Rock’n It is a cut above the rest

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Rock’n It is a cut above the rest

Wed, 08/04/2021 - 01:26
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Located at the corner of Second and Grand in the old RCB Bank Building at 122 E Grand, suite #101, Rock’n It opened a month ago. The store sells a wide variety of gemstones, fossils, meteorites, synthetic stones, geodes, glass cases, Native American jewelry, crystals mined in Oklahoma, petrified wood, crushed stones and much more.

Owner Jaqueline Hobbs started collecting rocks from a young age. She travelled on long road trips with her father and grandfather going to abandoned locations, picking up rocks and learning about the history of Kansas.

Hobbs fell out of the hobby when she entered her teens, but eventually gravitated back to it as an adult.

“I think most people get back into it eventually. They may not have as big of a collection, but I think most people get back into rocks and nature,” said Hobbs.

What began the return to the hobby was a visit she took with her family to the Murfreesboro diamond mines. They were initially excited to go, but soon learned there were hundreds of people there as well. While taking the long way home, they found a crystal mine and museum and learned about locations to go looking for stones, eventually coming away with buckets full of rocks.

“I think we got hooked,” laughed Hobbs. Hobbs joined the Rough and Tumbled Rock and Gem Club in Ponca City

She soon had a large collection of rocks and needed something to do with all of them. Her son Cameron came back from California with an amethyst tree that had fallen apart. Hobbs put the tree back together, and eventually made more of them. Soon she had 300 trees and she sold them at Oktoberfest four years ago, which served as her first business venture in this regard.

For Hobbs, the allure of rock collecting comes from the challenge of the find.

“It’s just the fact you find all these different things and you want to share them,” said Hobbs. “The Earth creates something so beautiful and its something you’re able to give to someone.”

Hobbs credits her father with inciting her love for rock collecting and as a huge inspiration.

“He was extremely passionate about telling people what he knew and created the best stories,” said Hobbs.

Rock’n It has a presence on Facebook and currently has a commercial running on 104.7 The Bull.