Recovering-Lurker
I'm Back and on My Best Behavior
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- Aug 21, 2008
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This man lived outside of my hometown in his caves he built on the side of the mountain. Everyone in town, surrounding town and people who passed through, know who he was. Really cool guy.
I wish his brother would reconsider having his remains sent to Illinois. He loved his caves, and that's where he should rest in peace imo. I hope they keep the caves as they are, but the land will probably go to the BLM, and they won't leave them.
Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/04/23/1164899/death-of-caveman-ends-an-era-in.html#ixzz0lxcA61et
Videos:
http://vodpod.com/watch/1105098-yertpod19-diggin-dugout-dick-in-idaho
[video=youtube;KD53LVjXIHs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD53LVjXIHs[/video]
Known as the "Salmon River Caveman," Richard Zimmerman lived an essentially 19th century lifestyle, a digital-age anachronism who never owned a telephone or a television and lived almost entirely off the land.
"He was in his home at the caves at the end, and it was his wish to die there," said Connie Fitte, who lived across the river. "He was the epitome of the free spirit."
Few knew him by his given name. To friends and visitors to his jumble of cave-like homes scrabbled from a rocky shoulder of the Salmon River, he was Dugout Dick.
"I have everything here," he said. "I got lots of rocks and rubber tires. I have plenty of straw and fruit and vegetables, my dog and my cats and my guitars. I make wine to cook with. There's nothing I really need."
Some of his caves were 60 feet deep. Though he "never meant to build an apartment house," he earned spending money by renting them for $2 a night. Some renters spent one night; others chose the $25 monthly rate and stayed for months or years.
He lived in a cave by choice. Moved by a friend to a care center in Salmon at age 93 because he was in failing health, he walked out and hitchhiked home.
I wish his brother would reconsider having his remains sent to Illinois. He loved his caves, and that's where he should rest in peace imo. I hope they keep the caves as they are, but the land will probably go to the BLM, and they won't leave them.
Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/04/23/1164899/death-of-caveman-ends-an-era-in.html#ixzz0lxcA61et
Videos:
http://vodpod.com/watch/1105098-yertpod19-diggin-dugout-dick-in-idaho
[video=youtube;KD53LVjXIHs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD53LVjXIHs[/video]