Thursday, June 26th 2008, 9:43 pm
Christian Price, News9.com INsite Team
Distinct in color and shape, the Barite Rose Rock is the state rock of Oklahoma.
Husband and wife team Joe and Nancy Stine have been digging for Rose Rocks since 1971. They first started by helping Nancy's mother, who was an occupational therapist, use them for therapy sessions.
The Stine's didn't stop at just making arrangements. They own and operate the Timberlake Rose Rock Museum in Noble Oklahoma.
"I thought of making them into a specimen on a stand or a wire," Joe said. "Then I decided to make it more artistic and make arrangements out of them."
Almost 80-years-old, Joe boasts about how he and his wife collect the rocks for the museum.
"We do all the digging ourselves," Joe said. "We have some land that has the best Rose Rocks that we know of on it, and we go out and dig them ourselves."
Nancy also likes the process of digging and collecting.
"It's exciting because we never know what we'll come up with," Nancy said. "We have come upon some that are ten feet across, but we can't get them out. They're just too enormous."
According to Nancy, the rocks' beauty causes some visitors to question the rocks authenticity.
"I'm impressed with how much they look like a rose, of course, and it impresss people," Nancy said. "They look at these and they say, ‘This is no accident. These Rose Rocks were created.'"
The only thing that is created in the museum is Joe's Rose Rock arrangements.
If you would like to visit the Timberlake Rose Rock Museum, call (405) 872-9838. For hours of operation and directions, log on to www.roserockmuseum.com .
Admission to the museum is free.
June 26th, 2008
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