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Within about 15 miles of my house that lived in England there would

be about five or six different breaks going on where they found these Roman visitors.

Second largest craft lobby in America today is said to be rock counting with all of its

branches of interest some of which are gem cutting making jewelry and the

collection of gem stones rocks minerals and fossils. This universal

hobby has grown to astonishing proportions in the last 25 years and shows

signs of even more rapid growth as the need develops for more people to pursue

more leisure time activities due to the fact that the working few hours

have more days off and get more vacation time. Rocks

and minerals are specimens of extreme importance to the rock. I evar.

Most people do not realize the important role. Rocks and minerals play in everyday living.

For example fluorite used in toothpaste clothing. This series of

programs is designed to give an overall picture of the rock on offer

encouragement to the newcomer in this hobby. And present information of general interest to

everyone. All of this will be examined as we explore the

world of the rock.

Today's programme is entitled My universal hobby. The

narrator is Len felt.

The word rockhound means friend in any language and in any lie and

that's the way it seems because when two rock icons get together to share collections and talk about

their experiences any differences they may have fade into the background.

Last week's program was devoted to servicemen and their lapidary work in the craft hobby shops at

military installations in this country and overseas

servicemen have an opportunity to seek and find minerals in most unusual

places. But the civilian rockhound has opportunities to do this also.

They can go on classic tours especially planned for Iraq around tours such

as a 21 day gem and mineral tour to Brazil and South America

visiting emerald mines and other places where rich deposits of topaz

Amalekite And as you write are found he will

travel by means of jet plane auto bus Jeep dugout

canoe and mule. Perhaps he prefers a gem safari

to Africa a planned thirty two day tour which includes game

viewing as well as searching for unusual rock specimens.

Nairobi Serengeti Amboseli Victoria Falls are only a few of the

stops then onto your honest Bergen Kimberly to see the gold mines and the

big hole where the diamonds are. Not only does he have an opportunity

to dig but these trips are planned to include social get togethers with the

local gem and mineral club members at most every location as well as

visits to see out standing collections in museums.

The rock hound may wish to fly to Australia and New Zealand on another

tour. Well along with finding agate Jasper petrified wood

Opal and sapphire he'll mingle with the miners and the dealers in the

gem cutter's and have a chance to noodle the mine dumps

here and there and take part in specially arranged trips for panning gold.

You can see kangaroos and wallabies and if he's a bird watcher he'll

be in a bird watchers paradise. Some people do they're all

coming this way. Many go to foreign countries for other reasons

but if they're rock hounds they'll generally find others with the same interest

regardless of the country. Leona Hughes was sent to New

Zealand for her church. She returned to this country with a collection

of carved taking arms with a black rock much like soft

coal to be used for carving. And she had the names of several new

rockhound friends whom she exchanged rocks with I was in

Christchurch New Zealand a bed where 60 say a.

And did you happen to meet any rock hands there. I thought they had the thoughts of people in

New Zealand that rocks rock. Do you think it's as popular as it is here in the

United States. I didn't have enough time to find out if it was as popular but I think

it is because the rock over there are so beautiful they make lots of Deore out of their rock.

Do they have the same kind of rock that we have here. No there's no fossils over by

a phony mineral rock. Can you name some of the minerals.

Mostly AFAIK it's the green stone that I think most of the people by Mike the Tiki.

But those are the were carved figures like good luck

charm. Yes that's true. Did you see a lot of those when you were there. Yes they

did they were on sale at all the shops and NGO restores most anywhere that you

walked along the street you could stand big to take both in rings

bracelets and necklaces. Do you have any conversations with.

Several conversations with Collin Marston that collected rocks and

waste. He gave me some rocks and when I came back home I asked him some we just made a

swap. And then there was David Macey said he enjoyed rocks

too and we exchanged rocks when I came back. And it was a little boy in the

sixth grade that enjoyed rocks and I sent him some of the petty tears when I came back.

Do they have rock clubs over there like we do. I didn't have a chance to find that I own

I was did missionary work.

While I was doing part of my work in mission work going from door to door I ran across an

invalid or crippled person that enjoyed rocks and he carved out of the soft

coal that was more like a rock and he made jewelry out of it he made little hearts

and little rings and bracelets and he gave me a priest to

come bring back and try to carve something out of my chest and every year

we have tried to cover anything. If it was such a soft.

How was he able to carve it and keep it that way keep it.

It had a slick hard finish to it but you could just walk almost like a

soap. But yet it would keep it shut and not be brutal.

You could quit alone it just might get into most any

show but it's still here.

What were some of the things he cut. He showed me advice with that he

had carved out of it. He had made a heart necklace. He had made a ring out of it

and he had made several little tiny liberty bails out of it to use the pipe away.

How long did you stay in New Zealand. I was there the entire month of

February and the first week in March 6th. Did you stay

in the city or did you go out. Into the. Outside areas to

do your work. We stayed at the stone heard tale but we went

out into the city to do our work in the suburbs. Now you being a rock and I know

that you wouldn't miss an opportunity to walk on a beach where you can. Did you do that in New

Zealand. Yes I did I had one day to look around and go and have fun

and we went down on the beach and we looked for rocks and pebbles and shells and we collected

quite a few of them and while we were down there there was a large huge boat

there when the tag came in it was entirely covered with water and we waited till the

pad went out and there was a hole through it and we went through it and this large

boulder was volcano rock and it just looked like a great big cinder with a hole through it

and we climb through it. I am out the tad like a goddess before we got out.

That's most of the rock around there. Yes I believe it is it looks like a T

as I'll put it like that most of the rock that's on top of the surface looked like with volcano.

That was Leona Hughes who made many rockhound friends in New Zealand as she went

from door to door doing missionary work for her church rockhound

Jo Gilbert looks for fossils are most of the trips he takes. Recently he

went on a pleasure trip to Yucatan. He didn't find any fossils there

and if he had found them in all probability he would not have been allowed to take them up

to look for fossils but most of the.

I haven't been too lucky in finding and I've just got back from a trip to the

Yucatan which is. Composed the limbs down

somewhat. Geologists some of the men of Kentucky.

And it should have been some fossil but I saw lots of caves and Sankoh when I couldn't get any

decent fossils and man I was so busy looking at Mayan ruins that

I didn't have to get a chance to look for fossils.

Maybe too many tourists have been there maybe all the fossils have been taken.

No the tourists are not looking for fossils it too is looking for Mayan artifacts make sure

that more of them than the fossils and the

Mayan artifacts they want you pick up in fact around the

ruins. They don't even want you picking up odd stones they get I would know about picking up

anything.

Although the reasons are clearly understood for prohibiting the picking up of stones at historic

sites or accounts who collect artifacts most find this frustrating

not only in Yucatan but in other historic places as well.

The ways Davis found plenty of stones last summer as she drove through England by

car. She did have a problem though wondering how to get these stones

home with their on the plane. She returned with a stone of stone.

My friend and I found England a very fascinating place from the standpoint of

stones although we really called them rocks. And

one day out at all to bar and saw folk out on the east coast of South England

we were spending the day and. And being very fascinated by this

complete beach of nothing but rather large pebbles. And.

I spoke to one Britisher and said something about you have lots of rocks here.

Oh no those are not rocks he said those are stones.

So I never quite knew what I was supposed to expect in the way of the difference between

a rock and a stone or a pebble. For that matter.

I actually and probably would would have been called pebbles.

But of course being on the beach as sand is on many beaches these were

very water washed and very rounded and and in their

own way partially polished. And they were fabulously.

Different to us and very beautiful. You know

Iraq was an interesting and I should say was an interesting

and. My friend and I. Were really.

Just. Well you know they say you if you're Iraq and you have rocks in

your head. Well it sounded like we had talks about it that way I guess

because we just couldn't quit gloating over how beautiful the next pebble was.

But they were washed in from the North Sea. And and there was practically

no science on this beach. It was a wide beach and a Long Beach.

And and relatively flat and went as far as you could see in both directions

and the pebbles seemed to be if you dug down you diskette finding more pebbles.

So there were just oceans of them. And of course we we couldn't resist

collecting and we kept getting our pockets full and our bags full.

And then the floor of the car was full and then the boxes were full

and of course we kept wondering what we would do with these. Well we

knew that we would have the car until we had to ship it home

and we knew when we shipped it home we could not ship anything in it. So the question

would be when would we dispose of the rocks. And we knew we would be

flying from the airport at Brussels and we decided that we would take what we

could to the airport at Brussels and then if we were forbidden to carry this

weight our take these rocks are whatever the answer might be. We would build

ourselves R.K. or in the Brussels airport. And

so this story kept of course growing all summer because this was not the only

place that we picked up rocks. But this was the bulk of our source.

We did find rocks stones I suppose I should say

everywhere all over England. And. The

beaches would be one major place that we found them and they seem to be

on our beaches. And then the other place was

wherever there was Roman ruins. And and the Romans.

Had used a very a very flat like rock.

A lot of their building and their walls seemed to be made of

nodules Flint. And I suppose that this is