Rockhounding miscellanea; Students collect little treasures

     Seniors Sarah Hardiman and Laura Erisman have been gathering an eclectic array of items for several years. Hardiman has taken a liking for tacky magnets and rocks, while Erisman collects state socks and rocks as well.

    “I started my magnet collection around five summers ago when my mom bought me one from one of those dorky souvenir shops,” Hardiman explains. “I remember going, ‘Hey, this is very tacky and I really like it!’ and decided I wanted to collect a bunch” she continues.

     Erisman started collecting rocks after first learning about them in her second grade science class when she was eight years old. “I thought ‘Hey, these are pretty sick’ so at the book fair that year I bought one of those little Natural Geographic rock sets and it’s snowballed ever since then. I’m obsessed” she comments.

     Hardiman mostly collects magnets sold at tourist destinations. “I have ones from different beaches, a botanical garden, and a prison turned museum called the Eastern State Penitentiary,” she describes. “The prison magnet is my favorite because I was with my mom, cousin, and aunt when I went there and I don’t get to see those relatives often. I also had a lot of fun there so it reminds me of good memories,” she continues.

     “A lot of the rocks in my collection come from Arches National Park in Moab, Utah,” Erisman states. She also gets rocks from different rock and mineral conventions, book fairs, and rock stands at state fairs. “If I see a rock on the side of a road that’s interesting or pretty I’ll take it, but sometimes I don’t care and I’ll just take a rock because I want it,” she continues.

     One of Erisman’s favorite rocks in her collection is a citrine egg. “It’s so cool. It’s a nice shade of yellow, and it’s like topaz’s less valuable and expensive cousin,” she explains. She also particularly likes a Bismuth piece one of her friends gifted her, and a dog shaped dalmatian stone she’s bought recently.

     Both collectors arrange their items in a neat fashion. Hardiman has a magnetic board hung above her desk and sticks her magnets on there in chronological order from left to right then down. Erisman keeps her rocks in plastic containers which are arranged in small metal briefcases. She arranges her rocks by color, type, quality (raw or polished), and collection.

     “All the rocks I have from Natural Geographic sets are kept in the same place, but inside that case I keep each set together,” she explains. However, Erisman also keeps some rocks around her room in the open because she “just [has] so many”. Hardiman has a similar problem, and states that she keeps her rocks in one big pile in her room.

     “Most of the socks I have are from states my dad has been to. He’ll pick up a pair for me at an airport, while others are from different family members,” Erisman comments. She states she has pairs from North Carolina, Florida, New York, California, Maryland, and Texas.