I figured if Bobbie Oskarson of Colorado could happen across an 8.5-carat diamond in plain sight during her June visit to the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, why couldn't I? Hey, I'm as capable as anyone of root-hoggin' in the dirt and spotting a sparkly stone.
Conventional wisdom says visitors find more gems there after rainfalls and after the ground has been plowed. There's been plenty of rain, without a doubt. So off we went to Murfreesboro for an afternoon as miners. This was the first stop in a 12-day summer getaway through the West.
The first stop was to check in at the Diamond Oaks Inn Bed and Breakfast only a mile from the park. Buddy Richardson and wife Karen greeted us with all the mining equipment we'd need and an even more accommodating home away than we'd expected from their website.
I was surprised to find a homelike inn with a refreshing outdoor pool, well-appointed spacious room and Karen's fresh-baked cookies awaiting our check-in.
Once outfitted with the necessary sifting screens, buckets and spades, we left the Diamond Oaks with 10-carat hopes twinkling (did I really just write that?). Wonder how many others have felt the same way since the first diamond was found there in 1906 by the farmer who then owned the property. This place thrives on hopes as a regularly plowed field of dreams.
The park property has changed hands several times since 1906, including failed attempts at commercial mining. The site was operated by private owners before becoming a tourist attraction for 20 years beginning in 1952. Arkansas purchased what we now call the Crater of Diamonds in 1972 to develop as a state park. It's open year-around except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's days.
Today, a sign on one wall in the pavilion says an average of 600 diamonds (mostly very small) are found each year. A short film explains how to seek and find diamonds. The largest found was a 40.23-carat in 1924 named the Uncle Sam diamond.
On this weekday, the parking lot was half-filled with cars sporting license plates from many states that included Florida, California, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas and New York. We each paid our $8 entry fee and started down the ramp into the park.
Donna Clark of Bossier City, La., was coming the other direction, hauling a bag full of smooth, baseball-sized rocks and carrying a piece of driftwood from the crater. "I didn't find a diamond, but I'm so happy with these treasures," she said. "I have plans for creating something special with these, so I wasn't disappointed. Besides, I just love coming to Arkansas and I sure don't look forward to heading back to Louisiana. I'd like to move here."
Jeanetta McCroskey and Gonzo and Gaye Botello of Harrison and I entered the furrowed fields, still muddy in pockets, determined to find a lot more than pretty rocks and driftwood. It didn't take long to separate the reality of diamond mining from the romance of vivid imaginations.
Here's pretty much how the process goes: Head anywhere into the vast fields surrounding you and join the others already busy. Watch the surface for signs of any glimmering sheen. Shovel a bucketful of gravelly soil into your bucket. Empty it, a shovel scoop at a time, onto your screen. Slosh your screen in the muddy pavilion washtubs. Examine your rocks on the screen. Throw the mica and jasper and such into the water. Sigh and repeat the process until you've enjoyed all you can stand.
I soon found myself comparing notes with fellow miners.
Debbie Langford of Texarkana was wearing a necklace adorned with a very small diamond she'd found during one of her visits over the past five years. She said she's found as many as two dozen small diamonds. "I try to search in the areas where the soil is tinged green," she said. "I seem to have better luck there."
John Pollock of Connecticut was traveling through Arkansas in a motor home with wife Karen to visit family in California. The commercial real estate developer said they'd heard about the diamond mine and decided it would be fun to stop for a few hours.
"I promised her I'd find her a 4-carat stone, so she won't accept anything less," he said with a smile as we stood side-by-side sloshing our respective shovelfuls. He departed two hours later, still happy, but without keeping his promise.
The next morning we met "Ernie from Pasadena," who'd arrived at the inn for his turn in the fields. We used the voucher Karen and Buddy provided to have breakfast at Em's Restaurant in downtown Murfreesboro (population just over 1,600). That plateful got us on our way deeper into the West.
While we were a tad disappointed not to have joined the list of finders of the some 30 diamonds at the park this year, the adventure was worth it. And The Diamond Oaks was the nicest bed and breakfast I've found in Arkansas.
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected].
Editorial on 08/28/2016