From the Chihuahuan Desert Gem & Mineral Club
ALPINE — The Alpine Gem and Mineral Show at the Alpine Civic Center will celebrate the life of a special local rockhound who hunted the elusive agates and “thunder eggs” of Marfa, Terlingua, and Alpine areas. Gordon (Gordie) Sanborn, of The Daily Grind in Alpine, Texas, passed away in 2021 but left behind friends and family who learned from him.
Gordie was an adventurer whose journey led him in the summers to Alaska where he fished commercially, and in the winter, he used his extraordinary carpentry skills, leaving his mark on many a building in Ninilchik, his home for many years. He loved rocks. Agates brought him to Texas, but Martha (Scott), a local artist, is why he stayed. When they met, she admired a beautifully wrapped stone, an Owhyee Jasper. The bolo, which he gifted to her, became a prized possession and she became his beloved wife. She still wears it around her neck.
When camping at the famed Woodward Agate Ranch, he collected rocks for many weeks. He apparently found the diversity and color of agate to exceed what he had experienced at other collecting sites because he took up residence at the ranch, which was located 17 miles south of Alpine on Hwy 118 (rockhounding is no longer allowed at this private ranch).
A highly talented lapidarist, he ground rocks to sell, but he mostly liked to make rocks shiny! Gordie could spend days cutting open new rocks to be the first ever to discover their beauty within. A friend, who recalls that Gordie did not have a formal education, says, “Instead, he explored the world and learned from it. And learn he did! He was a true artist with an enormous amount of creativity!” This creativity resulted in Gordie developing skills as diverse as boat building, flint knapping, and lapidary.
Be sure to talk with the over 40 vendors at the FREE show April 18-20 in Alpine — 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Some vendors will bend your ear about how Gordie could bend wire around a small cabochon resulting in an outstanding necklace or earrings. Thanks to one of his sons, Todd Sanborn, and Todd’s wife, Lisa Nix, the famous homemade “Daily Grind” cart will be making the rounds with some of Gordie’s collection at the show. One grandmother says, “Every year I bring my grandchildren and we crack open a geode … it is the BEST!” This free, annual three-day gem and mineral show features rocks, rough and finished stones, beads and tools, plus door prizes and a spinning wheel. Bring a rock to identify; come for the weekend!