Robert Horton(1926-), the son of Frank Horton, a prominent miner in Nevada, spent many of his early days in mining camps and learned about mining processes at a young age. After his enlistment in the Navy, Horton entered the Mackay School of Mines in 1946. He started his career in mining at the U.S. Geological Survey, and over his long career in mining would work for the Nevada Bureau of Mines, for the Bendix Corporation, and for himself as an independent contractor. Horton was interviewed by Victoria Ford in 1999. World War II ultimately ended the Depression, but it was still going on well into the war years. And for Nevada during the Depression, mining helped support families. And then, when the war order shut down gold mining, it kind of changed for some families. Roosevelt had raised the price of gold from twenty-two to thirty-five dollars an ounce, and that gave a surge for gold mining in Nevada. When World War II started, the gold mining went down the tubes, but other mining became more important. |