The 1-million-square-foot domed facility would feature restaurants, bars, theaters and jewelry shops. Hahn, who created Kokoweef Inc.’s predecessor company in 1985, said he would use proceeds from his hoped-for $1-trillion gold strike to develop the area into a resort. who has been prospecting at the peak since 1977 - wanted to share it before I left with Bisyak and two other miners to explore the mountain’s system of tunnels. However, the site said, “circumstances made that impossible.” (One explanation for Dorr’s inability to access the caves again: He didn’t hold a mining claim there.)Īmong treasure seekers, Dorr’s tale became fairly well known, prompting others to try their luck at the mountain, including members of Kokoweef Inc. said that Dorr sealed the entrance to the caverns to protect his find, intending to return later. The outfit is following the path of Earl Dorr, who, in 1934, claimed to have explored more than eight miles of caverns beneath the peak, including a vast underground canyon where a river flowed.ĭorr, whose story earned newspaper coverage in subsequent years, claimed the sand there was “very rich in placer gold.” The canyon ledges, he attested, were too. My guide there would be Steve Bisyak, camp manager for Kokoweef Inc., which operates the mining concern at the mountain. That left one place to find out the truth of it. Knill couldn’t offer any insight into Lawrence’s treasure map. They resided there starting in 1936, according to a story in the Salt Lake Telegram, Lawrence’s hometown newspaper. They lived with Eltinge for a time at his Silver Lake estate, Villa Capistrano, an ornate Spanish Colonial Revival property built for the actor. The couple became close friends of Julian Eltinge, a vaudeville luminary who also starred in silent pictures. Though the Lawrences never achieved stardom, they managed to brush up against greatness. “She’s in it so much - she deserves recognition among fans,” said “Andy Griffith Show” aficionado Randy Turner of Liberty Township, Ohio, who assisted in uncovering the actor’s name. She had a stint with “The Andy Griffith Show” in the 1960s, working in the costume department and regularly appearing as an uncredited background character known among fans as “Nice Dress Nellie.” Devotees of the comedy spent years trying to identify her until 2020, when a crew member helped them solve the mystery. Like her husband, Marvel built a low-profile career in Hollywood, though her fame would eventually eclipse his. Lawrence made a promise to Marvel: “I’m going to be back.” “Uncle John came through, and one look and was smitten,” Steve Retter said. He was passing through Kansas on his way to the World’s Fair in Chicago, which began in 1933. According to family lore, Marvel and Lawrence met while she was working at a relative’s fruit stand. Marvel Retter was born in Wakefield, Kan., in 1914. He died nearly 50 years ago, but the actor’s relatives could still easily summon gilt-edged memories of him from their teenage years. He hailed from Utah and dreamed of making it in the movies, and eventually carved out a decades-long career in Tinseltown. Lawrence, I’d soon learn, had been a mapmaker, actor and Hollywood executive. In another corner was a man’s name: John D. One day in April 2020, I found myself staring at it, lost in the intricacy of the artwork, when something printed on the bottom right corner caught my eye: “Marvel Maps, 1410 North Stanley Avenue.” That was just a few miles from where I lived. Kokoweef.Įnchanted by its suggestion of swashbuckling adventure, I acquired the map in December 2019. Among its points of interest was a lost mine in Texas where Jesuits had hidden silver bullion, an island off Central America that was home to the $60-million “Loot of Lima,” and, of course, the abundant “gold bearing sand” of San Bernardino County’s Mt. Published in 1952, the map highlighted 63 spots. Lawrence and published by his Marvel Maps company in 1952. “The Americana Treasure Map” was created by John D.
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