There are three people whose enthusiasm is infectious and were instrumental in this project:
First and most importantly, the illustrations and production of this book would not be possible without Shelley Carpenter, whose countless hours, creativity, and willingness to experiment touch every page. I have been working with Shelley for nearly 20 years – her willingness, patience, and high standards for quality and work ethic made the project possible. She is a joy to work with and makes the difficult seem easy and problems fun to figure out.
Reg Pullen spent hours sitting fireside with me and discussing what life was like before white men arrived on the south coast. Reg always took my call and always had something encouraging and constructive to say. Reg has an observant and open mind and has spent a good part of his life exploring a time that most only know anecdotally. His willingness to share and offer criticism has been much appreciated. I’m grateful to Reg for his knowledge, honesty, and friendship.
Steve DiCicco educated and pushed me to learn more about mining in the back hills. Steve has a special interest in the history of mining in the region and has spent a considerable amount of time crawling around many of the historic sites to figure out how excavation occurred, how commerce moved into and out of the area, what kind of people it took, has read extensively, and became a wealth of information as he either knew about stuff already or was willing dig for more.
Numerous articles from the Curry County Post, Curry County Reporter, Gold Beach Gazette, Gold Beach Globe, Radium, Crescent City Herald, Crescent City Courier, and the Oregon Spectator contributed to this story.
Organizations who were helpful include Bandon Historical Museum, Chetco Valley Historical Museum, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Coos Forest Protective Association, Crater Lake Institute, Crater Lake National Park Trust, Curry County Clerk’s Office, Curry Historical Society and Museum, Curry Public Library, Jackson County Library, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Oregon History Project, Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon State University, Redwood City Collections, Smithsonian Institute, State of Oregon Legislative Revenue Office, Southern Oregon University, Tolowa Nation, United States Forest Service, and the University of Oregon.
Individuals who took an interest and helped by contributing to answering and asking questions or causing enthusiasm that improved the entire effort included Jeannie Adams, Zane Adams, Jonathan Allan, Peggy Allessio, Tom Billings, Fred Billings, Guylish Bommelyn, Elizabeth Boyd, Tim Boyle, Dave Butler, Bruce Capps, Crystal Carpenter, Shaun Carpenter, Alexandra Cook (USFWS), Tom Crestodina, Jackie Crook, Ron Crook, Jim Curran, Dan Crumley, Jeff Dayne, Steve DiCicco, Dewey Dishner, Daniel Edgerton, Laurie & Bill Floyd, Rod Forty, Robin “Rilea” Frandsen, Don Fry (posthumously), Victor Fry, Mark & Laurel Gerkman, Judy Graham, Dana Huitt, Larry & Rosann Ismert, Sue Johnson, Ed Kammer, Mark Kramer, Bill Lansing, Ulli Lau, Dean Lawrence, Bud LeMieux, Joe McCarthy, Cris & Stephen McCollum, Teresa McClung, Ryan McGinnis, Bill McNair, Don McNeely, Irene Martin, Stephen Meservey, Rodney Moore, Andrew Mund, Jessica Neary, Conor Odwyer, Tim Odwyer, Peggy O’Neal, Yvonne Pettyjohn, Keith Pratt (posthumously), Pat Price, Reg Pullen, John Raaf, John Rachor, Mike Ross, Mary Schamehorn, Julie Scherbarth, Celia Schultz, Kay Shelnutt, Jeremy Skinner, Christina Smith, Cliff Stansell, Les Stansell, Robin Terrett, Jeri Lynn Thompson, Tim Tuttle, Dirk Van Zante, Mureen Walker, Mike Wells, and Andy Wright.