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Show Sun Advocate Lifestyle from rags to riches and back again Charlie Steen This is the fifth in a series of articles on the history of the uranium industry in Utah. By LAVNE Staff writer MILLER The most famous name to come out of the uranium craze in Utah is Charlie Steen. Steens story reads like a fairy-boo- k tale of a man going from rags to riches and back to rags again. Steen began his uranium prospecting career when he was fired from his job as a field geologist for an oil company after having a feud with company bosses. He says he mapped an anticline and its position was misplaced on the maps. They fired me for 6a Tuesday, January 14, 1992 insubordination, he explained. Steen began prospecting for gold, but he quickly changed the object of his search when he read about people making it big in uranium in Utah. I came to Utah and began looking for uranium in the Yellow Cat area near Cisco, he said, lie filed 12 claims in the now famous Big Indian area, then he abandoned his search and moved to Tuscon, Ariz. After spending some time in Arizona, he went back to Cisco and moved into a small tarpaper shack. While he and his family were living in the shack without heat or running water, Charlie struck it rich. After I made the discovery, I filed claims all around it. The AEC had a habit of withdrawing areas around rich deposits, and I didnt want them to do that with this, he said. It took him two months, but Steen filed claims for his most trusted friends and relatives in a complete circle encompassing the strike. Rumors and stories swirl around the time he made the rich discovery and christened it the Mi Vida Mine. lie gathered as much money as he could to pay for the drilling rig that dug through the deposit. Everyone, including the drill-ri- g operator, tried to tell him he would not find uranium in the spot he was convinced hid pay dirt. Even now, years later, the experts say the strike was nothing more than luck. Soon the money began rolling in. Over a billion dollars came out ofthe Big Indian section in nine or 10 years, he said matter of factly. Charlie nd wealth. enjoyed his new-fo- u But he let others enjoy it with him. The parties he threw are legendary. One local man who worked in Moab at the time said Charlie was in the habit of throwing parties for the entire town. Charlie would put on a huge barbcque and everyone in town would show up. Charlie enjoyed playing the role of little big guy. He liked cars, airplanes, good food, fine wines, and above all he seemed to enjoy entertaining. While Charlie was throwing parties, Moab residents became accustomed to seeing Hollywood celebrities, famous politibands and cians arriving at the Steen big-nam- e pleted, his luck began to change and his new ventures began to fail. The final straw was a $2.3 million bill sent to him by the IRS. Charlie now lives in ColorCharlie was even elected to ado. He says his health is failthe Utah State Legislature. ing a little, but he still enterThe primary focus of his tains the hope of hitting it big tenure was to introduce again. His success story is now told to Utah. He promised if he lost the and retold. Those who tell it do battle, he would move out of so with a smile because it is the state. When he lost, he the familiar tale of the boy kept his promise and built a who made good. It is the rags huge, expensive home near to riches story we all believe in a little bit. Charlies story is Reno, Nev. Charlie spent his money a good one because he didnt with the same determination forget those who remembered he showed in developing the him when he was down on his Mi Vida Mine. Just about the luck, searching for the rainbow. time his new home was com home. liquor-by-the-dri- idr A view of the Mi Vida Mine's headframe and mining shacks This load of uranium represented $1 million worth of ore to come out of the Mi Vida Mine. Pictured are an unidentified miner; Charlies son, Mark; Charlie; and his mother, Rose Shumaker. Photos by Layne Miller I l f |