"FIFTY YEARS IS ENOUGH"
CONTINUES AS MY OFFICIAL THEME FOR 2025
In the summer of 1973 a new dealer was allowed to have a table in the booth of the late Joe Tenhagen, a Miami, FL gemologist friend and specialist in Colombian emeralds at the AFMS National Show in Charlotte, NC. That dealer was Minerals America, it was a fledgling start up in Orlando. We (Leonard and then-wife Bobbie) had a good time, learned how shows worked, and made a few dollars. Our first show alone under the Minerals America name was in Opalika, Alabama the following year. When you are the new kid in the business, you start where you can, but we were appreciated so much by collectors there that we participated in that show for many years. We expanded slowly with Florida shows that would invite us, but soon grew into a well known business in Florida and the Southeast. Eventually, we were booking AFMS national and regional shows during summer breaks from teaching. We started Tucson in the famous Desert Inn with Cal Graeber on the mezzanine; it took a long wait in line until we were invited to join the Tucson main show. Our wives decided we didn't need a created name so we became Graeber & Himes. The Minerals America name and much inventory's was sold to Michael Jacob in the early 2000s after I retired from teaching became Colorado based. From then on, I've attended shows Leonard Himes and , although I also continued working with Cal as Graeber & Himes in Tucson.
So, 2024 represented my fiftieth year as a show dealer. It has been a great run. I've handled some wonderful specimens, met even more wonderful people, and dug minerals in some famous localities. But, I have to admit to being old enough that it is time to slow down. It is already a lot smaller schedule than the 18 shows per year I had in the earlier 2000s. I'll be commenting on some of my show history through out this year. So check back now an then to learn more about them. It is 2025 now and we have just finished our first Tucson show in a single venue (Mineral City) in decades. We will no longer have a show in Texas, but thank the Texas collectors who supported us over the years. I will have two shows in Denver and one in Colorado Springs, this year. Of course, we will host visitors in Monument by appointment when we are in Colorado.
We have our website, but not checkout carts and such because we enjoy the personal contact that talking to our customers provides. We expect to make some change with that during. I'll might finally improve my internet presence to compensate for less time on the road
Leonard Himes Dealer in Fine Mineral Specimens
Something else to make a trip to Tucson worthwhile.
The world of mineral dealing is a fraternity. Dealers work with and support each other. We share meals and, frequently, homes. We become true friends with many of our customers and their families. The beauty of selling at shows across the nation is that we have met so many dealers and customers and they have enriched our lives.
I've been at this for a long time, so I have experience the passing of these friends, a Who's Who this special world.
At Thanksgiving of 2024 we lost another, one of our closest. Bill Logan, "Mr. Rhodochrosite" to many. Bill had retired a number of years ago, as a respected dermatologist in Charlotte, NC. I had met him as a customer at a show in Hickory, NC, on one of my many southeastern US tours. Bill loved four things in particular, his family, his patients, rocks and trees. Educated at Duke University and the Mayo Clinic, he specialized in obscure skin disorders. He confessed to me that when he started his practice, he had to ask others in the group for help with everyday skin issues. He soon became known as the man to consult when other physicians had a patient with something they had not encountered. He was pleased to help. His wife, Sandra, a total sweetheart, was with him as he trained, was a gracious hostess when we visited them and a wonderful mother to their son and daughter. His love of trees was evident with in the variety found in their wooded back yard. Beyond that, though, he hiked the NC mountains to find rare examples to photograph. Bill had planned to become a mineral dealer following retirement. He called his business Spectrum Minerals and started a website with specimens that were searchable by color. He found the website did not provide the personal touch he desired, so he became a show dealer. His first show was in Springfield, MA. He discovered that standing all day with his long-time back problems caused such pain that he sold the entire booth to another dealer and reluctantly retired.
His grandchildren knew that he wanted to buried among the "sticks and stones", so at his funeral they each chose a tumbled stone from a bowl of his and found a tree twig in nature to deposit with him for his trip the Great Beyond. He would have liked that.
October 26, 2024 was a sad day for Linda and me personally and for the world of minerals in general. Our dear friend Guenther Neumeier unexpectedly passed away in his sleep while visiting his sister in Munich, Germany where he was attending the world's second most important mineral show. Guenther had just learned that his application for American citizenship had just been approved. He had lived in the US for over twenty years and his son Cory (now at the U of Colorado) was born here. Guenther had come to the US as the representative of Lapis the German mineral magazine and married here during that time. He was a talented editor and was, at one time, working at the Mineralogical Record with the expectation that he would eventually follow the current editor-in-chief. He helped numerous authors bring their magazine articles and books to press. Most recently he was employed by the estate of Rock Currier handling the sales of Rock's collection at La Fuente of Minerals in Tucson. Guenther worked for me on advertising and assisted at shows. He traveled with me across country in my motorhome and enjoyed seeing parts of America that were off the freeways. Guenther was a great cook and a fun house guest when he came to Colorado to visit Cory. He was truly a nice and interesting human being. I feel that I have lost a brother. This photo was posted by someone from the Munich show this week. It was also projected at a celebration for his life held at Mineral Nexus during the Tucson show. We enjoyed authentic German sausage, pretzels, beer and sharing our Guenther stories. I think is the perfect was to remember him. Thanks to whomever took that photo.
Bill (right) and his trusted helper Dean.
More about Tucson
If you have made it this far, I'm impressed. I hope you find the blog interesting.
The Chamber of Commerce in Tucson commissioned an economic survey of the 2019 Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase Expenditures.
Here are some of the findings.
They estimate a total of $131,426,030 in direct expenditures resulting from the 2019 Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase. Lodging is the largest individual expenditure category ($45,831,096) – followed by Food & Beverage ($27,154,625).
Out-of-town Buyers traveled to Tucson from 42 different states (as well as Puerto Rico) and 17 foreign countries. Exhibitors traveled from 45 states (including the District of Columbia) and 42 foreign countries.
The 2019 Showcase encompassed 48 individual shows and an estimated 4,882 Exhibitors. The 2019 total gate attendance was estimated to include 457,259 Buyers, each of whom visited 6.97 shows (on average) – for a projected attendance of 65,604 unique persons.
Fully 99% of Buyers purchased one or more items on-site at the shows, most often Gems/Jewelry and/or Rocks/Minerals/Fossils. Among international Buyers, two-thirds report cumulative on-site purchases in excess of $10,000.
They estimated that $13,028,205 in local taxes (including sales, bed and rental car taxes) were paid on $122,866,042 of taxable expenditures made by Owners, Exhibitors and Buyers at the 2019 Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase.
My comment: Notice that none of this actually includes sales of specimens, although that is reflected in sales tax collections, but only partly since wholesale purchases must exceed retail and are not taxed.
If attendee purchases average $10,000 (real easy to do) that gets to $50 million immediately, and that only counts official vendors, not all of the 'tailgaters who also do huge amounts of business. So Tucson is big business, my guess is at least half a billion dollars. No wonder the show is so much appreciated.
Museum From Parking Garage Vistors in the Museum Gallery
Besides the shows in Tucson and great attractions like the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Aircraft Museum, and Performing Art Center, Tucson is now the home of a world-class mineral museum. There has long been a fine collection on the campus of the University of Arizona as part of the Geology Department, but as of 2022, the all new Alfie Norville University of Arizona Mineral Museum opened. The Museum is housed in the most beautiful building in downtown Tucson. It was formerly the County Courthouse, but has been completely remodeled inside to become a museum and a separate Environmental Center. The Museum has became a full Department of the University and has secure funding for the future (but will still appreciate your financial support). The museum is now complete and offering daily visits.
The Alfie,as it is known, has special events, so be sure to subscribe to their calendar.
More on Museums
We Love Mineral Museums, so this Fall we made a pilgrimage to see two of my favorites. Our first stop was in New York City to see the recently renovated American Museum of Natural History's Hall of Minerals. As a kid, I had the opportunity to learn about minerals there while bending over the classic cases and even asking docents and curators question about them. I recall buying a set of minerals illustrating the crystal systems from the Gift Shop. As a young adult in the late 1960's I was able to visit the then-new hall which had much flasher exhibits, but I missed seeing more of the science. This new renovation got the balance of flash and science right. I congratulate George Harlow and his associates for this difficult accomplishment.
Following our pleasant visit to NYC, where we saw Wicked on Broadway (my choice for best musical ever!), we caught a train to Boston where we rented a car and relaxed for a few days in the New Hampshire countryside and then made the short drive to Bethel, ME. I had the privilege of visiting the Maine Museum of Minerals and Gems twice during its construction and even prepared some of the specimens now on display. But, I had not seen the completed project. I'm here to tell you, they got this one right, too! Under the watchful eye of cofounders Larry Stifler and Mary McFadden who are major supporters of conserving Maines natural beauty, with the hard work of Barbra Barrett, the first director, and science advice from Carl Francis (now curator) and Skip Simmons and a dedicated staff, they built an exemplary small museum with a focus. Actually, there are two foci, as the Stiffler collection of worldwide meteorites is an impressive part of the museum. Not only are there superb mineral specimens in the mineral galleries, but the people who found them and developed the pegmatite region of Maine are honored for their work, an unusual aspect for a museum. If you love minerals, you owe it to yourself to visit Bethel and museum. The displays are spectacular and many feature cut tourmaline stones and jewelry using them. Mt. Mica was the first gem locality in the US and is still producing 150 years later. I was surprised to learn how many mineral provinces exist in Maine and saw fine specimens that I had no idea could come from there. As a teacher, I was pleased to find accessible drawers of specimens from many states and a separate section of drawers showing the product of many Maine localities. I would have been a happy kid opening each drawer to learn, much as I had viewed the old AMNH cases in NYC.
This page features Show Reports, Travel Notes, and other Items of Interest as they strike my fancy.