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| Rocks & Minerals: A nostalgic look at rock shops, tourist traps, and exploited geological curios |
Many years ago, before the popularity of air travel, beach condos, and cruises to exotic ports, leisurely cross-country auto trips were standard vacation fare. For the mineral enthusiast, this meant frequent stops to buy or collect specimens, tour a mine, or see a particular geological wonder.
Rock Shops
Although rock shops have been a roadside feature since automobile travel began in the early part of the last century, they probably reached their numerical peak in the 1950s through the 1970s. Many fell into the category of "Ma and Pa operations," often being started by a couple who collected a lot of rocks and minerals, then decided to settle down or retire and sell them. Their personal specimens were supplemented with those purchased from, or traded with, miners or local and traveling collectors. In the shop or out on tables, the mineral space was shared with local woodcrafts, small antiques, and regional souvenirs for tourists. Many of us have stopped at such places. A few were legendary for their abundance of good, cheap minerals; unfortunately, most were just the opposite. There was, and still is, no standard way of displaying, labeling, or pricing the specimens, although the best deals for the purchaser were usually with specimens sold by the pound. Going into such places was at times an adventure because the proprietors were often unusual characters--you never knew what to expect from them.
What has caused the demise of these shops? It's probably a combination of the interstate highway system, the high cost of obtaining minerals, increased overhead, and low and unpredictable monetary return. Making ten thousand to twenty thousand dollars in the 1960s to supplement retirement income was significant. Catering to tourists and collectors today is probably not worth the investment, time, and effort. Let's take a look at some of these shops via souvenir postcards.
Somewhere in Texas. Figure 1 shows the interior of a Texas rock shop. The eclectic mixture of slabs, spheres, geodes, fossils, and sea shells is typical of a shop in an area with relatively few local mineral specimens. Also evident from the photo is another characteristic of many Texas rock shops--the complete lack of labels. However, if you knew minerals, often there was a hidden treasure in some obscure case's back corner that you could buy at a reasonable price--but only after convincing the owner that it really wasn't the only one in the world and that he really could part with it.
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
I have shown this postcard to many collectors in hopes of finding the shop's location. Most say they have been there but cannot quite remember where it was. I feel the same way. So maybe it serves as a good composite representative of Texas shops of a bygone era.
The Arkansas Ozarks and Ouachitas. The postcard shown in figure 2 is from the 1950s and depicts a combination grocery, general store, and rock shop in Busch, Arkansas. It is typical of many such shops in the Arkansas Ozarks and Ouachitas of that period that displayed their specimens outdoors on racks or tables; a few still survive, with modifications. Certainly they would be fenced so they could be locked up at night. Busch is just a short distance northwest of Eureka Springs, the center of the northwestern Arkansas Ozark Mountains tourist area. Unfortunately, there are few good indigenous minerals in this area that are saleable. The only abundant local specimen material consists of small, white to colorless quartz crystals coating some rock surfaces. Most of the area's rock shops imported specimens of sphalerite, galena, calcite, dolomite, and chalcopyrite from the Tri-State lead-zinc district, several hundred miles to the north; drusy quartz and barite from the Potosi area of southeastern Missouri; quartz crystals from the Ouachita Mountains of west-central Arkansas; and, more rarely, fluorite from southern Illinois and such minerals as smithsonite, sphalerite, and dolomite from mining areas further east in the Arkansas Ozarks. The calcite and other such minerals suffered greatly from exposure to the weather. Even the quartz groups accumulated dirt and leaf debris between the crystals, which made them unattractive and was not always easily removed. Specimens left on the racks or tables for more than a year were eventually relegated to the rock or junk pile, where they were sold for ten to twenty-five cents a pound. Obviously, the best time to buy specimens was when a new shipment came in. On several occasions I helped unwrap specimens and put them on the tables or shelves, purchasing the "best" for myself--that is, if there were any. Similar shops still exist today, but unfortunately many have had the same specimens on display for years. The current proprietors are more interested in selling snacks, gasoline, and soft drinks to passing travelers than in upgrading the previous owner's mineral specimens, which they know little about.
[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]
The Monte Cristo Rock Shop (fig. 3) was 4 miles west of Crystal Springs on the main highway to Mount Ida. Within its fenced yard were "choice" local works of art alongside chunks of colored glass, old tools, antique bottles, and tables laden with uncovered minerals. The "better stuff" was usually inside--that is, if you could find it among the dust, gewgaws, and other clutter. I traded sulfur crystals from Texas with the proprietor in the early 1970s. The challenge was to find something worth accepting in return. Even today the remains of this man's dream litter the south side of U.S. Route 270.
[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]
Jim Coleman's shop (fig. 4), 14 miles north of Hot Springs on State Highway 7, has changed with the times. It is modern with a wide selection of quartz crystals and other minerals. In 1958, on my first trip to Arkansas, I visited Jim and Ron Coleman's grandfather at another shop along the highway. While there I bought a 5-inch clear quartz crystal for seventy-five cents and a small chlorite-included crystal for twenty-five cents; because I was a student, my fifty-cent collecting fee to the mine was waived. Ron Coleman has that mine today. A prominent sign at Blue Springs directs the visitor a short distance from the highway to the mine and a modern shop. Needless to say, the world's largest crystal-mining excavation is even bigger and more imposing now. About twenty years ago, when it was between owners, I collected there, but better judgment kept me from digging the finer crystals in the very steep, high walls. It is an awesome sight to stand on the observation area and look into this deep excavation.
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Tri-State mineral shops. To many collectors, even today, the name Boodle Lane is synonymous with Tri-State district minerals. (The Tri-State district includes Baxter Springs and Galena, Kansas; Joplin, Missouri; and Picher, Oklahoma.) In the 1930s and into the 1950s stopping at Lane's shop in Galena, Kansas, was an absolute must for collectors visiting the area. Here, good specimens of sphalerite, galena, pink dolomite, chalcopyrite, marcasite, and calcite as well as such uncommon minerals as wurtzite, enargite, hemimorphite (there usually called calamine) could be purchased at a cheap price. Sphalerite was called jack--ruby jack for the red, blackjack for the black. Evidently, there was a rapid turnover of material, for most of the smaller specimens on the outdoor tables did not seem to show effects of exposure to the weather. If you picked out a lot of specimens and didn't want to overload your car (easy to do with galena specimens), Lane would pack them in a barrel and ship them to you. Also, it was possible to order a selection of specimens, sight unseen, to be shipped in a barrel. These were called "Boodle barrels," and I never heard of anyone not being pleased with them. In the late 1950s I bought a 2.4 x 10-mm specimen with ruby jack crystals to about 3 mm for $1.25 from Lane. It is still catalogued in my collection as specimen no. 125 and worth many times that amount. There were other dealers in the Tri-State district whose names have been long forgotten, but Boodle Lane remains a legend. Although he wasn't a miner, Lane appreciated the mines and minerals that provided his livelihood. In the 1930s he put out a series of photographic postcards, two of which are shown here (figs. 5 and 6); the others show mines and miners on the surface and underground. The postcard showing his case at the Smithsonian Institution has actual small mineral fragments glued in circular patterns on each corner of the card. It's impossible to say how many Tri-State minerals in collections today were originally sold by Lane, but certainly a lot of them were.
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Continued from page 1.
Agate Shop. In contrast to the clutter of other shops, the promotional postcards showing the Agate Shop in Beaver Bay, Minnesota, reveal a neat exterior and an orderly display of specimens (figs. 7 and 8). I would be amazed if such tidiness was still present after a few years in business. (Does anyone know more about this shop? Does it still exist?)
[FIGURES 7-8 OMITTED]
Rock of Ages Shop. This rock yard and shop (fig. 9), probably somewhere in the Midwest, look vaguely familiar. I cannot say that I have been there, but I have certainly seen several shops like it, possibly in Iowa or Missouri. The material in the yard looks like various forms of rock from caves--hopefully, it was obtained from a quarry or highway construction. Looting a cave of this material today is illegal.
[FIGURE 9 OMITTED]
Perham's, West Paris, Maine. Without a doubt, Perham's (fig. 10) is the most famous mineral shop in New England. Located in the heart of the Oxford County pegmatite area, it has been at the same location for many years. When I first visited the shop in the 1960s as a young collector, it was like hunting for treasure. Stanley Perham had drawers of all sizes chock-full of local specimens at more-than-reasonable prices. The shop is now being run by his daughter, Jane Perham Stevens, and even though it is much more upscale and handles quality jewelry and gifts, the minerals have not been forgotten. The specimens are in display cases, and there is a good stock of hobby-related and local-interest books as well as collecting supplies. In a separate small room is a mineral display, in essence a museum unto itself.
[FIGURE 10 OMITTED]
Tourist Traps
I use the term tourist traps lightly, realizing that not all tourist traps are bad deals for travelers. In fact, some might more accurately be called tourist attractions, for they give visitors an authentic taste of the past that they could not experience anywhere else. However, being dependent on tourist dollars, they often have incessant, gaudy, and exaggerated
Continued from page 2.
The Black Hills. Probably no other part of the country has been promoted for its minerals and geological and manmade attractions more than the Black Hills of South Dakota. The postcard in figure 23 shows an establishment advertising the "Bad Lands," souvenirs, and the Hisega Ranch and Lodge, located on Rapid Creek in the Black Hills. In the foreground are piles of rock for sale. This place of business that touted the state's attractions was the Wall Drugstore in Wall, South Dakota. Located on the plains east of the badlands, it promoted not only the Black Hills and the badlands but also itself. There was nothing of possible interest at Wall except what the proprietors had hauled in. The store rambled between several buildings and sold minerals, rocks, and other natural objects, plus every type of tourist item imaginable, most made in Japan. Its self-promotion scheme was clever: Visitors could receive a free Wall Drugstore sign if they promised to hang it and then send a photo and a note telling where it was posted. Commercial ventures aside, the Black Hills area does have many places of mining and geological interest. However, many of them have been overpromoted, particularly the mineral collecting, which is not for the amateur. The pegmatites have few, gem pockets and several species of white minerals that the average person cannot distinguish. It is a special place, however, for those who take the time to learn about its minerals and to get out and explore its many mines and natural wonders.
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Petrified logs. Silicified logs in place or hauled to the roadside were always considered an attraction. Although there were many such places from Mississippi to Washington State, none were as colorful as those in the Petrified Forest in Arizona; some were downright ugly, but they were still ballyhooed on signs and postcards to make people stop to eat, buy gas, or load up on souvenirs. Figures 24-26 are postcards advertising three petrified wood localities in the Dakotas.
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Manmade curiosities. People often try to improve upon nature's beauty by rearranging or combining natural objects. In the early twentieth century some fairly large "beautification" projects were undertaken that were considered marvels. However, by today's standards they would be called strange, some even grotesque.
Peterson's Rock Garden (fig. 27), located on the old Redmond to Bend highway in central Oregon, is an example. Someone obviously put a lot of effort into it, but I would be surprised if it has survived society's changing tastes. West Bend, Iowa, has two rather ugly rock structures. One, the War Memorial Fountain (fig. 28), is less refined in appearance than the other, the Grotto. The Grotto's southeast entrance, shown in figure 29, is rather interesting. The designs on the lower part of the structure are somewhat formal, but the upper part is a free-form mix of geodes, dripstone, and what appear to be inverted stalactites. If it is still standing, it would almost be worth a trip to Iowa to see it. Certainly, there is nothing comparable being done today--I hope! The fountain encircled with white quartz crystals, shown in figure 30, is from downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas. The view is looking south down Central Avenue toward bathhouse row. The cars on the street date this postcard as the middle to late 1950s (the postmark is 1960). "Attractive" as this landmark is, don't expect to see it the next time you are in Hot Springs--it has been gone for many years, quartz crystals and all.
[FIGURES 27-30 OMITTED]
Let Me Hear from You
These are one collector's recollections. If this look backward has triggered memories for you of particular rock shops, collecting sites, or places of geological wonder that turned out to be not so wonderful, share them with me. Be sure and include any relevant postcards or photos (which I will return). Who knows, perhaps they will inspire another article.
Arthur E. Smith, a consulting editor of Rocks & Minerals, is a long-time collector and prolific author.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Heldref Publications
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
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