Raymon Dambacher Bonanza Mine & Early Columbia Airport / KAAD-LP Radio Interview
Recording opens playing “California Here I Come” by Al Jolson:
“California, here I come
Right back where I started from
Where bowers are flowers bloom in the spring
Each morning at dawning
Birdies sing and everything”
*Music Fades out*
Kris Osward: It's time for “Speaking of the Motherlode: A nostalgic look at
the history of the Gold Country”, hosted by Shelley and Kris. These recorded
interviews are part of Columbia College Library’s Oral History series.
Shelley Muniz: This program is presented by your community Radio KAAD-LP 103.5 FM Sonora, California streaming online at KAAD-LP.org.
Kris Osward: Please, join us as we experience history through the eyes of those who lived it.
*Music begins again*
“California, here I come
Right back where I started from
Where bowers are flowers bloom in the spring…”
*Music Fades out*
Shelley Muniz: This is Shelley Muniz and Kris Osward. We're recording this interview for the Columbia College Oral History Series and Sonora community Radio KAAD-LP 103.5 FM
Shelley Muniz: Today's date is Thursday, September 22nd, 2016. We're at the home of Raymon Dambacher on Kimberly Lane in East Sonora.
Raymon Dambacher: Well like I say get me while I'm still here. *Both Laughing*
Shelley Muniz: That’s Right.
Raymon Dambacher: A lot of folks don’t figure I'm 93 years old.
Shelley Muniz: That's amazing. You look wonderful.
Raymon Dambacher: Well, a lot of folks guess me in the 70s.
Shelley Muniz: Yeah. I would say that late 70s.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah.
Shelley Muniz: Yeah.
Raymon Dambacher: --but every once in awhile, somebody that knows my history a little better comes up pretty close
Shelley Muniz: Do they?
Raymon Dambacher: And actually gets me at 93.
Shelley Muniz: You look great.
Raymon Dambacher: Like I said, let's hope that memory will provide the information. If it doesn't, what do we do?
Shelley Muniz: We do the best we can, you're doing great.
Raymon Dambacher: I don't have the strength or energy that I used to have either, that's a little discouraging. Limits the amount of activities that you can get involved in.
Shelley Muniz: Are you feeling comfortable? Are you ready for us to start asking questions?
Raymon Dambacher: Oh... Like I say if I don't want to answer it I won't.
Shelley Muniz: Okay, *Raymon Laughing* why don't you tell us your full name? And your birth date?
Raymon Dambacher: What is my what?
Shelley Muniz: Your full name, and your birth date?
Raymon Dambacher: My full name is Raymond Albert Dambaucher. My birthday is July the 30th 1923.
Shelley Muniz: See look how you did already your memories sharp. How long have you lived in Tuolumne County Raymond?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, actually you might say I’ve lived all my life here except for the time that I was in the military and I spent a few years in Southern California.
Shelley Muniz: Oh great. Well we’ll wanna talk about that too.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah a little bit of time in Arizona and then a little bit of time in Old Mexico for the most part, this has been home.
Shelley Muniz: Okay, when...you want to tell us a little bit about your parents, when did they move to Tuolumne County?
Raymon Dambacher: Well actually both my parents were born—
Shelley Muniz: Whoa
Raymon Dambacher: —here in Tuolumne County. My grandparents
came here.
Shelley Muniz: What year did they come in?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, let's see 1898. It was in the late eighteen-hundreds. My father's parents came from Germany. [unintelligible] which is actually a border town and then my mother's parents came from France.
Shelley Muniz: And they came over as a married couple? Were they...did they come together? To Tuolumne County?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, yeah, actually my great grandfather came here. My grandfather was born here and...
Shelley Muniz: Wow
Raymon Dambacher: And of course the same thing is true with my dad’s father was born here in Columbia actually...
Shelley Muniz: Oh
Raymon Dambacher: And we've been here for almost a hundred years. *Laughing*
Shelley Muniz: That’s amazing. Did they and did they buy property? Did you always live in the same place? With your parents?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, my... my dad’s parents, as I said had property in Columbia area and my mother's parents had property in Sonora. They're actually...The Bonanza mine. It's in under the red church or now part of it out at the high school...
Shelley Muniz: Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: Was my great grandfather’s on my mother's side...
Shelley Muniz: Oh.
Raymon Dambacher: Duvall.
Shelley Muniz: That was his mine that he worked.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah, and of course on my dad's side he had property up in
Yankee Hill.
Shelley Muniz: Did he do gold mining prospecting up there as well?
Raymon Dambacher: Well he had a Apple Orchard to start with...
Shelley Muniz: Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: But it was primarily as a [unintelligible] residence.
Shelley Muniz: And then your parents, where did they settle, where did you grow up?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, I grew up right here on this Ranch.
Shelley Muniz: Wow. Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: As I say except for a few years I spent in the military and some time that I spent in Southern California.
Shelley Muniz: So right here off of Peaceful Valley Road, right...right where you are right now is the original Dambacher Ranch?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, the Dambacher property goes almost to Phoenix Lake.
Shelley Muniz: Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: Yes there was a big hunk of it cut off, of course when they put in the new highway and there was a piece of it that was sold that used to adjoin the property to the west of this here, a little strip. But originally it was a hundred and twenty acres. Isn’t that much now, but...
Shelley Muniz: And you had... did you have brothers and sisters? Did you have brothers and sisters?
Raymon Dambacher: I have two brothers.
Shelley Muniz: Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: One has passed on and I have an older brother. That's still alive that lives on the back end of this property.
Shelley Muniz: And what's the...what's the earliest memory you can tell us about of living here on this property...
Raymon Dambacher: Me?
Shelley Muniz: ...growing up here
Raymon Dambacher: Oh back, I can go back to when I was about two or three years old.
Shelley Muniz: Wow, and what can you remember from that time?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, my younger brother who is sort of a agitator in the sense that he would constantly do things to get my parents to give me a bad time. In other words. He would go around and goad at me or something teacher so that I would give him some resistance and sit on him, so he could quit pestering me and then that would get my folks upset with me because I was picking on my little brother. *Shelley Laughing* and one day we were working here in the garden with Dad and my younger brother started his agitation to me and my dad happened to see it. It really upset him, and he finally realized that I hadn’t been the agitator with my younger brother. *Shelley Laughing* And so it helped you might say give me little closer relationship between my dad and I--
Shelley Muniz: Oh that’s good.
Raymon Dambacher: --because of that. But as I say that goes back clear to when I was about three years of age.
Shelley Muniz: That's amazing that you can remember back that far.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah.
Shelley Muniz: Did you... what are...do you have any favorite stories that you remember your parents telling you or...or lessons that they used to teach you things from childhood?
Raymon Dambacher: Well actually they...It was my mother's father who lived with us that I had a little closer relationship with than I did my own parents in other words. Yeah, for some reason or other took me to his bosom in that sense and I used to have migraine headache and he'd spend hours massaging my head try to relax that tension that would build up.
Shelley Muniz: Sounds like a good man.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah.
Shelley Muniz: A good caring man. Do you remember him telling you anything special or...?
Raymon Dambacher: He used to tell me about things that took place in the old Bonanza mine.
Shelley Muniz: What kind of stories do you about that?
Raymon Dambacher: Well one particular thing I remember is him telling me about going... he was the crane operator. And at one time he had somebody else lower him down into the mine and down in the mine they had this little cart on the track that followed the vein. And the vein made a turn, and so rather than pushing his cart he decided to get it on and ride it because it was little incline and so as it went on down and came to the turn instead of it turning, it jumped the track and hit a pylon that was holding the roof rocks from dropping and knocked it out. So he of course when he cut back up again told his daddy's said you get down there and get the things shored up. Well, as they were digging to clear away the spot, they uncovered a cache of high-grade ore that somebody had put there that actually when it was processed was about $ 50,000. And so, when he got married his dad gave him a 50,000 dollar wedding gift.
Shelley Muniz: Wow
Raymon Dambacher: He spent it trying to find another Bonanza mine. And actually when he passed away, he didn't have two nickels to rub together.
Shelley Muniz: Wow, was the mine still in his name at that time?
Raymon Dambacher: Well no, the mine, they... they sold it eventually.
Shelley Muniz: Okay
Raymon Dambacher: But it originally had been operated by some people out of Central America...
Shelley Muniz: Oh, that's interesting.
Raymon Dambacher: …and Devoll took it over from them and developed it and I guess they considered it probably the richest pocket mine in existence. At that time in history. Nothing to take out 50 60 thousand dollars pocket you know, but as I say it wasn't shut down because they ran out of gold, they couldn't pump the water. And so of course today, with the kind of systems we have, There’d be nothing to it, but they closed the mine down because they just weren't able to pump the water down. If you go out to the High school that little creek runs are that used to be a pipe, It had water running out of it. It was coming out of the old Bonanza mine. And now that parking lot that's next to the to the high school is old pilings. In other words, where they dump the tailings and stuff that came out of mine and a Barber that I went to his kid used to go out and pan and he’d find little nuggets from time to time.
Shelley Muniz: So that parking lot is built right on top of that?
Raymon Dambacher: So that flat spot that’s there's a parking lot is the old piling in other words stuff that came out of that mine was dumped there and part of it was used to pave the streets in Sonora
Shelley Muniz: Wow
Raymon Dambacher: So in a sense the streets of Sonora are paved with gold. What was his name? What was your what was his name? *Laughing*
Shelley Muniz: I love that. What was his name? What was his... What was your...What was his name?
Raymon Dambacher: Albert, oh my James Albert. Yeah.
Shelley Muniz: That's a great story. I love that about the mine and I've heard about the Bonanza mine for years. So it's great to get some history on that. Thank you.
Kris Osward: You're listening to “Speaking of the Motherlode” with Shelley and Kris on Sonora’s community. Radio KAAD-LP 103.5 FM and streaming online at KAAD-LP.org.
Shelley Muniz: Please stay tuned for more Gold Country history spoken by the people who lived it.
Shelley Muniz: What was it like in Sonora? What was it...like here when you were growing up?
Raymon Dambacher: As a kid? Well, of course there have been a lot of changes made in the town and there used to be what is now 108 is a Highway that was put in. It took the place of the old original Road. What is Peaceful Valley used to run all the way into town and course they blocked that off when they put the new highway in but this road originally had to cross Sullivan's Creek and there were times when the water was too high and *Laughing*You didn’t go to town that day, *Shelley Laughing* [unintelligible] but I don't know what other changes.
Shelley Muniz: So, dirt roads back then? It was all dirt roads in Sonora when you were growing up the roads were dirt roads.
Raymon Dambacher: Well, they were... some of them were graveled.
Shelley Muniz: Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: And of course, of them are still graveled but. they've made a lot of changes of course in where the highway that goes on down to the valley.
Shelley Muniz: And what do you remember as far as Main Street Washington Street? What kind of stores do you remember being there back then?
Raymon Dambacher: Oh dear well, there’s Old Burnham's which was a ice cream candy store [unintelligible] what's there today I'd have to go down and look again but right now and there used to be a little floral shop that had a woman in it that was fairly along in years. It's…it's close to the drugstore. There used to be the theater, there used to be a hospital. All those things have been changed which is now the Bank building.
Shelley Muniz: Okay, that was the original Hospital right there.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah used to be close to the old theater that was there and of course the hospital is a parking lot now, but I don't know what to say. There's lots of different--
Shelley Muniz: Lots of changes.
Raymon Dambacher: --changes to the places.
Shelley Muniz: What did you do for fun? When you were young when you were little what did you do for fun?
Raymon Dambacher: Fun?
Shelley Muniz: What did you like to do, Mhm.
Raymon Dambacher: Well, I like I say I lived here primarily on the ranch with my two brothers. We didn't have a whole lot of association. I went to school in Sonora in the old Dome building. But...
Shelley Muniz: That was your Elementary School?
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah.
Shelley Muniz: Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: In fact, the first grade teacher was also the teacher that my dad had gone to school under.
Shelley Muniz: Wow when you went to grade school, would you say that…did you enjoy it and did…would you say you were a good student?
Raymon Dambacher: Unfortunately because of my particular I…I didn't like to use any kind of force or pressure against anyone else and then [unintelligible] mild natured kid, the rest of the kids in the grade used to give me a rough time.
Shelley Muniz: Aww.
Raymon Dambacher: And so when it came time for recess and of course they would… the macho guys would take the bat and chuck it at the other one he'd grab it you know and finally find out who gets to get first vote for selecting who they're going to have on their team.
Shelley Muniz: Mhm.
Raymon Dambacher: So when it finally come down to me then they used to argue over who had to take me—
Shelley Muniz: Aww
Raymon Dambacher: Instead because I wasn't interested in competitive kind of sports or what have you And so as soon as they How do all their teams chosen quit arguing about who had to take me, then I’d go back top for the baseball's
Shelley Muniz: Oh *Laughing*
Raymon Dambacher: So the teachers would make me involved in it. So that was the way I conducted myself in the early grades in school.
Shelley Muniz: How about high school was it the same thing there?
Raymon Dambacher: In high school I again wasn't interested in sports. I used to play a little tennis or something like that during the recess time. But as far as actually getting in sports, I did a little bit of track and that kind of stuff but I… I wasn't competitively made up I just didn’t want to get involved.
Shelley Muniz: What about Scholastically? What about your studies? How did you do with your studies?
Raymon Dambacher: Well there again because of what I later deduced as dyslexia I had, sometimes problems in putting things together in the proper order. And so it was difficult in school work. Sometimes to come up with the answers to things.
Shelley Muniz: Mhm.
Raymon Dambacher: Mathematics was one subject that I seemed to be able to handle but history and English and geography and all that other stuff get in him to make much sense so I didn't do too good in that.
Shelley Muniz: Where was the high school at that point?
Raymon Dambacher: It's where the present well, what would you call it, you know, why can't I say the word, oh where They put on plays and what have you the…at the high school presently.
Shelley Muniz: At the auditorium?
Raymon Dambacher: Auditorium across the street that building is where the old original high school main office was at the time.
Shelley Muniz: Did you go to college?
Raymon Dambacher: That's the funny thing. I guess it was because I actually had to study here when I get home. Of course, I'd go quail hunting or something. I didn't want to study into it. I would get good grades when I was in college in San Francisco the getting at The Boarding House And had nothing else to do but study, made the Honor Society in college. So it was just a matter of concentration and putting my mind to it. It's just a lot of it I said just wasn't that interesting or didn't seem to make much sense if whatever you're reading isn't making sense. How can you answer questions—
Shelley Muniz: Mhm
Raymon Dambacher: --that are being presented to you? So I'm primarily a nitpicker if you understand what I mean. I'm very detail-oriented. And actually is result of it seems like every job I ever had has always given a position of responsibility. Even in the military when we were going from one location to another I wound up with the paperwork. You know, why pick on me? You know? *Laughing*
Shelley Muniz: How did you end up getting to San Francisco? What made you go there to go to college?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, it was the Polytechnic College. In other words, it was a college where I could get the information and experience. I wanted in the particular line of work that I wanted to follow which was manufacturing.
Shelley Muniz: Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: And as I say every job I ever had For some reason or other, Go to work for a day or two and the next thing you know I get put in the position of responsibility running a department or…
Shelley Muniz: And you mentioned that that happened to you in the military too, were you in college when you went into the military or was that after college?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, I had one job. It was after well, let's say the June break came and I went to work for General engineering in [unintelligible] which was a marine repair and I was there for a few days when they put me in charge of the particular department as a result of my nit-picking I was able to alter some of the manufacturing procedures that they were using and improve them and but as I said cost me a job in two different places at work because the changes I made the Engineers that had degrees look bad because here I was as a guy down the shop and I was coming up with all the improvements instead of the engineers *Both Laughing* so I went one time to try to get a classification change because I’d just been hired as an experimental machinist but actually I was doing an engineering job. I was actually designing and building machines, that improved manufacturing procedures and what have you just as an experimental machinist I had a lesser type of income and I went to talk to the guy that did the hiring and what have you, just see if I couldn't get a classification change or I could get it. [unintelligible]we don't even need a guy like you around here. So you could see that maybe my chances for any kind of advancing what sort of limited.
Shelley Muniz: Is this still in the Bay Area.. still in the Bay Area.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah, and so the guy that I had done most of the improvements for, he just had left the company and went to work for another outfit that was doing the same kind of work. And he had talked to them about the improvements that I made, they approached me and wanted to know if I'd be willing to come and work for them. So I couldn’t see that my chances for any kind of advancement with the company I was working for so I accepted the position. And designed a piece of equipment that exposed a…might say infringement on the details of the contract that they had with the government. In other words. It showed that the parts that they were manufacturing had a little imperfection in them. It wasn't accepted as far as the contract was concerned and so in the meeting with the chief executive officer I was asked, “Well, what can we do to change this or hide this? I says, “Well, get the specs changed.” They said, “Oh we can't do that it's a government contract how are we going to hide this?” I said, “You can't, that's not ethical.” Whoo. Don't ever use that word in industry. *Laughing*
Shelley Muniz: Mhm.
Raymon Dambacher: Changed my position put me in a job that didn't have much of anything to it. And therefore we don't need you anymore.
Shelley Muniz: Oh my.
Raymon Dambacher: What did they do? Dismantled the equipment cut it out of the shop. So nobody else could be able to discover. I later learned by talking to the guy that was there that that’s what they had done. So as I say, sometimes being a nitpicker can enhance things sometimes it can cost you your job. *Laughing*
Shelley Muniz: It's a good lesson in life, isn't it? When did you go into the military?
Raymon Dambacher: Well let's see, I was… that's one of the questions I thought is going to ask me and I'm going to take a stab at what year was that now. Let's see. Pearl Harbor was bombed in what year? 19…41 I went into March let’s see what month was January, February….What…what month was Pearl Harbor?
Shelley Muniz: December…December.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah, I went into the service in March.
Shelley Muniz: So after Pearl Harbor.
Raymon Dambacher: After Pearl Harbor, yeah.
Shelley Muniz: And how did the… and how did the War affect you, how did you feel about the war?
Raymon Dambacher: If I had it to do over again, I think I would have gone to jail, instead of going into the military.
Shelley Muniz: Really?
Raymon Dambacher: I do not see that anything has ever been corrected with violence. You can’t establish the Kingdom of Heaven by force and that's one of the things I understand is what man is aiming for. We tried to establish condition is identified as Heaven which is of course, governed by the principle of love, not hate. But to both parties, the whole world seems to have taken up with the idea that hates a way to correct things. It doesn't work. So I keep looking for that group of people that want to live a little higher along get along with each other instead of constantly finding fault criticizing condemning what have you. It's not going to get it done.
Shelley Muniz: That's beautiful.
Raymon Dambacher: So let's start one! _
Shelley Muniz: That’s right! So, when did you then get back to Tuolumne County at what point? Did you come back here?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, let's see. I had moved into Old Mexico because of pressure, my family had dissolved because again I choose to live by the Commandments and if your companion chooses not to live by the Commandments you... what have you got? She really didn't want to have family and have responsibilities. She chose more interesting things and if I'd been a man here, I'd been fine, but I didn't have the kind of income to provide all the things and so she decided that somebody else would probably provide them for her, she left. And so that left me with the responsibility of trying to find a home because I had to sell a predicted value of it that, of course required that I try to find a place that I could survive.. Unfortunately because of that I lost my job and didn't have an income. And so I, that's when I went into Mexico I said hopefully it’s a little easier place to live, didn't require quite that much income. And so I think [unintelligible] a number of years in Baja, California, which I eventually returned in lets see about 1971. ‘71 to ‘72. I came back here to live.
Kris Osward: You're listening to “Speaking of the Motherlode” with Shelley and Kris on Sonora’s community. Radio KAAD-LP 103.5 FM and streaming online at KAAD-LP.org.
Shelley Muniz: Please stay tuned for more Gold Country history spoken by the people who lived it.
Shelley Muniz: Did you move back here—
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah.
Shelley Muniz: --to the family ranch?
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah.
Shelley Muniz: And you had-- you eventually remarried and had children or
Raymon Dambacher: I unfortunately kept making that same mistake. I really didn't pay that much attention to the person's lifestyle had I realized what I learned later, I would probably have never ever been married at anytime and of course wouldn't have had any children. So one thing all offsets the other. I had six kid that identify me as their father and couple of foster children that were the children that the wife had had with a former marriage so. But I live alone now because I can't find anybody that wants to govern their life by the Commandments and I think that was the whole reason that we were given them as a guideline and how to conduct yourself. That most folks… if it was up to us to be able to survive just one more day how many of us could really recite the Commandments? Could you?
Shelley Muniz: A good question.
Raymon Dambacher: Could you really? Realize what they are the details on how we should be able to associate ourselves one with the other and a lot of folks don't realize how important it is to know what they are and then govern your life by them.
Shelley Muniz: So Raymon, when and what did you do for a living when you came back up here?
Raymon Dambacher: I opened up my own shop. In other words. I still wanted to be involved in manufacturing. And so I opened up a shop and started doing custom millwork fact it when they refurbished, did over the courthouse. I made the molding that they needed to match what had been in there in the alterations that had been made, and also made some turning--
Shelley Muniz: Wow
Raymon Dambacher: -- for the Bell Tower and I've done a lot of restoration work in a lot of different Victorian homes in this, you know our area.
Shelley Muniz: That's great, can you think of any other buildings or or businesses—
Raymon Dambacher: --Well I worked with…with contractors. In other words, did stairways and entrances and...
Shelley Muniz: So your works probably in a lot of the old homes in the Sonora area.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah. Yeah, they're not only new places but remodel work. Yeah.
Shelley Muniz: We heard that you were recently awarded a patent.
Raymon Dambacher: Yes.
Shelley Muniz: So can you tell us a little bit about that?
Raymon Dambacher: Well that had to do with a process that I developed in sharpening chipper blades that they have in these machines that they use to grind up the tree limbs and what have you. And in the industry we sharpen those blades when they got dull by grinding them. Unfortunately, the grinding process took the temper out of the blade and so it wouldn't last as long in the process and I designed a process to use a milling machine and a…these are tempered blades are hardened steel. And so they start with I was using the carbide insert and it machines the blade without increasing the temper and therefore it doesn't reduce the hardness and it gives the blade extra life and it doesn't get as dull as fast. And so I actually I can get it an additional five sharpenings before the blades are too small to fit any longer and at about what it costs for a new set. So in other words, I'm providing a service that gives them as much use as a new set of blades would cost. And so the patent that I have is on that process.
Shelley Muniz: And how old were you when you got that patent.
Raymon Dambacher: Ninety…Well Let's see…When was that darn patent issued anyway…That..91 was I?
Shelley Muniz: That…that's incredible
Raymon Dambacher: I think 90. That article that came out…I know that there was an article written in the magazine they put forth after they called.
Shelley Muniz: I think we might have a copy of it. We can look that up Raymon.
Raymon Dambacher: You got it?
Shelley Muniz: I think it is. Yeah, I think we have a copy of that article.
Raymon Dambacher: Of that particular article? Do you get the magazine?
Shelley Muniz: I don't know for sure what magazine it was, but we did find an article online.
Raymon Dambacher: But if you have that then you could look that up.
Shelley Muniz: Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: Like I say some of that stuff isn't there for reference any longer. *Both Laughing*
Shelley Muniz: That’s okay. Why don’t you tell us about your involvement with Columbia Airport.
Raymon Dambacher: Columbia Airport?
Shelley Muniz: Mhm.
Raymon Dambacher: Well, like I say I was the manager there. I also had a commercial license and an instructor's rating. So I not only managed the airport but also taught folks how to fly.
Shelley Muniz: Ooh?
Raymon Dambacher: And I… when they had these fires that used to come out and I’d take a observer in that aircraft and fly him around so he could communicate with them on the ground and let them know what the hot spots were.
Shelley Muniz: So did you…did you fly your own plane to do that or…
Raymon Dambacher: Well, I had a plane that I was leasing from where I’d gotten my instructions for a commercial license and as an instructor.
Shelley Muniz: And what kind of a plane was it?
Raymon Dambacher: It was just a little old J-3 Cub, which is good for two people to ride in and that's what I used to fly a guy that would [unintelligible]
Shelley Muniz: And you would fly right into the fire areas.
Raymon Dambacher: No we would fly over the top
Shelley Muniz: Okay
Raymon Dambacher: And he would communicate commands.
Shelley Muniz: So let's get back to the Columbia Airport. So you used to manage the airport. And do you remember what year you started managing out there?
Raymon Dambacher: Okay, that's [unintelligible] one of the questions. I knew you're going to ask me and I'm trying to think exactly what year was that. I was discharged from the service in ’45, ’46. Greg was born on the 9th and I got home on the 11th. That was December.
Shelley Muniz: December of ’46?
Raymon Dambacher: I’m trying to think of what month was that I started the airport. In the 46.
Shelley Muniz: What was that…What was it…Like? What was the airport like when you first started working there?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, [unintelligible] I was there when they put in the new strip. The airport originally had just the one strip which is the old one that goes out through the depression and the mountain you might say…
Shelley Muniz: Mhm
Raymon Dambacher: But I was there during the construction of the new strip. This was…The prime contractor was a guy by the name of “Caps”. The one that furnished the heavy equipment to do the excavation was Kenworthy and Caps was a pilot and Kenworthy was not but like I say he provided all the heavy equipment the bulldozers and backhoes and graders… the air compressors and their jackhammers and the dynamite and what have you. And something that probably never has been written down but one of the bulldozer operators blast down and looked at a rock and in the crack it looked like a…with a brazing operation, you know some of the stuff dropped off and happened to drop into this crack in this rock and he out of curiosity reached down to pick it up and when he got it in his hand he realized that’s not brazing compound that’s gold…
Shelley Muniz: Ohh!
Raymon Dambacher: and he actually had found a nugget. When it was finally weighed about 3 ounces.
Shelley Muniz: Wow.
Raymon Dambacher: He took it over to Columbia to see what it would—may have been worth, and I don't know how much he was offered for it but that was a nugget that was actually found in…
Shelley Muniz: Wow.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah, so in reality theres still gold out there in the airport and every once in a while somebody will go out and do a little digging around and still find it.
Shelley Muniz: Wow. Well, you better be careful. We're going to have all kinds of people going out there.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah *Shelley Laughing* And so that little bit of information. I doubt has ever been mentioned by anybody else cause they’re not alive anymore maybe. *Laughing* I worked with the County Surveyor a person by the name of Lee Storch who did the surveying of the location for the new landing strip and I helped him by holding the rod so he could tell whether it was Fielder activation spot or what have you. He had been in a number of interesting things of course that take place at the airport. See, there was one instance where the person the film company was filming movies that yeah…what the heck’s his name… big old lanky guy…Anyway…
Shelley Muniz: They were shooting it in Columbia?
Raymon Dambacher: They had the film truck going down the runway and taking the picture of this guy Katie Gerardo. What the heck was his name that big lanky cowboy.
Shelley Muniz: Was it a picture that was shot in Colombia then?
Raymon Dambacher: Huh?
Shelley Muniz: It was a movie that was shot in Columbia.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah, it was a movie that was being filmed, part of it there on the airport where they could use the film truck on the runway and had the two people that were in the buggy on the gravel strip alongside the runway and the airplane came in to try to land and here these people are [unintelligible]and finally got out. But after this took place I said well who gave you permission to come out here and do this thing here on the Airport. They just took it upon themselves. They saw the spot came out and did it, but they almost caused his aircraft to crash.
Shelley Muniz: Wow.
Raymon Dambacher: Why can't I remember that guy's name, he had a lot of Western pictures.
Shelley Muniz: Gary Cooper. That's one that I can remember being out there.
Raymon Dambacher: Gary Cooper.
Shelley Muniz: Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: Yeah and they filming of that… what was the name of that movie he was in it that time? He and Katie Gerardo were in the wagon it was being filmed. I knew I was going to have some of these questions. *Laughing* I just can’t bring it up….
Shelley Muniz: You’re doing great.
Kris Osward: You're listening to “Speaking of the Motherlode” with Shelley and Kris on Sonora’s community. Radio KAAD-LP 103.5 FM and streaming online at KAAD-LP.org.
Shelley Muniz: Please stay tuned for more Gold Country history spoken by the people who lived it.
Shelley Muniz: So tell us some more about Columbia airport then. Where there are a lot of planes coming in and out of there?
Raymon Dambacher: It's never been a real active airport.
Shelley Muniz: Mhm.
Raymon Dambacher: In other words. It even isn't today. I mean you could go out there and there may not be nobody come in for a day or two even you know? Then other times of course, they've got the…the firefighting equipment station there.
Shelley Muniz: Mhm
Raymon Dambacher: So they use the strip. But as I say, I had a couple of students that one of them was the night foreman for the West Side Lumber Company up in Tuolumne and he was an older person and had quite a few hours in instruction to getting to the point where he could solo and finally I figured well, if he's ever gonna do it, he's gonna have to do it now. And so I went around with him one time and I said okay I'm getting out now. I want you to go around and land this airplane and he made the best landing he'd ever made. He'd go out and he’d fly up here in them mountains looking for an outcropping of quartz. He was a sort of a Prospector up here looking and so he'd go out and he'd fly all around these Hills up here looking. Come back. Gas tank was almost just running on fumes and I just gave him a I said, well, I look you're not gonna make it one of these days. Don't fly that airplane when you're getting low on gas. Get back here. So he fortunately never did crash. But he was one of the students that I had. That was…
Shelley Muniz: How long were you managing out there?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, let's see. I finally quit in…How many years did I [unintelligible]. I'm trying to think what it was that I quit why I quit and went into the insurance business and oh, three or four years I did.
Shelley Muniz: Did you see a lot of changes in the time that you were there?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, I say the main change of course was the construction of the new strip.
Shelley Muniz: Mhm.
Raymon Dambacher: And the building of the hangers.
Shelley Muniz: Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: And a armory building that they had originated the building. It's now being used as a...I don't know. What do they use it for? It was originally built as an Armory but it's that big building its…it’s out there.
Shelley Muniz: So what did they do with that? What did they do with the Armory?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, it was originally built for a gathering of military associated as an Armory like I say that was there for conducting an operation of the Military.
Shelley Muniz: And did that happen?
Raymon Dambacher: Oh, yeah. It was used that way for a period of time. And then now today they use it is a place of well, I don't know. What is it being used for today?
Shelley Muniz: Right now they're using it for it's like a little grocery store kind of in..
Raymon Dambacher: Well. Yeah.
Shelley Muniz: Natural food.
Raymon Dambacher: Food sales or what have you. But regularly as I say it was built for the military occupation and…
Shelley Muniz: So did you see that did you see the… was that a big operation or just a little operation? Of the military coming here at the armory.
Raymon Dambacher: It’s a small very small group of…
Shelley Muniz: Okay
Raymon Dambacher: Individuals actually intended purpose it was established for. But yeah as I say it was one of the things that had taken place. And of course today all the new hangers everything that had been constructed are other changes that they made.
Shelley Muniz: What was the biggest plane that you saw flying into the Columbia Airport.
Raymon Dambacher: The biggest?
Shelley Muniz: Plane. The biggest plane that you saw…
Raymon Dambacher: Plane! Aircraft.
Shelley Muniz: Mhm.
Raymon Dambacher: Well, let's see. Four-Engine B-24. Did they ever land there? I'm trying to think back. That’s a blank. *Both Laughing* I cant…couldn't really tell you what the largest aircraft when I was there.
Shelley Muniz: What about different kinds of aircraft? What kind of aircraft did you see flying in and out of there?
Raymon Dambacher: Well, of course a lot of private aircraft. I have seen fighter aircraft that were used in World War Two they came…they landed there. But I'm trying to…the biggest aircraft. I don't I don't really recall but there have been military type aircraft.
Shelley Muniz: Did you work in the tower?
Raymon Dambacher: No.
Shelley Muniz: No.
Raymon Dambacher: No. In fact, actually the tower was one of the things it was built since I was there
Shelley Muniz: Okay.
Raymon Dambacher: and it again is not always in operation. I guess today at times it…there may not be anybody up there in the office, but it’s primarily to control the incoming aircraft. And in order to keep the strip open for the firefighting equipment. It's the have others make another circle while they may be landing or taking off but that's main function that the tower performs today.
Shelley Muniz: Did you see any crashes during your time there?
Raymon Dambacher: Unfortunately, there was one airplane that…that crashed. Why it was there laid out in the rocks at the south end of his trip. Fortunately nobody was hurt.
Shelley Muniz: Thats good.
Raymon Dambacher: If it's pretty fortunate. The I understand here. I understand they have the had an aircraft crashed reached recently. *Loud Clock Bell Tolls* Now, that's what tells me when I have something I'm supposed to be doing.
Shelley Muniz: *Laughing* Uh oh.
Raymon Dambacher: What time is it? Four o’clock okay.
Shelley Muniz: We're just about wrapped up here. If someone was listening to this recording 50 years from now, what's something that you would want them to know about Raymon Dambacher?
Raymon Dambacher: I’m a Nit-Picker. *Both laughing*
Shelley Muniz: That's what you want to be remembered as huh?
Raymon Dambacher: It can get you into trouble, but it can also fill in the gaps.
Shelley Muniz: That's a perfect way to end.
Raymon Dambacher: And uh, most folks don't pay attention enough to details and so they really don't comprehend what's going on. But I find it if you pay attention to them and put them in the right spot, you might make some changes in your life tfehat will be beneficial.
Shelley Muniz: That’s good advice that’s perfect.
Raymon Dambacher: We seem to get caught in a rut for some and keep duplicating the same mistake. Well, look in the mirror and see if that person that you see there is paying attention. *Laughing*
Shelley Muniz: That's perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you for letting us interview you today and I guess one question that we need to ask right here at the end again is do we have permission to use your interview on the oral history site and on the—
Raymon Dambacher: Like I say, I unfortunately didn't answer all your questions, but anything that I've got to say if I haven't said it properly or clearly that’s just ‘cause I'm too old to know any different. *Shelley Laughing* Other than that, there's no reason you can't share this with anyone you want.
Shelley Muniz: Thank you so much. Thank you. You've done wonderful
Raymon Dambacher: -- and I'm…I'm sorry I wasn't able to answer all the questions.
Shelley Muniz: You answered the majority of everything. You did great. Thank you so much. We appreciate it. Raymon Dambacher: It was it pleasure.
Shelley Muniz: Good. Thank you.
Raymon Dambacher: And don't make yourself stranger.
Shelley Muniz: Okay, we'll come out and visit again.
Raymon Dambacher: Come back and say hello once in a while just to keep me awake.
Shelley Muniz: Okay, we will thank you.
Shelley Muniz: We hope you enjoy this segment of : Speaking of the Motherlode. This is Shelley and Kris for your community radio. KAAD-LP 103.5 FM Sonora, California streaming online at KAAD-LP.org.
Kris Osward: Thanks for tuning in.
*Playing “California Here I Come” by Al Jolson:
That's why I can hardly wait
Open up, open up, open up that Golden Gate!
California, here I
California here I
California here I come!
*Music Fades out*
END TAPE
Interviewer(s): Shelley Muniz and Kris Osward
Interviewee: Raymon Dambacher
Name of Tape: History of Columbia College
When: September 22, 2016
Transcriber: Calista Fields-Richardson
Transcribed: May 9, 2020