The Babe from Clarion

LETA

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Truman Bethurum was just a typical man of his time. Born in 1898, the California native found himself in dire economic and marital straits, a condition that would force him to move to Nevada after divorcing his first wife and having to support his second. Desperate to make ends meet, he managed to land a job in the highway construction business under the harsh climate of the Western state.

Although elated of having some means to keep a roof over his head, he was compelled by the circumstances to leave his home and spouse behind in California. Mr. Truman, being of a somewhat introspective nature, pondered whether destiny had relegated him to an ordinary life of hard labor, loneliness, and overall discontentment. However, unbeknown to him, strange cosmic forces had plans in the works for him.

On a fateful evening in 1952, after a long day or work, Truman decided to climb Mormon Mesa, an 1893-feet elevation in Nevada’s Clark County. This sudden urge was motivated by his wife's passion for collecting seashells. As the story goes, Truman thought he would collect some to take back home to California on his next visit. It is at this point that the story takes a turn for the surreal. Continue reading below...