Remembering the past... just a few years ago...

[dutch john]

Where does the time go? On this fine Sunday morning before the last

day of the 2007 AMDA Laughlin event I was sitting in the River Palm

cafe thinking of when I was having the breakfast special with Grubstake

and Dorthy.

I believe this was the first AMDA event... The years before were Federation

and "old timers" will remember it as "huge" event. The hunt field was twice

the size an the contestants were in the hundreds.

The Federation had reserved a block if Rooms at the River Palms. There

was a banquet and lots of well known manufactures displaying there latest.

There were well known treasure hunters giving lectures.

Now with the split... Federation and AMDA... both are weak... and we... us...

you, and me... IMO are the losers... One strong oraganization carries more

"clout." Badly needed today as our hobby/small scale prospecting is under

attack... If it continues and we are not together as a group... then our

coinhunting will be confined to finding lost coins in Aunt Mineva's couch.

and the goldfields will be posted "keep out."

Back at his time... remembering the past... We... Gary and I were both using

the Lobo Super Track, and we both did okay in the hunt.... we did not find the

skunk... As I remember Grubstake found silver rounds... and lotsa coins.

But we found more. It was friendship!!!...

But relentless marches on... Today I met others... More friendships.

The next "planted" event will be the Westcoasters in April(?) which sadly might

confict with Primm ???

[COLORADO BOB]

Dutch John,

Wanted to visit a bit with you at the hunt [AMDA] but so many people and so little time.

Saw a lot of new faces [your right, time does really fly] and a lot of old, I mean really old faces.

I think a good time was had by all, at least I had a good time, since I got to kick John B's butt in one event.

I didn't get to stay for the Sun. hunt, had to get back to Quartzsite.

Didn't win any top prizes but did get away with around 250 coins, won three silver dollars [two Peace and one Morgan] and won $70.00 cash in one event and the wife won $40.00.

Where the heck is Primm, what is it close to???

Bob T

[dutch john]

Gosh Colorado Bob... We arrived at Laughlin on Saturday afternoon. The afternoon

hunt was still going on. So we stopped and watched. At this time (after the hunt)

I saw Bill and Jerry... then met John T. Then at 3:00 PM we left

to register at the River Palms... After dinner we (Gloria) and I walked along the

River as far north as possible. We saw a rabbit, a skunk, birds singing in a tree.

Watched the ducks and fish.

I really enjoyed the Sunday event. I have been going to "planted" events since

1974... and a few like Jim Walker and Dean Chapman are old friends... However

it is great to meet new friends. As far as the hunt... I did not find any tokens and

my finds were mostly dimes, a few quarters and one fifty-cent "Ben Franklin."

About 6- or 7- dollars in silver.... I was able to "go the distance" and my left knee

did not bother me during or after the hunt.... After the hunt we left for home (Rialto,

CA).

Primm is also known as Stateline. Just inside Nevada. Between Baker and LV. The

GPAA has been putting on gold shows there. Also the AMDA has put on one of their

hunts. In the past it was in January... cold and windy... But this year it will be in

April... I have no details...

Jim Straight

[grubstake]

Hi! Jim, yeh, those were find days, I remember it like it was just yesterday. I miss seeing you. Haven't hunted in a competistion hunt in years. I'm glad you and Gloria are doing ok. Jery my good friend, I hope he did ok in the hunts. Still hard to beat the LOBO ST for those hunts, its qick on the responce. Maybe one day I will get to hunt again. Maybe in Prime if all goes well, and I find enough gold to take care of my other bussiness, that comes first. Take care. Grubstake

[rcparts]

How about a blast from the past?

dutch john, I have some really good news for you.

Roy Lagal is alive and well, living not far from me here in Texas.

He's still full of life and various assortments of colorful stories.

My wife and I spent the whole day with him yesterday in Fredericksburg.

My name is Bruce Mince and I am a great nephew of Roy's.

My Mother has been taking care of him here for about 6 years.

I'm sure he would love to hear from any of his old prospecting buddies.

If anyone is interested, please contact me and I can help you get in touch with him.

Until then......

Happy Hunting

[dutch john]

Grubstake... Also, I remember the time Hye, Alan, You and I camped in the

wind on the Antelope claim. Alan found a nice nugget. He gave me a clay pipe

which I have been keeping safe in my truck glove box. We had coffee at the

Randsburg General Store... Memories...

rcparts... I well remember Mr. Lagal... Back about 1988 he and his (late) wife ((Gerri)

were tailgating at Quartzsite.... He greeted me with open arms... he gave me several

Garrett videos and we exchanged thoughts and ideas about using metal detectors

in underground exploration. He has prospected and treasure hunted from Mexico to

Canada and throughout most of the United States. Most likely he will not remember

me... but please give him my best.

Mr. Lagal has always been one of the finest anyone could meet. Without a doubt

Mr. Roy Lagal knows more about "electronic prospecting" than I ever could. Not only

that... his "Gravity Trap" gold pan is one of the best designs...

Also... Mr. Lagal and Mr. Garrett combined their talents to write "The Complete VLF-TR

Metal Detector Handbook". This was back in the late 1970's It was "generic" and not

"Garrett-specific" but gave all of the manufacturers credit.. Gosh... I could go on

and on about Mr. Lagal... I have often thought of him... Actually... I found my

first nugget using a Garrett detector... It was an early "Ground Hog." About 1978.

vintage VLF-TR about 15.8 kHz. I still have it

[rcparts]

You can bet that we place great value on the time we get to spend with him.

Not only is he a kind and loving man, he is a also wealth of information.

He has taught my wife and I, a few "secret tricks"

Although we don't have a lot of experience in the field, (yet).

I feel that we are more than ready to hit the nugget trail.

The up-side of that is we are not long from moving to Elko Nevada.

We are both chomping at the bit to get out there and start beeping.

The down-side is we will be moving further away from Uncle Roy.

With 1700 miles between us, we won't be able to see him as often.

Even if we never find a single flake, we are far richer for knowing him.

dutch john, you would be amazed by what he still remembers.

85 years old and still quick as a whip and in control of his faculties.

It breaks my heart to see such a great man in an assisted living center.

You can tell that he longs to be back out there filling his pockets with gold.

Unfortunately, he is limited in his mobility and just can't anymore.

I'm sure he would appreciate hearing from you.

Actually in his current location, he would appreciate hearing from anyone.

Especially those like you, that are serious about prospecting.

He still has a lot of tips and tricks to share with people.

And he is anxious to get those out before he leaves this world.

I'm only trying to make the quality of his life a little better.

And am positive that hearing from a fellow prospector would really make his day.

I would really like to help make something like that happen for him, if at all possible.

Please consider it and if you have the time, you could drop him a line someday.

Either way, I will be sure to send him your best when we meet up again this Friday.

Until then, I have taken the liberty of forwarding his contact information to you.

[dutch john]

Bruce... I got Mr. Lagals contact information. Thank you. Actually 85

isn't old. He lived an active life which was nomal during his lifetime. He

really lived life to the fullest. He was out doing it... gathering information

about prospecting, cache and coin hunting. Not only was he very

knowlegeable on the tricks of using a BFO; but also PI's and the VLF's.

Again... he was willing to share his knowledge regardless of whatever

detector was used... I used to listen to him giving out his knowledge while

he and Gerri were tailgating at Quartzsite... he always had a crowd and

while he was selling "Garrett" machines he would also answer questions

regarding other brands... never put any equipment down... never made

anyone feel uneasy...

As I remember he and Gerri were married over 50 years. I understand she

is now "gone." They were a team working side by side over the years.

He and Mr. Garrett were a great team... They were a popular team doing what

they did best... enjoying life and having fun while at seminars. I never was

able to attend one but others, such as Kay Modgling would tell about them.

[rcparts]

He misses her greatly, but remains positive in everything he does.

His favorite statement is that he has no regrets about his life.

He has always been proud of his accomplishments and abilities.

As well he should be, with all of the knowledge he provided to people.

Knowledge that will most certainly be passed down for many generations.

But as you stated, his favorite thing to do is helping people, in all aspects.

He has a firm grasp on his ability to make the world a better place for all of us.

Through his tireless efforts and innovative nature, he has given us all a better chance at fortune.

The pride that we have in him is immeasurable and consider ourselves very lucky just to know him.

Like dutch john, I could go on for days.

But I do have an ulterior motive for this discussion.

We would really like to accomplish two tasks here, if possible.

First; Offer the people on this forum an opportunity to ask Roy questions about prospecting.

Second; To provide Roy the opportunity to continue doing what he does best, help people.

It would be really nice to set up a "Hot Line" for any questions or tips they wanted.

As he has been rendered stationary, he would love to spend that time helping out, I'm sure.

So I'm asking for any input from the local forum members about putting something like this together.

I really think something like this could benefit everyone involved and put that sparkle back in Roy's eyes.

Any input is welcomed, good, bad or indifferent and all will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Bruce

[dutch john]

Bruce... this could be tough to do... How I have no idea.... Can he answer

letters... can he use e-mail... Can he write articles... Maybe his interests

are changing... there is a lot of new developments that can be exciting.

Another book? Maybe you could edit one for him??? He has been involved

in a lot of different facets of prospecting, cache and other activities.

Best... Jim

[rcparts]

I am so sorry it took so long to reply.

It's a long story that has no place here.

But please forgive me for such a serious delay.

dutch john

As promised, I mentioned you and he couldn't recall your name.

Is that the name he originally knew you by?

My wife and I just took him to breakfast and a Doctor's appointment a few days ago.

We talked about a lot of things and I mentioned having prospector's call him for tips.

To my complete surprise and unfortunate dismay, he politely declined his services.

Without going into a lot of very sad details, Roy has decided that he's reached the end of life.

He feels he's done and is just waiting for his day. Of course we respect his decisions.

But it certainly doesn't help squelch the pain of knowing that he feels so sad.

We never noticed, because he's always so happy when we're together.

And Roy has always been one to only talk about the positive things.

We're still getting to know Roy and enjoy learning about his life.

His sharing with us his deepest feelings has changed our relation.

Once agan I have to say that I am a far better man for knowing him.

We see him often and have always tried to help improve his quailty of life.

Now we're making sure to take pictures so we will always be able to see his face.

Thanks to everyone here for your time.

As soon as I can get my Stinger out to Nevada, I'll be posting here a lot more.

I think what you folks are doing is great and can't wait to join you.

Until then, Happy Hunting and a Merry Christmas to you all.

Bruce & Charity

[dutch john]

rcparts.... Bruce; I sent Mr. Lagal a Christmas card.... Likely he doesn't

remember me. I'm just one of many in his life... but if he does, and still

has the card... mine is the one sent by Jim Straight to his address in

Fredericksburg.

He touched so many with his positive and friendly manner...It probably

isn't known but during WW-2 he was assigned to work with military

mine detectors... thus, possibly the seed was planted for his early interest

in detecting...

Remind Roy that he would just (and I quote him directly)

"like to stick around long enough to hit the big one."

So he's gotta keep going... can't quit...

[rcparts]

Thank You Jim,

We will be seeing him again soon and I will be sure to re-interate that quote to Roy.

One of our friends, (a videographer), is going to work with us on a documentary.

We think it's something that needs to be done and we have this opportunity.

As previously stated, he has led a very rich and diverse life, full of stories.

We have a lot of old family pictures and all of his instructional videos.

Another of our friends is a top-notch editor and wants to help also.

I really think we can help put Roy's life into perspective.

I'll be sure to keep everyone here posted.

Thanks again for helping.

[dutch john]

Bruce... Today there seems to less interest in the past and more

on today... However, the past is a key to the present. Mr. Lagal

was an important part in the development and success of Garrett

Inc. He was a one of the pathfinders in using a detector in many

different applications... He was an important contributor to

a booklet, "Electronic Prospecting."

Also he was the major author of "The Complete VLF-TR Metal

Detector Handbook" with Mr. Garrett as co-author. His "How to Test

before Buying Detector Field Guide" which was published in 1973

is an early classic. I believe it was his first book. Even back then

he came across as a loving husband to Gerri. Kind, strong, smart,

with intensity, drive and fairness...

[FlakMagnet]

I'd like to add that I too have been a big fan

of Roy Lagal.

I learned most if not all, of what I know of vlf's from his books

and use his gravity trap pan to this day.

He is one of a kind and probably has no idea

how many he has inspired to follow their dreams

how many people he touched with his personality.

I wish him well from afar.

Flak