Reflections and Hindsight

Modern Creede

Reflections

Hindsight is an affliction we all share and it brings nothing but misery. But before rigor mortis transforms every body cell to an inert state, it would be well worth every person's time to reflect on the high points and low points in his or her journey through life. I believe we all fantasize and assume different roles in a brief escape from ordinary life and wonder what our fortunes would have been had we actively pursued one of the fantasized roles.

I went through all the childhood fantasies of my era, cowboy to soldier of fortune, before entering the work force followed by military service which, combined, did much to change my perspective of life. I became acquainted with Paul Davis in 1939, worked with him at a later date and he graciously taught me geology and physics while he was Mine Engineer for Emperius Mining Company. I believe Paul was one of the most influential people I have met and his knowledge of geology, plus his enthusiasm for prospecting, pointed me in the direction I have been following since. In hindsight, I chalk that up as a definite high point of my life and I wouldn't want to change a particle of it. Paul went on to form Davis Engineering Company, one of the most respected firms in Colorado and our friendship has endured to this day.

We had a host of very learned and able prospectors in the Creede area when I was growing up. Most had learned the basic principles of geology and mineralogy to narrow the search for their "Bonanza." Not one that I knew was successful in his search but none was deterred by disappointment. They continued to fantasize about the mother lode until their lungs were clogged with silica dust and their legs would no longer carry them to the hills. I learned from all of them and they were generous in imparting the knowledge gleaned from years of chasing leads and digging potholes to glory holes that pockmarked the mineral belt of Colorado.

I harbor few regrets and the high points tipped the scales in my favor over the low points in the path I chose. I still fantasize about certain areas I lacked time to do a thorough job of prospecting. The last work I did in Mineral Creek, a tributary of Cebolla Creek, was beyond doubt the most enjoyable and most rewarding of my career. The geology was right, the structures were there and surface analysis indicated depth was all I needed to start shipping high grade gold and silver. I was steered to this area by Wallace I. Leary who had encouraging assays 45 years before I ventured there and Frank Swank found high grade float prior to Mr. Leary's limited prospecting. I had the benefit of a Husky dog who could sniff gold and silver better than a metal detector.

Hindsight

I live alone in a home that has double the square feet of living space afforded my parents to start an initial family of three boys in. I have every necessity for living and many conveniences. Their home was uninsulated, no bathroom, no plumbing but did have a well with a hand pump and a toilet fifty yards to the north. I appreciated their home more than the luxury I now live in.

I have not been successful in any field and I have tried more fields than you have fingers, but I am proud of one accomplishment, I did not contribute to over populating our environment.

The role of man has diminished so much in the past twenty years I believe males of Homo Sapien are well on the route of extinction. Through in vitro fertilization and other maleless methods, women can have children at their choosing as well as the sex of the child they desire. This is well and good, I applaud the change in remembrance of the blood I shed and the dollars I spent in pursuit of a wiggle and a tickle with the opposite sex. May the sperm banks and the gynecologists prosper.

While ranching on the upper Cebolla southwest of Gunnison we had a resident Mother skunk who birthed her babies near our place and discarded the unfit at our home. One of her brood was terribly nearsighted, stunted, and always dirty from falling into garbage or walking through cowpies because of its poor eyesight.

We fed it with our cats and it settled into a routine with a home under a large boulder behind our house and never sprayed. We called him pigpen and he caused no problems. We have had countless dogs and cats with all the inherent worries over their health and the sanitary problems. In hindsight I would have to rate Pigpen as just as lovable and enjoyable.

While in Germany in 1946 I was assisted by Professor Josef Radermacher in duties associated with prisoners of war. Herr Radermacher was our interpreter and spoke fluent French as well as English. He was shown no respect by our rank and file soldier, even ridiculed for his brilliance. If not for a war he didn't encourage or support, and had he been in the United States, I believe he could have headed any university in our nation. I learned more about people and humility in the short period I was associated with Professor Radermacher than in all the years since. He was not our enemy.

Within my long list of failures, I have capitalized one smart decision and that was to marry Inez M. Schriver who loved me in spite of my faults and shared fifty-one exciting years with me. In hindsight I would only try to be a better husband.

The Felony of Age

Priorities