This is part 3 of the Burro Schmidt Mine exploration by kids and I completed last October. This is where we step into the time machine.

Burro Schmidt Mine
10 Oct 04











Some of those where library books. Wonder what the late fees will be like…



Recognize the name? Think back to the Crime of the Century. Last Century.. This was from the trial of the Lindbergh Kidnapping. That’s Bruno Hauptmann.



Notice the date? This looked brand new, straight from the printer.



Beauty doesn’t change from era to era.



It’s a Kirby!


It was utterly dumbstruck when the kids and I entered. The shack was built when Schmidt settled on the mountain around 1900. Considering the lack of building materials, he used newspapers, boxes, magazines and gunny sacks to close up the many holes between boards. This part of the Mojave Desert gets rain about once every 50 to 100 hundred years, so most of these papers products were remarkably intact. I would have gone through ten rolls of film and not captured enough images of the many unbelievably preserved publications, advertisements and box tops dating back to 1910. Along walls and floor were littered the remains of shoes, books, ledgers, and even ancient vacuum cleaner. The ATV'ers explained that the last property holder had kept the shed up as a museum dedicated to Schmidt's work. She didn't charge anything, but happily accepted donations.




More to follow soon!