“I think every kid has picked up an interesting rock,” she said.
“Have you ever picked up a rock that’s shaped like a heart?
That’s shaped like a potato? That’s shaped like a bird? Maybe it
had a pretty color or had crystals in it. Just about everybody
as a child has collected some kind of rock.” In this case,
treasure has nothing to do with money, unless that includes the
money Roberts has invested in her rock hound habit. She was one
of those children who picked up pretty rocks, but her
appreciation never went away. Today, she’s president of the
North Mississippi Gem and Mineral Society, a group of like-
minded people who think good things can be found by looking
down. “We don’t do a lot digging. You’re looking at the surface
or just below the surface,” said Roberts, 61, of Counce, Tenn.
“A lot of material comes to the surface after a heavy rain. If
you’re collecting a day or two after a heavy rain, you need your
mud boots on. Mississippi is known for its ooey, gooey clay.”
The society has regular field trip