NARRATOR: The ghost town of Bodie is a spooky sight indeed. Once a gold-mining destination, it’s hard to imagine that this was where California had its glory days of Wild West lawlessness. BRAD STURDIVANT: “I mentioned about maybe taking your life into your own hands, they boasted ‘a killing a day’ in Bodie. Why they would boast about that, I don’t know.” NARRATOR: Located on the American River, the little town of Coloma became an early favorite for gold seekers. It was here, in 1848, that James W. Marshall made the initial discovery that incited the gold rush. Coloma, however, didn’t have as much gold as prospectors had hoped, causing most of its population to soon leave for greener pastures. Nevertheless, the Californian craze for gold and instant riches had only just begun and has arguably lasted to this very day. LARRY BAUMGARDNER: “Obviously the gold was the first point and then it became into agriculture. Agriculture was the next big rush and it went through into the 20th century. And, yes, even today California, the high technology with computers, it’s still a gold rush. And anybody can just come and become a millionaire with very little effort.” NARRATOR: Behold: Silicon Valley. Located about 45 miles south of San Francisco, it boasts the world’s highest concentration of computer giants and possibly of per capita wealth. Jamie Zawinski is a dot-com millionaire. Once a prominent computer programmer, he was a key member of the small Netscape team responsible for developing the first web browser. Zawinski sold his shares of Netscape stock when prices were high, making a multimillion-dollar fortune. Today, he runs and owns the DNA lounge, a nightclub in San Francisco’s trendy SoMa district. He was among those to leave Silicon Valley and never turn back. JAMIE ZAWINSKI: “Most people, it screws up. They’re really successful because they’re gods, because anything they touch turns to gold. They start believing that.” NARRATOR: Jamie Zawinski was one of the internet’s early pioneers. Back then, he used to put in 100-hour weeks. In hindsight, he considers himself one of the lucky ones. ZAWINSKI: “If I hadn’t won the start up lottery then I would’ve spent a whole lot of years at the office with nothing to show for it and that would’ve been really sad. So that’s what I was worried about. I was just whining about that possibility.” NARRATOR: We return to the prospecting town of Bodie. Once one of California’s largest cities, luring those with the Midas touch and those desperate to acquire it – either by panning for gold or at the casino with help from lady luck. STURDIVANT: “We’re about to enter this family-owned bar, one of the last saloons, probably, to be open in Bodie. A lot of people didn’t have places to even sleep and they would spend their time in the saloons sleeping in chairs. And you can’t even hear it. It still runs smooth.” NARRATOR: Ironically, the boom town vanished even faster than it sprouted up. Once again, greed was to play a key role, this time claiming the town in a fire. STURDIVANT: “And as the story goes, he was attending a birthday party up in the east end of town and they served green jello instead of ice cream and that upset him very much. The next thing they knew he was down here behind the Sawdust corner saloon starting a mattress on fire which burned Bodie down.”
NARRATOR: Today nothing remains of Bodie but a few lone buildings. They are an eerie reminder of the great Californian Gold Rush and of fleeting wealth.
