Southwest Sierra — #53

Allen Power at the Golden Bear Mine, 1979. Photo by Audrey Bell.

The Englishman ~ In 1977 a wealthy Englishman named Allen Power arrived on the scene in Nevada City. There he met friends of my parents who subsequently brought him to Alleghany to meet Dad. As you can imagine, Dad was obsessed with the idea of getting back into the Ruby Mine’s Lawry Shaft after having found that pocket of gold nuggets (see SS#49). Allen was looking for investment opportunities and was easily convinced that, with the current gold market, gold mining was a good investment. The Ruby Mine was available, and Allen agreed to purchase it and to hire Dad as the mine foreman and caretaker. Dad was a little “gun shy” about meeting with the owners of the Ruby Mine due to his association with the old man. Even though he had no control over the old man, he wasn’t sure where he stood with the owners. Because of this, Allen was sent alone to negotiate the purchase.

You can imagine Dad’s dismay when Allen returned to Alleghany to joyfully report that the owners had convinced him to buy the adjoining Golden Bear and Carson Mines instead of the Ruby! Years later, the owners told Dad that they were concerned because Allen didn’t even know how to pronounce the word “placer” and they had no idea how he had found out about their mining properties. They said that if Dad had come with him, they would have sold him the Ruby! But the dye was set and The Golden Bear Mine it was. Allen was full of enthusiasm for his new venture. He stayed with us in Alleghany for a couple of weeks after he bought the mine. I don’t remember where he slept. The house on the lower road only had two bedrooms. I do remember curiously watching him do tai chi which I had never seen before. It was the first thing that he did every morning in the sunny front yard.

Dad gave notice to Alleghany School that he would be leaving his janitorial post. Mine maps and reports were studied intensely. Local miners were invited over for advice, and the decision was made to open the old Cincinnati Tunnel located on the property. I don’t know what the target was. Later, as an adult, I became fascinated with both the geology and the history of mining, but back then I was not the least bit interested.

Allen hired a large motley crew to refurbish the Golden Bear Mine bunkhouse. The bunkhouse, built in the 1930s, was just a dusty shell with no windows or doors, but the tin roof was still in place, the exterior walls were ok, and the wooden floors were decent. Nick Whittlesey of PG&E agreed to run power to the house when it was ready. The biker Pappy Brooks was hired to rewire the place. He had a small crew of two or three guys. A brother and sister from France were hired along with many others who I no longer remember. Mom and Dad chose a downstairs bedroom for themselves. Allen chose the largest upstairs bedroom for himself. He had rooms at the National Hotel in Nevada City where he stayed most of the time, but he planned on spending a considerable amount of time at the mine as well. My three brothers and I got to pick whatever room we wanted out of the four remaining upstairs. Steven and Jason chose to share the second largest room across from Allen’s room. I originally picked a room on the north end of the house and DBJ picked the one across the hall from it.

I was intrigued by the French siblings and spent as much time as I could with them. They were probably in their early twenties and both had straight long dark hair. They smoked hand-rolled cigarettes and obviously enjoyed working together. Their names rhymed but are lost in the depths of my memory. One day they pointed out how sunny the bedroom at the other end of the house was. I promptly changed my bedroom selection. In the many years that followed, I was forever grateful to them for that good bit of advice. We never did see them again. To be continued…

About the author: Rae Bell (aka Pauline) grew up in the Ruby Mine area. She currently resides in Alleghany proper and can be reached at

raebell44@gmail.com or PO Box 919, Alleghany, CA 95910.