Bill Steele had told me that he did the field tech gig, as well. I worked for Ron at Martin Dies State Park shortly after moving to Houston in 1976, and spent many hours quizzing him about the CV SUKS, days, etc.
Roger -----Original Message----- From: Logan McNatt <[email protected]> To: Gill Edigar <[email protected]>; caverarch <[email protected]>; Roger Moore <[email protected]> Cc: Mark Minton <[email protected]>; Texascavers <[email protected]> Sent: Thu, Jan 20, 2011 8:21 pm Subject: Re: cavers on archeo crews No Michael Boon, Blake Harrison, or other cavers on the TAMU archeology crews at Hinds Cave, just students. I was at A&M in the late 70s and knew most of the people who had worked there. During the 70s and 80s, many cavers worked on archeological digs for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, thanks to Ron Ralph, Rune Burnett, and Orion Knox who worked there. That's how I got my start in archeology, in 1972 at Hueco Tanks State Park, making $2.50/hr. (The next year I got a hefty raise, to $2.52/hr). Cavers worked at Hueco Tanks, Fort McKavett, Fort Lancaster, Mission Rosario (near Goliad), Kreishe Brewery (near La Grange), Fanthorp Inn (Grimes County), McKinney Falls, Enchanted Rock, Seminole Sink ,etc. The work was seasonal, often a couple of months in the spring and a couple of months in the fall. Perfect for the active caver lifestyle! As soon as the project ended we took all the money we had saved (wages had increased to $3-$5/hr) and headed off on extended caving trips, usually to Mexico. I can't remember all of the cavers who worked on these projects, but some of the regulars were Don Broussard, Maureen Cavanaugh, Steve Zeman, Dino Lowrey, Michael McEachern, and me. Others involved with at least one project include Pete Strickland, Ed Alexander, Tom Byrd, and Ted Samsell. Apologies to the many I can't remember or didn't work with. Logan Mark Minton wrote: There is a photo of some people working on an an archaeological dig in 1976, and one of them is a "student" named Michael Boon! Is that Mike Boon the caver? The picture does not show enough to identify the person, but I didn't think he was ever a student in Texas. Preston Forsythe wrote: I think the picture looks like Blake, rather than Mike Boon. As far as I know Boon did not do that type of work. Is that Ron in the background? The entire crew could have been from the 33rd St. caver house in Austin. Notice Dr. Dirt, an armadillo expert, is mentioned. Thanks for the very interesting link. And, thanks to Logan. Roger Moore wrote: I don't know Mike Boon, so I can't comment on the question. But 1976 was close to the peak year for cavers doing archeological field work to make money between Mexico trips, etc. It is in some ways ideal work for a young, footloose caver. A field tech is usually off in the middle of nowhere, but getting his/her food and lodging paid for. The work is often physically hard, so good for staying in shape. And there is crossover with many caving skills such as overland navigation, sketching, and basic map- or plan-making. Sometimes the work actually takes place in a caving area. But, back then, a field session was ALWAY a party when not hard at work. Gill Edigar wrote: Although Boon may have been around Austin on and off around that time, I'm over 99% certain he didn't work on any digs. That was a Texas A&M dig an I don't see anybody there that looks like any of the Austin cave-related diggers of the day--a few of whom I lived with or near. Logan ought to have a better idea of who would have made up that crew. Absolutely nobody recognizable to me in any of the pics. Several of them have on A&I insignia--caps & T-shirts.--Ediger
