Written by Martha Moran | Photos by Marc Alt | Styling by Emily Stoltz

There are twenty-one ‘Little Libraries’ in front of Ojai homes. “Take a book, return a book” is the organization’s motto. On the East End, there is a similar box, filled instead with stones. You can grab one of these carefully labeled specimens — agate, amethyst, ammonite — or leave a stone of your own. This ‘Little Rock Library’ is located on the corner of East Ojai Avenue and Fairway Lane.

Would you say you’re obsessed with rocks?

“Yes! (big giggle)” 

Meet Lucia Hetrick. Lucia started collecting rocks before she learned to walk. Lisa Batchelder-Hetrick says of her daughter, “As a child, she would spend all her time looking at the ground; picking up pinecones, sticks, and stones. ‘We live in Lake Tahoe! Look up! Look at the trees; look at the lake!’” 

Lucia has always had a keen eye. Her favorite rock is carnelian agate, a translucent orange-red to brown chalcedony, or a microcrystalline quartz. “They’re nice for jewelry work and are my favorite color” — the same color as her hair. She also likes geodes: “You don’t know what you’re going to get until you cut them open,” like opening a present.

A favorite collecting spots is her extended family’s ranch. When the fields around the property are plowed, treasures like petrified wood, smoky quartz, feldspar, unakite, and jasper are turned up to the surface. More exciting to Lucia, because of her love of fossils, is that a Columbian mammoth skeleton was discovered nearby. Now when she visits, she’s always on the hunt for a mammoth, in addition to petrified wood and various gems and minerals. Lucia says, “Petrified wood is the coolest thing I’ve ever found.”

Now eleven, Lucia’s interests have expanded to include art and interior design (that keen eye again). Still, she maintains her passion for geology, paleontology, and archaeology, having been a member of the Ventura Gem and Mineral Society’s (VGMS) ‘Pebble Pups Club’ since age seven. The group, currently led by her mother, Lisa, is a fantastic program for kids ages 5-13 who are interested in all things rocks.

The program itself is a gem hidden right here in Ojai; the club’s lapidary workshop and museum are across the street from Camp Comfort. Lisa is a teacher by profession, which is evident by the ease with which she addresses the wriggling group of kids at their monthly Zoom meet-ups. (In-person classes will resume when permitted).

The Pebble Pups curriculum is based on the national Future Rockhounds of America badge program (created by Ventura resident Jim Brace-Thompson). There are a total of 20 merit badges, and Lucia is one of just forty-five kids across the country — and the first-ever for VGMS —who has earned all of the badges. And though the group looks forward to returning to in-person sessions at the Camp Comfort clubhouse, taking the meetings online has allowed kids from all over the country to participate. As part of the badge program, the Pebble Pups group gives kids the opportunity to connect with adult mentors (club members) and develop their leadership and communication skills.

Beyond the badges, what keeps kids like Lucia coming back to the Pebble Pups group is the fun. Kids get to suggest ideas for future meetings, and one of those was the topic of a recent lesson in September: “Fakes and Phonies.” Guest expert Jim Brace-Thompson showed the Pebble Pups how to identify natural versus synthetic gems and even provided learning kits (mailed to each attendee) with the materials needed to make “fake turquoise” at home. Now the Pebble Pups can be informed consumers when they are shopping for specimens!

Another favorite activity of the Pebble Pups is going on a field trip. There are plenty of opportunities on California’s Central Coast to collect jasper, quartz, fossil whalebones, shark teeth, and shells. After a recent field trip to Moonstone Beach, Cambria, Lucia came back with a bag of rocks ready for her tumbler. She will also choose some stones to finish on her personal Pixie machine, a portable, six-wheel sequence of diamond grinding and polishing wheels, to make cabochons for jewelry. The workshop at the VGMS clubhouse also has Pixie machines and other saws for lapidary work, which are available to members after a certification process.

One way the VGMS members give back to their community is with Little Rock Libraries like Lucia’s and several others sprinkled throughout Ventura County. Club members donate the boxes and continue to supply the sample specimens. The Pebble Pups who manage the boxes have received very positive feedback from their neighbors.

Lucia has dreams of being a leader in the field of geology and paleontology. She plans to pursue her passion through the VGMS club and continue following everything that interests her.

“I always want to have fun and enjoy what I’m learning. I like all of it: discovering new things, the research, and the treasure hunt. All of it is cool, and I have a lot to learn!”

VGMS Workshop and Museum is located at 11969 N. Creek Road (opposite Camp Comfort Park). If you are interested in sponsoring a Pebble Pup, email Lisa Batchelder Hetrick.

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