This is Mazon Monday post #296.  What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com.

---

Jim Turnbull, namesake for Anthracomedusa turnbulli (see Mazon Monday #278), worked for Abbott Labs for many years. Abbott has/had an internal newsletter called “AbbotTopics”. In the October 8th, 1965 edition, Jim is the subject of an article titled “Prehistoric Insect Discovery May Bear Abbott Man’s Name”.

Jim found the first Anthracomedusa turnbulli in 1965. Eugene Richardson, Curator of Fossil Invertebrates at the Field Museum, told the story this way…

A few years ago, one of the collectors cooperating with the Museum, Jim Turnbull of Libertyville and the U. S. Marines, dropped in to see us with a perfectly fine jellyfish in one of the familiar ironstone concretions. Recognizing its significance, Jim kindly gave it to the Museum for permanent deposit. We jokingly ordered some more. He returned to the strip mines, to the hill where he had found that one, and the following week was back with two more, which he also deposited with us.

Here is a photo from Jim (via Michele Micetich) with an arrow to show where he found the first one.

Prehistoric Insect Discovery May Bear Abbott Man’s Name

Jim Turnbull (Maintenance) may have a prehistoric insect named after him some day.

Jim’s hobby is paleontology – the study of prehistoric life. He spends his Saturdays combing open-pit mines in central Illinois for fossil remains of creatures that lived hundreds of millions of years ago.

The mines were once tropical rain forests, and before that, oceans. Jim’s basement is filled with specimens of long-extinct fish, shrimp, and other sen creatures.

One of his discoveries – “a rather weird little insect, I guess you’d call it” is apparently a previously-unknown species. It’s now being studied at the Chicago Natural History Museum. A museum curator, Dr. Eugene Richardson, Jr., said that if the creature does turn out to be a new species it might be named after Jim an unusual distinction for a 19-year old mechanical trainee.

Not that Jim is a full-blown scientist yet. “My high school grades didn’t exactly make me college material,” he joked. Nonetheless, he has invested several hundred dollars in a scientific library, and he plans to attend college in the future.

Jim joined Abbott about a year ago one day after he became old enough upon the recommendation of his father, Buzz, a 23-year Abbott veteran in Glenn Hanson’s mechanical section of the Finishing Dept.

Jim’s hobby started in grade school. Like most youngsters, he was fond of brightly-colored rocks. But after he began reading about fossils, he turned from rock-collector to serious student.

He’s so absorbed in his work that he has trouble explaining his interest to others. He spent several minutes groping for words to explain why he does it.

“Just say it’s a challenge,” he said finally.

“If you could see these things… look at them and realize they were once alive…. try to learn enough about their appearance to give them names and places on the evolutionary scale… you might understand the challenge.”

As an established scientist, Jim’s paleontologist friend at the museum finds it easier to explain.

“Our goal is to classify every plant and every creature that ever lived,” Dr. Richardson said. “Just say we’re compiling a history of the earth.

“According to legend, Adam was given the task of naming every animal. He didn’t finish it.”

Dr. Richardson said Jim is one of several amateur collectors bringing him samples.

“I value them all very highly,” he added.

Jim is forming his own fossil-hunting club: the Illinois Paleon-tology Expeditionary and Research Group. One of the charter members is fellow employee Doug Kimberlin (IV Solutions). They’re interested in more Abbott recruits.

Jim’s fascination with paleon-tology has led him into another activity scouting. He was recently made associate advisor of a Liberty-ville Explorer post, and he once led a dozen scouts and leaders on a three-day field trip through western Illinois Apple River Canyon.

Scout work isn’t the only thing that keeps him busy when he isn’t fossil-hunting. He builds stage sets for the Village Players, an amateur theater group, belongs to the Libertyville Community Club, and is a former member of the Great Lakes Junior Rifle Team.

These photos and the original article are part of the Tom Testa Collection at the Carbon Hill School Museum in Carbon Hill, IL. Michele Micetich, curator, has an interesting place with many artifacts that document everyday life over the last 150+ years in the Carbon Hill, Coal City, Diamond, Braidwood, and Wilmington area. The museum is open every Monday from Noon – 4 PM or by appointment. It’s an invaluable source for learning about the area’s history.