Back in the late 1950s or early 1960s, a man very dear to us
named Jack Baker, owned the Pike Forest Fossil Beds.

Here is a couple of pictures of Jack.  He drove around Colorado Springs in his 1930s Chrysler Airflow.
He bought the Airflow new in 1936!  
   

At the 2004 Denver Mineral Show, we exhibited a case to honor
his memory.


Jack sold one of the stumps from his forest to Walt Disney to put in Disneyland.
More than anything, that is what probably motivated the government to appropriate
his tourist trap which is now the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

Here is a picture of the stump at Disneyland. The picture on the left, I took in the
1980s.  The picture on the right, a friend of mine - Cory Davidsion - took for me
in 2004.  The plaque does not mention Jack Baker or Florissant or even Colorado.
 

Here is a scan of Jack's Guest Register from the Pike Forest Fossil Beds
that Walt Disney signed.  And the letter Walt Disney wrote to Jack confirming the delivery details.
The date on the register is July 11, 1956.
 

Here is what the entrance to the Fossil Beds looked like in the 1960s


IThis is a picture of Walt Disney with Jack's homely mutt, when Mr Disney visited Jack's
forest in 1956.  Jack was very fond of this picture.  He had the image applied to
souvenir plates, postcards, brochures, and anything and everything else he
could think of.  Jack was quite the promoter. 

This link will take you to our Disneyania inventory and our other tourist trinkets.

I am not certain who this is.  Jack employed a young helper to escort visitors
around the Forest, and maybe this is a picture of him.


Back in the 1950s or 1960s, Jack participated in this Gem and Mineral Show.  I believe it was
held in Monument Colorado, in conjunction with a big Girl Scout Jamboree.  Or it might have been
hosted at Jack's Forest.  I love the funky pictures of this era.
 
 

Here are some pictures of the guys loading the stump onto Jack's truck for the trip to Disneyland.
My Uncle Jake and my Uncle Johnny are pictured here with Jack.
 

 

Back to MoonLightMining
Back to IdaReds.com