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Joe and Nancy Stine celebrate the 38th year of their Rose Rock business 1971-2009

DISH  

We highly recommend the movie Dish, if you haven't seen it.  Made in the year 2000, it is a comedy based on real events when a small sheep herding village in Australia is thrust into the spotlight when NASA employs its massive satellite radio dish for a backup transmitter for the 1969 Apollo 11 moon mission.  It can be rented at Netflix.

CRYSTAL ON HALLOWEEN

Her groomer did all the dogs in costume that week.

CARDINAL IN LOVE

This male cardinal thinks our car mirror is a possible mate and we have made sleeves to keep off the mess.   We took them off to get this series of pictures with our good camera and telephoto lens.  We had to take them through a window, so they are a little fuzzy.

"Hey, sweetie, why don't you come out of there and I'll sing you a tune!"

Hey, can't a fella get some privacy around here?

Okay, so we'll have a little staring contest!

FLORIDIAN CUTIES

These little maltese dogs were so cute we just had to get a picture!  Their owners, Jim and Jo Ann Ebeling,  were very nice and we enjoyed our visit with them.  Look at that pretty Florida tan they have!  The little dogs are groomed by a lady who works for a professional for show dogs.   The little one on the left was a rescue dog and her name is Lilly.  She was in bad shape when they got her, but look at her now!  The dog on the right is Weezy. They are so well behaved it's downright amazing.   They sat quietly in their arms and I got to hold Lilly.  I guess you could call them "Little dog angels".

BAD NEWS FOR OKLAHOMA

There has been a resurgence of the KKK in our state.  Most of you know about the young Oklahoma girl who was lured to Louisiana with the internet by the KKK and murdered.   They were caught when at least one of them came into a small store and asked how to get blood off his clothes. 

In October, 2008,  newspapers, under the cover of darkness, were opened and KKK fliers inserted, in Ada, Oklahoma.  What I can't understand is why anyone would want to be involved with an organization that kidnaps, beats and murders people.   I don't think it is surprising that a big nest of them are at the Oklahoma Arkansas border, my guess is either at or near Elohim, the town with Nazi connections and where Timothy McVey hung out.  Most people know Timothy McVey was at least one person involved in the Oklahoma City bombing and was executed for it years ago.

Johnny Lee Clary, former Klansman leader and now against it, says they use poor economy, illegal immigration and the black president as propaganda.  He also says what happened to the girl in Louisiana should remind people what they are capable of.

This distorted twisting of the mind by not only crude characters, but rather refined looking young women, is the sort of thing that Hitler produced.   This kind of hatred can build to large proportions, if not stopped.    That's why I do not forward any kind of hate mail against anyone, including political figures.  And I received quite a bit of it during the election.  Below is part of a writeup at Rose College by Debbie Teague, a government student.

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While Oklahoma was a territory, it was essentially lawless.  This is when the KKK got a foothold and became the unofficial law enforcement.  In addition, many settlers came from the South and brought their southern disposition toward blacks with them.    

The KKK utilized lynching, but also burned people alive.  There weren’t very many instances of the latter in Oklahoma.  Another thing they did was public beatings, called “whipping parties.”  In 1920, 2500 beatings took place in Oklahoma, and it ranked 11^th in the nation for the number of lynchings during the time frame of 1900 to 1930.   Governor Jack Walton attempted to halt KKK activity in Oklahoma and at one point, he put the entire state under Marshall Law.  He was quickly impeached by the KKK dominated elected officials.

She ends the article with this:

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What is particularly shocking and puzzling to me is the participation of Protestant ministers as well as church members in the KKK.  Seems to me murder and all the rest of it is decidedly incongruous with Christianity.

If you are interested in how this thing is progressing, simply search Oklahoma KKK.   There are videos available.   It is pretty shocking.   FBI agents are infiltrating the Klan and that should be of help, but our biggest weapon is knowledge.   That is why history is of such great importance.   If we don't know what happened before, we can't learn enough to prevent it from happening again.    A lot of people don't know about the race riots in Tulsa in 1921.  The damage and people killed was enormous.  We have a video of it given us by a friend.   I won't glorify the folks who hide under white sheets by posting a photo.  Why can't people love each other like this:

ANOTHER HAT

O. U . FOOTBALL:  A SAD YEAR

Many serious injuries have caused everyone concern and contributed to a sad year for our team.  When I enrolled at O. U. in 1951, we had become national champions the year before.  It was a very big deal.   I'm afraid we became spoiled over the years, as we did so well.   Hopefully next year we will start to come back.   

O. U. football is a very big deal here in Norman.

LITTLE DUCKLING TO BEAUTIFUL DOG

SCRUFFY GROWS UP

A rescue dog, Scruffy was tiny at first.  He is Penny's brother from another litter.

Below is Mitzi, who has rescued many dogs.  Scruffy soon got very ill and surprised everyone by surviving.  By that time, Mitzi was so attached to him, she ended up keeping him.  The mother, Delilah above was also Penny's mom.

Scruffy grew up to be a beautiful dog that wasn't quite "scruffy" after all.   He was so named because at one time his fur was so unruly the kids wanted to use him to scrub the sink.  His eyes are green.

MIKE OUR IRISH SHEEPDOG

Below I wrote a small paragraph about Mike.  This photo is pretty much what he looked like except all white and not groomed quite so fancily.   He was able to see out of his eyes the way he was cut.   You can see why I couldn't bear to lose him.

FROM OUT OF THE PAST, OKLAHOMA PIONEERS

Quincy L. & Lanie Cole Barnes 1898   Lived at Cowling, Indian 

Territory.    Notice she is holding a bible, a second one we've seen posed like that.   I guess it was to make a statement.  Our other photo was a minister and his wife both holding bibles.  (They were distant cousins of mine, named Miller.)

HATS

Thomas Carl and Henrietta Elizabeth Blessing,  1911 Guthrie, Ok.  These folks look somewhat prosperous, to me.  Notice the watch fob the man is wearing and the fancy lace around the lady's neck, not to mention their hats.  His hat was called a "derby", according to Joe.

Simpson and Elvira Brinsfield had 10 children   1887  Seminole, Ok.  That's 90 months she was pregnant or a total of 7 1/2 years, poor thing!  Notice who's sitting down and who is standing.  Wonder what the significance of that is?    I guess he was the master of the house perhaps.  They'd have a hard time getting me to pose like that.  Once when we had a photo made for a church book, the guy told me to say "My husband" just before he shot it.  It didn't set well with me.  We've laughed about it ever since.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO GROW UP

Stuffed animals and raggedy Ann and Andy dolls decorate my computer room and some at work in the office.  When you are young, you can't wait to grow up and when you get older, you think more and more about your childhood and good memories come back.  And some folks like me enjoy reclaiming things from the past.  Those Raggedy Ann and Andy comic books were great.  I remember one in which they found a treasure of gemstones and jewels in a cave.   Wonder Woman was my idol though.   She had black hair like mine and I imagined I was her.

Those fairy tales were great too.   I liked the story of Rapunzel,  who let down her long blonde hair from the window of the castle for the prince to climb up.   A Rapunzel doll is here in my office.  I guess the truth is, I just never grew up.

Dogs played a big part of my life, starting with Brownie,the rat terrier who scared a burglar off who climbed in over my bed.  Brownie slept on the foot and got rid of him in a hurry.  All he got was a coat and scarf and dropped them in the yard as he ran.

MIKE THE SHEEPDOG AND THE OLD LADY

Mike was my only big dog.  I think he was called an Irish sheepdog.   He was white and very very fuzzy, long haired.  In those days people didn't put dogs in leashes.  He simply followed me at my heels.  I was about six and we were walking along on East Main Street not far from Central State Hospital.  Suddenly Mike ran out on to the street.  A car was coming and I was yelling to Mike and started to run after him, but a hand grabbed me around the shoulders and wouldn't let me go.  A voice said sternly, "No, you can't go!"   Mike got killed.  He ran off and I never saw him again.   I saw an old lady behind me who had stopped me and ran home crying.   At the time, I was frustrated that the woman had prevented me from saving my dog, but now I know she saved my life.   To this day, I wonder if that old lady could have been an angel. 

MUSEUM GETS A FACE LIFT

PENNY AND CRYSTAL AT WORK   TIME FOR A BREAK

BRIDGECREEK BABIES

Mike Tubbs got a quick photo of these scissortailed babies before their mother returned.

SHOEBOX PHOTO

It is called that because no one knows their name, since it wasn't written on the back.   Let that be a lesson to us all.  The only clue is the name Brooks  Norman and Shawnee, apparently the company that made the photo.

BIRTHDAY NO. ONE   That was 74 years ago.

SABRA GROWING UP

Sherri sent us some update photos of Sabra, who is now 5 months old.   This first one looks as if Sabra and Emma (left) are professional models, wonder if they got a steak dinner for this.

Here Sabra enjoys her little hedgehog

Cozying up to each other   Are they cute or what?  Such beautiful eyes and coats!

ROSE ROCK MUSEUM GETS A FACE LIFT

Sean Smith is putting new siding and windows, shutters on the museum which looks cleaner and brighter.  Priscilla took this snapshot yesterday.  The begonias in the tub will be missed when they freeze in the cold weather.

Sean is a perfectionist with his work and adds extra detail.  We are going to miss hin when he finishes.

 A birthday photo by Pris

Sayre, Beckham County, Ok. 1928  They must have felt like they had a really busy town, with all those cars.

CHERRY PICKERS  Look at the old fashioned baby carriage at the center.

ENGLISH VISITORS

Grandparents who moved here from England brought their granddaughters who still live there to visit today.  They were about 8 and 10.   Crystal and Penny came out and played with them.   A lot of fun was had by all four of them.   Each girl had their own money to spend and picked out several rocks and stones as well as a rose rock.  

Have you seen or heard of Foyles' War, an English TV series which is now off the air?    We have been renting the series from Netflix really enjoy it, just can't wait for the next one.    My grandchildren would be bored with it, but people who grew up in World War II or are interested in it would like this series.  

 Foyle is a Chief Detective police officer solving local crimes in the middle of the start of the war.   There is some bombing involved, some romance, and some very English humor which is excellent.   Foyle has a deadpan look which, with just a corner of his mouth turned up can produce amazing feeling.    Some guy was telling him a long list of great things about himself.   Foyle gave him a quick unimpressed "Jolly Good" and turned back to his business in such a way that made you just love him.

The very first disc has a picture of the head of a woman's corpse, (fake of course) and I think the third one had something similar, but all the rest have been okay, as far as violent scenes.  It's interesting to see how the cases are solved.   It reminds me somewhat of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.  The very first disc may seem a little boring, the second one much better and the interest builds quickly, so if you try it, don't stop with the first one.

The photo below is Foyle and his driver.   Apparently we aren't the only ones who like the series.   Our next reserved disc has a short wait.  We are on Season Two.  There are five seasons.

Michael Kitchens (Foyle) was born on my birthday, October 31 (year unknown)  in Leicester and is an actor and television producer.

Beth Stine sent us photos of their visit.  These folks know how to have fun!  First she served her sister breakfast in bed.

They like to travel

They like to cuddle

They like to have fun!

Wish we could visit Brazil.   I think it would be a great place to relax and have fun.  Thank you Beth, for sharing your photos.

One of my all time favorite pet pics

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!"

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.