2023-01-02, 02:40 PM
As of December 2022 I'm fortunate enough to remain in contact with Jim Harris, 92 years of age, the last known remaining gold miner of the Death Valley era. He and his wife Anna are doing quite well, in good health and of sound minds with functional memories that make mine look poor in comparison.
In addition to his time spent with his father gold mining the King Midas aka Diamond Jim mine during the late 1940's and early 1950s Jim lived with his parents in Skidoo in 1939 and 1949. Jim also lived for a time in Beatty, NV in a modest home across from the Gateway Hotel near the downtown area. He had a few encounters with Death Valley Scotty while in Beatty, NV. For context I was a toddler growing up in Southern California only a three-four hour drive at the time Jim and his parents were mining and hard rock blasting away up the canyon in Death Valley.
Jim also has childhood memories of visiting The Hoover Dam as it neared completion. During Jim's US Navy career he traveled extensively including Alaska and Hawaii. He's one of the few survivors of extreme temperatures such as 50 degrees below in Alaska and 130 degrees above in Death Valley. He made it a point to visit all fifty of the United States of America with Florida being the last.
Jim recently upgraded to iPhone so we plan on enjoying a "Face Time" reunion when I next visit Death Valley and Beatty, Nevada in 2023. Jim describes the mining he and his parents performed in Death Valley as the most arduous work of his entire life. You might enjoy a video re-creation of his life and times at The King Midas Mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf5vz1U_U3E
In addition to his time spent with his father gold mining the King Midas aka Diamond Jim mine during the late 1940's and early 1950s Jim lived with his parents in Skidoo in 1939 and 1949. Jim also lived for a time in Beatty, NV in a modest home across from the Gateway Hotel near the downtown area. He had a few encounters with Death Valley Scotty while in Beatty, NV. For context I was a toddler growing up in Southern California only a three-four hour drive at the time Jim and his parents were mining and hard rock blasting away up the canyon in Death Valley.
Jim also has childhood memories of visiting The Hoover Dam as it neared completion. During Jim's US Navy career he traveled extensively including Alaska and Hawaii. He's one of the few survivors of extreme temperatures such as 50 degrees below in Alaska and 130 degrees above in Death Valley. He made it a point to visit all fifty of the United States of America with Florida being the last.
Jim recently upgraded to iPhone so we plan on enjoying a "Face Time" reunion when I next visit Death Valley and Beatty, Nevada in 2023. Jim describes the mining he and his parents performed in Death Valley as the most arduous work of his entire life. You might enjoy a video re-creation of his life and times at The King Midas Mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf5vz1U_U3E
Life begins in Death Valley