By Steve Hathcock
I was maybe six years old when I had my first real experience as a treasure hunter. While renovating our house, my dad discovered a secret room under a staircase. Inside the space, which was hardly bigger than a small closet, my parents found hundreds of whisky bottles, old newspapers dating back to the beginning of our hometown and a neat stack of silver dollars all dated prior to 1922. Each of us kids received one of the shiny orbs as our “share” of the found treasure. My folks sold the whisky bottles to an antique dealer for several hundred dollars. While the newspapers were a bit harder to dispose of the whole lot, they eventually went to a collector in La Crosse Wisconsin.
The incident was the spark that began my lifelong journey of treasure hunting that continues to this day. In this column, I’d like to share some of the “behind the wall” stories that I have collected over the years.
The Right Combination
Richard Charland, who owned and operated Barney’s Casino in Lake Tahoe, was killed Aug. 27, 1968, when his car blew up as he backed out of his driveway.
Now some observers might opine that casino owners who meet their demise as victims of car bombs, are probably connected to organized crime. However, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office found no evidence of a “gangland-type assassination,” according to a 1968 Tribune article. Fast-forward to Aug. 2011, Lake Tahoe.
Workers demolishing a wall during a remodeling project at the former Bill’s Casino building in Lake Tahoe found a four-foot tall black safe hidden under a staircase that had been completely sealed off with sheetrock.
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