Let Us Not Bury the Past

August 5, 2017August 5, 2017 / doubledacres / Leave a comment

In Memory of

Thomas Robert Burnette

January 31, 1915 – November 14, 1992

“Mining is a dangerous profession. There’s no way to make a mine completely safe: These are the words owners have always used to excuse needless deaths and the words miners use to prepare for them.” – Tawni O’Dell

Mr Burnette was a resident of Flat River, MO and he worked in the lead mines. He worked at the St. Joe Lead Number 9 mine in Farmington, MO and at the Pea Ridge Mine. He dug ore for nearly 30 years. When he worked in the mines they didn’t do blood tests to check for lead poisoning. During his time in the mines he cut a finger off and got caught between two ore cars and suffered a broken hip that had to be pinned. After he healed up, back in the mines he went and worked there until he suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire at the age of fifty-eight. His daughter remembered seeing his checks and said he cleared fifty dollars a week. He was married and reared five children. He is just one of many who worked in the mines and his family is just one of many that have all the memories of their families working in the mines.

The Old Lead Belt is located deep within the eastern Ozarks of Missouri. The Southeast Missouri lead district is a major part of the lead belt and has been a major player in Missouri’s economic and social fabric for more than 280 years. In early 1700 a European by the name of Pierre Charles LeSeur led the first mineralogical expedition into the Mississippi Valley. Missouri’s ore deposits have made it the nation’s major source of ore for over 90 years. The abundant ore deposits brought thousands of workers to Missouri, where over the years they created 1,000 miles of abandoned multilevel mine tunnels, 300 miles of underground mainline railroad tracks and a legacy of 108 years of mining operations in the area.

Drum roll……………., I am stepping onto my soap box. Here is my beef. In 1923 St. Joe Lead CO. purchased the Federal Mill No. 3 lead-concentrating complex. They all ready owned nearly 950 acres in Bonne Terre that was bought in 1864. In late 1975 they donated the Federal mine mill complex and its adjoining lands to Missouri for the purpose of creating a state park. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources took possession of the 8,244 acre tract in 1976 and named it St. Joe Park and in 1980 the 25 acre mine mill was designated as Missouri Mines State Historic Site.

I just visited the site along with Mr Burnette’s daughter and step son. I am appalled by the way the state is letting the old mill fall into ruination. I know money is tight but they could do more. This site holds a lot of memories for the miner families in Bonne Terre, Desloge, Park Hills and the surrounding areas. People died in these mines. Why let it die off? This could be an amazing tourist attraction for these towns. This site has so many possibilities. There is so much history here. PLEASE don’t let it fall down and disappear into the past.

The 16,00 square-foot mine-mill powerhouse is being developed into a large museum providing information and the history of the mining business in Missouri with displays and old mining machinery and a huge collection of minerals. It is a start but the site has the potential for so much more.

In 1981 Doug and Cathy Georgens bought the rights to the Bonne Terre Mine and invested their money in the mine and have built it into a diving mecca. They have daily tours also. I have took the tour myself and it is fascinating. The state of Missouri could save the history of mines in St. Joe and should do just that. I urge them to set up a fund that people can give to the mine exclusively. I also urge them to start funding the mine and start rehabbing the buildings. Please for the sake of those that worked in and died in the mines save the mine.

In closing I ask for anyone’s help in saving this mine. Please write your representatives and if you haven’t, take the tour. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Help save the history of Missouri’s mines.

Do You Know Your Neighbor?

August 1, 2017August 1, 2017 / doubledacres / Leave a comment

“I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?” – Mother Teresa

I grew up in the 1960s during the Vietnam War, the British invasion of the Beatles, the assassination of John F Kennedy and when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr made his “I Have A Dream” speech, as well as his assassination. I also saw man walk on the moon.

It was also the time when young people began to revolt against conservative norms of the time and removed themselves from mainstream liberalism. A new “counterculture” was born. The participants in this new movement were known as “hippies”.

“To love our neighbor as ourselves is such a truth for regulating human society, that by that alone one might determine all the cases in social morality.” – John Locke

How many of you remember the “Hippie”? Rejected established institutions, criticized the values of the middle class, the Vietnam War and nuclear weapons were a huge “no no”, championed sexual liberation, were often vegetarians, and promoted the use of psychedelic drugs. Peace, love and drugs.

There was a lot of love to go around in this group. Often times living in communes. ridiculed and despised by most of America. Peace! Love! I think for the most part people were afraid of them because they didn’t understand them. This is purely my opinion and I have no facts to back it up. One thing for sure is that today’s society could use some of the love they were trying to spread around.

Love thy neighbor! How can you love your neighbor if you don’t know them? Why don’t we know our neighbors? Are we too busy? We don’t care? Trust issues? I remember when everyone in the neighborhood knew each other and when someone was in need the others were there. Neighbors cared about each other and were like one big family. I can’t remember where it all changed. Maybe it changed so slowly I just missed it but how I wish those days would return. Neighbors looked out for each other and their property.

I hope one day America can return to those days. It is still alive and enjoyed by much of rural America. Hopefully some day it will catch on in urban America and take root in the cities. Personally I think society could benefit from everyone loving their neighbor like they love themselves.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it and if you did then please hit the like button. Love thy neighbor, be kind to one another and spread the love.

Is it that we are afraid of them because we don’t understand them

Understanding Nature

July 24, 2017 / doubledacres / 3 Comments

“Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another.” – John Muir

I came upon this quote a couple of years ago and since then I have revisited it several times. It has tugged on my mind from time to time and caused me to think heavily upon it. I realize it is short but there is a lot to learn from these few words.

Funny how life works. I for some reason could never exactly wrap my little mind around this quote a friend called and in conversation mentioned a work by Ralph Waldo Emerson titled “Circles”. My good friend encouraged me to read it and a light bulb went off over my head like in the cartoons. Nature is nothing more than a circle.

Native Americans were very spiritual and they believed dearly in the Sacred Circle. The power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle. The sky is round, earth is round, moon is round, bird’s nest is round and the sun is round. Their tipis were even round.

The butterfly lays an egg, the egg hatches and becomes a caterpillar, then the caterpillar forms a cocoon then another butterfly emerges. The riparian system along the rivers are constantly repairing themselves except where man has made it impossible for it to repair itself. Leaves on the trees appear in the springtime and give shade to the forest floor so plants can grow. The leaves drop off in the fall and then fall to the ground where they self compost into the ground adding the nutrients that plants and trees need for proper growth. Perfect circles of existence.

The creatures of nature have no time to rest. Have you ever watched a spider spin its web? I spent three hours one day watching just that. How could something that seemed so simple be so fascinating? I never saw something work so hard non-stop. The intricate design of the web itself left me speechless. The spider worked relentlessly against the wind and every time there was a setback the spider would overcome and work on. Nature provides creatures with food during the spring, summer, and fall, then they are on their own. Just an example of the circle of life in nature. The weak will not make it and they will die and that spring newborns will take their place.

Nature is so much more than pretty flowers, trees, animals and sunsets/sunrises. It has to balance things too as it goes along. Man has made that job pretty hard by meddling in Nature’s business. When we eliminate predators the end result is more animals that multiply unchecked because of our interference. We add levees and cause major flooding instead of just leaving it alone and letting Nature take care of it.

Nature can be relentless and forgiving. Nature can create a tornado that leaves destruction for miles and when the storm moves on, produce the most breathtaking painting anyone ever saw in the form of a rainbow.

” The laws of nature are written deep in the folds and faults of the earth. By encouraging men to learn those laws one can lead them further to a knowledge of the author of the laws.” – John Joseph Lynch

Man needs to learn these laws and everything in nature would happen in a perfect circle. We build levees and dams to tame the rivers, we develop chemical applications to control bugs, weeds and unwanted grasses. When we do this we interrupt that natural circle. We do it in order, supposedly, to produce more food with less expense. We do it in the name of saving the world. What if we push Nature to the point that she deems it necessary to rid herself of meddling humans in the form of volcanoes, massive earthquakes, “perfect storms” etc.?

It is time for us to do something about all of the polluting and destruction of Mother Earth. Clean up the trash that plaques the countryside. It is time to start respecting Mother Nature. I do a lot of floating and I don’t know how many gravel bars I have cleaned up, It disgusts me the lack of respect my fellow humans have for what Nature has given us.

This is a subject I am very passionate about. It sickens me when I see all the litter along the roads and countryside. It is time to give Nature the respect she deserves. I am sorry this was a little long. I apologize. I hope you enjoyed my blog. If you liked it please hit the “like” button to let me know. Thanks for reading.

“We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts.” – William Hazlett

Life, Are You Living It?

July 15, 2017July 15, 2017 / doubledacres / Leave a comment

“Life isn’t about finding yourself

Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw

Life can be so complicated and full of twists and turns. Are you living it to the fullest or are you just merely nothing more than a slave. Are you one that runs up your credit cards? Do you live from paycheck to paycheck? Do you suffer from instant gratification? Instead of saving the money to buy something one buys the merchandise on a credit card because they want it now. So you run up your cards and you can’t pay it off. Now you are a slave to the banks/credit cards. Credit cards can become a financial burden that can make it harder to enjoy life.

Are you a workaholic? You just have a need to work. If you are then you need to step back and reevaluate where you are. If you are single then you are only hurting yourself but if you are married, then the whole family suffers. You will begin losing touch with your family. Children need their mother AND father.

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.”– Norman Cousins

When we are young it seems we have so many dreams and things we want to accomplish in life and then as we grow older some of those things start to die a slow death. Perhaps it is because we give up too soon or as we grew older we lost interest or in our mind, thought they weren’t attainable. Never give up.

“It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder

I realize I am no one special, no doctor or shrink but I am going to share what I think one needs to do to live life. Slow down, look around and take a good look at the things in nature that surround you. Maybe my elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top but I take great joy in watching a honey bee work a flower, a spider spin it’s web. I love to hear the birds singing in early dawn as I watch the sun rise. I love sitting on the river and watch the wildlife starting their day in the early morning dawn. At night on the river I listen to the symphony presented by the bull frogs and crickets. The crack of a beaver’s tail warning the others. These things are simple but rejuvenate the spirit. The greatest thing is they cost you absolutely nothing but slowing down and taking the time to enjoy them. That my friends is what I call living life at its fullest.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If you like please let me know. Be kind to one another, spread the love and don’t squat with your spurs on.

Where Has Respect Gone?

June 20, 2017June 20, 2017 / doubledacres / Leave a comment

Sunset in Bonne Terre, MO

“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” -Bryant H McGill

Respect is a way of treating or thinking about someone or something. A person can show it by being polite, taking your hat off, standing or just agreeing to disagree and move on. Just last year some football players decided not to show their respect and knelt for the National Anthem. Freedom of Speech?

“Treat people the way you want to be treated. Talk to people the way you want to be talked to. Respect is earned not given.” – Hussein Nishah

News Flash: You don’t have to like someone to respect them. I think there are a lot of people out there who really have a problem grasping this concept. There are people who are nothing but egotistical, arseholes. I had some teachers and bosses that fell into that category but I respected them because they were good at their jobs.

Opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one. Social media seems to be an avenue where people like to voice their opinions. There is a certain group out there that believe their opinion is the only true one. They believe it so much that they won’t even give your opinion any respect, listen to it or even acknowledge it. I don’t believe I have seen so much arguing over a sitting President in my life. Folks let us quit acting like a bunch of high school kids. It isn’t worth it. Let it go. There has been times I didn’t heed my own advice and it solved nothing and just caused hard feelings. All it does is bring negativity into your world. The main stream news media is all ready doing a great job of sewing the seeds of hate and discontent we don’t need to be doing it too.

The protesters that block the highways are the ones that blow me away. They want me to respect their right to protest but they won’t respect my right to use that highway. Really? Did they ever stop to think that someone in that traffic could have a medical emergency, might be a doctor called into the hospital to save someone’s life, etc., so senseless. Look at the Ferguson riots. They couldn’t show respect to the businesses that served their community. Protesters burned them to the ground demanding respect for their cause.

Parents used to respect teachers. Some of the things I have heard from people mostly go like this, “I think the teacher has it out for Johnny”, the teacher just doesn’t understand my child, etc.. Pretty much the norm of the times. One of my clients was livid because a teacher took her daughter’s cell phone from her for texting while taking a test.

Bottom line is parents need to teach their children respect. We need to start getting along together. Thanks for reading. Be kind to one another, share the love and don’t squat with your spurs on.