He loved vodka, garlic, his pet skunk

 

Few characters in NID history are as unforgettable as Walter Proscurin -- the so-called “Mad Russian” of Texas Creek.

A Russian immigrant who made his way to California’s Gold Country, Walter joined NID in the early 1950s repairing canals and flumes before taking on one of the District’s most remote jobs: year-round ditchtender at Texas Creek near Bowman Reservoir.

For 13 years, he lived alone in a small stone-and-wood cabin along the Bowman-Spaulding Canal, keeping water moving through miles of steep, rugged mountain terrain.

Co-workers described him as a force of nature. He was big, tough, fiercely independent, and happiest far from town. He also had a reputation for loving garlic, vodka, and solitude in equal measure. Add in a habit of reportedly discouraging curious hikers and hunters from getting too close, and the nickname “Mad Russian” stuck.

But there was another side to Walter. When he did come down to Nevada City, he was known to turn a quiet evening into a full social event. He would buy rounds for the house and celebrate with a generosity that surprised anyone who only knew his mountain reputation.

Back at Texas Creek, his closest companions included a temperamental generator, a shortwave radio, and a steady parade of wildlife. Deer, coyotes, birds—and even a pet skunk living under his cabin—became part of his isolated mountain world.

Mail-order catalogs kept things interesting, and Walter was known to order everything from gear to firearms, often giving away more than he kept.

When the Texas Creek station closed in the 1960s, Walter moved to a maintenance crew in Grass Valley, though friends said the mountains never really let him go.

He passed away in 1968, but the legend of the “Mad Russian” still lives on along Texas Creek. It is a reminder of a wilder time when keeping water flowing meant living alone, high in the Sierra, with only the snow, the creek, and a very opinionated skunk for company.