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Silverback is Dead

D.S. Toker. MD

Active member
Veteran
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.
 

sunwukong

Member
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

Active member
Veteran
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.
 

jakeh

Active member
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
 

yortbogey

To Have More ... Desire Less
Veteran
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

Good'n Greasy
Veteran
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.
 

LazLo

Member
Sorry to hear of his passing. He was a fantastic grower. My condolences to his family.

R. I. P.
 

Tropic

Member
I would rather hear he disappeared because of security concerns too, unfortunately there's no way to know... still I'm secretly hoping he comes back under another handle... I spent hours reading his threads...

Why do the best people always leave first?

Peace :joint:
 

JITAMON

Member
R.I.P. Silverback

R.I.P. Silverback

WOW, what a loss:mad: I truly liked the guy,we had many interesting and fruitful conversations, WE will all miss him. R.I.P Silverback:joint:
 

hamstring

Well-known member
Veteran
D.S.
Please help me out here. I respected this guerrilla so much because of his dedication to answer all questions and taking neg comments in stride. He was a great grower and absolutely dedicated to guerrilla growing. So I ask these questions only to make sure we have the right person here.

When I noticed his posts no longer had his handle on them I spoke to a mod and they told me he asked to have his posts removed because of security reasons. I never once heard him speak of the strains you mentioned (not that he didn’t in another forum). I jus can’t believe it he was a great mentor and all around person. Are you sure this is the same guy??

If it is true I want to go the same way out in the bush enjoying nature and growing. This sucks as an older person its hard to meet peers on this site most are younger people and although I respect all the guerrilla growers I just found solace in his threads knowing we had the same hard knocks of age to smooth us out around the corners. Always looking to find a middle ground rather than a higher one.

PM me I just want to makes make sure we speak of the same individual here.
 
C

cellardweller

SilverBack or silverback? a tragedy nontheless..I read the hell out of many of his(silverback) posts when I first found IC..:respect: and sorry for the loss of your friend too..
peacenpot,
~dubs
 

D.S. Toker. MD

Active member
Veteran
it was silverback, the old gorillla grower that did the "Gorrilla Water Collar". His wife said he left the house about 4 am and when he didnt return by 8 am, she began to worry. The rescuers found him by calling and tracking his cell phone signal. According to police, he was growing a number of plants on top of a knob that had been created when a creek forked and created an island. He was climbing down from the top when he fell.

He left the sight due to paranoia. The police had a large bust in the area and arrested several old growers that he had known for years. silverback cancelled his ic account and layed low in the rural area where he lives. Know one had seen him in a couple of months before his death.

Yes hamstring, it is the same grower. He was afraid to state on the mag that he had created the strains because they are so prevalent in this area, he thought that someone might tag his real identity. Over years, the police have busted quite a few growers and big grows in the area and many of the arrested growers told the police that the person known as sb was the source for seeds. The police wanted to get him because his strains yeild well and finish mid to late september,were potent and he spread them like Johnny Appleseed.

.

He told me that he had shared the seeds with a breeder/grower from Unleash da green as well as a couple of members here on the site but i dont believe he told them the name of the strains. Those growers that recieved unlabeled seeds from him have some real gems in their possession.
 

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