Letters to Mr. Clemens

Missouri native Randy Barnhouse leads an extraordinary life of uncovering artifacts by diving and excavating, and he tells all about it in his latest book, "Dear Samuel Clemens: Message in a Bottle" -- a series of personal letters to Mark Twain.

Barnhouse and his metal detector were invited to Hannibal, Missouri, by the director of Mark Twain's childhood home to see if any traceable artifacts could be uncovered. Since then, according to Barnhouse, there's where the story began.

The main emphasis in Barnhouse's book includes discoveries from two key locations in Missouri: Cape Girardeau and Hannibal.

"It's a history book, it's a fun book and it's informative. And when I started writing, I decided to do it in the form of letters to Mark Twain," Barnhouse said. "They call them chapters, but each 'message' contains pictures and illustrations throughout the book highlighting the different projects."

After high school, Barnhouse joined the military, then pursued an education degree -- which is when his adventurous, treasure-hunting career kicked into high-gear one frigid afternoon.

According to Barnhouse, he "cooked up a scheme to auction the house, sell the furniture, get a travel trailer, and move to Key West at a houseboat." He then partnered up with friend Mel Fisher, and three months later they discovered the Atocha treasure he had been pursuing.

Four years after Barnhouse's discovery with Fisher, he moved back to Cape Girardeau to work on an archaeology degree at Southeast, while simultaneously working as the Cape Girardeau City aquatic director. Shortly after, he noticed the innovation of what is now called the Alternative Education Center, and became one of the founding teachers.

Around 2009, it occurred to Barnhouse that he would love to write a book that compiles all the sights, coincidences, facts, parallels and eerie things that link each story. In his book, he has discovered links between Mark Twain and Cape Girardeau.

"Each [chapter] I sealed in a bottle and threw into the Mississippi River; that's how I mailed these to Mark Twain. That was the premise -- with the hope that someone would find those and report back to me. That did happen," Barnhouse said. "Out of the 60 bottles thrown, three were found, and two had remarkable ties to Mark Twain."

"For the rest of my life I'll be pushing this book, and I think it speaks very highly of our fair city, just like I do Key West and Hannibal," Barnhouse said.

Barnhouse hopes the popularity of his book will draw tourists to Cape Girardeau to experience the "renaissance of downtown," where he and his wife, Debra, reside.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

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