When Hilmar Krocke was a teenager, he wasn’t into high school science classes that taught about animals or plants.
What interested him were lessons in geology and, specifically, rocks, minerals and crystals — subjects the Port Coquitlam resident continues to study today.
Since immigrating to Canada in 1967, the civil engineer has spent the past 30 years travelling across the country, as well as to the United States, Brazil, Morocco, Iceland, Germany and his homeland of Austria, to collect rocks and fossils in permitted fields and polish them up.
In nearly every part of his townhome, including his garage, Krocke has thousands of rocks and gems on display, most of them labelled with their origin, and, along one wall, in alphabetical order.
He takes great pride in his finds.
“What doesn’t fit on the shelves or in the drawers goes on the walls,” he said. “There’s not much space left.”
Krocke, who will have a sample from his vast collection to exhibit at the annual Port Moody Rock and Gem Show on Oct. 5 and 6, is a well-known rock hound in the Lower Mainland.
Before joining the Port Moody group, he was a member of the North and West Vancouver rock and gem clubs and showcased his work at an annual event in Abbotsford. He even spoke at schools about rock collecting, hoping to inspire youth to take up the hobby.
In an interview with the Tri-City News on Wednesday, Sept. 18, Krocke said what he likes most about the pastime is the rush of discovering a rare piece or pieces, and polishing them to expose their colours.
“It’s like a treasure hunt,” he said.
For example, a few years back, on the road to Mt. Baker in Washington State, he picked up 65 slats of a fossilized Sabalite palm leaf, cleaned them up and glued them together.
It now hangs prominently in his downstairs room.
“I think it’s amazing the beauty that we find in the dirt,” he said.
Still, he admits he doesn’t do much with his finished works besides displaying them privately: Sometimes he turns them in to necklace pendants for his wife, Heidi, or her friends; other times he gifts them to the neighbourhood kids.
Krocke said the annual Port Moody show is a good way for geology buffs and kids to learn about the rocks and gems under their feet that are waiting to be revealed.
Titled Let’s Rock Again, the 43rd annual gem and mineral show takes place on Saturday, Oct. 5 and 6, 2024, at the Kyle Centre (125 Kyle St., Port Moody) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is by donation. The event includes educational displays, vendors tables, fluorescent minerals, gem panning, demonstrations and an auction.
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