Apparently there wasn't much there as they did not work the same mines again the next year. However, Theron went back to the same area to try a different idea on his own. There was a large crack in the rock bottom of the river in an area where he was able to stake a claim. The idea was to divert the river and dig out all the gravel in the crack on the assumption that any gold would have ended up there.
He had an American Indian from the area working with him as a partner. They worked all summer getting the river diverted. He said that often the indian would go off to town and be drunk for a day or two. One day, as they were almost finished Theron had to go to town for supplies. The Indian begged to go along and promised he wouldn't drink. When Theron came back out of the store he was gone. Theron went back and worked as hard as he could because he heard a storm was coming and he knew it would wash out all their work. He finished as best he could and started digging out the gravel as much as he could before the water came and washed it all away. He made a small amount. When the Indian showed up he was very apologetic and told Theron he could keep the profits, but Theron felt bad and gave him half. Basically he just made enough to cover expenses. He said there was a group of Chinese workers at the next claim up doing the same think and they got out $8000 worth of gold.
The next year, Theron was drafted into the Army. He never said whether he planned to go back and try again.
On Google Earth I found the waterfall grandma talked about in her letter.
It is at 39 55' 40"N and 121 40' 55.5" W
On Tue, Dec 1, 2015 at 9:26 AM, John Dumas <jdumasfelix@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks for getting that last page Al. Many questions about the gold mine come to mind. I wonder how the claim was discovered as it was so hard to get there. And what ultimately happened with the effort?Johnny--On Tue, Dec 1, 2015 at 8:49 AM, Alex Magdaleno <eng42b@gmail.com> wrote:OK, now I have corrected the problem and all nine pages are here.--On Mon, Nov 30, 2015 at 8:13 PM, Alex Magdaleno <eng42b@gmail.com> wrote:Hi Johnny,I didn't know there was a connection till after the Garners moved to 112th in 1947. But apparently they met earlier through mom and dad.I thinks the Radio show was entirely a music show. It was during the early 50's.I found the ninth page and uploaded it but now can't find it on dropbox. Fortunately, it is also here with all her letters.The final page of the story is #46, the top quarter. Then she starts a new letter.Other interesting reading is page 68, Nella's mother writing to her sister and brother in 1878. She was not raised with them and I believe this was the first contact she had with them.On Mon, Nov 30, 2015 at 4:29 PM, John Dumas <jdumasfelix@gmail.com> wrote:Hi Al,Great find among your Mom's stuff! I know so little about Berendo neighbors. Did you know there was a connection between the Slagels and the Garners before you found your grandmother's letter?In the photo, John Slagel looks a lot like Neil Patrick Harris of "How I met your mother". We have those other photos on the Berendo photo page of John Slagel at his gas station on Imperial and Vermont but he is already older than in the present photo. I wonder what the radio show was about? It obviously included music as Slagel is holding a violin. I remember you mentioning previously that Slagel had a band that used to practice at their house across from yours.One of the nine pages of your grandmother's letter is missing. Can you still get it? She is a capable writer. She had me hanging by a thread and then no conclusion to the letter.Thanks for sharing this with us.Johnny--On Mon, Nov 30, 2015 at 8:37 AM, Alex Magdaleno <eng42b@gmail.com> wrote:--Hi everyone,In going through mom's papers I found papers from her older brother Theron. One was called a Proof of Labor affidavit issued by Butte County in 1938. I did a little research and found that in order to keep a mining claim the owners had to prove they were working the claim.I knew from my grandmother's letters that her oldest son Theron was working for the owners at a mine near Chico. The names of the workers were on the side. D.M Slagle, T.H. Garner andJ.A. Chapman.I sent an email to Marilyn Slagle and asked if he were a relative. She replied that he was an uncle and sent a picture of her uncle Dallas at his radio show on KFOX in the 50's. He is the tall man at the microphone. John Slagle is on the far left.The picture and the affidavit are here on Dropbox. Also, for those who are interested there is a nine page letter from my grandmother to her sister in Australia telling of her trip to visit the mine in 1939
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