User:OldWestHistorian/Biography
J. N. | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 23, 1965 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Years active | 1992-present |
| Known for | Old West studies |
| Height | 6'2 |
My name is J. N. I was born on May 23, 1965 in Layton, Utah. I don't remember much about life in Layton, due to the fact that I only lived there for a year. I spent almost all of my childhood in Kanosh, Utah. I remember my first day of school: I was so nervous I nearly threw up! But I managed to man up and survive elementary school. Then came middle school. I was never the tallest or the thickest in school (I'm pretty tall and thick now, though), so I got picked on a lot. After I graduated high school, I decided to live with my parents until I could find a college. By age twenty three I still hadn't found a college. However, tragedy struck a week after my twenty third birthday; my father died of a fatal heart attack, leaving me and my mother devastated. After my father's heart attack, my mother told me I had to leave home. So I did. I was definitely ready; I had quite a bit of money in the bank. You see, my father had a business that he let me help him run. It was a pretty good paying job, and I had been working at it since I was twelve. After my father's death, though, the company went out of business.
I moved to St. George, where I found Dixie State College of Utah. I went there for four years and graduated when I was twenty seven. St. George actually had a lot to offer me; initially, I was looking for a job as an archaeologist, as I had a passion for Native American artifacts. However, this didn't work out, and I moved to the nearby town of Leeds. I decided I would just wait for an opportunity to arise; and it did. Somebody told me about a ghost town called Silver Reef located west of Leeds, and I couldn't resist taking a look at it. My first visit to Silver Reef fascinated me, although the Wells Fargo Office museum was closed. I found myself coming back again and again until I realized that I had my chance. I was to become an historian; and that I did. I became an historian.
However, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my new found interest or where I wanted to use it. So I decided to just drift around and explore the possibilities. First, I went to California, where I taught history at a high school. After two years of that I went to Wyoming and decided to study some of Wyoming's Old West heritage. I made money by ranching. I stayed in Wyoming studying Old West history for five years, the longest I stayed in an area while 'drifting'. By then seven years had gone by since I graduated. I was now thirty four years old. After Wyoming I went back to Utah and continued ranching, and I explored the Spring Canyon coal camps in Carbon County. This went on for three years. After that I went to Montana for a year, but decided it was too cold for me and went down south to Arizona for three years. Then, I decided to go to Nevada, for two reasons: 1. To visit Ponderosa Ranch and 2. To visit Virginia City. I stayed in Nevada for a year. At the age of forty two I decided to stop drifting and settle down. So I moved back to Leeds and I now work in St. George.
After I joined wikipedia I went hiking with a buddy in Red Cliffs Recreation Area to find Indian artifacts. While hiking, I tripped and fell, breaking my leg. I went to the doctor, where they told me my leg was broken. They also told me that I had cancer. They said I had cancer because I lived in Kanosh, which was near a radioactive testing area. They said it is easily treatable. The surgery that followed went well, and currently I'm recovering. I won't be able to get on wikipedia much though; after I'm done recovering I'm going to be outdoors most of the time. I'll be able to edit a little here and there, but not as much as I had planned when I joined wikipedia.