Emmett Harder
Emmett Harder
Emmett has left us, but he has left us with many, many great memories. He was a fine man, soft spoken and pretty quiet until you got him going on a story about prospecting or old mining friends or his “side job” blowing things up for the state or county or cities nearby. As a miner he had learned a thing or two about dynamite and he did not hesitate to put that knowledge to use when someone needed a building leveled or a dam or foundation removed. Many of his stories revealed his very careful and thoughtful approach to dynamite in particular and life in general. But this is only a small part of what made him such a character.
Emmett started prospecting in earnest at age 14 during World War II, obtaining a driver’s license early during those tough years. He scoured the Panamints and western Death Valley meeting the last of the prospectors there and eventually went on to tell those stories in his book “These Canyons are Full of Ghosts.”
Many of us in the Desert Explorers met Emmett later in life, when he had slowed his prospecting down a bit, but he never slowed down his storytelling. For fun, he would sometimes hold forth in performances for friends and civic groups dressed as and channeling “Death Valley Scotty”, the famous prospector and con man who was famous for building (and boondoggling) Scotty’s Castle. Of course, Emmett handled it with ease.
Emmett rarely mentioned his success as a prospector, but successful he was. He held and worked several claims in the Panamints and one near Amargosa Spring. It was clear to all who knew him that his real treasures in life were his wife Ruth, their family and friends.
He also said very little about his faith, but it was deep. On one hot afternoon in Redlands at a celebration of life for Desert Explorer and friend, Lorene Crawford, we ducked into the shade of the garage with a lemonade and Emmett related a story about when one of his demolition projects took a bad turn. He ended up falling several stories and wound up impaled on some rebar in a pile of concrete. He regained consciousness in a hospital emergency room with several doctors hovering over him. They told him they were glad to see him resurface and then said “ We saw your garments when you were brought in and wanted you to know we are your brothers and will take good care of you.” With that, Emmett said “I just relaxed and passed out again, knowing that I was in good hands with my church brothers.”
Emmett has left us, but be sure that he left knowing he was in good hands. He was a fine man on all fronts. Husband, father, prospector, friend. A legendary storyteller and a legend himself.
He will be deeply missed and always remembered by all who knew him, and he will live on in our hearts.
Thank you to all who sent photos and notes: Allan Wicker, Alan Heller, Julie Smith, Barbara Midlikoski, Danny and Norma Siler, Bill Neill, Ron Lipari and Ted Berger.
