By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Zitzman shows off a trailer full of rocks he’s been collecting since the 50s.
NEW ULM – In 1952, Jerome Zitzman’s father–Albert Zitzman– came home carrying a large rock that he found while working in the field.
The rock weighed over 50 pounds and appeared to have a skull-like face carved into it. Albert Zitzman thought the stone looked unusual and wanted to show his son.
Over the next few years, Albert and Jerome would start looking closer at the rocks found on the family farm, however it was a trip to The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa that solidified the rock collecting hobby for the two. The West Bend Grotto is considered to be one of the largest grottoes in the world, constructed of colorful rocks and gems stones mixed into concrete.
Jerome Zitzman said after that trip to the West Bend grotto, he would always have a fondness for rock hunting.
Jerome Zitzman and his dad would spend the next several years collecting stones together.
A collection of “hag stones” hang on a piece of twine. Hag stones are rocks with erosion holes in the center. According to legend, if hung over an entryway, the hag stones will serve as protection from evil.
“He would come home from the field and say ‘look what I found’ and show a handful of stones,” he said.
Over 70 years later, Jerome Zitzman is still finding interesting and unique rocks on the farm a few miles west of St. George. Most of the rocks in Zitzman’s collection were found on or around the farm. There are always new rocks breaking through in the field. It is common practice for a farmers to remove rocks from the field before plowing.
Asked what type of rocks he hunts for, Zitzman said “Anything that looks different from the norm.”
If looks intriguing, he will collect it.
Zitzman was impressed by the wide range of stones he found on his property. A few years ago he found out why there was a variety. A guest visiting his farm pointed that that his farm and most of southern Minnesota was located at the end of a glacier.
Zitzman’s collection includes several translucent stone. The composition of the stone will allow light to pass through it. Zitzman holds a flashlight behind the rock to show its translucence.
As the ice age ended and glaciers melted, it left behind many unique mineral deposits. The hills around his property are evidence of the receding glacier. Zitzman said it was not something he had notice before, but now appreciates.
Though Zitzman collected rocks for decades, recently he has got more serious about studying the stones.
In the early days, the rocks was unorganized. Many stones were placed in a bucket or maybe on a windowsill.
After retiring from farming, Zitzman was able to dig into his hobby and begin cataloguing the collection. During COVID he had even more time to indulge the hobby and research the different types of stones.
Loaded on a trailer, the collection is sorted across several boxes. One box contains a handful of stones with thin lines lines around them. These rocks are called “wishing stones.”
Jerome Zitzman’s collection include several samples of petrified wood. He said currently the petrified stones are among his favorite to collect.
Zitzman has included research notes on many of the stone formation, including some folklore. He said that according to legend, if a person traces the line on a wishing stone with their finger and then throws the stone in water, their wish will come true.
Alongside the wishing stones, he had a string of adder stones, sometimes called hag stones. These are rocks with a naturally occurring hole.
“You don’t find a hag stone, the hag stone finds you,” Zitzman said. “You hang them on a doorway to repel bad things. Only good should pass through.”
Another box contains pieces of petrified wood. This collection includes a rare petrified seed. The rock began life as a seed, but over time the cells of the seed were replaced by mineral. It is a rare find. Zitzman said it one his favorite rocks. He is uncertain what type of seed it was before the petrifaction process took over. He said he might cut into it to see the internal structure.
A few months ago, Zitzman attended a trade show for rock collectors.
This petrified seed pod is Jerome Zitzman’s favorite stone in his collection. It is the one the most intrigues him. He hopes to one day cut into the stone to view the internal structure.
“I tried to sell some of my rocks and I ended up leaving with more than I came with,” he said.
At the show he purchased an ultraviolet pent light he uses to find fluorescent minerals. Some minerals drastically change color when exposed to UV radiation. Certain elements like tungsten, lead, boron, titanium, uranium, chromium and other rare elements will glow.
Zitzman said the UV light has become one of his favorite devices. Over the last two months he has passed the light over every rock surface for hints of fluorescence. He’s found over a dozens stones in his collection with fluorescence. Sometimes the entire stone glows and other times a vein of minerals will light up.
Zitzman enjoys showing off his rock collection to anyone interested in seeing it. Everyone seems drawn to different stones, but he said the skull shaped rock that started the hobby 70s years ago gets the most attention. He said people are trained to identify faces and for that reason people are still draw, to the skull rock.
Zitzman said he is content to hunt for rocks on his own property. He explained he does not need to travel far to find rocks. He has visited some nearby lakes and creeks. Some of the best stones are found in low areas near creeks. He said the erosion helps expose the best rocks.
Jerome Zitzman holds up one of his wishing stones. A wishing stone is characterized by the line around the center. This line is usually quartz or calcite. Zitzman said that legend has it, if you trace your finger around the line while closing your eyes and making a wish, then throw the stone into the water, the wish will come true. Zitzman has yet to test this theory. He prefers to keep the wishing stones he finds.
Zitzman plans to continue to find rocks and catalogue them, but said he is considering polishing some of his collection. He has an old cement mixer he could convert into a rock polisher.
Asked why he continues to seek out rocks after all these years, Zitzman said part of it is out of habit.
“I’ve been picking them up all my life,” he said. The other part is that each stone is different and each tells a story. Even the youngest stone is thousands of years old. Others are millions of years old.
“Some of them are so unique,” he said “and they are a part of nature.”
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