MTKAWBOY:
Seldom Seen Slim was the moniker used by Charles Ferge, the last well-known hermit (if you'll pardon the oxymoron) in the Panamint Valley (the valley just west of Death Valley). He would, so goes the story, go out into the mountains behind Ballarat for a few months, prospecting and doing whatever else those folks did. He was a skinny old fart, too. Add those two items together, and you get this: Folks would show up in town and ask about "Slim", and they'd be told "He's seldom seen in town". There you have it.
Nancy and I have been through there -- the ghost town of Ballarat -- a couple of times, and when we needed a name for the race team -- she said "How about Seldom Seen Slim Land Speed Racing" out loud --- and why the heck not?, we decided. It rolls trippingly from the tongue, and it's unique. If you visit our website (
www.infodestruction.com) and click around the SSS LSR part of it -- you'll find a few more photos - his grave, for instance, and other Ballarat photos.
We've since discovered more than a few LSR-types that either knew him or knew of him. You can find photos of him (besides the one I used on my avatar) by going to
www.seldomseenslim.com -- but be prepared to see someone that appears to have had the world's best interestes in mind when he decided to exclude himself from the everyday hustle and bustle.
Thanks for asking.
