On the Road With Ollie the Otter -- Ollie's Sunday Trip to a Gem Museum in Marion, Kentucky!

After getting a good night's rest from his adventures with the 400 Mile Yard Sale, Ollie set out for another day of fun with his lovely tour guides, Jenny and Gayle.

See him below in Jenny's 1956 Black Ford Thunderbird Convertible.  Jenny is driving and holding Ollie, and Gayle is in the passenger seat.

Ollie wasn't sure where they were headed, but he didn't care and who would with lovely ladies like Jenny and Gayle?  Plus, getting to ride in a nice classic car with the top down just made the trip more enjoyable.

After driving for a little bit, the trio finally stopped in Marion, Kentucky at a gem museum.  It seems there was a gem and mineral show at The Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum and today was the last day for it.  

Ollie was so excited and he is shown below getting ready to open the door for his lovely lady tour guides.  Ollie is a perfect gentleman....I mean otter. ;)

I was curious what exactly this museum was, so I did some research online and this is what I found.  If you click here you can access the museum's website.

Here are some interesting tidbits that I found when exploring the site:

** Crittenden County is believed to be the first place in Kentucky where the mineral fluorspar was mined (Marion, Kentucky is located in Crittenden County).    

** There are two prominent businessmen who left legacies to the community:  Julius Fohs and Ben E. Clement.

** Fohs built and presented the community a Civic Center and Community Auditorium (the building was constructed in 1926, renovated in 1980, and is currently being used as an arts and community center).


** Ben E. Clement left an outstanding, one-of-a-kind collection of minerals, period journals, photographs, mining tools and other items. The collection has been visited by various authorities on minerals and is believed to be one of the finest in existence.

** In 1990, the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum, Inc. was formed to renovate a vacant elementary school building adjacent to Fohs Hall, as well as to operate a mineral museum containing the Ben E. Clement collection.

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As you can see, Ollie had a pretty busy and excitable weekend.  I'm sure he's resting right now dreaming of swimming and cracking open some shellfish.

Who knows where Ollie will turn up next.  I'm sure he'll be visiting someplace very exciting though.  After all, that's what he wanted when he showed up on our doorstep.


Until next time.....

And That's What Sarah Said!!!