REMARKABLE PEOPLE, Extraordinary Contributions/Congratulations to the 2004 National Rockhound Lapidary Hall of Fame Inductees

摘要

This year, as usual, a remarkable group of people who have made extraordinary contributions to the sciences and arts of the mineral kingdom have been inducted to the National Rockhound & Lapidary Hall of Fame. Nominations for the Hall of Fame are made annually by amateurs, professionals, clubs, and sometimes federations. The final vote is made by a board of seven well-known American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS) members who attend many shows and have a wide knowledge of the accomplishments of the many nominees. I started it all in the late 1980s after the deaths of several friends and mentors who had done so much for the hobby and never knew how much they were appreciated. I talked it over with Pansy Krauss, then Editor of Lapidary Journal, Willard Roberts, then Curator of the South Dakota School of Mines Museum, Paul Desautels, Curator of the Smithsonian Hall of Gems, and several past presidents of AFMS. All agreed we needed our own Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is located at Murdo, South Dakota. It is in the mineral and lapidary room of the Pioneer Auto Museum. (There are many collections in the museum in addition to the autos and the mineral/lapidary room, including antique music boxes, old-fashioned styles, games and toys, as well as an antique Prairie Town, which has a fully restored old jewelry shop, blacksmith shop, and a one-room school.)