Author Description

Zeke Flora arrived in Durango, Colorado at the height of the Depression with twenty-three cents in his pocket, a wife and two small children to support and the dream of a better life. Amateur archaeology helped distract many locals from hard times, and Zeke gained skills rapidly. During the 1930's he received fame--and infamy--in the fields of archaeology and dendrochronology. Notorious pothunter or remarkable contributor to Southwest archaeology? Here is Zeke's story, revealed by private family documents that Isaiah Ford Flora left behind, many now available to the public for the first time; his family and peers, both professional and amateur archaeologists, present often conflicting opinions about this unusual man. The author, Lorna Gail LaDage, moved to Durango with her family in 1979, where archaeological sites were literally in her back yard. After careers as professional marathon runner, elementary school counselor and artist, Gail published a book and two articles on an endangered rock art site at Waterflow, New Mexico. Research then led her to question the criticism by professional archaeologists of Zeke Flora's work, done in the 1930's. This book seeks to set the record straight.Archaeologist and dendrochronologist Jeffrey S. Dean provides an insightful Foreword for the Zeke Flora story as well as guiding the author to sources of information and thoughtful consideration of the deeper issues involved.