I was born and raised in Keystone, South Dakota in the heart of the Black Hills. My father was the hoist engineer at Mount Rushmore during the carving years and I spent many days as a young boy mingling with the workers. I worked as a seasonal ranger at Mount Rushmore for 3 years during college and again 3 years after retirement.

My career as a mining engineer took my family and me to many parts of the country including Idaho, New York, Wyoming, Colorado and California. Upon retiring I returned to the Black Hills and have spent my days documenting local history as a free-lance writer in numerous papers presented at history conferences, several magazine articles, a book, and a weekly newspaper column in the Hill City Prevailer. I volunteer time at several local museums and am known as the town historian.

My love of history ties in with genealogy and I have been fortunate in making several trips over the years with my oldest daughter to the midwest in the quest of our ancestors.

I'm new to FindaGrave, but I figure it's now time to start orgaizing the pictures and information I have collected over the years in order to share it with others.

Feel free to contact me with any questions about local history and your "lost" Black Hills relatives.

Robert "Bob" Hayes
Keystone, South Dakota

I was born and raised in Keystone, South Dakota in the heart of the Black Hills. My father was the hoist engineer at Mount Rushmore during the carving years and I spent many days as a young boy mingling with the workers. I worked as a seasonal ranger at Mount Rushmore for 3 years during college and again 3 years after retirement.

My career as a mining engineer took my family and me to many parts of the country including Idaho, New York, Wyoming, Colorado and California. Upon retiring I returned to the Black Hills and have spent my days documenting local history as a free-lance writer in numerous papers presented at history conferences, several magazine articles, a book, and a weekly newspaper column in the Hill City Prevailer. I volunteer time at several local museums and am known as the town historian.

My love of history ties in with genealogy and I have been fortunate in making several trips over the years with my oldest daughter to the midwest in the quest of our ancestors.

I'm new to FindaGrave, but I figure it's now time to start orgaizing the pictures and information I have collected over the years in order to share it with others.

Feel free to contact me with any questions about local history and your "lost" Black Hills relatives.

Robert "Bob" Hayes
Keystone, South Dakota