Amana Opens Up For The Best in... Rocks

By Chris Earl, Anchor/Reporter

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By Chris Earl

Story Created: Sep 27, 2009 at 12:02 PM CST

Story Updated: Sep 27, 2009 at 5:03 PM CST

AMANA - Millions of rocks come in and out of town as people from all over the Midwest spend their weekend in Amana. Seeing plates from all over the Midwest isn't unusual for the Amana R-V Park, just north of town, but what is unusual inside is also what's valuable.

Hundreds of thousands -- maybe millions if you have enough time to count -- of rocks are coming through Amana this weekend for the Cedar Valley Rocks & Minerals Society's Two-Day auction.

Thousands of rocks. Plenty of laughs.

Yet for some people, rocks are their business. "We have all of this inventory and we sell it on eBay," Roxanna Peterson of Pierre, South Dakota told us. She claims 3 tons of rocks on her property.

"I'm third generation," Bruce Birkemeyer of Mankato, Minnesota, said as to why he got into rocks.

Bob Roper of Cedar Rapids also had a reason. "I want to do stuff with my boys and that's a good family thing," Roper said.

People have their reasons but people also have their favorites, from Montana moss agates to Mexican agates. Tyler Zinkula, 7, of Mount Vernon shone with his simplicity. "I like that they're shiny," Tyler said.

Birkemeyer not only collects but also cuts and polishes and he says that can make for a real financial hole. "The equipment is costly and you work with industrial diamond equipment," Birkemeyer said. Still, he said he cuts and polishes just for the show in Amana.

"It's somebody's collection they getting rid of and hasn't seen the light of day in a long time," Roper said. "It's great material hunted in the 60's and 70's."

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