Gold Rush

Parker: MY GRANDPA, HE'S AN AMAZING MAN.

HE'S BEEN SUCH A HUGE INSPIRATION TO ME.

John: WELL, THE GREATEST THING THAT I FEEL I'VE DONE

IS INSTILL IN MY GRANDSON, "YOU GOTTA TRY.

DON'T EVER GIVE UP."

Parker: WHERE I AM NOW, I OWE 100% OF IT TO MY GRANDPA.

John: PARKER HAS BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL.

I'M PROUD OF HIM.

Parker: SPENDING TIME UP AT THE MINE WITH MY GRANDPA,

THAT'S PROBABLY THE GREATEST GIFT THAT HE'S EVER GIVEN ME.

AND I ALWAYS WANTED TO FOLLOW IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.

I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT SOMEDAY I CAN BE HALF THE MAN HE IS.

HEY, GRANDPA.

HELLO! PARKER!

OOH!

GIVE ME A HUG. OH!

OH!

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Narrator: FOR TWO DECADES,

JOHN SCHNABEL HAS BEEN AN INSPIRATION

TO HIS GRANDSON, BOTH AS A MAN AND AS A GOLD MINER.

NOW, THE 94-YEAR-OLD MINING LEGEND HAS TRAVELED 600 MILES

TO VISIT HIS GRANDSON AT HIS YUKON CLAIM.

John: THERE'S A LOT OF PLEASANT THINGS IN LIFE

I LIKE TO STILL DO, AND ONE OF 'EM

IS TO COME AND SEE HOW YOU'RE DOING.

THANK YOU.

I GET THE SAME FEELING.

WHY DON'T I GO TAKE YOU ON A TOUR OF THE PLACE?

I'D APPRECIATE THAT.

SO HERE'S OUR OPERATION.

OH!

WOW!

THAT IS AN IMPRESSIVE AREA.

GOD, THIS IS JUST UNBELIEVABLE.

WELL, YOU WEREN'T SCREWING AROUND TOO MUCH

WHEN YOU WERE 20, WERE YOU?

OH, NO. I WAS WORKING LIKE AN IDIOT LIKE YOU,

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY.

YOU GONNA GET BIG, YOU GOTTA THINK BIG.

SO, WHEN I COME HERE AND SEE THIS, IT'S VERY UPLIFTING,

AND I FEEL YOU ARE IN THE --

IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS MY ANCESTORS AND MYSELF.

PARKER JUST TURNED 20, AND THAT IS INTERESTING

BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT THE SAME AGE AS JOHN WAS

WHEN HE LEFT HIS HOME AND MOVED TO ALASKA.

TO TAKE OFF AND HEAD TO THE YUKON

WAS NO DIFFERENT THAN JOHN SCHNABEL GOING TO ALASKA.

YOU LOOK AT THAT SIMILARITY AND THAT VISION THAT THEY BOTH HAD,

AND YOU THINK, "THESE TWO PEAS IN A POD."

Nancy: THE RESEMBLANCE, PHYSICALLY,

BETWEEN JOHN AND PARKER IS SHOCKING EVEN TO ME.

WHEN I SEE PICTURES OF THE TWO OF THEM, IT IS LIKE,

"WOW, THAT IS, LIKE, A MINI-ME."

I THINK PARKER AND JOHN BOTH HAVE ALWAYS LIKED

THAT KIND OF SIMILARITY THING.

I THINK THAT THEY HAVE GOTTEN A BIG CHUCKLE OUT OF THAT.

YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ALIKE IN A LOT OF WAYS.

YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ALIKE IN A LOT OF WAYS.

I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE BEEN AROUND

SOMETHING LIKE THIS WHEN I WAS YOUNGER.

YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE ASK ME WHY WE WENT SO BIG THIS YEAR.

OH, WELL, BECAUSE YOU SAID YOU LIKE THE CHALLENGE.

WELL, YEAH, I MEAN, THAT'S PART OF IT,

BUT I THINK A LOT OF IT IS THAT THAT'S BEEN RUNNING

IN THE FAMILY FOR A LONG TIME, TOO.

YES.

Narrator: BORN IN 1920,

JOHN GREW UP THE SON OF A KANSAS WHEAT FARMER.

I WAS, UH, RAISED IN A RATHER POVERTY-STRICKEN ATMOSPHERE.

OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE WAS TO MAKE ENOUGH MONEY

TO BUY A LOAF OF BREAD AND A -- A PIECE OF CHEESE.

Narrator: BY THE TIME JOHN WAS A TEENAGER,

THE UNITED STATES WAS IN THE MIDST OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION,

AND HIS FAMILY HAD LOST THE FARM.

John: MY FATHER HAD GONE TO ALASKA.

AND SO I PACKED UP EVERYTHING I HAD, AND, UH,

I CAME TO HAINES, ALASKA, ON A STEAM SHIP.

ON MARCH THE 10th, 1939.

I'M 19 YEARS OLD, HUSKY, AND WORKED HARD.

I WAS FREE, AND I WAS IN A PLACE

WHERE I HAD A CHANCE TO BE A SUCCESS.

SO, PARKER, I THINK IT'S A WONDERFUL THING YOU'RE DOING.

THERE'S NOT MANY TEENAGERS TAKE ON SOMETHING OF THIS MAGNITUDE.

THANKS, GRANDPA.

Narrator: BY BUILDING ON THE SKILLS HE LEARNED AS A CHILD

ON HIS GRANDPA'S GOLD MINE,

PARKER MINED ALMOST $1.5 MILLION IN GOLD LAST SEASON.

WE'RE A LONG WAYS FROM A COUPLE YEARS AGO AT BIG NUGGET, HUH?

OH, GOD, YES.

I CONGRATULATE YOU.

John: I ACTUALLY BOUGHT BIG NUGGET MINE

AS A DESTINATION TO TAKE MY CHILDREN IN THE SUMMERTIME

WHERE THEY COULD DIG THE GRAVELS,

FIND A LITTLE GOLD.

ROGER DIDN'T RESPOND TO IT, BUT MY GRANDSONS DID.

Nancy: PARKER WANTED TO GO TO THE MINE

AND WASN'T POTTY TRAINED, AND JOHN SAID,

"WHEN YOU'RE OUT OF DIAPERS, YOU CAN COME TO THE MINE." SO...

THIS YES.

YEAH.

I DON'T REMEMBER IT.

YOU DON'T REMEMBER IT AT ALL? NOT ONE BIT.

PARKER GOT ORGANIZED AND, UM, FIGURED OUT

HOW TO GET RID OF THE DIAPERS AND GOT TO GO TO THE MINE.

IT WAS, YOU KNOW, THE NO-MOM ZONE.

THERE WERE NO RULES. THERE WAS NO RESTRICTIONS.

SO WE GO UP THERE, AND THERE'S NOBODY THERE BUT US.

AND SO WE JUST HAD A -- HAD A HECK OF A GOOD TIME.

Nancy: IT WAS LIKE HIS PLAYGROUND.

AND THEN, THE INTEREST IN THE MINING JUST EVOLVED.

YOU KNOW, HE WAS -- HE WAS UP THERE HAVING A GREAT TIME

AND DOING A LITTLE PANNING, AND HE WAS UP THERE

HAVING A GREAT TIME AND DOING A LITTLE MINING.

John: HE'D FIND A GOOD SPOT WHERE THE GOLD WAS ACCUMULATING,

AND I SAID TO HIM, "WHATEVER ENDS UP HERE IS YOURS."

FIRST THING I KNOW, HE'S GETTING GOLD.

SO, FROM THEN ON, HE SPENT ALL HIS YOUTH AND EVERY SUMMER

AT BIG NUGGET MINE.

I NORMALLY DO ABOUT 20 TO 30 OF THESE EACH WAY.

GET KIND OF LIMBERED UP A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW?

YOU WANT A COUPLE EGGS, PARKER?

YOU'RE GONNA HAVE CEREAL OR WHAT?

GOTCHA!

IT LOOKS LIKE A PERSON, DOESN'T IT?

GET THAT LIGHT OUT OF MY FACE.

MORNING, PARKER.

Nancy: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS FUN FOR PARKER

UP AT BIG NUGGET ALL THOSE YEARS WAS HANGING OUT

WITH -- WITH GRANDPA.

AND SO, AS HE GOT OLDER, AND HE STARTED

SPENDING MORE TIME KINDA HANGING WITH JOHN,

I REALIZED HOW CONNECTED THEY WERE,

THAT THAT BOND WAS BIGGER THAN I EVEN SAW.

Narrator: PARKER QUICKLY TOOK TO THE BUSINESS OF GOLD MINING.

THAT'S ABOUT A...

I WOULD JUDGE CLOSE TO A HALF AN OUNCE.

A LITTLE OVER, I BET.

275 GRAINS.

THAT'S, UH... I WAS RIGHT.

PRETTY CLOSE. YEAH.

YOU KNOW, THAT FIRST SEASON, I HAD A LOT OF GOOD TIMES

WITH MY GRANDPA.

HE HAD A GREAT TIME. PARKER HAS TAKEN

WHAT STARTED OUT AS A REALLY FUN THING TO DO

IN THE SUMMER, WORK ON EQUIPMENT,

HANG OUT WITH YOUR GRANDPA,

NOT HAVE YOUR MOM TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO.

UM, I MEAN, I THINK HE WAS LEARNING A LOT

WITHOUT REALLY KNOWING IT.

Narrator: JOHN ALLOWED THE TEENAGER TO DEVELOP

HIS OPERATING SKILLS ON OLD EQUIPMENT.

WOO!

I THINK PARKER IS A UNBELIEVABLE PLEASURE TO WATCH.

Narrator: HE WAS GIVEN MORE AND MORE FREEDOM.

THEN, WHEN PARKER WAS JUST 16 YEARS OLD,

JOHN HANDED OVER THE MINE TO HIS GRANDSON.

I'VE HAD 25 VERY GOOD, PRODUCTIVE YEARS AT THE MINE.

I HAVE FAITH IN YOUR MANAGEMENT THAT IT WILL BE SUCCESSFUL.

THANKS. SHAKE.

IT'S A BIG DAY FOR ME.

I MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT

FOR MY GRANDPA TO PUT THIS MUCH FAITH IN ME.

IT'S QUITE AN HONOR BECAUSE HE'S AN AMAZING MAN.

REALLY, WELL, HE IS A HERO, BUT THAT'S WHAT HE'S ALWAYS BEEN.

Nancy: I THINK PARKER PROBABLY ALWAYS HAD IT IN HIS HEART

THAT HE WANTED TO MAKE DECISIONS,

AND I THINK JOHN RECOGNIZED THAT AND, YOU KNOW,

GAVE HIM THAT OPPORTUNITY.

I THINK THAT'S WHAT JOHN'S ABOUT, YOU KNOW,

LOOKING FOR THAT, UM, SPARK IN HIS KIDS AND GRANDKIDS,

AND TRYING TO HELP FULFILL THAT.

IT'LL BE MY CLAIM TO FAME.

Roger: PARKER STARTED TO TAKE OVER THE BIG NUGGET.

IF ANYTHING, HE HAD THE DRIVE AND THE AMBITION AND THE DESIRE,

AND THAT COVERED A LOT OF INDISCRETIONS, YOU MIGHT SAY,

AS FAR AS LACK OF EXPERIENCE.

Parker: WHEN I FIRST TOOK OVER BIG NUGGET,

IT WAS EYE OPENING, YOU KNOW.

I MEAN, TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST, I THINK THAT I WAS TOO YOUNG.

A-HA-HA! THERE WE GO.

BOY, MADE ME LEARN FAST.

I'M ROCKIN'!

OOPS.

THAT'S NOT GOOD.

Narrator: FOR 12 YEARS,

JOHN SCHNABEL TAUGHT HIS GRANDSON HOW TO MINE FOR GOLD.

NOW, HE'S COME NORTH TO SEE HOW PARKER'S DOING

IN HIS SECOND SEASON MINING THE LEGENDARY KLONDIKE.

John: WHAT YOU'VE GOT IS PRETTY CLASSY STUFF.

I HAVE TO ADMIRE YOUR OPERATION.

IT LOOKS LIKE YOU GOT IT DOWN PRETTY GOOD.

THANKS, GRANDPA.

I CAN REMEMBER, WAY BACK WHEN, YOU FINALLY TOOK OVER THE MINE.

WHY, THE FIRST THING YOU --

YOU SAID, "GRANDPA,

"YOU ONLY RUN 200 TONS A DAY.

I GOTTA HAVE 600."

Narrator: WHEN PARKER STARTED RUNNING BIG NUGGET,

JOHN WOULD KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE ON HIM, BUT NO MATTER WHAT,