As part of the celebration of ESCONI’s 70th Anniversary, here is Flashback Friday post #40. If you have pictures or stories to contribute, please send them over to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks!
Here are pictures to a quarry in Lemont, IL in 1952. The Lemont quarries were known for the diversity of the trilobites that could be found. The one pictured below in Calymene celebra, which is the State Fossil of Wisconsin.
Greetings from Bill Allaway’s grandson Ben Allaway. What a tremendous discovery my wife Julianne made when she was looking for Bill’s obit and instead found this amazing collection of pictures from ESCONI’s early days! I grew up going to “The Barn” in my grandparents’ back yard in Los Gatos, CA, where they retired in 1960. The Barn housed everything from their basement displays in Downers Grove, most of the cabinets made by grandpa. The first thing you saw upon entering the barn was the poster of the evolution of man, so I have had no sympathy with strict creationists… Every specimen was documented carefully and recorded. He loved nothing more than hosting school groups and grandchildren for tours of the collection. You know he continued to be a leader among rock hounds, because his local rock club in the Bay Area had Louis Leakey in for a week, and grandpa got to be his driver! When they had to move to a retirement community, grandpa convinced them to let him move the museum into the basement of the facility, and many residents and their families enjoyed the activities there, especially the lapidary shop. Bill has a piece in the National Museum of Lapidary Arts somewhere in the Dakotas, legend has it. We haven’t made it there, but did finally get to the wonderful Lizzadro Museum a few years ago and confirmed grandpa’s involvement in the founding of that great place, making two institutions he helped imagine which are still going strong today. Joe Lizzadro entrusted Bill with searching out important specimens and purchasing them for the collection. We’d love to connect with ESCONI, and particularly with anyone who remembers our family. One correction— Peggy Allaway, the poet, was the daughter of Bill and Helen Allaway. All three are actually in the first picture in this batch of pix on your website. Peggy is second from right, Helen 4th from right, Bill far left. Aunt Peggy had the family gift for art, and she and her father loved to make fanciful figurines out of rocks and paint characters on them according to the shapes in the rocks. Epic poems such as Peggy’s exploration day poem in the post on your website are still a family tradition on august and not so august occasions. We lost Aunt Peggy in 2018. Grandpa lived to a young 95. He took up painting watercolors in his last decade and there are over 400 “specimens” in that collection as well. Helen died in 1989. Grandpa made a trip out to buy a house, and had found the house with the Barn in back and gave little consideration to other features. Grandma always regretted not coming along as the kitchen was never to her liking. My brother actually became a geologist and after grandpa died he was the obvious choice to take on the contents of The Barn. After sitting in his garage for 25 years while he raised a family (in his defense, grandpa’s rock passion didnt really kick in until the 40’s after his children were grown), he has just bought a house in Thousand Osks near their grandkids with a built in Barn—and a deal with his wife to redo the kitchen!—in which to display the collection, and is looking forward to moving in and opening again this western monument to the many happy times our grandparents spent with ESCONI pals picking away for treasure. FYI, brother Bill is Bill V, and his son Will is Bill VI, who just had Bill VIl. William the first emigrated from England to Kansas in 1870, bringing my grandfather’s father as a one year old.
I will be happy to connect with anyone of you, and can send more pictures! I wonder if Grandpa promoted the singing of this song in ESCONI , which became the follow up to our sung table prayer: After “Amen” we break out into this song to the tune of Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow: “Rocks and gems and minerals, rocks and gems and minerals, You can have a lot of fun with rocks and gems and minerals! Amen!” Smiles all around… We still sing that song at any special meal. It sure was true, it has been a lot of fun to be in a rockhounding family. We live in Des Moines, the only Allaway’s to make it back to the Midwest, where I settled having attended U of I in Chambana like my father and his sister, finishing at St Olaf in MN and teaching and doing church music in the Midwest. I got my grandparents’ musical genes—Helen was a pianist of high achievement and grandpa was concertmaster of the Oak Park Symphony. Music brought them together.
Blessings to all. We hope to hear from you.
Ben and Julianne Allaway
211 Zwart Rd
Des Moines, IA 50312
515-730-1038
Benlmnop@aol.com
Greetings from Bill Allaway’s grandson Ben Allaway. What a tremendous discovery my wife Julianne made when she was looking for Bill’s obit and instead found this amazing collection of pictures from ESCONI’s early days! I grew up going to “The Barn” in my grandparents’ back yard in Los Gatos, CA, where they retired in 1960. The Barn housed everything from their basement displays in Downers Grove, most of the cabinets made by grandpa. The first thing you saw upon entering the barn was the poster of the evolution of man, so I have had no sympathy with strict creationists… Every specimen was documented carefully and recorded. He loved nothing more than hosting school groups and grandchildren for tours of the collection. You know he continued to be a leader among rock hounds, because his local rock club in the Bay Area had Louis Leakey in for a week, and grandpa got to be his driver! When they had to move to a retirement community, grandpa convinced them to let him move the museum into the basement of the facility, and many residents and their families enjoyed the activities there, especially the lapidary shop. Bill has a piece in the National Museum of Lapidary Arts somewhere in the Dakotas, legend has it. We haven’t made it there, but did finally get to the wonderful Lizzadro Museum a few years ago and confirmed grandpa’s involvement in the founding of that great place, making two institutions he helped imagine which are still going strong today. Joe Lizzadro entrusted Bill with searching out important specimens and purchasing them for the collection. We’d love to connect with ESCONI, and particularly with anyone who remembers our family. One correction— Peggy Allaway, the poet, was the daughter of Bill and Helen Allaway. All three are actually in the first picture in this batch of pix on your website. Peggy is second from right, Helen 4th from right, Bill far left. Aunt Peggy had the family gift for art, and she and her father loved to make fanciful figurines out of rocks and paint characters on them according to the shapes in the rocks. Epic poems such as Peggy’s exploration day poem in the post on your website are still a family tradition on august and not so august occasions. We lost Aunt Peggy in 2018. Grandpa lived to a young 95. He took up painting watercolors in his last decade and there are over 400 “specimens” in that collection as well. Helen died in 1989. Grandpa made a trip out to buy a house, and had found the house with the Barn in back and gave little consideration to other features. Grandma always regretted not coming along as the kitchen was never to her liking. My brother actually became a geologist and after grandpa died he was the obvious choice to take on the contents of The Barn. After sitting in his garage for 25 years while he raised a family (in his defense, grandpa’s rock passion didnt really kick in until the 40’s after his children were grown), he has just bought a house in Thousand Osks near their grandkids with a built in Barn—and a deal with his wife to redo the kitchen!—in which to display the collection, and is looking forward to moving in and opening again this western monument to the many happy times our grandparents spent with ESCONI pals picking away for treasure. FYI, brother Bill is Bill V, and his son Will is Bill VI, who just had Bill VIl. William the first emigrated from England to Kansas in 1870, bringing my grandfather’s father as a one year old.
I will be happy to connect with anyone of you, and can send more pictures! I wonder if Grandpa promoted the singing of this song in ESCONI , which became the follow up to our sung table prayer: After “Amen” we break out into this song to the tune of Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow: “Rocks and gems and minerals, rocks and gems and minerals, You can have a lot of fun with rocks and gems and minerals! Amen!” Smiles all around… We still sing that song at any special meal. It sure was true, it has been a lot of fun to be in a rockhounding family. We live in Des Moines, the only Allaway’s to make it back to the Midwest, where I settled having attended U of I in Chambana like my father and his sister, finishing at St Olaf in MN and teaching and doing church music in the Midwest. I got my grandparents’ musical genes—Helen was a pianist of high achievement and grandpa was concertmaster of the Oak Park Symphony. Music brought them together.
Blessings to all. We hope to hear from you.
Ben and Julianne Allaway
211 Zwart Rd
Des Moines, IA 50312
515-730-1038
Benlmnop@aol.com
Correction— on further consultation with my brother, we determined that Aunt Peggy is not in that photo at the top. But Bill and Helen are.
Correction— on further consultation with my brother, we determined that Aunt Peggy is not in that photo at the top. But Bill and Helen are.
In the bottom picture far right, Bill Allaway is the one rockin’ the Fedora. Helen is seated next him.
In the bottom picture far right, Bill Allaway is the one rockin’ the Fedora. Helen is seated next him.
Wow! Somehow, I didn’t get a notification for your comments back in August. We would love to reconnect and hear some stories and see some pictures. Maybe some material for a “Throwback Thursday”. ESCONI is still going strong! And, knowledge and appreciation for those that started our club is important! I am historian and webmaster for the club.
Cheers,
Rich
Wow! Somehow, I didn’t get a notification for your comments back in August. We would love to reconnect and hear some stories and see some pictures. Maybe some material for a “Throwback Thursday”. ESCONI is still going strong! And, knowledge and appreciation for those that started our club is important! I am historian and webmaster for the club.
Cheers,
Rich
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