George Wilmarth Nickel, Jr. was the great-grandson of the Cattle King, Henry Miller, founder of Miller & Lux. Nickel was born in 1917 in San Francisco but grew up on the various Miller & Lux ranches in the Central Valley. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1939 with a degree in History and went on to join the family business in 1940. Nickel spent a majority of his time in Los Banos and contributed to the building of the Monterey Airport during WWII. He also witnessed the mismanagement of the Henry Miller Trust and Miller & Lux. In 1954 he and his siblings filed a lawsuit, Nickel v. Nickel, against their uncle over a conflict of interest that involved the estate's attorney and mismanagement of the estate. This was the first of many lawsuits brought forward by Nickel and his family. During this time Nickel was exposed to the challenges of water rights of California when he became involved with the San Luis Canal Company and San Joaquin Canal Company, and land development in the San Joaquin Valley. He also attempted to develop Buena Vista Lake and the Rio Bravo. In 1959 he was appointed to the State Reclamation Board where he remained until 1966 right before Governor Brown departed. Here he dealt with environmental issues on the Kern River and the buying and selling of water. In this interview Nickel discusses his early family history, reflections on his great-grandfather, the Miller-Haggin Agreement in 1988, the history of Miller & Lux, his uncle James Leroy Nickel, Jr. and the mismanagement of the estates and subsequent lawsuits, flood control, water rights, agriculture, Nickel Family LLC, various development projects and his travel and flying adventures. This interview also contains supplementary material which includes an interview with Nancy Nickel Resor, not transcribed. Shelved as Phonotape 3531 C:16.