SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN TREASURE HUNTERS
History
 
                                               Fred and Elaine Schrader, the co-founders of SMTH, and the mining supply store formerly known as
                                         ProMack South, started their life together back in 1983. They dredged for gold in the rivers of the 
                                         Northwest and California, then started desert prospecting soon after that, doing dry washing and
                                         panning in the Southwest. In 1987, they relocated to Apache Junction. As where they operated a mining
                                         supply store for partner Dave McCracken, President and CEO of the New 49'ers Mining Club and CEO of
                                         ProMack Mining Supplies Headquarters back in Northern California. Eventually, the Schrader's struck
                                         out on their own, buying out the southern branch of the business, and then starting the new Club.
 
                                         Superstition Mountain Treasure Hunters began as an idea in the mind of a dedicated miner and prospector. Back in 1990, Fred and Elaine Schrader were approached by one of their loyal customers and friends with this idea. His suggestion, actually more of a plea, was that they organize a Club with it's Headquarters at their store so that others like him would have a meeting place to share their knowledge with each other. Fred and Elaine took this idea and expounded on it, and turned it into reality with the beginning of 'The Superstition Mountain Treasure Hinters Club'. The membership was modest at first, but quickly grew and flourished due to the commonality of the theme, which was: Friendly Miners Helping Miners.
 
     Once a month, the Schrader's moved aside all the counters and displays in the front sales room, and voila! It became a meeting hall. Word spread about this enthusiastic group of prospectors and their meetings, and the Club started signing up members from all parts of the country who had escaped the cold harsh weather back home to winter in the friendlier climate in Apache Junction.
 
     The group would get together once or twice a month to go out to places one or the other members had explored and found promising for finding gold. Eventually, some legal placer mining claims were filed by some of these members, and they gave the club permission to use them whenever they wished. So, now , instead of just getting together and talking about finding gold, the members were going out and looking for and finding gold. They used many different methods of mining on a small scale, and as new members joined them, they shared their methods with them. thus, the group grew and learned, and as they grew the word spread, and they continued to grow.
 
 
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