Bring your weird rocks to Genealogical Association meeting

The Surry County Genealogical Association and The Mount Airy Public Library will meet be taking a look at the geological history of the region when it the group holds its next meeting on May 13 at 6 p.m. at the library.

“we are asking everyone, if you have strange looking rocks or arrowheads or Fairy Stones that came from Fairy Stone Park, which is in Patrick County, Virginia, to bring them,” said club president Esther Johnson.

“Did you know there were two gold minesin Surry County at one time?” she asked. “Our ancestors collected all kinds of strange objects. They were out hunting and farming, so they saw these things and collected them. Bring your collection so everyone can see it. Also Fletcher Edwards will bring his strange looking rocks that have designs carved into them and he will talk about them For more information email Johnson at EPDJ1@triad.rr.com

“Years ago when people were farming and they had their children out in the fields helping them that was a time when Indian Arrow Heads were found and a lot of other strange looking rocks or objects, sometimes old bones,” she said. “People lived a different kind of life. Playing in creeks, swinging on grape vines and sliding down red clay banks. We are getting to the time of year when they (farmers) will be plowing fields and years ago they would wait until a rain came after they plowed and that would uncover things plowed up in the fields.

“I remember seeing a man out behind Bannertown school walking through a plowed field carrying a tobacco stick and everyone once in a while he would hit at something laying on the ground so he could uncover it and if it was an arrowhead or what he thought might be, he would pick it up. I do not see anyone doing anything like that now. It would be a good time to teach children now about how to do that. All of these things are still being found. You just have to take time and train yourself to look down.”