WINNEMUCCA - It was the height of the Great Depression. There wasn't much money and the gold price had been capped. It was pegged at $35 a troy ounce. Still, in spite of this, it was worth working a mining claim.
These gentlemen were all in mining. Most of them worked small one- or two-man claims. The Gold Bug, owned by George Stakel, was one of these. A group of these small miners got together at George's claims on Dun Glen Mountain to cuss and discuss the government's control of their industry.
Starting at the left, E.J. Baker, George Stakel, L.E. Spear, O.R. Manula, and W.W. Fisk. No resolutions came out of this meeting. Most of the participants stubbornly mined gold on their small claims in spite of the government controls.
Finally World War II wartime powers limited mining to strategic metals only. No more gold mining for George and his buddies. They went to work for other people doing their bit to contribute to the war effort.
- Compiled by Barbara Powell
nevadasdesertlegends.com.
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