Joplin

Field Trip Findings: Gaining More Than Mineral Specimens

- BILL REYNOLDS

Early in 2020, 26 rockhounds representing clubs from Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma descended on the History and Mineral Museum in Joplin, Missouri, for a day of fun, fellowship, and field finds.

The itinerary included a guided tour of the museum and collecting ore samples from the zinc and lead mining boom days. Also on the docket was a visit to Grand Falls on Shoal Creek for collecting of stream-tumbled lapidary material and marine fossils. Joplin is a prosperous city of 50,150 people with numerous parks, museums, trails, golf courses, andan aquatic center, among other attractions. Joplin is also the home of Missouri Southern State University with an enrollment of about six thousand. The services, attractions, and opportunities found in this city result from a lot of recent hard work, commitment, and love for the community. The current favorable situation is due to rebuilding after a powerful and catastrophic EF5- rated tornado struck Joplin on the evening of Sunday, May 22, 2011. The tornado took 158 lives, and it was reportedly one of the costliest single tornados in U.S. history. After the tornado swept through the area, hundreds of volunteers came to Joplin to reach out to the survivors and rebuild. My wife and I took part in the recovery work and helped my niece, who had lost her home. The city came back stronger with new buildings, homes, and businesses. Today, murals decorate many of the buildings, and art is present throughout the city.

Editor’s Note: Although travel restrictions and quarantine measures have occupied much of how we live life in 2020, just as we always have, Rock & Gem values the stories, discoveries, and experiences related to field trips. Be it solo excursions, small group adventures, or club-sponsored outings; these reports are valuable and entertaining. This account of a field trip serves to inspire.