On National Register--Sixteen years before the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) attempted to evict Walt Bickel from his minimg claim in 1988, and attempted to bulldoze and burn his cabin, Bickel Camp had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places as of December 5, 1972. Indeed, Bickel’ original Land Office claim was staked under mining laws before there was a Bureau of Land Management.Local newspapers reported that 80 old cabins were distroyed under the direction of Patricia E. McLean, the BLM Area manager. As sad footnote to all this, is that Gerbach Camp, orginally the home Della Gerbach, once known as The Queen of the El Pasos, was destroyed in this same manner in late 1999. This was also once the home of the amazing John Bullock, an old Bickel friend with an incredible life story that should be written for these pages. Gerbach Camp's colorful history was lost, and current area manager have much to explain. More than anything else, the purpose of this web site is to stop such foolish waste of area history.

McLean Era--Clifton E. Lawson is shown here confronting BLM Area Manager Patricia McLean. She led the charge to remove miners from their claims. Her short time at the Ridgecrest BLM office was a reign of terror for many old miners. Like Bickel, many were driven from places they had lived all their lives, only to see their homes razed and burned. Bickel knew many of these miners and was so upset over the possible distruction of his beloved camp, that he suffered a stroke and missed the meeting. Friends like Clifton and Larry O'Neil (who is now the camp's caretaker and is shown in photo's the background), reporters, and history buffs turned out to speak for Bickel.