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About
Malachite - A Short Biography
My
name is Michael Schaubs. I
grew up in
Wisconsin
, and other than
brief periods, I’ve been a resident of
Colorado
since 1978.
I
do not have a degree or any formal training in history.
I attended the
University
of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh
from 1971-74 and
Oregon
State University from 1974-1978 where I earned degrees in Geology and
Economic Geology respectively. I
was employed in the private sector from 1978 through 1998 in gold
exploration and environmental remediation During this period I spent
time working in just about every state between Missouri and Alaska.
Since 1998 I’ve been a groundwater geologist with the State of
Colorado-Division of Water Resources.
I’ve
had an interest in Native American culture and the fur trade since I was a
child when I would walk corn rows in the
Wisconsin
community I grew
up in, picking up projectile points, pot shards, trade beads and
gunflints. When I entered
college I was undecided as to whether I would pursue a course of study in
geology or archeology. It
turned out my Geology 101 Prof was captivating and my Anthropology 101
Prof was mind-numbing. So
naturally, I became a geologist.
However, I’ve always maintained that interest in the fur trade.
I gave my first first-person mountain man presentation in 2003.
At that time my youngest son was in 8th grade and we
were
attending his “Back to School” introduction.
All his teachers got up and gave a short summary of the material
they would be covering. His
history teacher did likewise, including that they would have a unit
covering mountain men and the Western Expansion.
Afterwards I went up and volunteered, “I
can supplement your mountain man unit…..”
She accepted and I loved it! Since
then I’ve given my “Mountain Man” program to more than 5,000
students, Boy Scouts and members of community organizations.
This
web site, “Malachite’s Big Hole” was turned on in 2005.
The purpose of the website was to be a source of additional
information for any students interested in further pursuing the topic, and
for myself as a source to review from.
Since then, documenting
the Mountain Men and life in the early 1800's has become an obsession in
itself. Presently
the “Big Hole” averages more than 7,000 visitors and 30,000 page views
per month.
I
consider this website a work in progress and am always trying to improve
it and I am always interested in who uses the “Big Hole” and for what
purposes. If you have managed
to stay with me this far, I have a couple of questions for you.
You obviously have some interest in history or you wouldn’t have
found the site, but specifically, what kind of information were you
looking for here and did you find it? If there was something that I
could change or add to the site that would improve your experience what
might that be? I would appreciate and value your input. You can send
me email here.
Thank
you.
Michael
Schaubs
aka
Malachite
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