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Wayne had not only found a dealer who would talk to us, but he would also give us a discount on specimens. We had truly found heaven. You have to understand how tough it was for an eleven and thirteen year old to be taken seriously and allowed in the back counter area of any dealer, much less get one to talk to us.
The dealer's name was Walt Lidstrom. He was someone who, like Marc Watson and Bob Jones, treated us as mineral collectors and he always gave us as good a deal as he could. I believe he always had something that caught my eye (and a good portion of my hard-earned money) at every Tucson Show. This was the beginning of a long friendship.
Unfortunately, cancer took him from us prematurely. I still have the last specimen I purchased from him, an Arizona silver from the Stonewall Jackson mine in Gila county. It is pictured in the first edition of Mineralogy of Arizona and was originally labeled from Tombstone. While I may not be the most sentimental person, this is a specimen that will be in the collection for a long, long time.
Jean Hamel was another dealer who treated us well. At one show, I expressed interest in a Poona, India apophyllite in her display case. Yes, this was long before I had decided to specialize in Arizona minerals. She patiently explained to me that since the specimen was part of her collection it was not for sale. At the time, I could not understand her explanation about the difference between inventory and their collection. Now, I understand completely.
Each year there seemed to be at least one notable discovery premiered at the Tucson Show. The Los Lamentos wulfenite year, the Mapimi adamite year, the Tsumeb azurite year and the Tsumeb dioptase year all evoke fond and strong memories. The year that Peter Bancroft displayed his Sweet Home rhodochrosite (now in the Houston Museum) is also memorable. As is the year the Smithsonian brought
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