsite of Goldfield, and since that time has surveyed many another townsite, as well as hundreds of mining claims in all portions of the state. Jim Russell, president of the big mine in the camp, had this to say about it: ‘I have know for a long time that ore in paying quantities existed on that spur of Gold Mountain, and I believe that the mining people of Goldfield, as well as the business men, now realize that I am right. Nearly all the ground there is owned by Goldfield people, and all the supplies are purchased here…’ Captain Bradley said: ‘It looks so good to me that I am here to buy lumber and other supplies’ L.L. Patrick, president of the First National Bank of Goldfield, made a trip to the camp Sunday and he said: ‘I have minded all my life; have visited scores of camps in this and other states. I have chased so many rainbows that it is a relief to find on like Hornsilver that is already a camp with immense possibilities in all directions from the big mine that has already proven up.’” Well that closes another newsletter. Until next time then take care and have fun. happy trails and sunsets Sheriff Stone and/or Red Dog Lil |
