The Living West

Are you in love with the West; its history, culture, climate and lifestyle? Do

you enjoy studying, capturing, collecting and/or reliving the spirit and

adventure of our frontier heritage? Do you utilize or work with history in your

avocation, occupation, past time, or profession? If so, welcome to the Living

West! The Living West is dedicated to helping people understand, appreciate,

and utilize history.

We cater to the active outdoor man or woman who loves the West-its beauty,

history, resources, and opportunities; the miner, prospector, and mining

investor who believes mineral wealth is still waiting to be found in the

deserts and mountains of the Western United States; those with a love of

history and a desire to capture the spirit of the West on film, tape, or

through the written word; those in the business of marketing the historical

essence of the West or in researching, digging up, and distilling that essence;

and anyone in need of up-to-the-minute information and help in the application

of history and technology to assist them in the pursuit of what we call "the

living west experience."

Living History

Oral History

Video History

Historical Archaeology

Historic Preservation

Historical Marketing/Museum Sales

Historical Research

Historical Data

Living History is the dynamic presentation of an exciting subject or topic

through demonstrations, reenactments, and public participation. Living history

helps the public see and feel what historical events, activities, and past

technologies were really like. Living history programs are usually scripted,

and atmosphere is re-created through the authentic use of costuming. Historical

artifacts or faithful reproductions are used in their proper context as props.

Living History demonstrations are useful in showing dynamic objects in use and

in action, giving the public a better understanding of how the object was used,

how it was operated, and what sounds it made. Both programs and demonstrations

are often filmed or videotaped for repeated presentations. Living history

reenactments are scripted and costumed productions illustrating significant

events in Western American history.

We can help coordinate living history programs, demonstrations, and

reenactments.

Oral History

"We of the Pacific Slope are now at the turning-point between civilization's

first generation in this domain and the second. The principal facts of our

history we can now obtain beyond a peradventure. Some are yet living, though

these are fast fading away, whose adventures, counsels, and acts constitute a

part of early history. There are men yet living who helped to make our history,

and who can tell us what it is better than their sons, or than any who shall

come after them. A score of years hence few of them will remain. Twenty years

ago many parts of our territory were not old enough to have a history; twenty

years hence much will be lost that may now be secured."

Hubert Howe Bancroft, Literary Industries.

Although written in the 1880s, Bancroft's message stresses the importance of

people as a historical resource. With the advent of tape and video technology,

the capturing of reminiscences and eyewitness accounts of the 20th century

history of the West is made easier. Through oral history, specialized

techniques, skills, methods, and processes no longer in use could be studied,

and descriptions of them obtained from the craftsmen and people who practiced

them.

We can help in the interviewing, transcribing, and publishing of oral histories

and in suggesting ways to use oral history in research and presentations.

Video History:

Similar to Oral History,(see its description for more detail) yet has its own

problems and techniques. This concept involves videotape instead of audio tape

for the recording of historical reminiscences and documentaries.

Historical Preservation:

The desire to preserve examples of our past heritage is a trademark of modern

civilization. This has been reserved to

Historical Data:

Filing methods as well as raw data itself on varied historic topics can be

found here.

Historical archaeology is the study of the material remains of both the remote

and recent past in relationship to documentary history and the stratigraphy of

the ground in which they are found. The Historical archaeologist is a breed

apart from the Prehistorical archaeologist because the Historical archaeologist

depends heavily upon historical records and must have a working knowledge of

historical research techniques.

The historical record drastically modifies artifact classification. Unlike

prehistoric archaeology, there is documentary evidence to identify most

historical relics. A fragment of pottery the size of a fingernail can easily be

identified as to its composition, approximate date of manufacture, and

sometimes even its factory. Its worth, shipping history, and perhaps clues as

to the personality of its owner are all obtainable through written records. The

Prehistorical archaeologist is not accustomed to having detailed records, may

not be aware of their existence, and has not been trained in their use.

Archeologists agree that it is of little use to send artifacts and reports

around to experts after a site has been dug. Unless identifications and

deductions are made while the excavation is in progress and open for study, it

is impossible to know how to proceed, and valuable knowledge can easily be

lost.

The solution lies in a team effort. Historians and Historical archaeologists

should be included in the performance and carrying out of all archaeological

digs and archaeological surveys. The Living West can be a forum for those who

wish to specialize in conducting digs, analyzing artifacts, and supporting

digs. The Living West can coordinate the supply and/or training of a digging

staff and volunteers and can also locate and coordinate the use of enthusiastic

and trustworthy amateurs.

Historical Marketing is the offering of history to the public in tangible

forms,and providing an opportunity to take a piece of history home. It is a

common and healthy desire of the public to want to feel and heft history

rather than look at it through a glass case.

The public cannot be encouraged to make history a part of their life or even

make a return visit to your establishment unless you offer creative and dynamic

products that instill in them a desire to do so. Such a product needs to be

high quality, have a high degree of historical integrity, and be pertinent to

the type of historical message you wish conveyed.

Products like those mentioned can come in many forms:

Historical Image/Story- photographs, filmstrips, slide shows, TV features,

Videos, audio programs.

books, magazines, pamphlets.

Promotionals- Point of Purchase displays, give aways.

s, patterns, posters, newspapers, photographs, maps, printed materials.

Machine Readable products- including videotape, microfilm/fiche, computer

programs and datafiles.

The Living West can offer advice on how to implement historical marketing

techniques to your own areas of interest. Whether it is the complete

development of a marketing package or the design and manufacture of your own

line of products, we can help. The Living West can help by providing the

contacts necessary for an exchange of ideas among museums, historical

societies, and interested individuals.

Research is a cycle involving a quest for more and more information until one's

questions are satisfied. Hubert Howe Bancroft embarked upon such a quest years

ago, and his efforts resulted in the publication of 38 volumes of history known

as Bancroft's Works. "If I succeed in my efforts," he wrote, "my work will

constitute the foundation upon which future histories of western North America

must forever be built. The reason is obvious. I take events from the men who

made them. My facts, for the most part, are from original sources; and wherever

the desired facts do not appear I tap the fountain for them. He who shall come

after me will scarcely be able to undermine my work by laying another or a

deeper foundation. He must build upon mine or not at all, for he cannot go

beyond my authorities for facts. He may add to or alter my work, for I shall

not know or be able to tell everything, but he never can make a complete

structure of his own."

Although sounding like a pompous braggart, his prediction became fact. Anyone

today who embarks on a historical study of the "Pacific States" without first

consulting Bancroft is foolish. His works are the logical starting place for

studying the west

Bancroft once claimed "to accomplish in one year what would require ten years

by ordinary methods," by "the application of business methods and the division

of labor" to research and write history. His system was remarkably

computer-like for its time. However, The Living West has the ability to do him

one better- to accomplish in one year what required Bancroft ten years-by

combining his methods with the technology of computer science, micrographics,

videography, and automated data retrieval and storage systems. This section

will serve as a depository for those ideas, programs, files, and bibliographies

that can help make historical research easier.

Mining-the word conjures up images of weathered wooden headframes silhouetted

against an azure blue desert sky; grizzly old prospectors with burros; the

sparkle of gold in a pan; dusty mill tailings and rusting machinery; gold,

gloryholes, and ghost towns. To some, mining is a picturesque past, while to

others it is a meager livelihood, and to a few it holds a promising

future-maybe. Whatever mining is to you or me, it can safely be said that it is

rich in history.

The subfield of western history know as the mining west has grown tremendously

in the past forty years. From a dozen well-written books by 1940 to a figure

well over 100 in 1980, mining history has begun to take its rightful place in

the field of American historical writing. Forty years ago, mining history was

dominated by one subject: the California Gold Rush of 1849. Since then, there

has been a noticeable shift away from the study of the romantic gold rushes of

the 1850s and 1860s. Attention is being concentrated on later developments, and

twentieth century mining is even being considered as a subject for historical

scholarship. An understanding of the implications and consequences of past

public policy concerning the mining industry will help us better plan for the

future and avoid repeating our past mistakes.

Research Philosophy

Human Resources

Twentieth century mining is a topic that needs careful study, especially in

today's insecure energy and strategic minerals world. Specialized techniques,

skills, methods and processes no longer in use should be studied. Descriptions

of them need to be obtained from the people who practiced them. The feelings

and viewpoints of those people who were present during the mining booms of each

decade of this century should be captured. Oral History methods are most useful

for these types of topics. Miners, prospectors, and "desert-rats" may soon

prove to be gold mines of their own in terms of historical and practical

knowledge. They can greatly increase our own understanding of this subject, if

we but tap into this dwindling resource now.

Physical resources

Historical archaeology for information gathering is a relatively new concept.

Most scholars only think of archaeological digs in terms of site preservation

or in cases of salvage operations where a site is threatened. However, in

mining, where so many historic camps are nothing but sites, few records exist.

There is much that can be learned from an investigation of trash dumps, mill

foundations, tailings dumps, and mining camp "trash." Among the many topics

that a study of mining camp mindens could shed light on are the following:

Daily lifestyle, commerce patterns, technological processes used, eras of

occupation, economic status, and population estimates. In addition to

documenting the present condition of important sites for future reference, such

studies could lead to the discovery of information which the historical record

itself could never provide.

Research questions

Mining is an exciting subject. The public has always displayed a great deal of

interest in it and that interest has steadily grown. Yet surprisingly little is

really known about the story of mining. Most people will admit that they know

there's a lot of abandoned mines throughout the west, but that's as far as

their knowledge of mining goes. How was it done? What were the technological

processes and techniques used? What was the business of mining like and how was

it conducted? How was capital raised and invested? How did the towns develop

economically and how and why did they die? And the people--what were they

like? Why did they have such incurable optimism and what made them so willing

to take chances? Those abandoned mines-why were they abandoned? Will there be a

future for them? More research into this fascinating topic is needed, research

that explores the relationships and interplay among man, society, and the

minerals extraction industry.

Living History: An Introduction

Research, however, is not enough. An exciting subject should be dynamically

presented. As a tool to help people better understand mining, demonstrations

could allow the public to see how things were done. Like what it was like to

look for and follow float to an outcrop; examining an outcrop; filing a claim;

eating a prospector's breakfast; performing an assay; sinking a shaft; using an

airdrill; seeing the vein at depth; drilling, breaking, and mucking the ore to

the surface; crushing it and running ore through a mill; pouring the gold bar;

and obtaining a genuine feel for life in a mining camp.

Reenactments should also be offered to reenact significant events in the

history of the mining west, and could be commissioned to commemorate

anniversaries and could be held by themselves or in conjunction with a package

tour or convention/fair. They could be videotaped for media airing.

Demonstration and reenactments should be researched by scholars and the

dialogue should be as historically accurate as possible. Costumes and artifacts

would be originals or authentic reproductions.

These living history tours and experiences could last from a few hours to a

day, weekend, or all summer long-depending on the wishes and schedule of the

visitor or agency. Students of American history, geography, geology, and

scouting groups would especially benefit from this multidisciplinary learning

experience. Photographers, vacationers, desert users, youngsters, everyone

would find this living museum an interesting and exciting experience. Such

experiences, demonstrations, and reenactments would awaken the senses and give

the visitor a historical perspective no book could ever provide.

Historical Marketing

In addition to the experiences and demonstrations, I believe it is necessary to

provide the public an opportunity to take a piece of history home with them in

the form of creative and dynamic booklets, books, microfilm, cassette sound

"tours," reproductions of relics, samples, photographs, posters, videotapes,

ephemera, etc. It is a common and healthy desire of the public to want to feel

and heft history rather than look at it through a glass case. The visitor to a

historical site should be encouraged to make history a part of his life.

Historical marketing products and ideas can allow a visitor to do this.

Reproductions of museum display pieces, relics, maps, photographs, scholarly

historical volumes, and other products should be designed to make history come

alive at affordable prices.

Through research, oral history, historical archaeology, living history and

historical marketing the romance, dynamism and importance of mining can be

captured, magnified, and disseminated to the public. The preceeding concepts

can be used by anyone, from individuals, companies, organizations, to

governments in presenting the story of mining to any audience. Failure to

utilize these methods will result in the loss of a valuable heritage to a

generation whose awareness of and appreciation for mining is already nearly

extinct.

The author welcomes and encourages all who dare and dream to be called mining

enthusiasts and/or mining historians. He specifically requests comments,

suggestions, and questions to begin discussion and implementation of any of the

concepts mentioned. If enough interest is generated, a non-profit association

of miners, prospectors, mining historians, etc. could be launched to help

further institutionalize these concepts and advance the crusade for their

implementation. Russ Hartill (70656,1541).

Videodisk- TLW hopes to capture the lead and thus a majority market share in

the specialized field of interactive mining history, education and

entertainment products utilizing videodisks, computers, microfiche and

videotext. We have a goal of producing our first interactive video by 198 .

Backtracking, we will need a library of footage, images, and text from which to

draw on, as well as the knowledge and experience with the necessary hardware.

Sony, Pioneer, and Panasonic seem to be the three companies most involved with

both the commercial and consumer aspects of videodisk information

storage/retrieval AND interactive video.

In spite of our current lack of said library or experience, I sense that the

biggest bottleneck will be in preparing the scripts for interactive videos; and

for document storage, that bottleneck will be obtaining original documents and

deciding initial recording order. Because of this our first priority must be in

getting ahead of ourselves in this area so that when the equipment, money and

library are in place it becomes a simple matter of following our cookbook. This

cookbook should not only provide directions, it should be accompanied with an

opinion poll of sorts detailing which "recipes" are more important, popular,

etc. and this will require market research.

This research should concentrate on two areas- bringing our ideas into line

with what our "public" wants, needs, feels ;and identifying new customers

interested in our products. Since the two appear to contradict each other, it

is imperative that we know what business we are in. (See Mission, below) In

addition, we must know our competition. First in that category would have to be

The Engineering and Mining Journal. And yet, since our specialization is so

acute, our competitors can be our best customers! For example, E&MJ may view

themselves as being in the advertising business, not the information/education

business. And history plays a small part in their world, as does the parttime

miner/prospector. Thus by specializing in a subset of their overall field we

can provide a better product with more customer support, and wind up supplying

them (E&MJ) with a needed component.

Our first MR phase would be to identify all possible competition. Study their

circulation or clients through public record research, and purchase of their

client lists. Study their catalogs, ask them what the biggest sellers are. Ask

clubs and others for their opinions, wants and needs. Contact the Users groups

and tap into their use files, or leave messages for access counting.

Mission- The Living West is a multi-media publisher of information, history,

education, and entertainment pertaining to the Mining West. We are in the

business of distilling and condensing highly technical or obscure information

into forms more easily accessable, understandable, enjoyable, and affordable to

a middle class clientele. We actively solicit people with a certain personality

who are presently interested in any aspect of mining and/or Western Americana.

We desire to promote and service what we call a Living West lifestyle. And as

the small mining industry grows we plan to grow with it, and plan to be part of

the cause of its growth. We plan to be known as the voice, ears, and heart of

the small mining movement and the tabernacle of its spirit.

To ressurect a dead or dying profession will require re-education, exposure,

indoctrination, inspiration, propagandizing, missionary marketing, and a

re-discovery of past knowledge. To make the event happen will first require the

absorption of all previous knowledge regarding mining. Second, with the

information in hand we need next to pass it on to the public- which will

require its being published and distributed-and naturally marketed. But the

final magic ingredient involves the way in which we will do this-lets call it

our style. If we are successful at this it will be because of our style.

Style: We will only publish that which is:

Understandable-Written to the intended audience at its own level. Jargon to be

fully explained and limited in use.

Accurate-Footnoted. Fact, not fancy.

Creative-The essence to be presented in the best possible way and in the most

appropriate medium. Witty text.

Dynamic- Full of punch and life. Hard hitting, telling it like it is,

emotional.

Practical-Helpful, indexed, timely.

Affordable-Not a ripoff, of true value.

Magnitude: We don't just want to make a buck- we want to make a quality buck.

Hubert Howe Bancroft wrote 38 volumes of Western American History- what we know

of times past (in the Western States) in large part is due to his chronicles.

All we wish to do his duplicate his magnitude, his scope, as applied to mining

and mining history. In a word, our magnitude is GRAND. We wish to publish

hundreds of products and programs, saturating our market and thus insuring a

large market share on sheer numbers alone. Additionally we hope to corner the

low end (cost wise) of the same market. Quality and accuracy are our

watchwords.

Lifestyle- Hand in hand with our views on the magnitude of our product

offerings is the concept of lifestyle servicing, the key to our explosive

growth and planned dominance of the mining history marketplace. Our concept is

to create through our products a living west theme that historians, miners,

prospectors, outdoorsmen, offroaders, desert-rats, and others can embrace as

tools to help them live a unique lifestyle that they alone enjoy. Instead of

selling just products, we will also provide music, food, clothes, investment

opportunities, entertainment, and reviews.

Our servicing can extend beyond our own product lines to include selected

products from outside vendors that meet with our approval. We can provide a

Whole Earth type catalog of advice, advertising, and articles to guide the

reader into creating the exact depth of involvement he or she wishes. In

addition to the catalog, we could offer a TLW approval on products that meet

minimum standards (much like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval) and even

offer TLW franchises or authorized dealers to mVideodisk- TLW hopes to capture the lead and thus a majority market share in the specialized field of interactive mining history, education and