FollowTalk Like a Grizzled Prospector Day is Jan 24th. A prospector is a person who explores natural resources in search of gold or other minerals. When word spread that gold was found in California in 1848, more than 300,000 people made their way to this state. Not only did people from America lift up roots and head for the hills, people from Europe, Asia, Australia and other corners of the world left their home base to prospect for gold.
Prospecting for gold was hard work. It was often unrewarding. Sickness, disease and death were commonplace. However, some people did find fortune and happiness by prospecting for gold. More than 92% of the ’49ers as they were called were men. Women that immigrated to California often worked in the hotels, bars, and saloons.
Although some of these immigrants arrived in California by wagon, many travel across the ocean in huge wooden ships. Once they started mining, these ships were abandoned. These ships were dismantled and the wood was used to build hotels, bars, and jails. They were also used as landfill to build up the land around the San Francisco Bay.
Another thing that is commemorated on this day is the Beer Can. Today is also Beer Can Appreciation Day. Combining the two of things seemed to go hand in hand. No longer do people pan for gold because the veins have long since dried up. Other forms of using or recycling things are now a way of life for some people. Old appliances, electronics, electrical wiring, soda and beer cans are recycled for cash.
And with that I will talk like a grizzled prospector and say “There’s Gold in Those Beer Cans, My Friend”.
Although some money can be made by recycling aluminum cans..you would have to accumulate a heck of a lot of them in order to prosper. Do you take part in recycling old unwanted electronics, appliances or beer cans?
