Timberlake Rose Rock Museum can be reached at www.roserockmuseum.com. A catalog for rose rock items is available by E mail  Okart73071@yahoo.com  The Museum Website by www.roserockdesign.com
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Joe and Nancy Stine celebrate the 38th year of their Rose Rock business 1971-2009

TREES OF MANY COLORS PROVIDE ART

These intricate sculptures were done by our friend, Curtis Rose.  The wood is Chinese Elm and is finished twice to provide protection against the acid in human fingerprints and bring out the beauty of the color and design of the wood.   Imagine the patience it must take to carve such a peice!    He was recently chosen to participate in a prestigious art show and won an award.

PROM NO. 2

We look forward to our proms, and Lauren had not only her own prom this year, but in addition, her boy friend, Taylan's prom at another school to go to.  Now they are enjoying the freedom of summer and celebrating the Fourth of July at Lauren's home in Bridgecreek.  To be young........can hardly remember.   Sometimes I recall it, like for instance the dancing in the street in Manes, Missouri.  Singing "Skip, skip, skip to my Lou, Skip to my Lou my darling".   Of course there would be a certain someone to grab your hand and swing you around.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

On October 19, 1781, the decisive military campaign of the American Revolution culminated with the British surrender to combined American and French forces under the command of George Washington. The Siege of Yorktown effectively ended the six-year struggle of the Revolutionary War and set the stage for a new government and nation.

Norman Rockwell Painting

OUR  ANNUAL POSTER GIRL FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY

Ruth Elizabeth Timberlake, who grew up with the desire to be part of the movie industry, moved with her mother, Laura Timberlake to California.  Incidentally, Laura was originally from Mansfield, Missouri and her family moved to Muskogee, Ok.    Ruth played small parts in movies and played the piano for silent movies.  Unfortunately she died young with tuberculosis.  Ruth was Joe's mother's sister.   She was a lovely young woman.  She was one fourth Cherokee and had the dark eyes and hair.  Her daughter, Gloria, lives in Florida and for many years owned a successful travel agency.  We still keep in touch by E mail and telephone.

Below is Ruth at age 16, about the time she went to Hollywood.

Ruth in a more sophisticated look, after she moved to Hollywood.

Ruth as a baby

Gloria, Ruth's daughter about 1936.  She lives in Florida, retired from her tourism business and just recently returned from a trip to Turkey.   It is my favorite childhood picture of her.

Below is Laura Belle Timberlake, Ruth's mother.  (Joe and Gloria's  maternal grandmother) 

Below is John Anderson Timberlake, maternal grandfather of Joe and Gloria.   He was one fourth Cherokee.  (John's parents were each one half Cherokee.)

THE RIDE

 One time Ruth and a friend traveled from California to Chicago.   They needed a ride and John Dillinger, well known gangster, offered them one.  At the Arizona border, John made Ruth walk across the state line, so that if he got caught, he wouldn't be charged with taking her across the line.   While they were driving, Ruth's friend asked John what he did for a living.   He said I deal in gold and jewels.   The friend asked, "Are you a jeweler?"   John said, "No, I rob banks.   The reason I picked you up was to put you on that side of the car and if the feds catch up with me, the bullets will hit you, not me. "  Just east of Flagstaff, Arizona, John made them get out in the middle of the night.   They then caught another ride.   That was the last they saw of John.

John Herbert Dillinger was a misbegotten champion to masses of depression flattened Americans.   He was an outlaw bold enough to strike back at the financiers and bankers whose greed the people blamed for the nation's slide into an economic swamp. 

John was a yodeler.  When Bill and Ruth were riding with him, he gave them a vocal demonstration, yodelling for them.  Sounds kind of out of character for a bank robber to me, but then how many have I known?

JOHN'S DEMISE

A woman, Anna, who was a friend of one of John's girl friends and was the manager of a house of ill repute, agreed to dress in red to show 17 members of the FBI who John was.   He had changed his looks by surgery.  She received $5,000 for the job.   He was killed in a hail of gunfire in Chicago in 1934, the year I was born.  What a waste of a human life.  Born with good looks,  excellent health and an outgoing personality and a person who liked to joke a lot, he had such a tragic ending.   It was a matter of choice what to do with his life and he sure made the wrong one.

GONE FOREVER

The oldest pawnshop in Oklahoma burned down just a few weeks ago.   It was located in Pauls Valley across the street from the Action Figure Museum in the downtown area.

TALENTED WOODCRAFTSMAN FROM IOWA

We enjoyed our visit with Mike Mauro today, a talented woodcraftsman who does one of a kind pieces in his spare time.   He went so far as to make a whole bedroom set for a grandchild, the crib, toy box and such.   Some of his work has secret messages hidden for the child to find in the future.  The boxes he makes are the subjects the children like, such as the "tweety bird".   He does all the decorations on them by hand.  They are not ordered through a wood catalog.    In addition to working for the postal service and doing the woodcraft, he does scuba diving, going on teaching trips.   He also does glass etching and is learning to photo etching.    Pretty amazing!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PRISCILLA

In Brunswick, Georgia, Priscilla was welcomed into the world She now has two daughters, one of them a school teacher and the other about to enter college. She is working on her masters degree, gradually getting her education while working. At present she has a prestigious position as a medical administrator. She has always been adventurous and never afraid to try anything. Maybe it's some of that pioneer spirit handed down from long ago.

 

 

 

Aunt Minnie", as I like to call her is one of those people who made their mark while they were here. When she died, there was a noticeable vacancy on earth. I never met her, yet I feel I know her well.

Her parents lived in Kansas, but went back to family in Springhill, Ohio for Minnie's birth. Her father, Louis Philip Stine, kept a collection of diaries in the 1800's which we still have today. Minnie married Vest Reynolds, who died young and she never remarried. She left paintings, antiques, and photos behind that help us to know her. She had no children and so her nephews, John, James, and Joseph Stine were sort of adopted. She worked as a seamstress and created hats which were so in demand in the Victorian age. She is one of those I want to meet in the next life.

 

 

LEXINGTON GUNNERY

 

The Lexington Gunnery, now known as a wildlife refuge, was located just east of Lexington, Oklahoma.

WORLD WAR II
The U. S. Navy took over the farmers' land S. E. of Noble and east of Lexington. They were forced to sell out and leave. A local visitor to the Rose Rock Museum at Noble told me about his father, Bruce Garner, who had a farm next to this area. He had some old farm machinery sitting idle in the pasture. The son asked him why it was there and Bruce explained it was left by a farmer and his family who were forced to leave in a hurry and temporarily left it there, but never came back for it. They had refused to leave despite all the warnings from the military. However, the machine gun firings started and when bullets came in the dining room window, they left in haste.

BULLETS FLYING
Mr. Garner and his hands were baling hay one day, and a bullet landed in the dirt nearby. It was still hot when one of them picked it up. Then they continued with their baling. My dad, Walter ("Sam") Nance, dismantled his parents home and moved the lumber to Purcell where he built property on Comanche Street, a few blocks S. of Main Street and the houses still stand. The parents were Thomas and Sally Nance.

GENERATIONS CONTINUE ON
My grandmother went to school where the Garners and family lived. The families all knew each other. So after all these years, the older folks all had passed on and this gentleman and his wife stopped in here, both of us descendants of these people who were friends, got acquainted. Time never stands still, but people are not forgotten. This is why the history of our families should be recorded, even if it's only brief notes penned by hand.    Below is Sam and friend.  He use to talk about how none of the rest of the family were willing to tear down the old house and use the lumber.   So he did it alone.   Kind of like the Little Red Hen story.

 

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

The photo below, which I think originated in Brazil, was sent to us by Beth Stine.

OUR ROSE ROCKS ARE FOR THE BIRDS TOO

Jess Parker brought her birds, Twizzle, Charly and Zevon to visit us last week before going on a trip.   They ride on her shoulders and arms.  Twizzle:  "Gee guys, couldn't you scoot over a little bit?" 

Zevon, nicknamed "Z" for short,  shows off for us a little.   Jess has had him the longest and he seems the most tame.  He walked up my arm quite readily.  The red one, Charly has been with her only a few months and was not treated well, so she is working with him to help him recover.

 "You think I'm cute?    Aww,  gee!  I don't know what to say!"

ANNIE OAKLEY THE "SHARPSHOOTER"

Born 8-13-1960 in Darke County, Ohio, Annie's parents were Quakers.  Her mother named her Phoebe Ann and her last name was Mozee.  Annie Oakley was her stage name.    She was the 5th of 7 children.  Just 5 feet tall,  she began shooting at age nine to help keep food on the table.  After her father died, she had to live on a "Poor Farm", was in servitude to a family that mistreated her greatly.   I think this was the reason she used quite a bit of her money to help children and widows later on.   She became a sharp shooter in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and won many awards.   She was very famous for her shooting abilities.  These are some old photos of her.  The last two were in an old advertisement to get people to buy war bonds.  Notice the medals she is wearing.  She died in 1926 at age 66.

FAMILY OUTING (ANOTHER ANNIE OAKLEY IN THE MAKING)

Cindy and Priscilla practice skeet shooting.  This is Cindy ready to hit the target.   This was a Mothers Day outing, kind of unusual for mothers, I think.  I suppose it would be a great tension reliever after handling about 25 or 30 kids in school five days a week for the whole school year.

ANOTHER DIGGER IN THE FAMILY

Grandson, Nikolas has fun digging with friends.  His grandpa, Joe, dug rose rocks today and came back with seven buckets of good ones, so we were happy.  I remember digging in the dirt around some tree roots at Jefferson School in Norman.   By the way, in that area. Main Street looks quite different out East with the larger paved street.    Now folks can get to East Walmart easier, driving alongside the south side of Central State Hospital.   A traffic circle is nice with the promise of an artistic arrangment in the planning stages for the center.   Speaking of dirt, you can get bottles of it at our place for just 2.00 each or dig it for free on a mound in the yard.  It's very colorful since it has been washed.

THE ROCK COLLECTION

The prettiest stone was a dazzling sight,

Reflecting the rays of the sun's bright light.

The most patient lay in a pond all night

While frisky frogs hopped on its face with delight.

The most treasured was the ruby

On my grandmother's hand,

A symbol of love on a small golden band.

The luckiest was entwined in a Cypress Tree

Overlooking a beach near a beautiful sea.

But the kindest was the stone I sat upon

To write this poem about rocks I've known.

Nancy A. Stine 1993

Photo sent to us by Cindy.  It reminded me of the poem.

UTAH SQUIRRELS

Michael sent these photos taken in Salt Lake City.  Taking a walk, he and Jamie spotted this family of squirrels.  It was at night, thus odd eye color, anyway, the mom was moving the babies across the street to another tree.  Some of them did not want to go and played around in the original tree for a while until she was able to get them to go.   Notice the interesting bark of the trees.   The first photo shows the pair who were reluctant to go.

 THE HAND THAT SHOOK THE HAND OF  PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN 1947

Below is another picture from the same brochure.   Bob Goombi, Kowa, met Joe many years ago when Joe bought gas at Bob's Phillip 66 station.   They always visited and we got started attending the Indian Exposition in Anadarko, lots of fun!    Bob use to joke around with his two employees, saying they were apples, "red on the outside and white on the inside."  He was a good friend.

Rescue cats bond together

HOWLING HARMONICA 

 Youtube production by Debbie Teague,  photography by Nancy Stine, Actors are Joe Stine and Penny and a small bit part by Crystal

COVER OF CITY OF NOBLE DIRECTORY 2009

It's Joe Stine, who else would be digging these rose rocks? (and using a geology pick)

THERE'S MORE TO THE SEA THAN FISH!

Rose rocks were formed when the sea covered the sand in Oklahoma in a vertical narrow strip across the center of the state.   One day several years ago, I saw small cylinders of rock-like material sticking up out of the ground kind of like little plants.  There were about a dozen and I plucked them out and took them to the museum.  Two palentologists identified them as being "worm bores".  Sea worms had burrowed into the sea mud and later the holes filled with calcite and they became a fossil.   They looked kind of like the one in the middle below in the photo before I plucked them out of the sand.

The clump on the left above is a small section of sea mud which also calcified and became a fossil.   On the right is a rose rock with the calcite material attached to one side.  This shows us the approximate time frame when the rose rocks were formed.  Many of the rocks in the area have this on them.  We know that in order for the material to be on the outside, the rocks had to form either before or during the time the sea was there. 

"Oh boy, oh boy, great snacks!"

OKLAHOMA STATE ROCK

Barite Rose Rock

This near perfect specimen was pulled out of an area of extremely hard sandstone and required many hard rains to remove it S. E. of Noble.  It was taken from a very small area.

OKLAHOMA STATE CRYSTAL

Hourglass selenite

This is the only place in the world that selenite crystals form with hourglass design.  Found in the northwest part of the state, the park was shutdown for collecting specimens when a child dug into some material that caused a burning sensation.  However, it has been cleaned and reopened this year.   It is open April through October.

ROSE ROCK COUNTRY VISITED IN NOVEMBER

Here is an area we had not visited in a year.  It is pretty wild country out there.  The first photo gives you an impression of what it is like.   See the rose rocks at the bottom of the photo.

ROSE ROCKS DUG 11/2007

This is a small sampling I grabbed out of a bucket and power washed before leaving the shop Monday.  It looks really promising.  They are from two to two and half inches across.

PHOTO OF A ROCK HEART

Joe power washed some rose rocks we brought in last weekend and this one, we thought was quite interesting.  We have a collection of little rose rock hearts in the museum to add this one to.  It is completely flat on the back.

The rose below is another treasure the rain provided.

Below is a portion of the Museum's diorama: 

Some rock diggings above.  It's work that requires some muscles.

The dark red smaller cluster in the middle, front was dug early this year.

Unusual cluster of rose rocks pictured below.  They are on display in the rose rock museum.

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The above rose rock and dogwood tree was made for the City of Noble about 1985 and is on display at the City Hall.  Noble is the official Rose Rock Capital of Oklahoma.  Joe did most of the structure and rose rock work while I did the porcelain enameling of the dogwood blossoms.  Debbie cut out each copper leaf by hand, wearing garden gloves.  Later we had a punch and die made so the leaves could be punched out.

Below is a really large rose rock cluster located south east of Noble.  The boys are grandchildren of the owner.

The same rose rock cluster in the 1800's:

The largest known rose rock cluster completely removed out of the ground is pictured above.  It is approx. 10 ft. long, owned by Steve Meints, Muskogee area.  You can get an idea of the size if you notice the tires which are underneath it.  It originated S. E. of Noble, Ok.  Another large one, about five feet long is located at Love's corporate headquarters in Oklahoma City.  It also came from S. E. of Noble.

Above is a scene from our diorama in the museum. 

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The photo above shows how the little rose rocks look as they come out of the sand.  Below is a near perfect rose.  It came from an area which is just about depleted.  They were in an embankment which was so hard it took many hard rains to reveal them.