Dad's Assaying Experiments

I've been looking over some of Daddy's assaying experiments recently. He used to find precious metals in the well water from their home at 2904-1/2 North Spruce; from a couple of wells at Kerrin and Dave's place outside of Vale, among others. His notes are a bit cryptic at times, but remarkably complete all the same. He lists the ingredients used in the assay, as well as the method employed to "get there."

In one, he exposes a daily practice of his more than he may have intended. Dad joined the LDS Church in 1977, but I don't think he ever really gave up his daily dose of coffee. I recall seeing empty coffee cups from the many restaurants in LaGrande well after his baptism, and it always made me giggle. A minor indulgence by a Major Dude! Anyway, in this instance, using the typical scrap of paper, he lists the recipe, the method, etc., including an unusually indifferent and inaccurate measurement of some d-tartaric acid: a McDonald's stirrer! From my memory I saw those empty coffee cups for the first time in 16 years, and I giggled a bit.