Steve started collecting minerals seriously while studying geology at Indiana University in the mid 1960's. Collecting in Indiana has always been one of his fondest memories; the quarries and road-cuts are productive and the mineralogy is fascinating. After graduating, Steve moved to Wyoming and worked in the Black Hills area, collecting in the pegmatites of the mountains and in the concretion zones in areas around Crook County, Wyoming and Edgemont, South Dakota.
His first business, Rose Minerals, was based in Newcastle, Wyoming during this period. Moving to Denver in 1971 meant new areas to investigate. Many of his project areas were in central Colorado, and two favorite collecting locations were Italian Mountain and Mount Antero. He first found and displayed the clear barites from the La Junta area in Southeast Colorado in the mid 1970's. For part of this period he owned a business called Contact Minerals, with a friend, Jim Moore.
While living in Denver he did a lot of work in Nevada and Utah and enjoyed collecting some of the little known locations there. During this time he was introduced to the specimens from what was to become the "Zapot" Claim by the original discover, Ken Palosky, of Hawthorne. He moved from Denver back to Wyoming for three years, and in 1981, moved to Reno to work on the McGloughlin Mine project in California. He worked with Harvey Gordon in Sierra Contact Minerals for a time and with him owned and operated several properites for specimens and gem material in Nevada and California. His experience with Sierra Contact Minerals led Steve to a new venture with Teri, the creation of their retail store, Sierra Crystal Mines.
Teri spent much of the 1980’s and early 1990’s selecting some of the finest crystals available for her jewelry business. While specializing in Herkimer Diamonds, she worked with a wide variety of gem crystals and created superb pieces for a range of clients. She wholesaled her designs all over the country until her interests turned to other forms of art and design. Teri photographed and designed this website (and has done many others) and does advertising design, graphics and web design at a reasonable cost. Check out her website: http://www.rosegraphics.biz
Steve is now semi-retired and is thinking of slowing the pace somewhat. Teri has suggested that some of the ‘rocks’ in the garage might be best returned to “the wild”, but Steve believes that they are all far to nice for that. You can form your own opinion when you review the website. We would be interested in hearing from any of you who are interested in ‘chatting’ about minerals.
