Interview with Michael Blair, October 15, 2012

Interview Summary

Michael "Digger" Blair was friendly and anxious to to tell his story about exploring for silver, gold, and Civil War relics in northeastern Kentucky. The conversation was preoccupied with his looking for the lost Jonathan Swift Silver Mines, which he claimed to have located but wouldn't reveal the location to the interviewer or anyone else. He claimed to be a self-trained explorer of rocks and minerals, but not a geologist as he had bad experiences with geologists. He said he had used at least five metal detectors in his explorations and had found many gold, silver, and Civil War coins and relics. The interviewer was unsuccessful in moving the conversation to other topics such as family, marriage (he had five wives), school, the Navy, or his other interests. He indicated that he had been a loner all his life and had graduated from high school but had been 'kicked out' of Eastern Kentucky University and the Navy. He said he loved classical music but one of his wives had destroyed all of his LP albums. He said the most enjoyable time in his life was when he "got rid of all the wives and could live alone."

Interview Keyword

Lost Jonathan Swift Silver Mines Rock and mineral explorers Self-trained geologists Classical music Navy John Latham Byron Crawford Aspergers Syndrome

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Interview Usage

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