INTRODUCTION
FOR SOMETIME, MANY YEARS AGO, MY DECEASED WIFE AND I COLLECTED MANY FINE ART PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES. AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE, AFTER MANY CHANGES INCLUDING OUR NEW HOME, IT SEEMS TIME TO MOVE ON AND TO SELL SOME OF THE FINE ART OBJECTS COLLECTED THOSE MANY YEARS AGO. SO, I AM OFFERING SEVERAL OBJECTS FOR SALE AS DOCUMENTED IN THIS BLOG.

Please contact me at:  jimbo@jimbomedia.info for further information and if you have interest in purchasing any of these items.    PHONE: 435-256-7326                              

THANKS FOR LOOKING AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I POSTED.  SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN MY LIFE SINCE THE START OF THIS WONDERFUL YEAR. AFTER A LONG TIME ALONE I MET AND MARRIED THE WONDERFUL PERSON OF MY DREAMS. WE HAVE BEEN BUSY MAKING A NEW HOME AND A NEW LIFE. TO START A NEW LIFE AT MY AGE IS A BLESSING FROM GOD WITHOUT A DOUBT. I AN SO GRATEFUL AND PEACEFUL. AS EACH DAY BEGINS WE FIND NEW HAPPINESS AND SOMETHING ELSE TO BE THANKFUL FOR. 

A RECENT TRIP TO THE TETONS SERVED TO REINFORCE THE BEAUTY OF GOD’S CREATIONS. THE WET YEAR THERE ONLY SERVED TO MAKE IT EVER MORE SPECTACULAR. STREAMS OF PURE WATER FLOWED DOWN FROM THE PEAKS TO THE RIVER BELOW AND THE WILD FLOWERS WERE IN BLOOM WHERE EVER WE LOOKED. A COUPLE OF PHOTOS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS POST TO SHARE THE WONDERS OF NATURE THAT IS WYOMING AT ITS FINEST. I HOPE WILL ENJOY THESE PHOTOS. I DO PLAN TO START POSTING AGAIN AND TO SHARE STORIES OF WILD AND WONDERFUL WYOMING.

THANKSGIVING IN ST GEORGE, UT IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE MANY I SPENT IN WYOMING. PERHAPS ONE OF THE MAIN DIFFERENCES IS THE WEATHER. HERE ON THE EDGE OF THE MOHAVE FALL TAKES A LONG, SLOW TIME TO COME. JUST NOW THERE ARE CRISP MORNINGS, WARM SUNNY DAYS AND SOME OF THE TREES ARE NOW HOSTING THEIR GLORIOUS FALL COLORS. ESPECIALLY GRAND ARE THE TREES HERE THAT TURN A BRIGHT GOLDEN COLOR THAT SHINES IN THE CLOUDLESS SKY. THESE TREES REMIND ME OF DAYS PAST IN WYOMING AND COLORADO WHEN THE COTTONWOODS SEEMED TO SUDDENLY BURST INTO COLOR SOMETIME IN OCTOBER USUALLY.  

SO IT IS THANKSGIVING HERE IN ST GEORGE AND FALL IS FINALLY HERE. IT IS SO GREAT TO BE OUTDOORS THESE FALL AFTERNOONS WITH THE WARMTH OF THE SUNSHINE ON YOUR SHOULDERS. THE CLOUDLESS SKIES SEEM ALMOST TO WELCOME THE LAST RAYS OF SUMMER  AND THE ROSES STILL BLOOM, WELCOMING THE COOLNESS  WITH A BURST OF BLOSSOMS. 

SO, WHILE THOSE OF US WHO CAME HERE SEEKING A SNOWLESS WINTER, MAY HAVE SOME FOND MEMORIES OF EARLY SNOW AT THANKSGIVING, WE ARE HAPPY TO BASK IN THE WARMTH OF THE SUN, TO PLAY GOLF, TO HIKE, TO PLAY TENNIS OR THE LATEST CRAZE HERE, PICKLEBALL. WHILE IT IS EARLY IT SEEMS FOR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS WHEN IT IS STILL WARM TO US FROM COLDER CLIMES, THANKSGIVING TIME SEEMS TO GIVE A GREEN LIGHT TO SETTING UP ELABORATE DISPLAYS AND MANY THAT ARE NOT SO ELABORATE, BUT STILL HONOR THE BIRTH OF CHRIST EVEN THOUGH  A FEW OF THE LIGHTS DO NOT SEEM TO STAY ON THRU THE NIGHT.

SO, I WELCOME THE SEASON AND LOOK FORWARD TO FEELING THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. TO HELP GET IN THE MOOD I DID SET UP THE DISPLAY OF SIMPICH DOLLS DEPICTING THE TIME OF DICKENS AND THE SINGING OF CHRISTMAS CAROLS IN THE TOWN SQUARE. A PHOTO IS INCLUDED OF THIS DISPLAY. WARM MEMORIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SETTING UP OF THIS DISPLAY EVERY YEAR.  SO EVEN LIVING ALONE THESE DAYS THERE IS MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR, AND I KNOW I AM BLESSED IN MANY WAYS AND ESPECIALLY BLESSED TO BE HEALTHY IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT I HAVE BEEN ON THIS PLANET FOR MORE THAN 80 YEARS. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EACH OF YOU. 

USUALLY I AVOID MAKING THIS BLOG INTO SOMETHING TOO PERSONAL, BUT I FEEL THE NEED TO PASS ON A CHALLENGE TO MY READERS TO CONSIDER TAKING A HARD LOOK AT THE WAY WE ARE LIVING OUR LIVES AS I HAVE DONE. MAYBE IT IS TIME TO MAKE CHANGES NEEDED TO BETTER OUR JOURNEY THROUGH THE UPS AND DOWNS OF LIFE.  IS IT TIME TO MAKE CHOICES IN THE WAY WE LIVE TO IMROVE OUR TIME ON THIS EARTH? 

WELL ABOUT 18 MONTHS AGO I DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO CHANGE MY DIET AND EXERCISE PROGRAMS TO REINFORCE THE FACT THAT I WAS SO BLESSED TO BE HEALTHY WITH ONLY MINOR ISSUES SUCH AS POOR HEARING. SO I EMBARKED ON  A NEW PATH BY CHANGING MY EATING HABITS, YES, HABITS THAT INCLUDED TOO MUCH SUGAR AND TOO MANY CARBS. SO BY EATING NUTS, BERRIES, LEAN MEAT AND GREEN STUFF I LOST 30 LBS. BACK TO MY WEIGHT IN HIGH SCHOOL. ALL WELL AND GOOD BUT NOT ENOUGH.

THE NEXT PART OF MY JOURNEY CAME ABOUT BECAUSE MY TWO SONS WERE EMBARKED ON CREATING A LIFE CHANGING, COACHING PROGRAM TO ASSIST ANYONE WHO WANTS TO IMPROVE THEIR LIFE, THEIR HEALTH, AND TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS WHATEVER THEY MAY BE. THEIR ONLINE PROGRAM RECENTLY HAD ITS DEBUT AS A WONDERFUL WEBSITE ACCESSIBLE TO ANYONE WHO HAS THE WILL TO CHANGE THEIR LIFE IN THE WAY THEY LONG FOR. THE WEBSITE (mindsharenetwork.com) INCLUDES SEVERAL CHOICES IN PROGRAMS THAT WILL MAKE THE CHANGES IN YOUR LIFE THAT YOU CHOOSE, CHANGES TO HELP YOU REACH THE GOAL YOU SET FOR YOURSELF. CHOICES SUCH AS “LIFE ON PURPOSE”, “CAREER ON PURPOSE”, AND THE ONE I CHOSE, “HEALTHY LIFE ON PURPOSE”.  SO FOLLOWING THE STEPS SO CAREFULLY LAID OUT IN THE WEBSITE I PLEDGED TO MYSELF I WOULD WORKOUT THREE TIMES A WEEK WITH A TRAINER, WOULD CONTINUE TO WALK WITH THE DOG EVERYDAY AND TO WORK EACH DAY ON MY GOLF SKILLS. IT HAS BEEN A REWARDING JOURNEY SO FAR AND WITH CONTINUED EFFORT AND WILL, I PLAN TO REACH MY GOALS. THE JOURNEY IS, OF COURSE, THE REAL JOY  OF SUCH A PROGRAM AND TRYING EVERYDAY TO LIVE IN THE NOW, TO MAKE EACH DAY A SPECIAL DAY IS REALLY WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT.

SO, I CHALLENGE EACH OF YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE WEBSITE AND TO CONSIDER WAYS TO LIVE A BETTER LIFE, A LIFE ON PURPOSE!! MY BEST WISHES TO EACH OF YOU.  

THOUGHT I WOULD REPOST THIS AS IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE FIRST INTRODUCING MY PHANTASY SERIES A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO PS THESE BOOKS CARRY MY PEN NAME, JAMES RICHARD 

The Castle on the Hill Series of action, fantasy and romance ebooks are now up and available on all the tablets, Kindle, iBooks (for iPad), Nook, Kobo and the originals on Smashwords for easy download to any tablet. The story of the  Royal Family of the Kingdom of Zando is told in three generations of princes and princesses as they fight to defend their kingdom and its magnificent Castle on the Hill from the evil Kings of nearby kingdoms who would conquer their beloved Zando and subjugate its people.  Magic, sorcery, creatures all combine to create stories of heroic deeds and romance as the generations pass.  Wholesome reads for all ages.  Download a book today (Book One Adriana, Book Two Alland and Book Three Samari) and get started enjoying the world of magic. Thanks for your support and please leave a review for each book.

THANKS SO MUCH AND HAPPY READING!!!!  P.S. JUST $2.99 FOR EACH BOOK

THIS JULY IT WAS TIME AGAIN FOR MY HIGH SCHOOL REUNION IN RIVERTON. IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO THAT I GRADUATED FROM THAT SMALL HIGH SCHOOL WITH ABOUT 60 OTHERS.  UNFORTUNATELY THERE ARE NOT TOO MANY OF US LEFT AFTER MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY HAS PASSED. IT WAS GREAT TO SEE MY CLASSMATES.  WE SHARED OUR STORIES AND HOPED WE WOULD BE AROUND FOR ANOTHER REUNION IN FIVE MORE YEARS.

ALONG THE WAY I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT THE WONDERFUL MUSEUMS IN DUBOIS AND LANDER. THE DUBOIS MUSEUM HAS SOME GREAT DISPLAYS INCLUDING A SMALL LOG CABIN DEDICATED TO PHOTOS AND HISTORY OF THE TIE DRIVE IN MEMORY OF THOSE STOUT-HEARTED MEN WHO MADE IT HAPPEN. MY MOST RECENT BLOG HAS MORE INFORMATION. DO STOP BY THERE WHEN YOU CAN, GREAT DISPLAYS ON ALL THINGS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF WYOMING AND FREMONT COUNTY. 

I ALSO HAD A CHANCE TO VISIT THE LANDER MUSEUM WHICH IS FEATURING THE PAINTINGS BY A WELL-KNOWN WESTERN ARTIST ALL ABOUT THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CHIEF WASHAKIE, THE FAMOUS AND HIGHLY HONORED CHIEF OF THE SHOSHONE TRIBE OF NATIVE AMERICANS WHO HAVE THEIR RESERVATION NEARBY.  INCLUDED IN THE DISPLAY ARE SHORT HISTORIES OF CHIEF WASHAKIE’S LIFE AND TIMES.  THE DVD I MADE IN COOPERATION WITH MY HIGH SCHOOL CLASSMATE, SANDY DELMONTE WHOSE FAMILY ARE THE OWNERS OF THE PAINTINGS ORIGINALLY COMMISSIONED BY HER FATHER-IN-LAW, THE WELL-KNOW LANDER LEADER AND HOTEL OWNER, HAROLD DELMONTE, IS ON SALE THERE. THE EXHIBIT IS A POWERFUL DISPLAY OF THE WONDERFUL PAINTINGS OF J K RALSTON AND ANOTHER HONOR TO A GREAT MAN AND CHIEF WHO LIVED THROUGH THE ENTIRE 1880’S.  DO YOURSELF A FAVOR IF YOU ARE IN THE AREA AND SEE THE DISPLAY. IT WILL BE TAKEN DOWN THIS FALL BUT THE PAINTINGS WILL REMAIN AT THE LANDER MUSEUM. A COUPLE OF PHOTOS OF THE PAINTINGS ARE SHOWN HEREIN.  

PS  IF YOU CAN FIND THE CURRENT COPY OF “THE WEST” MAGAZINE, THERE IS A SHORT ARTICLE AND PHOTO OF ONE OF THE PAINTINGS ON PAGE 12.

BY THE WAY, YOU MAY REMEMBER MY POST ABOUT PYGMIES IN WYOMING (REALLY ?), WELL WHILE AT THE MUSEUM IN LANDER I PURCHASED AN INTERESTING BOOK, “STORIES OF THE EASTERN SHOSHONE”. A COLLECTION OF FOLK TALES HANDED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. TO MY SURPRISE THERE IS A STORY ABOUT PYGMIES IN THIS DELIGHTFUL BOOK. TO QUOTE JOHN TREHERO (THE MAIN STORY TELLER IN THIS BOOK), “HE HAD HEARD ABOUT THE PYGMIES FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER. ALTHOUGH SHE HAD NEVER SEEN ANY HERSELF, SHE KNEW OF THEM AS A RACE THAT HAD EXISTED LONG, LONG AGO”. JOHN CALLED THEM SMALL “TUKURIKA” OR HE PREFERRED ANOTHER NAME MEANING LITTLE MOUNTAIN PEOPLE. HE SURMISED PERHAPS THEY BECAME THE ESKIMOS.  STRANGE STORY TO BE SURE, BUT THE STORY SEEMS TO PREVAIL EVEN TO THIS DAY. FODDER FOR THE ANCIENT ALIEN FOLKS?

WYOMING HISTORY IS FILLED WITH FASCINATING STORIES OF THE NOT TOO DISTANT PAST, A PLACE THAT TRULY IS “WILD AND WONDERFUL”.

IN THE SUMMER OF 1927, 700,000 HAND HEWN, LODGEPOLE PINE RAILROAD TIES WERE FLOATED NEARLY 100 MILES DOWN THE WIND RIVER TO THE WYOMING TIE AND TIMBER COMPANY PROCESSING AND TREATMENT PLANT IN RIVERTON. IN ALL, OVER THE 33 YEARS THE PLANT WAS OPERATED, SOME 10 MILLION TIES WERE DELIVERED BY THE SWEAT AND SOMETIMES BLOOD OF A HARDY BUNCH OF MEN WHO BATTLED THE ELEMENTS AND THE RIVER TO CUT, SHAPE AND DELIVER THE CROSS-TIES TO THE CHICAGO AND NORTHWESTERN RAILROAD.  

IT ALL BEGAN WITH THE EXTENDING OF THE RAILROAD FROM CASPER TO RIVERTON AND LANDER, MAKING THE UNDERTAKING POSSIBLE. IN FACT THE RAILROAD HAD MUCH TO DO WITH THE LAND RUSH BEGINNING OF THE TOWN OF RIVERTON IN 1906 WHEN THE RAILROAD WAS EXTENDED. FOLLOWING THE LEAD OF OTHER AREAS IN WYOMING WHERE CUTTING AND SHAPING TIES WAS A BUSINESS, EVEN IN THE LATE 1800S, THE BUSINESS OF PROVIDING TIES TO THE RAILROAD CUT FROM THE FOREST AREAS NEAR DUBOIS BEGAN IN 1914. THE BUSINESS OF PROVIDING CROSS-TIES EMPLOYED MANY MAN, BOTH IN DUBOIS AND RIVERTON. THE SAGA OF THE SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE TASK OF CUTTING AND TRANSPORTING THE STAGGERING NUMBER OF TIES NEEDED IS A TALE OF OVERCOMING THE ODDS, NEVER SAYING IT CAN NOT BE DONE, AND A TESTAMENT TO THE ABILITY OF STRONG MEN TO GET THE JOB DONE AT ALL COSTS.

A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE WHOLE PROCESS STARTS WITH THE LOGGING OPERATION. ARMED WITH A BROADAX STRONG MEN ENTERED A STAND OF LODGEPOLE PINE PREVIOUSLY MARKED FOR CUTTING BY THE FOREST SERVICE. AFTER CUTTING DOWN THE TREE, THE LIMBS WERE REMOVED AND THE LOG WAS CUT INTO 8 FT. LENGTHS. THE ROUGH SHAPE OF THE TIE WAS THEN HACKED INTO THE 8 FT. LOG, SOON TO BE A TIE, WITH THE LOGGER’S  AXE. A SKILLFUL TIE HACK COULD PRODUCE 15-30 TIES FOR WHICH HE WAS PAID 10 CENTS A TIE IN THE BEGINNING. LATER THE WAGES IMPROVED AND UP TO  $9 A DAY COULD BE MADE IF YOU WERE STRONG ENOUGH AND SKILLED WITH YOUR AXE.  TIES WERE THEN STACKED AND DRAGGED AWAY TO BE STORED UNTIL TIME TO TRY TO TRANSPORT THEM TO THE RIVERTON PLANT.

A NOVEL WAY TO MOVING THE PILES OF CUT TIES DOWN THE STEEP CANYON ABOVE THE WARM SPRING TO THE WIND RIVER WAS TO PUT THEM IN A WOODEN FLUME AND FINALLY DROP THEM IN THE RIVER. IN SPITE OF BEING TOLD IT COULD NOT BE DONE, THE WOODEN FLUME WAS CONSTRUCTED THROUGH THE IMPOSSIBLE TERRAIN OF THE WARM SPRINGS CANYON AFTER TWO YEARS OF DIFFICULT CONSTRUCTION WITH THE MANPOWER OF MANY AND A COST OF ABOUT $100.000, A MONUMENTAL SUM IN 1928. MORE THAN HALF A MILLION TIES WERE SENT DOWN THE FLUME AT SPEEDS UP TO 50 MILES AN HOUR IN THE OPENING YEAR OF THE FLUME (SEE THE PHOTO). 

THE STORY DOES NOT END THERE. ONCE THE ROUGH TIES FELL INTO THE WIND RIVER A WHOLE NEW STORY BEGAN. HOW DO YOU FLOAT THOUSANDS OF TIES DOWN A RIVER WHICH IS ONLY NEAR FLOOD STAGE FOR A SHORT TIME IN THE EARLY SUMMER?  LOG JAMS WERE A DAILY HAPPENING. IT WAS THE JOB OF ANOTHER GROUP OF YOUNG MEN TO GUIDE THE TIES DOWN THE RIVER, SOMETIMES REQUIRING BLASTING TO BREAK UP A JAM. EXPENSIVE HOBNAIL BOOTS (ABOUT $19 IN THE 30’S IMPORTED FROM SWEDEN) WERE A REQUIREMENT FOR THE RIVER RATS AS NEARLY 100 MEN WERE REQUIRED TO KEEP THE TIES MOVING DOWN THE WIND RIVER. THE RIVER RATS BECAME SKILLED AT WALKING THE TIES TO GET TO A JAM AND OFTEN SPENT MOST OF THE DAY IN THE RIVER TRYING TO PUSH AND PULL THE TIES INTO THE FLOW. A TOUGH AND CHALLENGING JOB FOR THE $4.50 PER DAY (GOOD PAY IN THE 30S FOR SURE).  BEAT UP BY THE TIES, SOAKING WET AND TOTALLY SPENT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS JOB WAS NOT FOR THE WEAK OR LAZY. FINALLY THE ROUGH TIES ENDED UP AT THE TREATING PLANT IN RIVERTON AND WERE TRANSPORTED AWAY AS NEEDED BY THE RAILROAD.  TODAY WITH ALL OF OUR POWER EQUIPMENT AND MODERN TRANSPORTATION METHODS, IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT LESS THAN 100 YEARS AGO, MILLIONS OF TIES WERE “HAND CUT”  MOVED DOWN A RIVER BY THE MUSCLE POWER OF HARD WORKING MEN.  THIS PART OF THE TIE DRIVE IS WHERE OUR FATHERS (AT LEAST AS FAR AS WE KNOW, BEING VERY YOUNG AT THE TIME) ENTER THE PICTURE. I HAVE A VAGUE RECOLLECTION OF MY FATHER COMPLAINING ABOUT THE COST OF HOBNAIL BOOTS AND ALSO ABOUT ALL THE ACHING MUSCLES AND JOINTS AFTER A DAY SPENT AS A RIVER RAT.

OUR UNCLE MARK GOODMAN WAS INVOLVED IN SEVERAL PHASES OF THE TIE DRIVE AND IN HIS LATER YEARS WROTE A BOOK ABOUT THE TIE DRIVE THAT IS THE SOURCE OF MUCH OF THIS BLOG. STOP IN DUBOIS AT THE WIND RIVER HISTORICAL CENTER NEXT TIME YOU ARE UP THAT WAY. MARK’S BOOK IS NOT AVAILABLE NOW, BUT YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT IT THERE ALONG WITH MANY DISPLAYS ABOUT THE TIE DRIVES. CLEARLY THE TIE DRIVE WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE HISTORY OF FREMONT COUNTY AS IT PROVIDED WORK FOR MANY MEN IN THE DAYS WHEN JOBS WERE NOT EASY TO FIND. REFERENCES TO MARK’S BOOK CAN BE FOUND AT THE END OF THIS BLOG. WHILE IT ALL SEEMS A BIT ROMANTIC NOW, IT WAS BACKBREAKING, DANGEROUS WORK AND SERVED TO KEEP A RAILROAD RUNNING BEFORE TRUCKING AND MODERN SAW MILLS WERE DEVELOPED.  THE PHOTOS INCLUDED ARE FROM MARK’S BOOK. THE TIE HACKS, MEN WHO WORKED ON THE TIE DRIVE, HAVE BEEN HONORED WITH A MEMORIAL (SEE PHOTO ABOVE) JUST ABOVE DUBOIS ON THE ROAD TO TOGW0TEE PASS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MARK’S BOOK, A PDF FILE IS ATTACHED TO THIS BLOG.Broadax to Tracks  

THIS BLOG WAS PUT TOGETHER BY A JOINT EFFORT WITH MY COUSIN, CLARKE GOODMAN.  WE SHARE MANY OF THE HISTORIES OF OUR FATHERS WHO WERE VERY CLOSE, ESPECIALLY IN THEIR DAYS AS YOUNG MEN SEEKING TO FIND THEIR WAY THROUGH LIFE.

THIS POST TAKES A DIFFERENT DIRECTION TO RECOGNIZE THE OUTSTANDING WRITING OF A FRIEND FROM MY FORMER DAYS AT COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY (CSU), JANET MONTERA, WHO WAS EXECUTIVE SECRETARY FOR OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS FOR SEVERAL YEARS.  SINCE RETIRING FROM HER CAREER AT CSU SHE HAS BEEN EXERCISING HER LOVE OF WRITING. SHE HAS HELPED MANY PEOPLE  WRITE THEIR LIFE STORIES AND HAS BRANCHED OUT AS A SPEAKER ON THAT THEME. SHE IS NOW FINALIZING A NOVEL ENTITLED, “THE RESPITE” AND RECENTLY PUBLISHED A WONDERFUL SHORT STORY ENTITLED, “HOW ANGELS FLY.”  

NOT ONLY HAS JANET COMPLETED PUBLICATION OF A WONDERFUL STORY, THAT OFFERS A NEARNESS OF ANGELS IN OUR LIVES, WITH THE HELP OF TALENTED ARTISTS SHE HAS ALSO PRODUCED “POSTCARDS FROM GOD.”THIS COLLECTION OF EIGHT INSPIRED POSTCARDS IS A GREAT WAY FOR YOU TO EXPRESS YOUR FEELINGS TO THOSE YOU LOVE AND CARE FOR. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE RECENTLY PUBLISHED WONDERS AND FOR PURCHASE YOU MAY GO TO JANET’S WEBSITE AT http://jlmsgarden.com/  (IF YOU PREFER AMAZON OR OTHER BOOK SITES YOU WILL FIND THESE PUBLICATIONS THERE TOO)

I AM PLEASED TO SHARE MY BLOG WITH JANET ABOUT HER WONDERFUL WORK. I KNOW YOU WILL BE ENRICHED BY THESE NEW OFFERINGS. OH, AND DO WATCH FOR PUBLICATION OF HER NOVEL, ” THE RESPITE.” THE NOVEL’S STORY TELLER, ROSE EVA THISTLE, REFLECTS ON THAT BREATHING SPACE INSIDE EACH OF US THAT HUNGERS TO KNOW THE INTENTION OF THE LIFE WE ARE BORN INTO:

“I Rose Eva Thistle, invite you to walk with me through my life’s garden, a place where the seeds of hope, cast on the winds of time, altered the very mysteries of my life. Call it circumstances or fate if you so choose. In the 1931 coal fields up the Del Agua Canyon near Trinidad, Colorado where I was born the seeds that blew in on the wind were onerous labor and misplaced fidelity.”

THANKS FOR VISITING MY BLOG AND HAPPY READING. WATCH FOR NEW POSTS SOON, JIM

THE AREA OF WYOMING SHOWN IN THE MAP (B) IS A WINDBLOWN, FLAT TOPPED PART OF THE GRANITE MOUNTAINS. WHILE APPEARING TO BE JUST A MOUNTAIN OF ROCK AND A DESOLATE PLACE WITH FEW TREES TO BREAK UP THE DESOLATION. IT HAS BEEN A PLACE THAT ATTRACTED MANY SEEKERS OF GOLD, PRECIOUS STONES, RARE EARTHS AND EVEN THE MOTHER LODE OF URANIUM IN THE DAYS WHEN THE GREAT URANIUM BOOM WAS GOING FULL BLAST. LONG AN AREA OF INTEREST TO PROSPECTORS, ENTREPRENEURS AND ROCK HOUNDS, TIN CUP STILL SEEMS A PLACE OF MYSTERY. THERE ARE THOSE WHO TO THIS DAY BELIEVE IT IS A PLACE WHERE FORTUNES CAN BE MADE.

YOUR AUTHOR AND CO AUTHOR OF THIS POST, COUSIN CLARKE GOODMAN, EACH HAD ONLY ONE OR TWO VISITS TO THE AREA OVER THE YEARS. MY LAST CHANCE TO VISIT WAS MANY YEARS AGO WHEN EVERYONE WHO HAD A GEIGER COUNTER WAS OUT PROSPECTING FOR URANIUM. WHEN WE ARRIVED AT THE TOP OF THE FLAT AREA AT TIN CUP THE EVIDENCE OF THE HARD ROCK MINES WAS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE AREA. MANY SHAFTS HAD BEEN DRIVEN INTO THE GRANITE IN SEARCH OF THE ELUSIVE VEIN OF GOLD. AMONG THE SHAFTS WAS THE GOODMAN MINE.

THE GOODMAN MINE DATES BACK TO THE 1920’S WHEN OUR GRANDFATHER, AFTER SOME UNSUCCESSFUL SPECULATION IN OIL AND COAL MINING, DETERMINED TO MAKE HIS FORTUNE IN THE GOLD FIELDS OF GRANITE MOUNTAIN. THE MINE PROVIDED SEVERAL SUMMERS OF “EMPLOYMENT” FOR OUR FATHERS AND THEIR BROTHERS. IT WAS NOT EASY WORK, DRILLING HOLES FOR THE DYNAMITE CHARGES, BLASTING AND MUCKING OUT THE BROKEN ROCK, A BUCKET AT A TIME BY HOISTING IT UP THE SHAFT TO DUMP IN THE WASTE PILE. IT WAS BACK-BREAKING WORK TO BE SURE. SOME OF THE SHAFTS WENT DOWN INTO THE GRANITE AT LEAST 30 FEET OR SO. CLARKE’S FATHER SPENT THE MOST TIME ON THE MOUNTAIN. HE WAS SINGLE AND ABLE TO SPEND MORE TIME AT THE MINE THAN HIS MARRIED BROTHERS. THERE WAS A SOD CABIN AT THE MINE WHERE HE FREQUENTLY STAYED. HE BECAME CONVINCED THAT THERE WAS GOLD IN THOSE HILLS.  IN 1943, HE MARRIED AND HE AND HIS NEW BRIDE, DORIS, SPENT ONE SUMMER AT TIN CUP. IN 1944 THEY HAD THEIR FIRST CHILD AND THE NEW FAMILY PRECLUDED DEVOTING ANY MORE TIME TO THE MINE AT TIN CUP. ABOUT THIS TIME OUR GRANDFATHER LEFT WYOMING AND STARTED A SUCCESSFUL STRAWBERRY FARM IN WASHINGTON STATE.  HIS SPECULATION IN OIL, GOLD AND COAL HAD COME TO AN END.  WHILE CLARKE AND DORIS RAISED A FAMILY OF SIX CHILDREN, CLARKE STILL FREQUENTLY TALKED OF TIN CUP AND HIS CONVICTION THAT THERE WAS PROFITABLE ORE ON GRANITE MOUNTAIN. WHEN CLARKE AND DORIS’S CHILDREN WERE GROWN AND CLARKE RETIRED, HE AND HIS WIFE RETURNED TO WYOMING AND STARTED A COMPANY, GEMCO (GOODMAN MINING AND EXPLORATION COMPANY). IN THE EARLY 1980’S THE COMPANY FILED CLAIMS AT TIN CUP WHERE THE ORIGINAL GOODMAN MINE HAD BEEN. FOR A FEW YEARS, CLARKE AND DORIS LIVED IN A TRAILER THEY HAD MOVED TO TIN CUP. CLARK’S LAST ACTIVITY AT TIN CUP WAS IN 1986. HE PASSED AWAY IN 1987, STILL A FIRM BELIEVER IN THE PROFITABILITY OF THE GOODMAN MINES ON GRANITE MOUNTAIN. TO OUR KNOWLEDGE THE ELUSIVE VEIN OF GOLD WAS NOT TO BE FOUND. IN THE WORD’S OF A GOODMAN BROTHER, OUR UNCLE MARK, ” … MORE MONEY WAS POURED INTO THE HOLE THAN WAS EVER TAKEN OUT.”

CURRENT ACCOUNTS OF THE AREA (SEE LINKAT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG) BOAST OF MANY KINDS OF PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES AVAILABLE IN GREAT ABUNDANCE IN THE AREA.  GEOLOGIC STUDIES OF THE AREA INDICATE THAT THE TIN CUP AREA WAS ONCE THE HIGHEST PLACE IN THE GRANITE MOUNTAINS AND THEREFORE SHOULD BE THE SOURCE OF THE VARIOUS MINERALS AND GEMS, PERHAPS CARRIED BY WATER OVER THE EONS. WHILE ALL OF THIS IS SOMEWHAT SORTED OUT, THE SENSE OF MYSTERY STILL SEEMS TO SURROUND THE AREA AND MANY LONG FOR A MORE THOROUGH INVESTIGATION OF THE POTENTIAL OF TIN CUP. CLARKE DISCOVERED UNDEVELOPED SOURCES OF RARE EARTHS IN THE AREA DURING HIS PROSPECTING DAYS. SO LIKE SO MANY AREAS OF WYOMING, THE MYSTERIES CONTINUE, AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE AREA IS  AWAITING DISCOVERIES BY PROSPECTORS OR ENTREPRENEURS OF THE FUTURE. WYOMING IS STILL A FRONTIER IS SO MANY WAYS, A PLACE WAITING FOR SOME NEW BOOM TIME, PERHAPS JUST AROUND THE CORNER ONCE AGAIN.

LINK OF INTEREST: tinkup.blogspot.com 

THIS POST WAS THE JOINT EFFORT OF THE USUAL AUTHOR, JIM GOODMAN AND HIS COUSIN, CLARKE GOODMAN WHO PROVIDED MUCH OF THE DETAILS OF HIS FATHER AND MOTHER’S INVOLVEMENT IN TIN CUP AND ITS HISTORY. YOUR AUTHOR THANKS HIS COUSIN FOR HIS VALUABLE INPUT.

THE TIME WAS THE SPRING OF 1929 AND THE YOUNG WOMAN PICTURED WAS GRADUATING FROM KANSAS UNIVERSITY IN LAWRENCE, KANSAS. HER NAME WAS IRENE BRASFIELD AND SHE GREW UP IN THE SMALL TOWN OF GARDEN CITY NEAR KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI. SHE CAME FROM A LARGE FAMILY WHOSE FATHER WAS A BANKER. SHE WAS A GIFTED WOMEN WHO COULD PLAY CHOPIN ON THE PIANO AND WAS TRAINED TO TEACH GEOGRAPHY TO EIGHTH-GRADE STUDENTS.

SHE WAS A TOUGH AND INDEPENDENT WOMAN WHO CHOOSE TO LEAVE HER FAMILY FAR BEHIND AND HEAD FOR THE FRONTIER STATE OF WYOMING TO TAKE A JOB AS A TEACHER IN A TWO-ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE NEAR RIVERTON AT ARAPAHOE.

I AM STILL AMAZED AT THE BRAVERY OF A SOMEWHAT PRIVILEGED YOUNG WOMEN CHOOSING TO LEAVE HER FAMILY BEHIND AND HEAD TO THE UNKNOWN THAT THE FRONTIER OF WYOMING WAS IN THOSE DAYS, NOT TOO LONG AFTER THE FOUNDING OF THE TOWN OF RIVERTON.  DIRT STREETS AND BOARD SIDEWALKS WERE THE USUAL FOR SMALL-TOWN WYOMING IN THE 1920’S. IT MUST HAVE BEEN A SHOCK TO HER TO LEAVE  DEVELOPED MISSOURI AND GET OFF THE TRAIN IN RIVERTON AND HEAD OUT TO ARAPAHOE TO THE TWO-ROOM SCHOOL. 

FORTUNATELY FOR ME (OR YOU WOULD NOT BE READING THIS BLOG) MY UNCLE, JOHN GOODMAN, WAS IN CHARGE OF THE TWO-ROOM SCHOOL AT THAT TIME. HE INTRODUCED IRENE TO MY FATHER, RICHARD GOODMAN AND AS THEY SAY, THE REST IS HISTORY.

MY MOTHER NEEDED TO BE A STONG AND TOUGH WOMAN MANY TIMES IN HER LIFE. TEACHING 8TH GRADERS IN NOT EASY, ESPECIALLY IN TIMES WHEN OTHER TEACHERS HAD MANY PROBLEMS WITH ROUDY KIDS. SHE NEVER HAD DIFFICULTY WITH DISCIPLINE AND I CAN TELL YOU FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE SHE COULD WITHER ANYONE WITH A STARE FROM THOSE LUMINOUS EYES. THERE WERE MANY PROBLEMS WITH MY FATHER’S ILLNESS AND LATER WITH HER OWN MEDICAL CONDITIONS WHICH WERE BROUGHT ABOUT BECAUSE SHE HAD CONTRACTED RHEUMATIC FEVER AS A CHILD WHICH DAMAGED HER HEART. THE ISSUES WITH HER HEART MADE HER LAST FEW YEARS INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT. SHE HAD TO HAVE AN ARTIFICIAL HEART VALVE INSERTED AS A RESULT. AFTER A BLOOD CLOT IN HER LEG WHICH BECAME GANGRENOUS SHE WAS AIR-LIFTED TO DENVER AND HAD TO HAVE HER LEG REMOVED JUST BELOW THE KNEE. SHE REFUSED TO GIVE UP TEACHING AND RETURNED TO THE CLASSROOM.  ONE DAY AFTER SCHOOL WAS OUT SHE WAS ERASING THE BLACKBOARD TO PREPARE FOR ANOTHER DAY WHEN HER HEART VALVE PLUGGED AND SHE PASSED AWAY. SADLY SHE HAD NOT REACHED HER 65TH BIRTHDAY AND HER PLANNED RETIREMENT NEVER OCCURRED. 

SO ON THIS MOTHER’S DAY I MISS MY TOUGH MOTHER. SHE WAS A TRUE WYOMING PIONEER, IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. I THANK HER FOR INSTILLING IN HER CHILDREN THE WILL TO SUCCEED, OUR OWN TOUGHNESS PERHAPS, WHICH SERVED US WELL AS WE MADE OUR JOURNEY THROUGH OUR OWN LIVES. LIVES WHICH BROUGHT THEIR OWN SHARE OF TRIALS AS WITH ALL OF US.  HONOR YOUR MOTHER ON THIS MOTHER’S DAY AND REMEMBER WITH JOY ALL THOSE INCREDIBLE THINGS SHE DID FOR YOU EACH DAY.