04-06-2004, 03:00 AM
[size 2]Diver finds treasures in lakes
By Jeff Baird
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[size 2]The Forum - 04/02/2004 [/size]
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[/url] [font "Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#666666][size 1]Rick Van Raden, owner of Northwest Divers in Moorhead, shows a bison skull his father Charlie Van Raden found while diving in Spiritwood Lake in the Jamestown, N.D., area.
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The items cover the walls of Rick Van Raden’s Moorhead shop. A skull of a now extinct species of bison hangs near the entrance. Across the room, a string of World War II-era .50 caliber shells. Near that, chains and a pike once used for logging.
The items, as random as they are, all share something in common -- they were found at the bottom of area lakes.
Van Raden owns Northwest Divers and when’s he’s not in his shop working or planning his next underwater tour, he’s scouring the bottom of area lakes looking to add to his collection.
“You never know what the next fin kick will bring you,” he said.
Van Raden believes area waterways provide some of the best fresh water diving in the United States. Experiences range from the ultra-muddy Red River where divers can barely see an arm’s length in front of them, to the crystal clear Lake Six outside of Vergas, Minn.
Van Raden’s greatest recovery was a 6,000 pound pick-up he fished out of lake Lake Lida, just outside Pelican Rapids, Minn.
Van Raden was contracted to recover the vehicle after the driver and friend hit a patch of open water while returning from ice fishing.
Both men managed to get out safely, but the vehicle sank 22 feet to the bottom of the lake. Van Raden had a diver connect a special winch to pickup and haul it out.
Van Raden’s father, Charlie, started the business in 1950, and many of the items on the wall were found by him.
Charlie discovered the bison skull in Spiritwood Lake, north of Jamestown, N.D. He and a friend had been diving for much of a morning and hadn’t found anything of interest.
His friend decided to quit for the day, but Charlie stayed under. He came up 10 minutes later with the skull in one hand and an 1800s-era rifle in the other.
Charlie took the skull to North Dakota State University and was told it dated back at least 6,000 years.
“When you are viewing the underwater world the adventure part is always there,” Charlie Van Raden said.
While diving in Lake Sakakawea near Bismarck, N.D., Charlie found a human skull.
He brought it to police and later found it belonged to a native American woman and dated back to the 1600s.
One of the most curious items Charlie found was an old German Luger pistol. Someone had tried to destroy the gun by cutting it with a saw and burning the barrel with a torch. He sent the pistol to the Minnesota crime lab but officials didn’t find anything criminal associated with it.
The Van Radens don’t have a favorite lake to dive in.
“If I had it my way, I would like to go to a new lake each week,” Rick Van Raden said. “You want to go to the lakes where nobody has been. That’s where the mystery is.”
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By Jeff Baird
[/size][url "mailto:jbaird@forumcomm.com"][#0000ff][size 2]jbaird@forumcomm.com[/size][/#0000ff][/url]
[size 2]The Forum - 04/02/2004 [/size]
[url "http://www.in-forum.com/images/photos/?id=55023"]
[/url] [font "Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"][#666666][size 1]Rick Van Raden, owner of Northwest Divers in Moorhead, shows a bison skull his father Charlie Van Raden found while diving in Spiritwood Lake in the Jamestown, N.D., area. [/size][/#666666][/font]
The items cover the walls of Rick Van Raden’s Moorhead shop. A skull of a now extinct species of bison hangs near the entrance. Across the room, a string of World War II-era .50 caliber shells. Near that, chains and a pike once used for logging.
The items, as random as they are, all share something in common -- they were found at the bottom of area lakes.
Van Raden owns Northwest Divers and when’s he’s not in his shop working or planning his next underwater tour, he’s scouring the bottom of area lakes looking to add to his collection.
“You never know what the next fin kick will bring you,” he said.
Van Raden believes area waterways provide some of the best fresh water diving in the United States. Experiences range from the ultra-muddy Red River where divers can barely see an arm’s length in front of them, to the crystal clear Lake Six outside of Vergas, Minn.
Van Raden’s greatest recovery was a 6,000 pound pick-up he fished out of lake Lake Lida, just outside Pelican Rapids, Minn.
Van Raden was contracted to recover the vehicle after the driver and friend hit a patch of open water while returning from ice fishing.
Both men managed to get out safely, but the vehicle sank 22 feet to the bottom of the lake. Van Raden had a diver connect a special winch to pickup and haul it out.
Van Raden’s father, Charlie, started the business in 1950, and many of the items on the wall were found by him.
Charlie discovered the bison skull in Spiritwood Lake, north of Jamestown, N.D. He and a friend had been diving for much of a morning and hadn’t found anything of interest.
His friend decided to quit for the day, but Charlie stayed under. He came up 10 minutes later with the skull in one hand and an 1800s-era rifle in the other.
Charlie took the skull to North Dakota State University and was told it dated back at least 6,000 years.
“When you are viewing the underwater world the adventure part is always there,” Charlie Van Raden said.
While diving in Lake Sakakawea near Bismarck, N.D., Charlie found a human skull.
He brought it to police and later found it belonged to a native American woman and dated back to the 1600s.
One of the most curious items Charlie found was an old German Luger pistol. Someone had tried to destroy the gun by cutting it with a saw and burning the barrel with a torch. He sent the pistol to the Minnesota crime lab but officials didn’t find anything criminal associated with it.
The Van Radens don’t have a favorite lake to dive in.
“If I had it my way, I would like to go to a new lake each week,” Rick Van Raden said. “You want to go to the lakes where nobody has been. That’s where the mystery is.”
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