Remembering Roscoe
A year ago today Roscoe left us. And I really miss him.
Much has happened in the world of mining since then, and you can bet that if our dear friend was still with us, he would have been in the middle of the latest battles we face - offering inspiration and advice as we fight Kennecott's push to mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Minnesota's Aitkin County, Polymet's proposal to build a huge open pit metallic sulfide mine between Hoyt Lakes and Babbitt, Minnesota, Aquila Resources' exploration and development activities near Stephenson, Michigan, and the horrendous proposal to mine the Pebble Deposit in southwest Alaska's Bristol Bay region. We've taken some real hits on each front over the past year, and that's why I thought, on this one-year anniversary of Roscoe's passing, I would pass along something I heard him say to his friends at Crandon in March 2001 after a particularly hard blow delivered by the courts:
"My friends, I came here today not only out of a sense of duty but because I wanted to spend this day with you. I have five children, and as each new one came on the scene, I wondered if my love could be stretched to cover one more. It was just no problem at all. And when I look at you today, I have no trouble stretching my love to take all of you into my heart. I have no better friends than you. I know you are sad and very disappointed ... But I want you to know that I first came to Crandon in 1976, when minerals were discovered near here and Exxon was ready to begin mining as soon as possible. Well, twenty-five years have gone by and they still are not mining. We just cannot stop what we are doing."I also heard Roscoe say a few years later: "Don't be depressed. Put on your fighting clothes. I will fight them till the day I die." As you know, the Crandon proposal was laid to rest - for good - in October 2003.
My dear friends, Roscoe may no longer be with us in person, but he will always be with us in Spirit. I hope his words inspire you to keep fighting, just like they do me.