[D.S. Toker. MD]

The old Guerilla Grower is gone. At 62, he apparantly had a heart attack while climbing down a 40' cliff and fell into a dry creek bed. He layed there for a full day before he was found. This is an irreplaceable loss for our local growing community for the entire cannabis world. Reclusive and eccentric, the purchase of a computer brought him to IC mag, as he loved growing he wanted to share what he knew. For 40 years, he has been a legend here. My grandfather, who had known him since grade school introduced me to him last year and it changed my life.

It is widely known among the old timers around here, that in 1971, Silverback, with his brother and brother in law in Evansville Indiana, developed the original bubblegum strain that is now sold by Thseeds.{the Serious strain is very different than the original}. He said the strain was a cross between several afhgani strains he had recieved from relatives serving in the peace corp in 1968, crossed with a hybrid he recieved while dealing with weed producers in Mexico in 1970. He and my grandfather told me that bikers from oakland California had brought in a couple of horticulturist from Berkley and they were working with mexican growers to produce faster better yeilding weed. My grandfather has a picture of himself, silverback and the bikers that were visiting Silverbacks home, standing next to 50 bricks of the mexican hybrid weed they had developed.

He was a little crazy, but knew more than anyone i have ever met about pot. In 1982, he created a local strain that i am growing this year called " The shit that killed Elvis Presley" and just this year, I was able to get 20 seeds of a his new creation called " The Shit that Killed Micheal Jackson". I have no doubt it would be as successful as bubblegum. Thank god i have f2's cooking and 10 of the originals.

Salute to an old grower. He was tougher than the rattlesnakes around he and smarter than a fox. The police knew him well and would have considered him a prize catch. There were dozens of growers at his funeral. They ranged from 70years old, to 20 yrs old.

If there's a heaven,there is no question he's breaking ground for an indica grow. Happy growing old bud.

[Hazy Lady]

Oh that is a sad way to pass on, sorry you lost your friend DST.

[sunwukong]

ICMAG has lost a mentor and a friend. I, along with many others will miss him dearly. The outdoor forum will not be the same without him. He, along with many other growers who have passed over the years live on in friend's memories, the knowledge they passed on, and the strains they developed. Rest in peace, Silverback. You will be sorely missed.

[nomaad]

Thanks for sharing. Very nice obit. He would have appreciated it. He went underground shortly after I joined the community here, but even in that short time he made a lasting impression. Too bad he didn't live to see it legalized. Miracle Grow is losing one of its most vocal advocates.

[-StashBastard-]

R.I.P. Silverback.

Sounds like he died doing what he loved.

[milkon]

R.I.P. Silverback

[jakeh]

D.S.,
I'm hoping this is not true. I thought he disappeared due to legal troubles. One day he was her posting and the next his account was deleted. For the past year until he left I followed his threads and learned more from him than anyone else. I passed his greencure suggestion on to another grower who feels like he has a new lease on life with no mold issues. I figured he would pop up again under another name. Very sorry to hear this.
jakeh

in his memory.

[yortbogey]

OMG.......omg........OMG...... ..omg........the pasing of a "TRUE" Icon.......
RIP........old man I'll miss the conversations and long storiez.......
I bid U farewell and wish~apoun a star.........hope U had a J to take w/ U
U will be missed
YB

[Sam the Caveman]

What a wealth of info he contributed here, may he rest in peace.

For those who didn't know him before he deleted his account, they may never know how much of a contribution he was to the site.