Unforgettable day at Chowder Flats (Mazon Creek)

[deutscheben]

The town of Morris, Illinois was once home to a number of rich sites for Mazon Creek fossil collecting, remnants of early 20th century strip and pit mining of the Colchester Coal. As the town grew, these localities were reclaimed, turned into subdivisions and commercial developments. One of the most well-known sites was called Chowder Flats, named after the high proportion of clams found there. In the late 1980s the spoils were plowed under and development began at that spot, but it was not built up all at once. New houses have continued to be put up on empty lots right up to the present- in fact, construction has recently started on two of the last three remaining lots.

 

I was lucky enough to be checking out the site this last week on a day off work and found that they had dug up those two lots to lay the foundations, leaving piles of fill surrounding the building sites- and I was hoping in that fill I would find some of the famous Mazon Creek nodules. 

 

 

I parked on the street nearby and approached one of builders to ask if he minded me searching the piles. He said it wouldn't be a problem and asked if I was searching for fossils, so I told him I was indeed. He had actually been involved in construction at the site for years, and told me how years back the building sites there used to be crawling with fossil collectors, but I was the first person he had seen collecting in a long while. I thanked him and started searching, and throughout the day he would also toss me nodules he came across!

 

It didn't take long to find my first nodule, and I was able to turn up many more over the next few hours- by the time I had to leave, I had collected about 1-2 gallons worth weathering out of the dirt piles. Great results for not a lot of effort, especially in comparison to the work needed to find things at Mazonia-Braidwood/Pit 11 these days! 

 

 

 

But that wasn't what made the day truly unforgettable... I will continue with that in the next post!

[Tidgy's Dad]

How very exciting. 

It's great that you got a chance to collect some of these nodules while there's still time!

 

[deutscheben]

First off- here is my bucket of finds for the day:

 

As I was making my way around the back side of the fill, a woman approached me from the sidewalk and asked if I was fossil hunting. I told her I was, and she proceeded to tell me how she and her husband used to collect Mazon Creek fossils themselves in the 1970s and 1980s. She wished me luck, and I continued searching. A little while later she stopped by again and said "My huband still has some buckets of unopened nodules that have been sitting in the garage for years. Would you be interested in them?" 

I said yes, of course, if he really wanted to get rid of them. She said he would be happy to, and he would be home from work in a little bit, so to just stop by on my way out of the subdivision. I thanked her and told her it would be my pleasure, then continued collecting for a little while more. Once I had made my way completely around the site, I loaded my car and drove over to their house. 

 

There I met the husband, who pointed out the buckets of nodules he was giving to me- one nearly full bucket of nodules from Chowder Flats:

 

And a smaller container full of nodules collected from the banks of Mazon Creek itself:

 

But there was more- He said "The rocks are great, but I have something else I think you will really appreciate," and led me into his garage. There, he had a pile of  fossil guidebooks and scientific literature, and he told me about the significance of the works before offering them to me as well! I could not believe his generosity and told him much I appreciated it. 

 

That he was willing to share his collection with a younger hobbyist was truly heart warming, and made me happy that I have returned to fossil collecting after taking many years off. 

 

But to make the day truly, truly special, he then regaled me with tales of his best finds, including a nearly complete whip scorpion and a gigantic Tully Monster. He also told me how he met Francis Tully collecting in the field! He asked me about my best finds as well, and we talked about the dwindling number of collecting sites in the area. Finally, I thanked him and his wife again and got ready to leave. What an amazing day- I drove up not knowing whether I would find anything at all, and I finished with an experience beyond my wildest dreams. 

[Spongy Joe]

Wow. That is utterly bananas; those wonderful people have just saved you many hundreds of (probably over a thousand) dollars in literature. Amazing... now, make sure you put them all to good use!

[deutscheben]

And one more thing as well- as I was getting ready to leave, the gentleman asked if I needed a mason hammer. I told him I had a rock hammer, but he replied he always prefered the mason style hammer and insisted I take his hammer too! 

 

 

Truly amazing generosity. 

 

For those interested, construction will likely take a few more weeks to months, so it may still be possible to find more nodules there before the site gets permanently developed. It is on private property of course, so make sure to check before you begin collecting. Thank you for reading my report- I know it is long, but I had to share it with an audience that I know will appreciate it!

[Nimravis]

You had a great day and it was super nice of them to give you the concretions and the books. That Nietecki (sp?) book is very nice and one that I do not have. Congrats and post what comes out of the concretions.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Absolutely amazing day and what a wonderful generous man with a thoughtful wife too. 

Truly heartwarming report, thank you so much for sharing, can't wait to see what you find in the nodules.

Life's good. 

 

[ynot]

Gotta love it when the stars align like that!

Congratulations.

[Wrangellian]

Holy...  

 

That was certainly very generous of them. Or maybe they didn't really understand the value of it all?

Your story sure beats the #&!^ out of the small score I made at a fellow rockhound's sale that I attended today. Maybe I'll save it for some time later when the glow from this one has died down some.

 

[Nimravis]

38 minutes ago, Wrangellian said:

Holy...  

 

That was certainly very generous of them. Or maybe they didn't really understand the value of it all?

Your story sure beats the #&!^ out of the small score I made at a fellow rockhound's sale that I attended today. Maybe I'll save it for some time later when the glow from this one has died down some.

 

We want to hear it.

[Ludwigia]

I'm sure the couple were well aware of the value of their things. That's what makes this sort of generosity so overwhelming to me. I find it just wonderful to experience such examples where the older generation is graciously passing on their tradition to the younger one. @deutscheben Would you be in a position to reveal their names? Or do they wish to remain anonymous? I was just thinking that maybe some of the group here may even know them.

[Bobby Rico]

@deutscheben  What an amazing day you had. I think the couple really wanted their fossils and books to go to a good home and to be appreciated .If you don’t mind me say but  If I was you I would send them a nice bunch of flowers as a thank you. Great story thanks for sharing.

[RJB]

We truly don't know what the day has in store for us.  Great thread.

 

RB

[LiamL]

Wow, such a great day. Those people where very kind, including the builder. I'd love to see some of your opened nodules!

[Miocene_Mason]

The generosity of fossil hunters is unmatched by those of any other hobby I’ve learned of. Glad you got some concretions, some books, and best of all, some stories!

[deutscheben]

Thank you everyone- I definitely agree that this is a very generous community!

 

I will absolutely be sending the couple a thank you too. I don't want to share their information online without their permission, though. 

 

I have started washing the nodules I found and going through the ones I was given- so far I have found a few split already, including this partial Cyclopteris and bark, and some Essexella  jellyfish (not pictured). I will be sure to post as more split!

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Just now, deutscheben said:

Thank you everyone- I definitely agree that this is a very generous community!

 

I will absolutely be sending the couple a thank you too. I don't want to share their information online without their permission, though. 

 

I have started washing the nodules I found and going through the ones I was given- so far I have found a few split already, including this partial Cyclopteris and bark, and some Essexella  jellyfish (not pictured). I will be sure to post as more split!

 

 

A good start! 

[Jazfossilator]

Wow what incredible generosity. Glad it was such a good day for you, full of surprises! Interested to see more finds from the batch.

[Nimravis]

Yes post your finds, it will be nice to see them- the Cyclopteris is very nice.

[smt126]

Awesome story. I hope to be as generous to the younger generations when I get older.

[aek]

Wow, truly awesome report. Love the old paleontology books

[JarrodB]

Wow great people and great thread. 

[Peat Burns]

Wow.  I have trouble knowing how to respond to that kind of generosity other than profuse thanks and follow-up letter.  Makes me somewhat uncomfortable.  Very cool.  Reminiscent of nimravis/Ralph 

[siteseer]

On 5/26/2018 at 8:46 PM, deutscheben said:

First off- here is my bucket of finds for the day:

 

As I was making my way around the back side of the fill, a woman approached me from the sidewalk and asked if I was fossil hunting. I told her I was, and she proceeded to tell me how she and her husband used to collect Mazon Creek fossils themselves in the 1970s and 1980s. She wished me luck, and I continued searching. A little while later she stopped by again and said "My huband still has some buckets of unopened nodules that have been sitting in the garage for years. Would you be interested in them?" 

I said yes, of course, if he really wanted to get rid of them. She said he would be happy to, and he would be home from work in a little bit, so to just stop by on my way out of the subdivision. I thanked her and told her it would be my pleasure, then continued collecting for a little while more. Once I had made my way completely around the site, I loaded my car and drove over to their house. 

 

There I met the husband, who pointed out the buckets of nodules he was giving to me- one nearly full bucket of nodules from Chowder Flats:

 

And a smaller container full of nodules collected from the banks of Mazon Creek itself:

 

But there was more- He said "The rocks are great, but I have something else I think you will really appreciate," and led me into his garage. There, he had a pile of  fossil guidebooks and scientific literature, and he told me about the significance of the works before offering them to me as well! I could not believe his generosity and told him much I appreciated it. 

 

That he was willing to share his collection with a younger hobbyist was truly heart warming, and made me happy that I have returned to fossil collecting after taking many years off. 

 

But to make the day truly, truly special, he then regaled me with tales of his best finds, including a nearly complete whip scorpion and a gigantic Tully Monster. He also told me how he met Francis Tully collecting in the field! He asked me about my best finds as well, and we talked about the dwindling number of collecting sites in the area. Finally, I thanked him and his wife again and got ready to leave. What an amazing day- I drove up not knowing whether I would find anything at all, and I finished with an experience beyond my wildest dreams. 

 

That Nitecki book is a particularly nice pick-up.  I don't know what they go for now but when I found one at a flea market years ago, it was a $75 or more kind of book.  I have received some great gifts (specimens, publications, and advice) from the previous generation of collectors as well.  Some of those people are gone now.  They would have gotten a kick out of the Fossil Forum.

 

On 5/26/2018 at 8:52 PM, deutscheben said:

And one more thing as well- as I was getting ready to leave, the gentleman asked if I needed a mason hammer. I told him I had a rock hammer, but he replied he always prefered the mason style hammer and insisted I take his hammer too! 

 

 

Truly amazing generosity. 

 

For those interested, construction will likely take a few more weeks to months, so it may still be possible to find more nodules there before the site gets permanently developed. It is on private property of course, so make sure to check before you begin collecting. Thank you for reading my report- I know it is long, but I had to share it with an audience that I know will appreciate it!

 

 

Yes, that hammer is a truly generous gift because that man is from a generation that didn't loan or give away tools lightly.  My brother learned that from our next-door neighbor when we were kids who built all kinds of stuff (windmills, display cases, bird houses, etc.) with leftover wood and other materials.   He tells his daughter to hang onto to good tools.

 

 

 

 

[deutscheben]

3 minutes ago, siteseer said:

 

That Nitecki book is a particularly nice pick-up.  I don't know what they go for now but when I found one at a flea market years ago, it was a $75 or more kind of book.  I have received some great gifts (specimens, publications, and advice) from the previous generation of collectors as well.  Some of those people are gone now.  They would have gotten a kick out of the Fossil Forum.

 

 

 

Yes, that hammer is a truly generous gift because that man is from a generation that didn't loan or give away tools lightly.  My brother learned that from our next-door neighbor when we were kids who built all kinds of stuff (windmills, display cases, bird houses, etc.) with leftover wood and other materials.   He tells his daughter to hang onto to good tools.

I will definitely be holding onto it- the books and tool are all in wonderful condition too, clearly very well cared for.

 

I was able to go through the nodules yesterday and made an interesting discovery- these buckets had not just been tucked away, they had clearly gone through a number of freeze-thaw cycles as well . The white bucket was full of dust and dirt and rock fragments, and as I pulled nodules out to sort I found a high number of them had already split. I set those aside for a quick wash and sort last night and here are some pics of the results.

 

The first picture is all Essexella, of course the most common species for this Essex Biota area- there were a wide variety of shapes and sizes too. 

 

 

 The next picture is all of the other identifiable fossils, sort of arranged by type. From my quick inspection , I found shrimp, Cyclus, clams, plant material, Achistrum, Octomedusa, worms, and what appears to be a very partial fish. When I have more time I will clean some up and post better pictures.

 

 

Finally, this plate has split nodules that might be something, but I need to look at them again to confirm. I also found many duds as well (not pictured). I have already found some new Mazon Creek species for me, which is very exciting- I'm particularly thrilled about the Octomedusa (which, by the way, is a really fantastic name). I will keep you all updated as I continue to sort and work through everything.