Salt Lake Tribune – Salt Lake Tribune Home Page

Born Dec. 1, 1919, in Caddo, Texas, Charles Augustus Steen earned a geology degree from the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy in 1943. In 1950, a U.S. government campaign to draw prospectors to the Four Corners area in search of uranium for Cold War weapons development sparked Steen’s interest. He borrowed money from his mother to buy a portable drill, and moved his family – wife, Minnie Lee, also known as M.I., and three small sons – to the Moab area in search of his fortune.

Holy cow, I thought he was dead years ago when Timmy and I talked it over after the road trip to Moab. Mom’s talked about him and his wife all my life. Mom used to own a hair salon in Grand Junction, and Minnie Steen was one of her loyal customers. This was after he struck it rich in Moab, then moved on to Colorado, lost his fortune, and maybe struck it rich a second time. He was quite a character, but a civic-minded one. Mom will probably be surprised to know he was still kicking until the end of last year.