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Author Topic: Holly blue  (Read 1028 times)

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brentnewton

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Holly blue
« on: February 16, 2019, 11:57:24 AM »

So .. what the real story on Holly Blue?  I read that a timber company bought the land and its off limits ... I read it is BLM land and its off limits (how can BLM land be off limits) .... the gist I get is there is still plenty of it still in the ground .. only you get locked up trying to collect it.  I just bought .... a stash of it ... old stock.  I have cut some nice cabs from a previous stash.  I kinda like purple chalcedonies ... got a few chunks of Indonesian stuff I really need to cut and see what it really look like ... I bought it years ago and said "meh" and chunked it in a bin. I dragged some it back out the other day and it may have potential ....
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Stonemon

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Re: Holly blue
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2019, 12:47:18 PM »

Holley Blue has always been dug on private timberland near Holley, Oregon The beds were closed several decades ago. I have heard a number of reasons for the closure, but the most repeated story is that a couple of kids on a 4 a wheeler were racing in the area and hit a cable gate, killing one of them. The timber company back filled the area, replanted and shut the dig down tight.
There is probably a lot of material still in the ground.
I used to go up there when I was a teenager and camp in my car on weekends so I could dig both Saturday and Sunday. I sold a lot of top grade Holley for $8.00 lb and wish I had kept it all. This was in the late 70's.
My digging partner stashed a bunch of the material but he is approaching retirement and plans on working it up... none for me!
Here are a couple I have cut recently.
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Bill

brentnewton

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Re: Holly blue
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2019, 02:21:21 PM »

Beautiful.  I lived through the 70s to .. nuff said.  I just bought about a kilo of it.  Make me wonder biz is biz (I have an MBA) ... seems crazy someone can't get a lease to mine it responsibly. Always more to the story .....
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brentnewton

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Re: Holly blue
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2019, 02:22:57 PM »

but damn stonemon the color.  The cabs are killer!
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lithicbeads

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Re: Holly blue
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2019, 06:01:26 PM »

I was collecting Ellensburg blue agate once by just walking through Blm sage brush looking on the ground. They flew a helicopter in and nailed me and held me until the sheriff could drive in . They took me to the road and released me. My crime was walking on blm land leased by a mega wealthy rancher.
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hummingbirdstones

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Re: Holly blue
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2019, 07:49:39 AM »

Those are absolutely gorgeous cabs!  I love Holley Blue.  Have a few pieces stashed away to work on when the muse hits me.
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Robin

brentnewton

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Re: Holly blue
« Reply #6 on: February 18, 2019, 04:05:25 PM »

I quit KY agate hunting because it just got too dangerous to go out there alone.  The places you can hunt on private land have dwindled because of the dangerous types out there scouring the creeks looking for something to sell to purchase drugs.  They just take a big hammer and bust open anything resembling a agate nodule ... and if it looks ok try to sell it.  Ruin a lot of rough like that.  When every sane person I ran into collection was packing heat ... I figured if I needed to arm myself to be safe rock hunting I'd just stay at the house.   I know the opioid problem is pretty bad everywhere ... anyone else having issues collecting because of an unsavory element beating the bushes for rocks?    It seems just a few bad experiences with folks leaving gates open, tearing stuff up, stealing or just being inconsiderate can shut down good collection sites fast.
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