My dad lived at Big Creek for a couple of years when he was a kid. This was taken in 1941 with the airstrip behind him to the south. The airstrip was a little shorter then, they have since extended it into the area where he is standing.

That is very cool. Thanks for sharing that with us. I can't imagine how desolate that was in 1941.

Cool pic,looks like the cat is keeping a eye on him.

66skylane wrote:That is very cool. Thanks for sharing that with us. I can't imagine how desolate that was in 1941.

Yea, pretty isolated, good thing he had his laptop...

Fifteen miles south of Big Creek as the bird flies was another mining camp named Stibnite. Anyone interested in what life was like in the area during the 1940's should read this excellent story by a woman who lived there as a child:

http://www.ruralnetwork.net/~yptimes/page11.html

Awesome photo! I love seeing pictures from this era... I sometimes wish I would have grown up then..

Thanks for posting that picture. I love old pictures like that. If you ever get to the jail in Atlanta, there are a bunch of cool turn-of-the-century pics.

Speaking of Stibnite, there is a video on Shortfield.com of a 172 landing there. Anyone know of the details of the strip, i.e. who owns it, why it isn't on the charts, is it maintained, etc.? The video is from a few years ago, but it looks to be in good shape. I've just always been curious.

You mean this one?

Grassstrippilot wrote:Thanks for posting that picture. I love old pictures like that. If you ever get to the jail in Atlanta, there are a bunch of cool turn-of-the-century pics.

Speaking of Stibnite, there is a video on Shortfield.com of a 172 landing there. Anyone know of the details of the strip, i.e. who owns it, why it isn't on the charts, is it maintained, etc.? The video is from a few years ago, but it looks to be in good shape. I've just always been curious.

It's a private strip, now owned by Stibnite Mine Company. Maintenance is minimal and sporadic. Permission is required before landing there.

When you have a private strip, you can choose to register it with the FAA or not. If you register it with the FAA, you can choose to have it appear on the charts or not. This one has been registered, the code is ID41.

I've driven up to stibnite a couple of times from JC.. Once when I was there the Salmon had made it to the small dam holding back stibnite lake and were attempting the jump over the dam.. Pretty impressive watching them try over and over... The remaining mine buildings at the lake are worth a look but pretty crumbly.... also drove to a abandoned mining town called Cinnabar further up into the mountains. All the buildings are there just as they were when Cinnabar was mined for the war... All mining machinery is still there and the mine shaft is flooded...no strip there though...