Jay & Cheryl Gallo

We’ve always enjoyed rocks, picking them up whenever we were hiking or walking, filling Jay’s pockets so full he had to hold up his pants until we reached the car and empty them into the trunk. I’ve always had the typical amethyst, small quartz crystals & the many tumbled stones that were available to me. Then one day Jay bought me a beautiful Amethyst Cathedral to put in the shop for good luck. We were just getting ready to open in February of 2003 so he thought the Amethyst Cathedral would be perfect for me as amethyst is my birthstone and we were opening in February. He was so right. I have always wanted one and this one is the most beautiful piece, I’ve yet to find any other like it for the many customers that have wanted to purchase it. I’m still on the look out.

Since we have opened the shop I have been studying everything I can get my hands on, I love the rocks and minerals and want to share my passion and enthusiasm with everyone. I give presentations to the local elementary school children and the local scout troops. I will give private classes as well. I thoroughly enjoy teaching the children, they are so attentive and they get so excited and ask great questions. If there is a question I don’t know the answer to we look it up and we all learn together. My thought is this, if I can get just one child interested in the earth, that’s one more person to help preserve our planet. It is great to see the children get excited enough to go looking for rocks in their back yards and driveways and bring them in to show me what they have found , to talk about what they are and how they might have gotten there in the first place.

We’ve been very fortunate that we have a group of very smart and very kind people around us that help us find answers to all our questions and help by allowing us to be part of this wondrous world of rocks and minerals. They have taken us under their wings and taught us about the minerals and the mines and places they come from and allowed us to experience the thrill of digging for these beautiful pieces ourselves. Believe me they are not easily won. It takes a lot of hard work to obtain these beautiful sparkling treasures. When you see them on our shelves and see the beauty the earth possesses remember they were dug and mined with sweat and blood from many people around the world so we are able to enjoy them in our comfortable living rooms and offices.

Jay’s dream is to have a museum of minerals and fossils. He enjoys showing off his collection to anyone and everyone. We both have a great passion for the minerals and want to share our excitement with everyone and share what we have learned. We feel although it is wonderful that many people choose to help people in undeveloped countries we would like to bring our love and knowledge to the children and people here in our own neighborhoods. We make this available here to encourage the children to enter into the world of nature and help keep it for many more generations to enjoy. We need geologists and mineralogists to help us live on this earth in a clean and healthy environment. What we find underground brings many answers and solutions to many of the questions and problems we have today.