Published: March 12, 2008 12:53 pm            

Mind of minerals: His collection is a treasure

EFFINGHAM, Ill. — Effingham (Ill.) High School provided Roy Smith with the nickname “Rocky” for his physique. That moniker became ironically appropriate later in life.



Smith left Effingham on a football scholarship to Colorado State in 1953, and after a lifetime of adventures, he has returned home.



Smith is one of the premiere authorities on minerals in the country and has an extensive collection from his travels.



“This all started when I got the football scholarship to the University of Colorado. When I was getting ready to register for the ag program at the school, one of the coaches told me the school didn’t have one,” said Smith. “I told him I wanted to be outside, so he offered civil engineering and geology. I didn’t want to be a civil engineer, so here I am.”



After transferring to the University of Missouri, Smith set out on a career with Ametek and ended up working for Phisar as a director of research in the metallurgist field.



Through this career path, he was able to pursue his love for minerals. This passion, from which he has earned extensive notoriety, including awards from the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies, reacclimated Smith with his home state of Illinois.



Familiar to many, southern Illinois’ Cave in Rock is known for its beautiful rock formations. Below these, however, are a lesser known but widely storied history of the mineral fluorite.



Beyond the obvious beauty of these minerals, the southern Illinois mines from which Smith collected many fluorites now holds a place in American history. The minerals in the fluorites have been used in steel, aluminum, toothpaste and Freon gas for air conditioning.



In the 1870s, the mines were identified for having great commercial value for minerals found in fluorite that were used for a slag component in steel making. The heyday of this production was during World War I and II.



“Its been said that we may not have won either of the world war’s if the southern Illinois mines weren’t open,” said Smith. “Miners in those days would work an eight-hour shift in the mines, then eight hours guarding the TNT. There was a fear the Germans would come up the Ohio River and blow up the mines.”



With the final southern Illinois mine closed in 1996 due to a fall in mineral extraction and the primary source of fluorite minerals coming from China, Smith’s collection holds a significant piece of Illinois and American history.



“This is such an amazing mineral. There was a town in Kentucky where kids never got cavities. People were brought in to figure out why. They realized that the water source for the town was rich with fluorite. From that, it has become a regular addition to toothpaste,” said Smith.



While Smith’s collection includes pieces from Colorado, Wyoming and Missouri, his southern Illinois collection has roots to the Effingham area.



“My wife and I came home to visit her family in the Watson area when I ran in to a little mineral shop ran by Jim Fecho,” he said. “He was bringing up good quality pieces from the southern Illinois mines. This turned me on to a lifetime obsession to the pieces that the mine offered.”



While Smith has collected a variety of minerals in his life, he fancies himself a technical collector. Smith and his wife, Sue, share with great amusement the technical pieces that range from bunny to shark-shaped formations.



“It has been a fabulous family hobby. Our son now collects and sells these minerals as a profession,” said Sue Smith.



Tony Huffman writes for the Effingham (Ill.) Daily News.

        

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