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Well howdy ya'll and
greetings from Gold Point.
This newsletter shouldn't be as long as the last one. Who knows what can happen after I get to peckin though. Where to start?
Hmmm. Ok, I've got it!
We've finally
finished posting This weekend we had our first guests that brought ultra-lights. They had a great time flying around the area like an eagle. Both Saturday and Sunday mornings had great weather but just a little choppy, so they didn't fly as much as they would have liked too. Just like Gen. MacArthur, they said, they will return. The book Ghost Towns of the American West is now available for your reading enjoyment. Just click on
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=2Z07KF3GC7&isbn=0810945088&itm=1 Bring it out on one of your trips to Gold Point and ol' Sheriff Stone will be happy to sign the Gold Point section of it. I've read the story and found that Mario is a very good writer. I wish I could have such a flare with the American vocabulary as he does. Please let us know how you liked it. Work on the Radkie House is progressing well. We finally got the rough plumbing done in the bathroom. We then had our friend Digger sheetrock and tape it. After Digger sprayed a coat of drywall mud on the ceiling I used a whisk broom to put the swirly design on it. Pat and I then finished up the wainscot in the living room and installed all the wainscot in the bathroom. Ceiling has also been painted. We still hope to have it finished by the middle of May. We've also started on the gussying up of Senator Wiley's old place. This is where Pat stays. We've patched the holes and caulked all the cracks in the living room, dining room and kitchen. Then painted it all with Navajo white semi-gloss paint. On all the wood trim we chose a color that matched the ceiling in the living room. The best color match was called Cigar. We're staying with that theme throughout. We still have the pantry, bedroom and bathroom still to do. It looks better than I do now!!! If you're into rocks and such, we have found three new areas for petrified wood,fossils and geodes. The geodes glow green and orange under an ultra-violet light. If you hike a little you can find geodes up to softball size. Some of the fossils you can find in what is called hash, is trilobites, protozoa, sponges, and archeocycads. If I've murdered any of these words---oh well, you still know what I mean if you're a rocky person. We're getting a little more exposure in Europe this year. The magazine Holidays Home & Abroad is featuring a story on us. This should help bring in more vacationers this year. Of course, this spreads the legend of Sheriff Stone a little more also. Ouch, my hat just got a little smaller all of a sudden. If anyone knows why, just keep it to yourself. lol Ron and Mike from Bishop, California came over a couple weeks ago and we all went through a bunch of boxes of letters from the attic at the post office. Ora Mae, Harry's wife, saved everything ever sent to here for almost 50 years. The early years are more interesting of course. Especially the letters from her two sons who were in World War II in the European theater. Ron brought a nice big picture frame to put a selected few letters and envelopes in for display. He also donated some cash for some envelopes with some stamps on them that he didn't have in his collection. He is bringing a couple more picture frames to mount some more stuff, in the near future. Mike from Fish Lake Valley has just brought a donation of an old windlass used to bring buckets of ore out of the mines. We got the old LaFrance fire truck running two weeks ago. It had only 24,000 miles on it's diesel engine. Our neighbor Mike is going thru the brakes now before moving on to the pump. Our goal is to have a working truck by the Memorial Day Chili Cook-off. Either this one or one that may be donated to us by Nye County or by a grant. We have applied to the Nevada Division of Forestry and the Department of the Interior for grants. We'll know something in a couple of months. There is also some other grants coming up we're going to go for from other government agencies. If you like Johnny Cash, George Jones and Willie Nelson you may want to make plans for this years Wiley Days during the July Fourth weekend. Details later. Ok, I'll tell you now. We have three impersonators coming up for your listening enjoyment. They are donating their talents and singing for tips. Mark your calendar now. Also if you enjoy fireworks you won't want to miss this year's party. We have planned so far, 280 shells going up into the air. As donations roll in this might grow. This is by far going to be the largest display in Esmeralda County and possibly rural Nevada. Let's talk now about the upcoming 2nd annual Fireman's Benefit Chili Cook-off during Memorial Day Weekend. It's from May 23rd thru the 26th. We have a lot planned this year for your enjoyment. The actual contest will be held on May 25th. We have 4 groups of entertainers this year. Blue Diamond Highway and Stuck in Reverse are our two bluegrass bands that will be playing from 11 in the morning till 6 Saturday and Sunday outside. We have bought three large awnings to keep you and the bands in the shade. Bringing your own chairs is recommended for a guaranteed seat. If we don't have enough shade this year we'll buy more awnings for the next party. We have 6 groups of entertainers for this years Wiley Days. In the evening we have brought back from the Livestock Music and Food Fest party, during Labor Day weekend, the Kingston Canyon and Goldrush bands. They will be taking turns playing in the saloon till the wee wee hours of the night. Last year we had 15 entries in the contest. We hope to easily beat that with your help this year. Don't be afraid to enter, unless your-----------chicken. This is a non-sanctioned and no ingredient outlawed contest. What that means is that it's for fun. So get your favorite recipe out or go down to your local grocery and buy your favorite can of chili and enter. Remember it's a fund raiser and "fun" raiser. The poster that
explains the weekend will be posted on to Gold Point's website this week,
on the
special events page. You can get your contest entry form by
writing to me and I'll e-mail or snail mail it to you.
(Special Last year we raised $1500. That should be an easy hurdle to jump this year. We already have the 6 trophies made and on display in the saloon. The 1st Place trophy this year is almost 30 inches tall. Now I must tell ya the good news and the bad news stories that Reverend Red Dog Lil, alias Judge Red Dog Lil, alias Sandra was involved in. She launched one couple on the road to a new life together and closed a chapter of a long life of another. During the second week of March, Reverend Lil had the pleasure of performing her first marriage and the unfortunate task of delivering her first eulogy at her first funeral of a long time resident of Gold Point. I will talk about the bad news first. Bob, a resident of 20 years, didn't come home Monday night. Coreen, his long time companion, called us early Tuesday morning. I'm not going into a lot of unnecessary details. Basically we called the Sheriff's department and they met us in Gold Point. They, along with our neighbors, Dan, Diane & Mike, along with Pat and I took off going different directions. Pat and I found him
lying on the floor of an old cabin out in the back country. Life is amazing at times. Bob stopped in the saloon for a beer Sunday night. It was a very busy night. We had about 15 friends and guests having some food and shuffleboard and libations. Bob stayed for about 4 hours or so, having a good time. He had a chance to talk with everyone there. Talking about the old days and the new days. Even about WWII, where he was a pilot in the Army Air Corps. We've never seen him have such a good time in many years. We drove him down the street to his home at the end of the evening and he shook my hand saying thank you a lot. The next morning he left town to drive to his claims behind Gold Point as he always did. Only this time- - - well. Do you think he knew it was his time? He never spent that much time, not to mention enjoying it, in the saloon in 10 years. I will always think in the back of my mind he was saying his good-byes in his way. He was a proud man all his life. I envy him that he did not live his remaining years in a rest home. Reverend Red Dog's eulogy touched on the following: Bob was a veteran of World War II. He was a pilot in the Army Air Corp in WWII in the South Pacific where he served under the command of General MacArthur. He was shot down in New Guinea and was lost for 27 days in the jungle where he survived by eating anything he could find. When he made his way back to his camp everyone was amazed that he made it. He spent a week in the hospital before being sent out on another mission. He was dropped by parachute into a Philippino Guerilla encampment in the Philippines where he was captured and spent about 3 months in a Japanese prison camp. He was tortured because he was an officer. He walked ashore with General MacArther when he returned to the Philippines. Upon returning, he became a mining engineer. His life was mining and mining was his life. He settled in Gold Point in 1982 where he worked at the Penny and Wonder mines. Bob's long time companion, Coreen, had spent the last 20 years with him. She saw him in a news reel getting off a train when she was 12 years old. When we are put here on this earth, we don't know how long we will be allowed to remain. Bob would have been 82 April 8th. We should all be so lucky to be here that long. Bob passed away alone in an old cabin on a mining claim outside of Gold Point, a very appropriate way for an old miner to go and most likely the way he wanted it. At the end of the service, Amazing Grace, was sung acapela by LeAnn Rimes, and Taps was played. The flag was presented to Coreen. She then presented the flag to me because she felt it should stay in Gold Point. I was very touched and speechless for a second. I quickly recovered and said thank you very much. This flag will be flown every Memorial Day in remembrance of Bob and all of our lost Veterans of all wars. The rest of the time the flag will stay in the museum on display. Coreen was left with very little. Bob did not leave a will. She is responsible for the cost of the funeral and any unpaid bills. Coreen will be 70 the 27th of this month. We humbly ask that if you could send at least $5.00 or anything you could spare for her, it would be deeply appreciated. We here have been taking up a collection for the past two weeks. Those wishing to make a donation may do so by sending a check made out to the Gold Point
Volunteer Fire Department 100% of all donated money will be given to her in a lump sum April 8th, Bob's 82nd birthday. This will be presented along with a card listing all of those who helped out with their donation. I wanted to end this newsletter with the good news. So, while I go get Red Dog some water for the laundree washin, she will tell you about her first wedding. On Sunday, the 9th, we were partyin up at the saloon with some friends and guests and this young couple just happened to drop in from nowhere. Well, Andrea from the Last Frontier Antique Shop in Tonopah, was talking to them and found out that they were wanting to get married on this trip they were on. She mentioned that
Reverend Red Dog was just itchin for some practice and could get the job
done for them. So, we sat down and discussed the situation, and lo and
behold, they showed up the next day in Goldfield I was more nervous
than they were, never having done this before. The bride had gone out and
picked herself a bouquet of sagebrush and They kissed, pictures were taken, proper paperwork was signed and they split to Las Vegas. I went down and filed the paperwork and the deed was done. Hopefully they will send me a picture so I can put it with the marriage license in the book that I will now have to keep. That way I can remember faces in the years to come, of all the weddings that I will be doing. Hopefully it will be many. The next one will be next month for some friends of ours. It's now time to close this letter and bid you a fond farewell for now. Happy Trails and Sunsets, Sheriff Stone &/or Red Dog Lil |
