Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. For us, it increases the value of our turquoise.. I grew up thinking, I want to be a little bit different. government sources. Donna runs a jewelry business and owns claims in the Royston mining district alongside Danny and Tommy. And that was the match that married up the Ottesons with INSP., They stand for what we stand for, Tony Otteson said. The Otteson family now controls a lot of the mines/claims within the Royston District and beyond. Today we have the benefit of cameras. They wanted us to move over and to do some fake mining closer to town, just for logistics, so its easy for them to drive out and film. Furthermore, being a reality TV star, he is paid an estimated $25,000 per episode. Tony Otteson was around 5 years old at the time. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Its what we do., Its in our blood, man, Trenton says. Roughly, how big is the average size of turquoise? Don't miss the big stories. One of the main early storylines of Turquoise Fever sees the family rallying around Donna, attempting to help relaunch her jewelry business after Deans death. He recalls a particularly grueling mining expedition during which the heat became suffocating. We grade according to hardness first, then color. Email. Nobody knows how we get turquoise out. . See We have a saying in my family, Tony says. Miller chuckles at the thought of the Ottesons being anything other than themselves. The company was valued at $1.1 million by the investors. Many thousands of people from outside Tonopah knew Dean as the gregarious, funny man that for many years led tours of his mines. Thats what lifes supposed to be like. . June 14, 2022; utpal parrikar education . to see possibly who they are and full class lists found from school records and public sources. This is dangerous.. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. We respect your privacy. How much Turquoise do you have to find just to break even? The water gradually accumulates color and hardens. Why do they do it, then? All content on this website is the property of Lynn Harrisberger,and is protected under U.S. and International intellectual property and copyright laws. Tony Otteson described a typical work day at a mine this way: You go to work when you wake up because there is nothing else to do. You dont feel good inside. Highest quality guaranteed! Some people I have spoken with over the years seem to think that you can just go out there and mine turquoise. We are also requiredto put up reclamation bonds for all ground disturbances. Tristans older brother, Lane, is passionate about the family business. StarringEmily Otteson Tony Otteson Jon Armond Donna Otteson JaKell Otteson Season 1 S01:E101 - White Buffalo "For many, many years, 90 percent of the turquoise market in the U.S. market came from Arizona," explains Donna Otteson, the family matriarch, who runs her own jewelry business. Imagine youre out in the middle of the vast open range of central Nevada, prospecting, crawling up a hillside through the sagebrush, studying every inch of ground, looking for a sign that this is soil that might contain chunks of turquoise, that might even contain pieces of turquoise that are 10 times more valuable than gold. I remember sitting down as a family and sifting weevils out of wheat flour, because for a couple of months anyway, our major food supply was a sack of wheat flour that the church had donated to us, Tony recollects. No one thing stands out other than the pack rats running over me in the sleeping bag at the mines. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Sandra and Kevin Otterson are high school sweethearts who married in the middle 1980s. But word quickly spread to other production companies. Other family members and associates include Patricia Otterson, Gavin Otteson, Garrett Otteson, Joanna Robinson and Donna Otteson. Most of the mines are 7,000 feet above sea level, and in some instances, like the Blue Moon mine, its all black dirt and black rock simmering beneath the sun. He continues to keep the tradition alive by teaching his sons, Lane and Tristan, everything his father taught him about mining. (INSP), Turquoise mining is a dangerous, demanding endeavor where bloody knuckles and bruises are an every day occurrence. But first, theres that whole thing of getting the stuff out of the ground. They actually called him The New Manassa Mauler when we were back East because he actually was born in the same town as Jack Dempsey. 2. Theyre modern-day cowboys. "It was. So I can work four weeks in a row as hard as we can, and if were not in great turquoise, or we have the wrong turquoise that the buyers dont want at that time, were not getting a paycheck, until maybe after another three or four weeks of just straight mining hard again. #54 Donna Karan on the 2022 America's Self-Made Women - Donna Karan built her fortune from trademark deals and selling her namesake brand to LVMH in 2000. . Turquoise from the Ottesons Montezuma mine, for instance, is known for its dark blue-green color and golden-brown matrix; the Widowmakers spoils tend to be a deep shade of blue. He remembers the blood on their hands, the dirt on their clothes, the look in their eyes: fatigue mingled with resolve, a hunger for food and fortune alike. Because turquoise is far more valuable than you might think, with the best of the best commanding $1,000 a carat. Youve got to figure out how to drill that, shoot it and understand the shock wave from the dynamite, he continues. INSP DONNA OTTESON. Thats the key. #obturqbuy for available stones! . Thanks for the memories Dean, but truly thanks for defining for all of us what it means to be a great man, a great friend, a great trailblazer the Clines added. Friendly reminder: We are *online only*. See the story unfold on Turquoise Fever, premiering August 14th at 9:00pm ET on INSP. A deep thinker, Tristan more than most family members, is interested in the history of turquoise and the science behind its formation. That disappointment, though, would soon shift directions as swiftly as the desert winds. Theyre not actors, he says. Even more importantly to me, they werent just interested in watching a show about Tom Jones and Mark Jones going out in the mountains and blowing up rocks. Sandra and Kevin Otterson are high school sweethearts who married in the middle 1980s. With the proceeds, the Ottesons reinvested in their business, going from owning a single backhoe purchased for $4,000 and having an engine that didnt work at the time, to multiple excavators, a dozer and more, allowing them to do heavier, more lucrative mining. And in a roundabout way, he is. Fire In The Hole! Photo Courtesy of INSP. We know that Craig is married at this point. Sometimes there can be disputes over claims and who has the right to be digging where. Jason Otteson is a member of Executives. And thats the real story in what we do., Donna Otteson said that in some ways, Were not all that different from the large gold mines, were just on a much smaller scale. It wasnt an easy life. And with the Ottesons, we are way more attached to the outernet. Think of trying to read a putting green before taking your shot, of the difficulty of discerning just what path the ball might travel and how any little detail unaccounted for could alter that path. The Tonopah High School wrestling team participated in the annual Vaquero Classic wrestling tournament held at Fernley High School over the weekend. Just north of Las Vegas arealfortune awaits. Luma Soda comes in four flavors, cola, cherry cola, lemon-lime, and blood orange. Craig also answers to Craig A Otteson, and perhaps a couple of other names. Despite Sandras eyes being blacked out and due to her 36DD natural breast, the pictures quickly became extremely popular. Yes, we mine year-round, we battle excessive heat of more than 90 degrees in the summer,extreme freezing cold in the winter, and lots of wind. "For many, many years, 90 percent of the turquoise market in the U.S. market came from Arizona," explains Donna Otteson, the family matriarch, who runs her own jewelry business. When they had mined a big enough load of Turquoise, his partner (who had the only vehicle amongst them) offered to take the Turquoise to the Gallup/Albuquerque areas to sell it and split the proceeds. Otteson, 62, died as the result of cancer, said his wife of 42 years, Donna, hotel manager at the Mizpah Hotel. About. Your IP: A huge theme for them is the American family life that I think is getting lost nowadays to crazy city life and electronics and this and that, the internet. Lynn Otteson catching a ride into the mine in an excavator. Whats the most frustrating thing about mining turquoise? Jason Otteson net worth is $15 Million Jason Otteson Wiki Biography Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American male professional tennis player. (INSP), Talk about grueling conditions, Tony Otteson once mined in 130-degree temperatures. Donna, the family matriarch, acts as the glue that holds the Otteson clan together. The Beatty High School boys basketball team is hanging on for dear life to the fourth and final playoff spot in the 1A Central League as the regular season comes to a close this week. Long before there were reality-TV shows, there were hard times upon still harder times. 541-476-0214. Donna Douglas was a very talented icon who let her gifts shine in film, television, music, ministry, and writing. ReddIt. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Lee F. Hand a well-known Nevada Turquoise Miner discovered Royston Turquoise in 1902 and controlled over 30 claims in the Royston District of Nevada originally consisting of four old Turquoise Claims: Bunker Hill, Easter Blue (8-10 miles to the north), Oscar Wehrend and Royal Blue. If youre in there and youve spent 25,000 bucks trying to open this spot up to get to this turquoise, and the first piece rolls out and you lick it and your tongue sticks, thats a bad sign. Mountain Falls neighbors say they have a dirty problem, Pahrump man remains at-large after 3-hour standoff with SWAT team, 69-year-old Pahrump man IDd in fatal shooting, P3 Health to close Calvada clinics amid lawsuit from former local operators, $1M secured for fairgrounds community center, By Danny Smyth Times-Bonanza & Goldfield News, By Robin Hebrock Times-Bonanza Goldfield News, By Robin Hebrock Times-Bonanza & Goldfield News, By Brett Clarkson Special to the Pahrump Valley Times. Currently, Craig lives in McKinney, TX. (INSP). In March, while Turquoise Fever was being filmed, two of Tonys brothers-in-law just narrowly missed a semi and crashed head-on into a sports car. below. DONNA OTTESON OBITUARY Age 87 , of Woodbury Loving Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Sister & Friend Preceded in death by her husband Wayne and parents, George & Feronia Mattix. We know that Craig is married at this point. The Tonopah High School athletes are preparing for the spring sports seasons to kick off next week. For turquoise, we dont have a standard price like gold does, so our price depends on the hardness, the color, the size - there are so many variables to pricing out the turquoise., Thats a large reason why we own so many different mines, Tony Otteson said. A second-generation miner who learned the ropes from his late father, Lynn Otteson. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Donna Otteson to pay them a last tribute. The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation traces a plume of hydrocarbons to a former maintenance facility, and is asking the Legislature for money to build a new school in another location. They didnt leave the mines until they looked defeated; they could barely walk, he says. Donna Otteson Obituary With heavy hearts, we announce the death of Donna Otteson (Eugene, Oregon), who passed away on October 5, 2019 at the age of 87. Tony Otteson said that sometimes they find pieces of turquoise that are worth more than $100 per carat. Candelaria Turquoise. businesses, and does affect the Reputation Score. A lot of family members were not happy that I turned that down, he recalls. It does. You work until you just physically cant anymore, you can barely stand up, which is almost every day..