I have collected and have been interested in minerals for 50 years. My first field collecting experience occurred at the age of three when I was delighted to find colorful stream-worn pebbles at the property of my uncle. Proudly categorizing them and leaving them in the care of my grandmother, I found on my next visit to her that some of the rocks I remembered were missing. My grandmother later recounted that it was odd having a three year-old child so upset about missing rocks. To this day, I can vividly recall the appearance of the rocks she threw away. This almost perfect recall of rocks by an otherwise normal small child has led me to deeply ponder the basis of my affinity for mineral specimens and other natural phenomenon. One potential explanation for this inclination to collect minerals can be found in the Theory of Multiple Intelligences proposed by Professor Howard Gardner of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Specifically, the The Eighth Intelligence: Naturalistic Intelligence [Link Broken? May 2013]. If you, like me, are a mineral collector and felt drawn to this activity, you might find reading about the Eighth Intelligence to be of great interest.

Now, I have amassed a diverse and extensive collection of over 12,000 specimens, numbering almost 2,000 different species. My collection consists of micro to large cabinet-sized examples from world-wide localities, with particular emphasis on localities in the Western United States, especially from my favorite locality, the Mammoth Saint-Anthony Mine, Tiger, Pinal Co., Arizona. My feeling is that mineral collecting should not be a two-dimensional activity, and the composition of my collection reflects that philosophy. I try to maintain a good balance of specimens representing categories such as: rare species, aesthetic (display) specimens, old classics, field collected specimens, or pieces obtained through trade or purchase. I feel that if a specimen fills more than one of these categories it is especially valuable, particularly if it “tells a geological or geochemical story.”

I have years of field-collecting experience at a variety of locales in the Western United States and Canada, concentrating mainly on uncommon or rare species. I have been a speaker on various mineral localities and their minerals a number of times at mineralogical symposia. Through my network of associates, I can obtain analyses of minerals, and have frequently done so in the past when I was unsure of a mineral specimen's identity. I have equipment for producing both digital photomicrographs and macro-photographs of minerals and have amassed an extensive library of mineral photographs.

Affiliations:

Member, and currently President of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Friends of Mineralogy

Member: Northwest Micro Mineral Study Group, Fluorescent Mineral Society.