Hard rock mining brought supervisor to Markleeville

A person with a gap between the front teeth is supposed to be a traveler. Don Jardine fits this description, but there came a time when he'd had quite enough of traveling; in fact, as if to make up for early wanderings, Don has not strayed beyond a five mile radius of East Fork for year 38 years.

Don Jardine was born in Ottawa, Canada in 1950, the first child of Vera and Donald Jardine. Don's father came to the United States in 1955 as a mining surveyor working for the Netterland Company near Boulder, Colorado. The following year Don Sr. was joined by his wife, and their two sons. Although Don Sr. started his mining career as a surveyor he quickly embraced the dream of getting rich through mining. With father now a miner, the family moved to Searchlight and from there to Silver City. During this period Vera and the two boys worked as extras in "The Misfits".

When Don was eleven they returned to Ottowa, where Vera and her children, now four, stayed with her parents. Don's father went gold and silver mining in Newfoundland for a year. Don recalls the culture shock the children experienced in Ottawa. They were used to living in rural areas; they were outsiders in a neighborhood which had become poor and predominantly French and they were teased at school for their American accents. However, they did have the opportunity to develop family relationships, especially with grandparents and cousins.

When Don was 12 his dad launched them all on the next adventure. He got a job with Claude Lovested at the Zaca Mine, two miles up Highway 89 towards Monitor Pass. Don Sr. traveled ahead and later met his family off the train in Reno. They stayed in Brown's Motel before occupying a house in Crystal Springs belonging to the Merrills. In this neighborhood Don Sr. befriended Gilbert Bennett also a miner at Zaca Mine and father of Phillip D. Bennett, who, with Don Jr., now serves on Alpine County's Board of Supervisors.

The Jardine family then lived in the trailer at the mine for three years until they needed more room and moved into the cabin which was built as a bunkhouse in the thirties.

The road was plowed up to the gate just beyond the mine to allow the miners access. Vera used to drive the children into Markleeville to meet the school bus driven by Gary Coyan. Don attended the old stone school in Woodfords for 7th and 8th grades, and the high school (now the middle school) in Douglas County for two years. He graduated in St. George, Utah, where Don Sr. was employed in mine exploration. Don observes that the passion for sports, shared by the brothers, had a stabilizing effect during those many school changes.

In 1969, one week after graduating, Don joined the Marine Corps. He spent one year in Vietnam, working on supply. In June 1972, after an honorable discharge, he returned to Markleeville and worked at the store, owned then by the Eggers. That September he started to work with his dad at the Zaca Mine.

In 1980 California Silver bought Zaca Mine. Claude Lovested continued to lease the mine but soon pulled out after a disagreement with the new owners. Don Sr. left with Claude to help him set up a new mine and subsequently to chase other rainbows. This time, however, Don stayed put, and, except for two years at college, he has continued to live in this area. Zaca Mine closed down in 1986. Since then Don has been working for Cal-Trans.

While Don was at Zaca Mine, he became concerned about what mining did to the earth. During his 24 years as a member of the Board of Supervisors his happiest moments have included victories for the environment. He lists these examples:

n After the Acorn Fire of 1987, the immensity of which resulted partly from the policy of fire suppression, encouraging brush build-up, the county passed a resolution to support returning the forest to its natural state prior to European settlement.

n The 1990 transference from private to public ownership of Hope Valley and other property, initiated by the Friends of Hope Valley and supported by the Board of Supervisors, preserved 15,000 acres for posterity.

n In 2008 he was appointed by the governor of California to the nine-member Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. He applied for this appointment after the board had allowed the fish below Llewellyn Falls to be poisoned by rotenone, which Don had strongly opposed.

Don looks forward to the building of a beautiful courthouse, to be appreciated for many generations to come.

Don lives in Marklee Village with his wife, Sharon. He has a grown-up daughter, Sarah.