Chuqui in the fifties was a wonderful place to work and live. A fine management team (Brinckerhoffs, Wraiths, Herrings, Rudolphs, Bodega Mac, Lagergren and others) ran a great ship. The austere scenery with Ice Cream Cones on the eastern border, the Loa where the fishing, started by Bill Wraith, provided exciting interludes, the clear blue skies, and the lonesome pampa with ever-changing colors morn to nite was there for the exploring. The memories are wonderful, and when one gets old they are the fuel for living.

Since Judy left me I have been writing--An autobiography, a novel, and the last, "Fishing Memories," which has a chapter on the earliest days of trout fishing on the Loa. After one year the largest fish caught on opening day weighed in at 5 pounds. When I left in l955 the largest was 12 pounds!!. I wonder if there are any left-- the miners learned that DuPont bait (powder) worked real well!!

One of your forwarded letters contained comments about the tank at the pass northeast of the mine area. I have a wonderful story about that pass. One Easter week in the early fifties several of us decided to watch the Easter dawn from the pass as the sun rose in the east over the high cordillera. We corralled a small organ and about thirty carloads of folks drove up about four AM. and parked. We began to sing Christian songs. Gradually the eastern sky began to lighten and the heavens became slightly colored, fading to dark behind us to the west. And then the heavens gradually brightened, the colors intensified and then suddenly the top rim of the sun broached the far peaks and smiled down on us. That was a wonderfully religious moment and we all sang Ave Maria and watched the colors gradually change in the sky and the pampa as we worshipped the risen Christ. It was a few moments that will forever be with me as I contemplate 'here' and 'there' and what part I and we play in the cosmic drama.

My wife (who passed away in l992), Pard and Gary and I lived in many places during my geological career, but I think of the Chuqui years as the happiest times of our lives. I cherish the memories of old friends, most of them gone to prospect or mine in another place! Of the many places I lived and worked and my family lived I think that the years in Chuqui were the most enjoyable and rewarding. Wish I could have 'em back!!

I'd love to hear from any who remember The Watermans. Muchas felicidades.

Glenn Waterman