Frederick and Butty ready to start digging
Looking tor gem stones in a promising pile ot dirt
and rocks, taken from the Wiseman Aquamarine
Mine and the Crabtree Emerald Mine (now closed).
Washing out the stones. Don't torgel to check the
discarded rocks.
Jane and Butty chat with a campground operator at
Little Switzerland, with a breath-taking overlook ot
verdant hills In the background.
18
The Prospectors
Their aim was fresh air, adventure,
mountain scenory, and an oeeasional
da/./.ling' gem.
By j am: pfaivn m aske
Do you fancy emeralds? How about
star rubies and sapphires? Well, you
don't have to march down to Tiffany’s
with a big bank account to get these
gems. If you have the spirit of adven¬
ture. a strong back, and no aversion to
getting muddy, you might want to try
your luck at gem prospecting in West¬
ern N'orth Carolina.
One day at work, a colleague ap¬
proached me to show me a magnificent
emerald drop, and a star sapphire ring.
She said her husband had found both
while prospecting for gems in the North
Carolina mountains. I was immediately
hooked on the idea, got all the details,
and set a date for the trip.
The Spruce Pine-Little Switzerland
area is a magnificent mountainous re¬
gion about an hour’s drive from Ashe¬
ville. and a two hour trek from
Winston-Salem. N.C. My fellow
prospectors were my five year old
daughter. Buffy, and my eleven year old
son, Frederick (who also was the resi¬
dent photographer).
We stayed at the Skyline Motor Mo¬
tel. a charming old place with clean,
pine-panelled rooms on the Blue Ridge
Parkway and Highway 226. Don't ex¬
pect a pool and sauna, as this motel
probably hasn't changed much in years.
Their only concession to our modern
day lifestyle is a color T.V. in each room
which got cable channels. The motel
was very reasonable— S25 a night.
There is also a restaurant adjacent to the
motel that serves the best Southern fried
chicken and hushpuppies I've ever had
in my fifteen years of living in this state.
The Dirt Pile
While checking in at the motel. I
mentioned to the manager that we in¬
tended to go to Little Sw itzerland to
hunt emeralds. He suggested that before
we did that, we might want to check out
a place about a mile away where we
could dig on our own. About two
minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway,
on the side of Highway 226. you will
see a huge pile of dirt and rocks taken
from the closed Wiseman Aquamarine
Mine and the Crabtree Emerald Mine.
Apparently, one used to be able to go
into the mines with pick-ax and shovel.
However, insurance rates for the mine
owners became exorbitant, forcing
them to close. Ted Ledford, a Spruce
Pine gemologist. had several truckloads
of dirt from the mines dumped beside
the road for adventuresome prospec¬
tors.
If you were driving too fast, you
might just miss Ledford’s Rock and
Gem Shop. It looks just like numerous
other souvenir shops in the mountains.
But inside. Ledford has a dazzling dis¬
play of magnificent faceted jewels from
all over the world. Ledford is a friendly,
easygoing fellow whose eyes, ironically,
arc a deep sapphire blue. For SIO a day.
you are provided with two buckets of
dirt from the mound across from the
shop. After that, you're on your own as
far as digging is concerned.
The three of us trudged across the
street with great anticipation. Now.
don’t come gem prospecting wearing
your Ballenciaga original or your Gucci
shoes! It is hard, sloppy work. Once the
dirt is in the bucket, it is shaken into a
THE STATE. 1987
