Dang I been writing for a long time..

[Uncle Willy]

Was going through some of my thousand or so treasure mags looking for something and came across this 1984 issue of WE&T with one of my articles in it. Lordy that's 22 years. No wonder I've racked up over 600 articles in the treasure mags.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

n/t

 

[Troy Ounce]

Bill, What year was the photo taken? Guessing 4" dredge? Looks like lots of fun, How did you do at dredging. Find many nuggets or mostly fine and flake? Seen an ad for the New 49er's to go dredging at several places in Northern CA. along the Klaymath and Salmon Rivers. Unfortunately, I live in the wrong state for gold prospecting and expensive dredge, but wouldn't mind getting a Keene A51 sluice, a gold pan, the Ace 250 and a halfway decent nugget hunter my next time out West. Does it get any better than this? What do you think of the Trinity Gold Pan? www.trinitybowl.com seen 2 video's at their site. Looks like it may be pretty efficient, or is that hyped? Thanks.

Dave
Toledo, OH

 

[kelly]

Nice pic of you Uncle Willy. Do you still prospect? Do you still use a detector for nugget hunting?
Kelly
Socorro N.M.

 

[Uncle Willy]

That ain't me on the cover but My buddy and I used to do some dredging, panning, snifting, mossing, and the whole nine yards.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Tain't me in the photo but I've been in that position a few times. HA. Got a friend in Southern Oregon who owns a big claim that straddles the border between Oregon and California. He has a 12-inch dredge powered by a Volkswagen engine and big enough for 15 people to sit on. He does pull a mess of healthy nuggets out. He has battled the government for 25 years or more as they have tried over and over to steal his claim.

THe New 49'ers is an okay bunch. I used to be field test editor for Dave McCrackens Gold & Treasure HUnter magazine until the State of California forced it out of business because Dave and Maria ( his wife ) used it to fight a law California was trying to push through to force all people off the wild rivers. THey really ran him through the wringer, pulled all kinds of sneaky, illegal crap, planted phony evidence, and tried to take all his property and business away. Cost him a freaking fortune. He lost the magazine but kept the 49'ers and his other business and stopped the state from running people off their own rivers. 18 armed agents showed up one day at his business and forced all his employees into a room at gunpoint and held guns on them while they went about their skullduggery, ransacking the place in the process. A real bunch of cruds.

Yeah we used to find a few nuggets and a lot of flake. I haven't checked that gold pan out but will give it a look. You ought to check the 49'ers out. You could spend your vacation there at Happy Camp. They find quite a bit of gold on all of Dave's claims and he has a slew of claims up and down those rivers, about 50 miles worth as I recall. Take care.

Bill

 

[Spanky]

When you start writing your books I'd like to be the first in line for a copy

 

[Uncle Willy]

I don't know. Should have done it long ago. All my writing buddies have books out.

Bill

 

[Ian (Japan)]

Bill, I remember posting a link before to a print on demand company. This one may be a lot better though.
http://booksurge.com/
As an Amazon company it would be a fast way to get books available through their distribution system i.e. easy online ordering and payments. I am writing a non-fiction book (not on metal detecting) and plan to pubish it through them.

HH

 

[Garry/OH]

Bill...
What was the reason...environmental land grab? The government is full of crooks. You don't here much about the mafia anymore... because they are all in elected offices.

Do you have to pay to pan/sluice gold at Happy Camp, or just split the loot if you find any? Garry/Ohio...where there ain't no gold.

 

[Uncle Willy]

Thanks bud I'll check it out. What's the subject of your book?

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

If you belong I don't think so and as far as I know you keep what you find. You might email them and talk to Maria McCracken and see what the skinny is. I used to have her email but don't know if I can find it.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Forgot to answer your question. Yeah it was a land grab to force the citizens off all the wild rivers, stop all prospecting, recreation, camping, fishing, and the whole nine yards. Typical political thievery. They'd steal everything that belongs to the public if they could.

Yeah I grew up in Mafia country and they didn't disappear they just went alleged legal. But it's the Yuppie manned corporations that you have to worry about nowadays. It's like Vegas. When the Mafia ran Nevada it was a really fun place, things were dirt cheap, lot of things were free, there was absolutely no crime as it wasn't allowed and crooks knew better than to pi$$ the Mafia off, kids weren't allowed in the casinos. Now it's the extreme opposite and they've turned the whole town into an ultra-expensive Yuppie theme park. I used to live there but don't even care to go back since they ruined it. Even the old time entertainers there don't like it - just the money.

Bill

 

[Ian (Japan)]

Subject is to do with ways for people to learn virtually anything in the bathroom and toilet.
Didn't plan on doing an English book, was just going to focus on a Japanese book (waterproof), but with the Amazon system it wouldn't take too much more time (actually less $$$ too) to create a paper version in English.

HH